Style Q+A: Michelle Sklar

For 39-year-old Michelle Sklar, life is a highway. The wireless information superhighway, that is.

As host of bnetTV.com (Business Network Television), Sklar trots the globe reporting on the latest and greatest in emerging technologies, and achieving the almost impossible — making techies look cool.

“Some of the companies we profile are sexy, and some not so sexy,” says Sklar. “The point is to draw them out and have a genuine conversation about what they’re bringing to the table.”

Originally starting out her professional career on the sales side of the family business (mining gemstones in Madagascar), Sklar moved in front of the camera four years ago, and has hardly had time to look back.

Now working in tandem with her younger brother, Tony — the brains behind bnetTV.com and a former financial analyst — Sklar makes the trade show rounds while Tony sits at the helm of bnetTV.com’s Internet programming. “We’re like the White Stripes,” she jokes.

Happily married (husband, Don Holmsten, works at the Market Mall Apple Store as a creative director), and happily without children, Sklar has gleefully become a seasoned country-hopper — and expert packer — and always looks forward to coming home to a city on the verge. “It’s great to be in a place that is growing and really developing with more diversity,” she says. “I love Calgary’s personality.”

So just how did you go from the family gemstone business to being in front of the camera?
My brother basically said, “Why don’t you try and get some press passes to the Calgary Stampede — you’ll get in for free and rustle up some business.” So I ran around and interviewed anything that moved. We had this studio in our office here in Calgary and every friend put up with me and let me cut my teeth on learning to deal with people on camera. Thank God they’re still my friends.

Who do you look up to and admire?
I admire people who had to struggle to achieve success, and I try and learn from them: Walt Disney declared bankruptcy several times before he succeeded! I also admire my grandmother, an independent businesswoman with amazing style and grace at a time when it was unconventional for women to strive for success. There’s also Diane von Furstenberg, who has a profound life story, and Susan Sarandon, a great activist and humanist.

How would you describe your sense of style?
I think my main influences are my grandmother and my mother, and they’re really all about the fashion rulebook. For me, it was really about learning all the rules before I started to inject my own style and become a bit of a rebel. I think that would define me as experimental, yet functional.

When you say “rules,” it sounds strict. What’s an example of a golden rule?
You have to dress for your body type, and have to embrace your beauty from within and show that off. Style is such a way of communicating yourself to people, and I think how things fit is important. There’s no sense in trying to squeeze into something that’s just not going to happen for you.

Is keeping up with fashion key?
It’s important not to be a style junkie just because it’s trendy. You have to ask, is it going to work for you? There’s always a way of taking those trends and really making them work for you.

How does what you do factor into that?
A lot. For one thing, we cover trade shows, so shoe comfort is a big deal. But I’m short, so it’s a tough compromise. They’ll make me stand on a box if the person I’m talking to is considerably taller.

How do you like to dress in front of the camera?
I speak with a lot of different types of people, and different types of companies, so I have to strike that balance of functional and experimental.

Kind of a “less is more” theory?
Somewhat. I like to have a lot of fun with what I do, and the people I interact with appreciate that, but I never do it to the point where they’re going to feel uncomfortable, or make the experience about me and what I’m wearing. Some of these more conservative corporate people are like, “You make us look so cool and trendy in front of the camera,” so it works.

When there’s no pressure from your job, how do you like to dress?
Jeans and T-shirts. Or I will try and do something I would never get away with in my job and I’ll just go to town on something totally crazy, and just have the most amount of fun possible. It’s a mood thing for me, too.

You must be a pro at living out of a suitcase. What’s the secret?
It’s funny you should ask that, because I recently picked up a book on how to pack. I think I’m pretty good. I didn’t realize there was actually a manual out there! It’s about a lot of function. When I’m on the road, I’m super busy. I don’t have time to think about anything except what I have to do. I don’t like to travel with a lot of “stuff,” so I try to make sure I maximize everything I have and make sure it is interchangeable.

What can’t your closet live without?
Black shoes. I think I probably have more than 20 pairs of black shoes. Different styles, different heights, ankle boots, tall boots. They’re a fail-safe. And the pashmina, which has life-saving abilities. My brother and my sister-in-law live in Soho, New York, and there are, like, 50 vendors that sell every colour of pashmina you can imagine. I always buy them by the dozen and bring them home and my girlfriends go bananas over them. They add a pop to an outfit, and it’s a great way to experiment with colour. They keep you warm in winter; in the spring, they’re a light extra; in the summer, they’re a shawl. On the travelling end of things, they pull everything together, and I always have two in my bag at any one time.

