Kitty in Wonderland
The internet’s favorite whimsical girl talks to Hauteline about the joy of being weird, her unexpected soccer style, and dressing like a bee.
Looking at Kitty Lever, you would never think she is a Virgo born on 9/11. The model, actress, and content creator has a near uncanny gaze with huge blue eyes and is best known for being a peculiar spirit online. Infamously ask her for a piece of gum (or anything), and she may pull a porcelain plate out of her bag, throw it to the ground, and give you the most beautiful dagger-like shard, or not. You never know with Kitty.
She is also full of surprises you wouldn’t expect from someone whose online personas seem larger than life. She’s an military brat. She’s lived in over 15 places. She played Division 1 collegiate soccer in the Midwest. Everything you would not expect from the embodiments of a Tim Burton character from the Valley. Oh, and she has impeccable style— her wardrobe of frilly textures, playful colors, and animated silhouettes bleed onto her feed and into the streets of New York City.
Lever spoke to Hauteline about her favorite Gossip Girl style icon, styling a bag as a top at NYFW, and whether or not you can have a piece.
HL: How has the experience of being an military brat who has lived in over 15 places including Puerto Rico influenced your style?
KL: Because I was a military brat, I never grew up thinking that there was a career [for me] in fashion or Hollywood. Then, once I was in college, I had these moments where I was like, ‘Yeah, [a career in fashion] is gonna happen to me.’ I went to school in Missouri but got this superlative for most likely to make it in Hollywood. In terms of my style, I played soccer my whole life and then played in college, so I will say that definitely influenced my style. Athleisure is embedded into my style, which you probably wouldn't know from Instagram, but if you were to see me out on any regular day you would see me with leg warmers, cute tennis shoes, and some cropped jersey moment with a pair of shorts. Sometimes I wear chokers to my boxing classes because that makes me feel like I can punch harder.
Kitty wears the BUCI Heiress Dress in Petal Pink
HL: You're known online for being a very whimsical person. You’re always talking about creating your own universe. What inspires the world you’ve built for yourself?
KL: One of my biggest inspirations is Alice in Wonderland. You would think I would say, ‘Oh, I'm Alice,’ but I literally am the Mad Hatter. I'm the Cheshire Cat. I'm the White Rabbit and the Queen of Hearts all in one. I've always said that my purpose in life is to just encourage others to keep living, and part of that is indulging in whimsy throughout the day, and expressing that on the internet.
HL: Part of that whimsy you’re talking about was dressing up as a bee for a music festival recently—Why?
KL: I had this black and yellow set, and I was like ‘This is so cute, but I really want to wear wings.’ So I ended up finding a bee outfit. That's the whole part of the whimsical nature of who I am because it's real life just as much as it is on the internet. Sometimes the nonsensicalness of [having] no real reason why, except ‘Oh, she's a bee, because you could just be a bee.’ That's what I love about [being whimsical], dressing up as different things and characters throughout the day.
HL: Likewise, how did you go about styling a bag as a top for New York Fashion Week?
KL: I saw the bag and I was like, ‘Oh, this is the top.’ [Hauteline was] like, ‘no, but yes. Like, it totally could be.’ So then we styled it that way, we tried it on with different things, and we were coming up with all these different ideas of how to wear it. The day came, and I was just messing around with these playsuits I have in three different colors. I was like, wait, how would it look if it was a top? Everybody was like, ‘Oh, I love this dress. I love this outfit,’ but thinking it was one piece. That's the most fun part about fashion is creating different elements of surprise and making it seem like seamless collaging.
Kitty wears the Sandy Liang Girl Scout Bag
HL: On that note, fuck, marry, kill the following Hauteline pieces: Shushu/Tong Off Shoulder Mini Dress, Tae Park Ivory Sculpted Halter Top, and Chopova Lowena Belted Carabiner Skirt.
KL: *Pointing at the Chopova Lowena Belted Carabiner Skirt* FUCK, *Pointing at the Tae Park Ivory Sculpted Halter Top* MARRY, *Pointing at the Shushu/Tong Off Shoulder Mini Dress* KILL. I don't ever wear black. I wish I was chic and cute like that. But even the [black] blazer, I had to take it off just now because I wasn't even feeling it. The Chopova Lowena skirt is just so —I hate to say it— so inherently flirty, cute, and bratty. Are you kidding me, with the little key rings?! And then [the Tae Park tops’] exact silhouette is what I want for a wedding to marry. I think that is going to be something that, even when I'm 70, I'm going to be in.
Left to right: Chopova Lowena Belted Carabiner Skirt, Shushu/Tong Off Shoulder Mini Dress, Tae Park Ivory Sculpted Halter Top.
HL: If you could only wear one label, one designer for the rest of your life, who would it be and why?
KL: I feel like I'm just now getting to a point where I can afford the designers that I actually like. But I don't want to say a designer, and then be [asked] ‘Oh, how many pieces do you have?’ And answer maybe two.
HL: But I feel that it can be a beautiful part of fashion though, the act of coveting. Maybe you don't own it, but you can always emulate it.
KL: Totally. I think Vivienne Westwood, then. I always say [my style] is like if Vivienne Westwood and Marc Jacob's Heaven had a baby with the Alice in Wonderland twists embedded throughout. I love all of the plaid that is Vivienne Westwood and the punk and schoolgirl nature of it. I want to throw Gossip Girl in there [as inspiration], just because it has this private school flair that's my style.
Kitty wears the Sandy Liang Girl Scout Bag
HL: Which Gossip Girl characters inspire your style?
KL: Jenny Humphrey throughout the whole character arc because she went through all these changes. I love a platform, and I love tights, and I feel like she really did that towards the end. She was such a good character, especially because she went from supporting to [being a] villain. It is also so real the cute girl who gets too much attention turns into a villain. That happens all the time, right?
HL: Ring. Ring. Ring. Okay, picture this: you're calling the Hauteline Hotline, and the haute-est person picks up the phone, who is it?
KL: Charlie XCX. The new album comes out tomorrow. There’s a feature on every single song now. Her fucking energy and the way that she's been in the game for a minute and she's still a hot artist. Then ‘girl, so confusing,” that healed so many girls culturally. I don't care if it's like, ‘Oh, Brat is so cliche now.” No, if you are an actual artist, you understand that album. She created a whole world, I will think about that forever.
Kitty wears the By Ellen With Love Daphne Top and Chopova Lowena Belted Carabiner Skirt
HL: Lastly, Kitty, can we have a piece?
KL: *screeaaaaams* It's so funny because I forget that I'm on the internet, and I'll be like, ‘What do you say? What are you talking about?’ People think this [character] is me and she is me but there's like different elements of her that are me. I learned a lot from her too. People always say [that character] is ditzy, but she's not ditzy. She's actually smart. She's fast. She's been thinking in different ways. She is in her own world.
HL: How did you come up with that skit?
KL: Me and my friend, we couldn't figure out what to order for lunch, and thank god she said pizza. We were carrying it in a to-go box, and I put the to-go box in my bag, and then I put gum in my mouth —Imagine explaining this to a Victorian child—She asked ‘Oh, can I have a piece of gum?’ And I was like, ‘Wouldn't that be so funny, but [instead] I gave you a piece of pizza. I posted it, and it did so well. But I remember the first few comments on Tiktok were like, ‘This isn't funny. There's still time to delete this.’ I was like, fuck it, I'm going to sleep. Then I woke up the next day, and it was popping off. I felt the universe rewarded me for my dedication, or maybe my ability to just be like *blows a raspberry* to the haters.
by Rosa Jisoo Pyo