Lisa Barlow On Fashion Regrets, Closet Staples, and Season 3 of RHOSLC

Lisa Barlow is a woman of many talents. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star is known for Vida Tequila, her vivacious personality, and love of fast food (celebrities, they’re just like us!), but perhaps, most notably, she's become a fan-favorite for her style moments both on and off-screen.

Born and bred in New York, the 47-year-old tells Byrdie that fashion has played a huge part in her upbringing. With a biblical stack of fashion magazines that always reside in her home, Barlow says, “I’ve loved fashion my whole entire life. I think you either get it or you don't.”

Barlow’s love for fashion started when she was little, with her mother serving as her very first style memory. “My mom always has been the most inspirational when it comes to fashion,” the TV star tells Byrdie over Zoom in her home office. “My mom's a Pisces and she's super creative. I think her love of fashion and her creativity spilled on to all five of us girls and even my brother.”

Over the years, Barlow has sharpened her skills for dressing herself. “When I walk into my closet, what I see is totally different than somebody else's naked eye. Like I can see my outfits put together just with what's hanging.”

Ahead of the new season of RHOSLC to come later this year, Lisa Barlow spoke with Byrdie about her favorite fashion moments to date and which fellow cast member she’d swap her closet with (hint: it’s exactly what you think).

Her Style Summarized in Three Words

“Bold street chic,” she tells me before I asked the first question. Oh, she knows.

Her Must-Have Wardrobe Staple

"I love a killer blazer. I feel like you can take a blazer and make it look amazing with anything, like over a cocktail dress or with a pair of jeans and a killer pair of heels," says Barlow. "I love an oversized blazer, like that real ‘80s and early ‘90s oversized because it looks beautiful on everybody and you can easily dress it over a T-shirt, a camisole, or a button-down.”

She'll Mix Drinks, but Not Metals

“If I wear silver jewelry I'm only in silver, and if I wear gold I'm only in gold," she explains. "Right now, I'm really into white gold.”

The Same Goes for Navy Blue and Black

“Never, I don't want to look like a bruise! I just don't get it⁠," she adds. "I have to have the perfect shade of denim to even wear a black blazer with and it has to be a gray wash. I can't even do blue jeans with a black blazer!”

Her Favorite RHOSLC Fashion Moment

“In season one, I wore this red jogging suit and these Louboutin sneakers to this race track in Las Vegas," Barlow recalls. "It almost looked like a band uniform and it had crystals down the arm and the sides of the leg. I accessorized my look with this Cuban link necklace and a whole stack of bangles on my wrist. That was probably one of my favorite looks from season one.”

Her Husband Found Her Favorite Vintage Treasure

“Actually, there are two things: this Dolce & Gabbana bag that I hunted down, and in this upcoming season of RHOSLC, you'll see me at this beautiful equestrian show wearing these beautiful Dior boots from its Gaucho collection that my husband had waiting for me at the Tribeca Grand in New York back in 2007. They flew them to the U.S. all the way from France.”

The Styling Advice She Always Keeps in Mind

“​​You have to have great foundations with your ‘fits. No matter what you're wearing, make sure you have the perfect slip, the perfect Spanx, and the perfect bra. I have a whole chest of drawers filled with foundations," she shares. "I'm obsessed with socks. I have every color of a belt in every style. Ugh, I just love a good moment and I think you have to have amazing accessories and amazing foundations for any and every outfit.”

She Has a Few Fashion Regrets

“I hate the way I look on Bravo's promo picture for me in that black dress. I love the dress. I love the shoes. I hate the way it looks on me. I hate that picture more than anything," she says, adding, "Then one of my interview looks last year... it was so pedestrian. I said it as soon as I sat down on the chair. It was a purple Versace button-down, and I wore it with a pair of Gucci white pants. And I'm like, 'This is just too basic.' I knew it in the moment. It's not like I look back and I'm like, 'Oh, that was horrible.' I know it when I'm wearing it."

Her First Designer Piece Was a Happy Accident

“My first Chanel bag was one I really wanted from my husband. I wanted the large shopper and he got me the small one and I didn't want to say anything because I was just grateful that he was being so thoughtful. I still have it on the top shelf in my closet.”

She Has Quite the List of Style Icons

“I have always loved Kate Moss. I also think Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is beyond. Her style is effortlessly luxury chic and she can pull off a monochromatic look like no one else," she says. "I have two amazing friends that are celebrity stylists that I'm always looking to them for inspiration. Dani Michelle, who styles the Kardashians and Hailey Bieber. Then my friend Jennifer Mazur. I love her when I'm looking for something that's a little bit more avant-garde and totally luxurious."

But she can't forget Mrs. Bieber, adding, "Oh, and Hailey Bieber hands down, love everything. Everything about Hailey Bieber is like magic.”

She's Done a 180 on The '80s

“I have stirrup pants from a long time ago in the ‘80s and I thought they were so cheesy, but now I absolutely love them," she explains. "I also like the parachute pants, the modern version of those is so good. Don't even ask me why the ankle booties; in 2007 I thought I could never wear those because I thought it was meant for a supermodel but now I live in them. I love them with cocktail dresses or cropped jeans.”

If She Had to Swap Closets With a RHOSLC Cast Member...She Wouldn't

“I can't give up my closet," she says, unsurprisingly. "That I can't do.”

She'll Never Get Rid of Her First Date Shirt

“The one that will never leave my closet is [from] my first date with John," Barlow shares. "I wore this silk top wrapped up with red pants from a brand in Italy. My husband thought it was the ugliest thing but now when he looks back on pictures, he's like, ‘You were dressing so amazing, even back then.’ It’s my best memory because it was the first time John held my hand [in that outfit].

Another one is when I was pregnant with Henry, I wore this off-the-shoulder Wildfox jumper and Henry loves when I still wear it. He's 10 now, but when he was a baby, he used to remember seeing me in it.”

Her Favorite Red Carpet Look

“I wore head-to-toe Saint Laurent for a premiere in LA a few months ago," she says. "I usually don't like to show a lot of skin but this was probably my favorite look ever.”

The New Season of RHOSLC is Messier Than Ever

"I’m still very much myself but compared to last season, I toned myself down a lot, because I know I'm a lot," she says. "If you saw my hot mic moment, I apologized probably 20 times now for it, and then again towards the end of the season.

This season, the dynamics shift dramatically and you're going to be shocked who I'm closest with now versus who I used to be close with. It’s interesting because I realized after this season that anyone can say anything they want about you. Season three is so different⁠—it literally is like the world shifted, but I actually liked the way it's shifted.”