In a bi-weekly series, we're interviewing female executives, founders, and CEOs on their "power suit," a.k.a. the outfit they wear every day for easy dressing to conquer whatever the job throws at them.
If you count yourself as one of Nina Parker's quarter of a million Instagram followers—or if you love to watch her on TV—you know just how good her sense of personal style is. With a jam-packed schedule that includes a co-hosting gig on E!'s Nightly Pop alongside a bevy of appearances on E!'s Daily Pop, E! News, Live From E! on Facebook, and Live from the Red Carpet, Parker has become known for her love of bright prints, patterns, and colors.
So, it's not a shock that her self-titled clothing collection for Macy's is just as fun as her on-air style. After dealing with frustration over the lack of cute, on-trend, and high-quality plus-sized options, Parker teamed up with the iconic retailer to create a line full of the clothing that she loves to wear. The resulting selection of matching suit separates, wedding-guest-ready dresses, and elevated wardrobe staples are available in sizes 0X to 4X and 16 to 28.
The best-selling collection officially celebrated its first anniversary in May, so Parker spoke to Marie Claire to break down exactly how she puts her iconic outfits together and the pieces she feels the most comfortable wearing off-camera. And no, it's not your usual leggings and a hoodie. Here's how you can master her look on your own.
On Her Morning Routine:
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Most of the time, it's a 5:30 a.m. wake-up. The good thing is I get ready at work, so I line up my sweats the night before. My wardrobe in the morning is all joggers. I get up, and the first thing that I do is thank God for another day. Then, I hit the bathroom to floss, brush my teeth, and use this turmeric face wash. Then, I get everything together and shower.
I make a morning smoothie— you add oat milk and shake—so I do not use a blender. I make a cup of coffee, and I'm out of there. That's the cool thing: most of the things you have to do in the morning, especially as a woman, to get ready, I don't have to do that. I can go to work in my pajamas.
On Her Morning Skincare Routine:
I keep it cute in my morning routine because my skin is super sensitive. The more I do, the more breakouts I get. There is a cocoa butter moisturizer from BUTTAH Skin which targets Black skin needs, and it adds a glow to bare skin. It's great to have under makeup. I also brush the brows if they're looking crazy.
On Her Personal Style:
My style changes all of the time, but it vastly changed during the pandemic. I'm in this transition space where I have to be OK with wearing pants that zip up again, but I still want to wear joggers. When creating my clothing line, I was like, what can I design that's comfortable but still feels chic.
I'm a big fan of wide-leg pants with a drawstring that I can pair with some Nikes or heels for happy hour. I love effortless pieces that are flowy but can be dressed up quickly with a heel and bag.
I'm trying to do colors that will pop with my skin tone and my blonde hair color at the moment. I love pale pastel colors— like a pale pink or a soft blue. I'm also on a neon kick right now. I have a hot pink neon jacket that I love. I'm always down for an animal print to throw in there somewhere, too.
On Her Getting-Ready Process at the Office:
It's chaos. I have a range of an hour and a half to two hours to get ready.
When I come in, I have a meeting with my stylist. We go through a rack of clothes, shoes, and accessories and figure out how we feel that day.
My TV wardrobe is more dressed up than I would be in my regular life. If I feel like wearing Spanx, I'll do a dress. If not, we might do something that has that flowy vibe.
Then my hair and makeup team arrive, and my wardrobe person will talk to my makeup person and show her what I'm wearing, and we figure out what makeup look we want to do. I wear a lot of wigs on my show. I do a lot of styles to keep my natural hair protected.
I'm having morning meetings while I'm getting my makeup done. I may have producers come into my room and talk to me, and then I'm talking to my executive producer. It's a lot of moving pieces.
From there, it's off to the races.
On Powerful Pieces:
Being a plus-size woman means that sometimes options aren't available to you. It can be frustrating and disheartening to get ready. That's why I created my clothing line, so anyone can feel confident in what they're wearing.
I feel really good in black— like when it's an all-black leather look. I have a black jacket with leather sleeves, and I pair it with a black leather legging, a sheer see-through top, and a red lip. That's my default— it just looks so boss.
I also have a blue snakeskin suit from my clothing line that makes me feel like I'm gliding. I took a chance and wore it with a pair of Dunks. Sometimes taking chances with fashion is fun, and it looked so good.
On Her Shopping Philosophy:
Unfortunately, shopping is not the same for plus women. My philosophy is: "Does it stretch?" That's the first question. That's the golden rule for me. You have to have a whole plan together— the plus options are so few that everybody's wearing the same thing. You see many plus actresses in the same outfits on TV shows because of limited options.
I've always wanted to have something different—change it up so that it can be unique for my personality.
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