Vanessa Williams' breathtaking beauty might be her least interesting attribute, I can report after interviewing her in November at Evine, the Eden Prairie-based online and cable retailer.
"This is my second year here in Minnesota doing my V. by Vanessa Williams for Evine. It's gone wonderfully," said Williams. "We get a lot of calls from people from all over the country, particularly women of color who want to look stylish and comfortable. I get a lot of women who say 'I bought your dress and your jacket for church. I'm performing in something and I need something.' So I know the aspect of being sophisticated and affordable is definitely coming through. Then there are a couple of items my daughters like. So I'm reaching that [younger] end of the range. They can buy some wide-leg pants with a slit up the side and feel funky and know that it's washable, hang it out and be fine. I love wearing my stuff. I love when I see other people wearing my things, too."
Williams said she remains grounded because her parents wouldn't have allowed her to be any other way, despite her beauty and talents at singing, acting, dancing and playing piano. She talked about all that in "You Have No Idea," the candid book written from the perspectives of Williams and her mom, Helen Williams. I got a priceless reaction from the former Miss America, who laughed off my description of her as a perfect specimen of a woman here in Part 1, for which there is also video.
Q: When you create fashions, what's your objective?
A: To fill in the holes of things I want in my wardrobe, that I can't find. Do things that are really well made and look expensive but are inexpensive to buy and are comfortable.
Q: You're like one of the most perfect specimens of a woman. ...
A: Oh, [very softly] Jesus.
Q: You don't think so? You don't need to do anything to yourself — you know, those things women do to themselves in Hollywood?
