The fashion icon and television host Jeanne Beker chats with CSL about her travel faves, how to feel good on the inside and outside this season and how losing a friend has made her passionate about vaccine preventable diseases
Q HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE FEELING GOOD?
A Despite whatever fabulous fashion we want to strut, if we’re not really taking care of ourselves — our sleep patterns, our nutrition and doing the most in terms of preventative medicine — we’re not going to be looking good at all. I’ve had a wake-up call [she lost a friend due to complications of pneumonia] and want to inspire other people across the country to do the same. It’s not so much just taking care of ourselves but also all those women in our lives.
WHAT DO YOU DO TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF IN WINTER MONTHS?
Getting the flu shot last year was one of the best things that I did. I avoided doing that for years and I would get sick every year. This past winter I got the flu shot and I sailed through the winter without getting sick. It was amazing especially because of the hectic travel schedule I have.
WHAT THREE ITEMS ARE ALWAYS IN YOUR LUGGAGE?
(1) A big, gorgeous Elsa peretti designed silver wrist cuff from Tiffany & Co. My “Wonder Woman cuff,” I call it. I got it at a very special time in my life and it always empowers me. (2) Nude fishnet stockings — I find them the sexiest. They look good all year round, they are very elegant, and, if I’m going to an event, I
usually wear my nude fishnets. Guys love them. (3) Even though I travel with big handbags, I always make sure I have a wonderful clutch for the evening. I have a collection of old evening bags from the past. I still have the evening bag I carried to my sweet sixteen. I always carry a dressier clutch so when I go out at night I don’t have to lug that big cumbersome purse with me.
FAVOURITE HOTEL IN THE WORLD?
I have two real special favourites because they’re in two of my favourite cities in the world. The first one is Relais Saint-Germain in Paris and the second
one is the The Merrion Hotel in Dublin. I absolutely love them and always feel like I’m in my home away from home when I’m there. They are charming and the staff is beyond amazing.
MOST MEMORABLE TRAVEL MOMENT?
Too many so I would just go to the last fabulous travel moment I had. I’m teaching a course at Ryerson university on the future of fashion journalism. I took four of the top students to Istanbul. None of us had been there before. To see the disparity between East and West — it’s kind of Europe it’s kind of Asia— you feel like you’re in the eye of the storm. It’s incredibly sophisticated. The fashion is incredible but then the antiquity of the old culture and the level of magic and mysticism — it’s such a rich place.
BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE RECEIVED?
I’d go back to my Dad’s motto of don’t be afraid and never give up. be fearless, be tenacious. Also someone once told me early on in my broadcasting career never to take myself too seriously. I still do sometimes. I try to laugh at myself and not take myself too seriously because that can be really dangerous.
This article first appeared in the Winter 2013/14 issue of City Style and Living Magazine.
