Carla Hall and Stacy London Offer Holiday Hacks at QVC’s Pre-Rockettes Party at Radio City Music Hall
In terms of holiday cheer, QVC is delivering that in abundance as the presenting sponsor of the “Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes” at Radio City Music Hall.
As a wink at that ongoing alliance and to celebrate its “Age of Possibility” initiative, QVC hosted a pre-show cocktail party for media with the help of beauty specialist Laura Geller, chef Carla Hall, stylist Stacy London and makeup artist Mally Roncal — all of whom are 50 and older. Annette Dunleavy, who heads up QVC’s brand marketing, praised “these amazing and accomplished women, who do not let something as silly as age define them. They are living their ‘Age of Possibility’ every day and are enjoying every single minute of it. And they are empowering and inspiring our customers to do the same.”
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Guests were surprised with a few unexpected guests — two of the high-kicking Rockettes buzzed by the party with Santa Claus. Before attendees hit the orchestra to catch the 90-minute show, Hall and London shared some holiday hacks with WWD. Although Hall is known for her chef skills and Sweet Heritage by Carla Hall kitchen essentials, she served up some sound fashion advice. She suggested “shopping in your closet,” but putting together pieces that you had not combined before. Wear a sweater backward, put one over a shoulder and use earrings and broaches for bling on blouses or scarves.
As for keeping stress levels low in the kitchen, she advised to first see how many pots, pans or baking dishes fit into your oven, and see what fits on top of the stove. Then build your menu based on that. To save space in the refrigerator, Hall recommended storing pre-prepared ingredients for different recipes in Ziploc bags such as butter sauce in one bag and green beans in another bag. Having a designated room or garage to store dishes, flatware and glasses in bins was another one of her tips. “It’s not sexy, but it helps for a good party,” she said.
As for all the TikTok holiday baking, Hall said, “They’re not going to work. That’s not a full recipe. You can get ideas. It works for me because I have a library of recipes in my head. But if you don’t cook, that’s not going to work for you. The holidays are not the time to try something new. It’s really great for inspiration.”
London’s foolproof rule for the holidays is never wear red and green together, but shine is her “number-one tip” — day or night. Sequin skirts or jackets are in order for afternoon parties, and they easily translate into eveningwear, she said. Ditto for anything lame or shimmery. She was wearing one of her signature sequin jackets with a semi-sheer silk blouse (with a detachable collar and cuffs) and cropped wide-leg evening trousers. Showing another popular look from her QVC line, London pulled a pair of Juicy Couture-type pants with a coordinating jacket from a rack. “I wore it with sneakers to Taylor Swift, but you can wear this with high heels and lots of jewels, and it‘s a holiday suit. It comes in scarlet, gray and ice blue.”
The ”What Not to Wear” host is gearing up for a new reality show with Clinton Kelly, “Wear Whatever the F You Want,” which will debut on Amazon next year. “We’re trying to figure out how to make the makeover genre something new,” she said.
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