What would never be allowed in your closet?
Legwarmers. I love retro fashions, but there are some things that should never have made it out there. Or anything that is too short. You go back and forth: when is the right time to no longer wear a mini-skirt? I have this one short and tight denim skirt, and I dance around the “should I, shouldn’t I?” question. I think now that I’m turning the corner on 40, I’m going to retire it, frame it and exclaim, “I did that! I wore that!”

Do you ever look at clothes as an investment?
Yes. I think I started to do that when I matured a little bit in my career and as a woman. Who doesn’t love a bargain, for sure, but we all know that typically they don’t last. I think it’s important to buy pieces that have longevity because you’ll always feel good about them and they go with everything. A really great winter coat, for example. And shoes. Everything else is pretty much filler.

Are you a fan of any trends right now?
The whole retro movement. From true vintage to the ’80s. I also love black, so I love to see how black comes out every season.

Anything that doesn’t make the grade for you?
The whole ’80s bubble dress thing. I actually wore a bubble dress for my high school graduation. I don’t know what I was thinking. The other thing I can’t stand are the really short jackets. They serve no purpose, [and] look a little like you couldn’t afford to buy the whole thing.

I love your glasses. Are you a big glasses person?
I am, as I am almost blind. I honestly have to be, I have no choice. That’s the one thing that I really invest in and get a lot of mileage out of. It’s part of the Michelle look.

And they’re fashionable.
They are. It’s funny how they came back into fashion. I have girlfriends who wear fake glasses, and I’m like, “Are you kidding me? You don’t get to be the sexy librarian. I’m sorry, that role is totally taken!” [Laughs]

Do you like to shop?
I absolutely love to shop. Fashion is like art. When I shop, part of it is that feeling of retail therapy because you’re being self-indulgent, and part of it is the creation of something.

Where do you like to shop?
I travel so much for my job that I really appreciate the global influences when I shop in all these other cities, and I try to buy something that is really about the story I can tell about being in that particular city or area of the world.

Do you shop much around town?
I love the boutique stores like Purr and Smyth & Kang, and definitely love to do the Saturday-afternoon cruise with the girlfriends, and look for interesting pieces.

Which neighbourhoods do you shop in?
I live in Ramsey/Inglewood, so 9th Avenue is definitely a big thing, and I love the little shops in Kensington and 4th Street and 17th Avenue. I try to avoid a mall at all costs. It’s not that I don’t enjoy Banana Republic or that sort of thing, but I just can’t deal with it all.

Do you have a favourite designer?
I really love the wrap dress from Diane von Furstenberg. That’s a look that women can really embrace. I really love the classics of Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani — so luxurious. I love the quirkiness of Betsey Johnson and I love the statements of Prada and Gucci.

I guess this means you love designer stores like Holt Renfrew.
I do, but I love second-hand shops and consignment stores like The Pendulum on 9th Avenue, as well. I love it, love it, love it! I take my stuff to consignment stores all the time, usually walking in with a bag and walking out with a bag.

Besides photos, what would be the first things you’d grab in case of a house fire?
Jewellery! I have quite a collection, much of which is vintage from my grandmother. Definitely my flatiron and Sebastian Potion 9 — as long as I’m having a good hair day, I can cope with whatever life throws my way. And I can’t forget tweezers — a unibrow is not a good look, no matter what.

Where do you want to be in 10 years time?
Living in Europe, writing books and screenplays that are a combination of comedy, drama and life lessons. I still consider myself to be young, but I’ve had some interesting experiences in my line of work. I’ve met a number of interesting characters, and would love to tell their stories.

MY FAVOURITES — Michelle Sklar
Summer Drink: Pimm’s with cucumber

Restaurant: Murrieta’s

Food: Italian

Music: Global and African

Band: Pink Martini

Song: “La Vie en Rose” by Edith Piaf

Treat: Nectar Desserts on 9th Avenue

Salon: “[Stylist] Deborah Robinson — I just follow
her wherever she goes.”

Author: Amy Tan

Fragrance: Coco Chanel

Shop: Adorn

Art: “I live by the art of Jacqulynn Mulyk.”

TV Show: Heroes and Desperate Housewives

Gadget: My BlackBerry Bold

TV Host: Cat Deeley from So You Think You Can Dance (U.S.)

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