24 Hours with Erica Lavelanet

The stylist, blogger and native New Yorker takes us through her day at her Timberland x Marie Claire photoshoot…

I usually wake up at like 6 a.m., because it’s really important to have time in the morning to myself and do my thing before I take on the day. Morning is my favorite time of day. It’s when I make all my to do lists, I think I’m very clear about my intentions for that day. 

I head to my local yoga class in my neighborhood. I’ve been going there forever so it’s kind of my tried and true spot in Williamsburg.

After an hour of yoga and meditation, I walk home and grab a latte with almond milk from my local coffee shop. I really try not to check my emails because I’m trying have a quiet start to my day. I feel like I’m most inspired and the most balanced in the morning, when I can see my day ahead clearly and how I want to go about things. 

Then I shower and get ready, and kinda throw something on. Once I’m ready, I’ll be out for the whole entire day, so thinking about what I’m gonna wear and what’s comfortable for all day is important.

I feel like ultimately I’m just a jeans and a tee shirt kind of girl, but I like to edge things up with a really cool jacket like a leather bomber, just to toughen it up a little bit. That’s usually my go-to, elevated basics but with some edginess. Being comfortable is the number one thing for me. As long as I feel good I’m ready to go and tackle the rest of the day.

I’m obsessed with Timberland boots. I just think they’re really versatile and come in so many cool colors or textures, it’s just fun to play around with. I love the idea of wearing jeans and a Timberland boot, or my leather pants and Timberland boots. 

For breakfast, I try to have oatmeal and some fruit, or raisins, and a banana or something like that. And if I’m on the go I’ll make a smoothie - throw in a bunch of random greens and some fruit. Or recently I’ve been obsessed with making acai bowls at home.

Usually, I work from home but it depends on the day. The best and worst part of working from home is that you can create your own schedule so you really have to learn to establish boundaries because there is nobody telling you what time you need to start or stop working.

On this particular day, I went to the studio in Manhattan to shoot the Timberland campaign for Marie Claire. I just showed up with my hair a little dirty so my curls were definitely out of control and I had no makeup on. They did my hair and makeup and pre-selected some clothing that I would be able to go through and choose. They played around with my curls and by the end of the shoot my hair was really big which is really me and the makeup was just really natural and fresh, for spring, flirty and fun. Which I love.

The clothes were cool, there were a lot of different versatile looks I think for different days, I got to play around with the accessories and bags and hats to change the look and make it a little more my own. I thought it was cool because a lot of the looks I could easily wear myself and wear all day. You know, like a denim skirt with a cool jacket that I could layer on if I got chilly, all the looks were easy to wear for a girl on the go.

For lunch we had some fresh light bites, really amazing salads with chicken and salmon and stuff. It was exciting because we were moving around locations and they were doing video as well. We were migrating around the city. From the rooftop, to the sidewalk to the studio.

Everybody on the creative team was so nice, welcoming, and accommodating. We shot on location outside and inside an amazing loft. The whole experience was really fun with music playing and energy high.

It was definitely a full day of shooting – we left after the sun set. But it was a really awesome day. The Caswell sandals were my favorite. I wore them in two different colors for two different looks.

After the shoot I kept my hair and makeup together and made an excuse to go out for drinks with friends somewhere local for happy hour then came home and cooked some really late dinner and watched some bad reality TV and went to bed. Regular weekday.

On normal nights, if I don’t have a work event or something blog-related to attend, then I usually go to a random local dive bar for happy hour with my friends, there’s a little local crew of us who all do similar things, and have similar work hours, so it’s nice for us to stop at whatever place it is and have a local beer.

I love cooking at home and having friends over, I feel like my apartment is kind of the spot for all of us to have brunch or dinner. I’m always hosting, I’m obsessed with entertaining and having my friends over, I’d much rather cook for my friends than just for myself. I make this really ‘healthy’ baked ziti with this amazing homemade sauce. It’s comfort food.

To wind down, I recently started coloring cause my sister got me a coloring book for Christmas. She and my mom are obsessed, and it’s actually kinda cute and fun and relaxing and it does kind of make you think about just what you’re doing in that moment. (Coincidence? Take a look at the coloring book featuring Erica’s favorite outfits in the latest issue of Marie Claire!) 

In the evenings I write in a gratitude journal, I try to do it every day, really try to think about three things that day that happened that I’m really grateful for, I try not get too beyond myself and actually some days it’s really hard to do but some days it’s really easy, but the idea that gratitude perpetuates more gratitude and draws you towards the things in your life that you want and can look forward to and motivate you is really powerful. So that’s how I try to end my day.

Get style advice from Erica as she takes our Beckwith Lace-Up Chukka Boots on a road trip. And if you’re in town, join us in Chicago on April 14 and in New York on April 21 for food, drinks and a peek at our spring collection (plus more coloring books!).