Episode 110
Denim Designer Kearstin Nuckles talks the Right… foodexposed
Video Transcription
Jackie Keller: Welcome to Food Exposed, where each week we take an
inside look at what’s on your plate. My name is Jackie Keller, and
I’m the Founding Director of NutriFit. We’re Los Angeles premiere
healthy food company, and today we’re talking about a universal
subject, people all over the world have in common. We’re talking
about denim, how to look good in your jeans is a topic that millions
of people worldwide face. We practically live in denims about four
hundred fifty million pairs of jeans are sold in the U.S.A alone each
year. Did you know that on the average every American owns about
seven pairs of jeans? So, if you own them, or like the way they look,
listen in, here are some little known denim facts.
First of all, it takes about two pounds of cotton to make a single
pair of jeans, and denim is currently a twelve billion dollar a year
industry. Traditionally denim is made with blue and white thread sort
of woven together. The blue fibers are usually more densely packed,
which make the material pretty dominantly blue. Then they’re woven
together to strengthen the material, and they’re dyed with indigo. In
the 1930’s Levi Strauss sewed a small red flag next to one of the
pockets on his jeans, and that became the very first label to be
placed on an article of clothing. Designer denim was first introduced
in the 1980’s. So, let’s face it, just because you can zip them up
doesn’t mean they fit you, and there are really two issues when it
comes to finding the best pair of jeans for your figure; the first,
finding a pair that fits you, and then finding a pair that flatters
you. My guest today is an expert in both of those things. In fact
she’s a high end denim designer, and an expert in denim fashion, a
loyal friend of mine personally, and of NutriFit Kearstin Nuckles;
Kearstin, welcome to Food Exposed, thank you for joining me.
Kearstin Nuckles: Thank you Jackie.
Jackie Keller: You know I know you worked for Page Denim for Earnst
Sewn, for Textile Elizabeth and James, and most recently for Hudson,
and you’ve been involved in the world of fashion for, it’s hard to
believe, twenty years. You’re the mom of two great kids, and you’re
an avid triathlete. How do you balance all of that? How do you do it?
Kearstin Nuckles: That’s a challenge every day, every day; it’s lots
of balls in the air, and just prioritizing.
Jackie Keller: Okay. So, where did denim come in? I mean, how did you
get involved in the world of fashion?
Kearstin Nuckles: Gosh, I was eighteen when I started in the garment
industry, and started actually in t-shirts, and sort of evolved, and
landed a job doing denim about ten years ago, and it stuck, and there
forever more.
Jackie Keller: So, so what’s the secret? I mean, how do you find a
great pair of denim that actually fit you?
Kearstin Nuckles: I think the number one thing is you don’t get hung
up on size. I think you…A lot of women get nervous about, “Okay, I
need to be a twenty-six, or I need to be a twenty-seven.”
Jackie Keller: In my dreams.
Kearstin Nuckles: I think the number one thing is you find a pair
that looks good on you, that’s the number one thing. You forget the
size; find the fit that looks good on you. Some women look good in
skinny, some women look good in flares, some women look good in boots.
Generally I would say most women though, is though it’s not the most
fashionable thing right now, but the most flattering is the boot cut.
Jackie Keller: Well, okay. Since we’re all about health and nutrition
here on Food Exposed, you know are there certain types of messages
that certain kind of jeans convey? I mean, I know you know there
are…At one time they were a big social statement. I mean, jeans
were sort of how you expressed yourself, are they still that way, like
they used to be in the sixties, and the seventies?
Kearstin Nuckles: I think now denim is just the staple of our
wardrobe. It’s acceptable anywhere, dressed up, dressed down, light,
dark, holes, no holes, I think it’s a self-expression of how you feel
on any given day, and what pair of jeans you put on that makes you
feel good.
Jackie Keller: So, what should we know about the different kinds of
jeans fabric.
Kearstin Nuckles: I would say there’s basically two kinds of jean
fabric, there’s rigid, and there is stretch. I’m a true denim girl,
so I love my rigid’s, but I would say as far as fit, and flattering,
definitely go for stretch, comfort, versatility, wear ability.
