As we usher in the fall, we’re eyeing commanding silhouettes and glam finishes. But to Reese Witherspoon, the season evokes a feminine yet rugged style she’s loved since childhood. Born in New Orleans and raised in Tennessee, the actress is a true Southern belle. In an interview for Harper’s Bazaar, she reveals the two items with which she’ll be stocking her autumn closet: prairie skirts and cowboy boots. “These looks remind me so much of the clothes I wore growing up in the South,” she says. “I loved to watch Little House on the Prairie and play cowgirl.”
From donning flowy lace dresses à la Loretta Lynn to shopping at Western store Betty Boots when she finds herself back home, Reese is one to emphasize her Southern upbringing through her clothing. (Keep in mind this was a bride who switched out her gown and heels for a short dress and cowboy boots at her own wedding reception.) “Western is such a huge style in Nashville,” she says. “It’s so cool to see the look being recognized now as a global fashion trend. Maybe it’s about returning to a time and place that people find comforting and when everything seemed simpler. But it’s always been a part of my life.”
The dress-and-boots combo is so close to Reese’s heart that daughter Ava is getting in on the trend, too. “It’s so funny because my daughter just walked into my room wearing an off-the shoulder vintage prairie dress,” she shares—with a caveat. “She was wearing sneakers, and I was like, ‘I wish you had some boots on.'” However, the star, who spearheads fashion label Draper James, also shares some simple style advice for those hesitant to go full-on Western: “I like the idea of a chambray shirt over a dress,” she says. “I think there’s a mood for wanting to celebrate classic Americana right now.”
