House of Harlow 1960

House of Harlow 1960

Nicole Richie built House of Harlow out of a childhood spent playing dress-up in the wings of her father's tours, and it shows in how unapologetically costume-inspired the pieces still are. What started as a small jewelry line with a Beverly Hills jeweler in 2008 grew into a full lifestyle label named after her daughter, worn by everyone from Rihanna to Michelle Obama. It is one of the rare celebrity-founded brands that has stayed in the hands of the person who started it.

The dresses that made the name

Nicole Richie has talked about watching Nancy Kerrigan skate in a Vera Wang costume at the 1994 Olympics as the moment she understood clothing could be transformation, not just covering. That instinct, dressing as a form of theater, runs through every dress here: bold prints, dramatic cuts, pieces that assume the wearer wants to be looked at rather than blend in.

Tops and knits

The label launched as jewelry in 2008, a collaboration with jeweler Pascal Mouawad built from pieces Richie had been collecting on her travels through Thailand, South Africa, and beyond. By the time apparel arrived in 2010, that magpie, well-traveled sensibility had become the whole point: the tops and knits mix textures and references the way a woman who has actually been everywhere might layer them.

Bottoms

Richie named the brand after her daughter, Harlow Winter Kate, which tells you something about how personal this label has always been to her, even as it expanded into a real, multi-category business carried at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Bergdorf Goodman. The bottoms carry the same bohemian-California signature that built the brand's early identity: easy movement, a slightly undone silhouette.

Shoes

House of Harlow's shoes lean into platforms and heeled boots, categories that reward a bit of drama, which fits a brand built by someone who grew up around stage costumes rather than office wear. It is not a brand trying to disappear into your closet.

Outerwear

In 2010, Richie won Entrepreneur of the Year at British Glamour's Women of the Year Awards, a real industry acknowledgment for what started as a side project. The outerwear reflects the brand at its most fashion-forward: pieces built to be the statement of an outfit rather than the backdrop.

Our honest take

Our honest take: House of Harlow 1960 works best when you buy it for the pieces that actually feel like Nicole Richie's personal taste, the prints, the layered jewelry-adjacent details, the willingness to be a little much, rather than the more generic basics. Skip anything here that could have come from any other contemporary label. If you take one thing away, buy the piece you would feel slightly overdressed in. That is usually the one this brand got right.