Amanda Seyfried still feels uncomfortable on the red carpet. As one of Hollywood’s most recognisable faces, you might assume that she wouldn't be fazed by it, but, like so many A-list actresses, she still struggles to feel at ease in the unusual situation. Posing in front of so many photographers will always have its challenges, she tells me, and no matter how much experience you have, it rarely feels like a natural thing to do.
“I really enjoy experimenting with fashion on photoshoots, but the red carpet is a different animal; it’s very brief and it’s very frantic,” she says, speaking to me over Zoom from her kitchen table, dressed down in a cosy knit. “You don’t really have enough time. When I’m on a shoot, it feels more like acting – it’s more about the art in fashion, which is really fun for me. You can take as long as you like to feel comfortable and make the clothing work for you, which just isn’t really the case on the red carpet.”
Because of this, Seyfried feels that she has boundaries with red-carpet dressing, knowing what she will feel at ease in. The actress has been working with stylist Elizabeth Stewart for years, someone who she says truly understands her style.
“Elizabeth is so savvy – she is so amazing and I trust her so much,” she says with a smile. “She has these incredible relationships with designers, and she always finds the pieces that she knows I will like. She understands what will look good on my body and she knows my boundaries with fashion, and I am so grateful for that.”
In terms of the process that goes into finding those amazing red-carpet looks, Seyfried says it is all down to Stewart, who brings a rack of clothes over to her house, which will always have something on that she’ll love. “It’s actually always very easy. Every once in a while – maybe once a year – I’ll see something in a magazine that I want to try, but almost always, it is something she has chosen, something she has put on hold, knowing I will love it.”
For Seyfried then, much of her focus in fashion is about her down time, where she chooses to wear things that prioritise comfort over anything else.
“I think my style has really always stayed in one place – it has evolved here and there and of course my body has changed when I’ve had kids, but I have always been one to wear sweatpants as often as I can, and when I wear jeans, it is going to be the same jeans I have had for years,” she explains. “It just works for me so I don’t move away from it. And look, I live on a farm for the most part now – no one is photographing me, so I just dress how I want.”
This, to her, is what timeless style is all about: consistency. “I think it’s about not fitting into one era, you know, not fitting into a trend. For me, it’s really just been about what's comfortable over the years and so I feel in that sense that my style is timeless – I could be from anywhere, from any era; I never want to embrace trends or fleet from one thing to another.” She pauses, thoughtfully. “Maybe that’s because I’m just not brave enough, but I think that embracing what truly feels like you, and what you feel comfortable in is how you look your best.”
But comfort doesn't have to mean boring. While Seyfried may have her capsule wardrobe down to a T, she is all about investing in those very special pieces, those which elevate your everyday style.
“Good jewellery is what I will invest in. It’s powerful because you can really embrace your own style with jewellery; you can make it your own. I will also invest in great shoes – I’ll overspend with them – and also I will spend money on cashmere, cosy jumpers I’ll wear forever, and a great watch.”
As one of the faces of Jaegre-LeCoultre, she knows a lot about how to choose the right timepiece. Her top tips? “It has to be something that you are not afraid to wear all the time. It needs to be a watch that feels like it's part of you, and maybe you can’t remember a time when you didn’t have it, you can’t believe you used to not have it. You need to feel like, ‘How did I ever not own this? How did I walk around without this?’”
“And I think this can be the case for very luxurious, extravagant watches too,” she adds. “I remember when I first tried on the Rendez-Vous watch – and I could see why it would be intimidating to wear because of all the diamonds. But I remember doing a shoot wearing it, styled it with a simple black turtleneck, and the pictures were just extraordinary. And I thought, yes, it’s very expensive – it’s exquisite – but it’s also extremely elegant and can add so much character to what you wear, even if you are just pairing it with jeans, maybe especially then.”
Having such a close relationship with the brand has also allowed Seyfried to have even more respect for the beauty of the watches, now that she fully understands what has gone in to creating them. It's why this relationship has been successful for so many years.
“Jaegre-LeCoultre is the master of watchmaking. It’s great to work with a company which is built on precision and attention-to-detail – their value is in these incredibly beautiful pieces, and getting to understand everything that goes into the making of these is just so incredible. Everything becomes even more special.”
Working in fashion, and having access to such beautifully made products, has clearly made Seyfried appreciative of the power behind what we wear. And, whether in full glam on the red carpet or dressed down on the farm, she knows how personal style can tell the story of who we are – which is why she never wants to divert far from what she knows she loves.
“Fashion is an extension of who we are and what we represent,” she says. “We are capable of expressing so much of ourselves in what we wear – it makes us feel seen before we even open our mouths.”