Jackie Keller: Okay, yeah. So, where did that expression “skinny jeans”
come from? Because, you know we all talk about looking great in your
skinny jeans, and where did that come from? What’s hot in the world
of denim today?
Kearstin Nuckles: Well, skinny is still hot, obviously. I don’t
think skinny’s ever going away.
Jackie Keller: Can a big person wear skinny jeans?
Kearstin Nuckles: Yes a big person can wear skinny jeans, as long as
you balance out your top with the skinny. If you have more hips, if
you’re a little fuller in the thigh, if you wear a top that’s a little
looser you can definitely wear your skinny jeans. I would say keep it
a dark wash, a clean wash, you want to elongate the lines of your
body, but yes I think anybody can wear skinny jeans as long as it’s
the right size, and the right fit.
Jackie Keller: Now, are certain colors in, certain colors out? What
about color, and…?
Kearstin Nuckles: I think anything goes right now. I think that
across the board in fashion everybody’s just looking for something
new. So, I think prints, I think color, I think light washes, dark
washes, boyfriend, destructed, everything, and anything goes right
now.
Jackie Keller: Boy, you’re already using terms I don’t know, like
destructed, and boyfriend. What does that mean?
Kearstin Nuckles: Boyfriend is generally like a slouchier baggy fit.
Jackie Keller: So, you’re wearing your boyfriend’s pants?
Kearstin Nuckles: Exactly, your boyfriends denim, and then destructed
means holes.
Jackie Keller: Okay, alright. So, speaking of color we were talking
before about indigo being the main color in denim. I thought it would
be fun to cook up some great blue foods, because denim is blue, right?
Kearstin Nuckles: Right.
Jackie Keller: Right? So, you know, how about joining me cooking up
some blue foods that will make us all look great in our skinny jeans.
Kearstin Nuckles: Sounds great.
Jackie Keller: Are you good? Let’s go. You know, this is one of my
favorite recipes Kearstin, because we get to make foods that are blue,
and you know blue is not necessarily a color that we as humans
associate it with healthy food, but for example, did you know that in
the insect world, and in the bird world, foods that are blue are an
indication of ripeness?
Kearstin Nuckles: Didn’t know that.
Jackie Keller: In fact, if you take a blue light, and you pass it over a
banana the color that a ripe banana shows under blue light, which
birds see, is blue, and that’s how they know which bananas to eat.
So, anyway, that’s a little bit of food trivia. I wanted to make a
dessert, kind of dessert snack that is healthy, nutritious, and blue.
So, I’m going to need your help.
Kearstin Nuckles: Sure.
Jackie Keller: This is called Apple Blueberry Delight, and it uses fresh
apples. So, we’re going to start with some sliced fresh apples, and
I’ve heated up our pan here. It’s kind of hot so I’m going to put in
a little bit of very healthy margarine. Now, you know that
margarine’s are not always considered healthy, but this is a very
healthy brand, it’s a Smart Balance brand, and basically what we’re
going to do is add our sliced apples to the pan, and I’ll let you stir
for me while I season it up with a little bit of sour salt, and sugar
free cinnamon spice blend. We know that cinnamon of course has
wonderful nutritional properties, very, very healthy.
Kearstin Nuckles: Yes it is.
Jackie Keller: And I’m going to add a little bit of Agave, which is a
sweetener that doesn’t have the sugary side effects of sugar, or maple
syrup, but it has some of that same flavor characteristic. It’s like
a liquid honey, but without the sugar load. So, you can see your
starting to smell that cinnamon, it’s so healthy. You know cinnamon
has actually been shown to lower blood pressure. So, just adding a
little cinnamon to something like this actually can bring down your
blood pressure. So, once you’ve got that going we’re going to add in
a little bit of orange juice, and even a little bit of orange zest.
So, I’ll go ahead and do that, while you continue to stir, because we want
to get that bright orange flavor, and I like to zest the orange, and
then rub them on my hands to take…I love the smell of the oranges,
and of course that high Vitamin C content is really healthy for skin,
and helps us stay fit, and healthy, and well balanced, and all that,
and then of course our blue food. Blueberries, one of my favorite,
not always available fresh and in season, but when they’re not you can
always use frozen blueberries in this dish, so, very simple dish. The
apples are soft, you can see their not mushy, they still have nice
texture; we left the peel on them so that we get that extra fiber in
the dish, and then add in the blueberries. I washed them, and we can
bring the heat back up a little bit, because what we want is that
sizzling dessert, and you know, this is one of those dishes that you
can eat it by itself in the morning, with your cereal, or just as a
fruit, as a healthy way to start the day, or you can take it at night,
and put it over soft vanilla low-fat ice cream, or vanilla yogurt, or
something like that.
Kearstin Nuckles: Yum.
Jackie Keller: Which would be really good, or mix in some Greek yogurt
with it.
Kearstin Nuckles: Delicious.
Jackie Keller: So, what do you think?
Kearstin Nuckles: Sounds good, looks great.
Jackie Keller: It smells good too, doesn’t’ it?
Kearstin Nuckles: Delicious.
Jackie Keller: And of course we want to stop the cooking before the
blueberries sort of fall apart on us, and then give it a taste. So,
are you ready?
Kearstin Nuckles: I’m ready.
Jackie Keller: You’re ready? Alright let’s turn this thing down. We’ll
bring the heat down, and we can go ahead and dish up a little
bit…and you can see nice texture. You can still tell what
everything is, but we’re definitely in the blues here, and there you
go.
Kearstin Nuckles: Delicious.
Jackie Keller: I have a fork for you here. It’s kind of hot, but maybe
you can give it a quick taste, see what you think.
Kearstin Nuckles: See what we’ve got here.
Jackie Keller: Careful…Good?
Kearstin Nuckles: Delicious.
Jackie Keller: Yeah, well it’s good for you.
Kearstin Nuckles: Delicious.
Jackie Keller: Good for your figure, good for your skinny jeans, right?
Kearstin Nuckles: We like that.
Jackie Keller: You like that?
Kearstin Nuckles: We like that.
Jackie Keller: We like that, alright. Well, thank you so much for
joining me today Kearstin. I really appreciate your sharing your
expertise. I know that I definitely…I’m wearing my jeans today, and
I’m thinking there’s so many questions I want to ask her about jeans,
and fit, and color, and fashion, and where to buy, and what the price
points should be. How can people find you? How can they follow you?
Kearstin Nuckles: They can find me at the LALookBook.com, and on
Instagram at the LA Look Book on Instagram.
Jackie Keller: Great, great. Well, we’ll stay connected, and I know
that we’ll all think of you when we go out to buy our next pair of
skinny jeans. Thank you, Kearstin.
Kearstin Nuckles: Thank you Jackie.
Jackie Keller: I really appreciate your time.
Kearstin Nuckles: Thank you.
Jackie Keller: No matter how much spiritual practice, self-improvement,
or therapy we’ve been through there’s one area where many of us still
find ourselves challenged every day, and that’s the area of self-
acceptance. It seems all too easy to fall into the trap of judging
ourselves as inadequate, finding fault with our achievements, or our
bodies, and believing our inner critical voices that insist we’ll
never measure up. Self-respect it turns out is not narcissism,
instead self-respect helps to build the confidence, and capacity, to
create the life you want, and since you’re the only person who’s been
with you from the day you were born, and is guaranteed to hang in
there with you until the day you die, it might be helpful to practice
the art of being a good friend to number one. I read an interesting
article in psychology the other day. It was about the dysfunctional
relationship that so many women have with their bodies, and it
referenced some research on marriage done by Dr. John and Julie
Gotman. They found that successful marriages generally have a ratio
of five to one, positive to negative interactions.
So, what would happen if we actually applied that science to our
relationships with our bodies? For every negative thought we have
about our bodies we have to think about five positive things, and for
those ladies who reported and average of negative thirteen body
thoughts a day that’s sixty-five positive body comments each day,
could you do it? I’ll leave you today with this clever appropriate
poem from none other than Dr. Seuss, “You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes. You could steer yourself in any direction
that you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know.
You’re the guy who’ll decide where you go.” And thanks for joining me
today on Food Exposed. Join us next week for another look at what’s
on your plate. For more Food Exposed check me out on EmpowerMe.tv, and
until next week remember make food your best friend, and exercise your
companion for life.