Claudette Zepeda is a San Diego chef, a Top Chef alum, culinary anthropologist, founder of Chispa Hospitality, self-proclaimed “border kid,” and, as of this past summer, a first-time author of Cooking the Borderlands: Spice and Smoke Between Mexico and the States, where Claudette takes readers on a culinary journey through her roots as a child growing up in both the US and Mexico. It’s no surprise that this same blend of cultures also fuels her singular sense of style, which took center stage as she embarked on a whirlwind book tour throughout the month of June.

The challenge? To put together looks that would equally convey her bold creative and culinary instincts with the versatility she needed without access to a washer / dryer for three full weeks. Where did she turn? To M.M.LaFleur of course.

We sat down with Claudette as her tour wrapped up to learn more about the inspiration behind each of her looks, the ways her culinary and styling philosophies interact, and her instinct to use both cooking and fashion as a bridge between the cultures that raised her. The result is a delicious legacy, dressed to the nines.

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Claudette’s Styling Philosophy

Claudette’s initial style inspiration came from the women in her home. In fact, she still thinks of the rule her grandmother gave her when she was a young girl: “A woman with a red lip and good eyebrows can take on anything,” a sentiment Claudette acknowledges many Latina women may relate to.

“There’s this pride of self: the most famous Mexican women are these very glamorous women. Even if they didn’t have much socioeconomically, they always had pride in how they carried themselves.” She recalls how her Aunt Lorenza ran her own restaurant as sole owner—no loans, no partners, and a single mother of six—working the room in big Frida Kahlo skirts, red nails, and a red bouffant, her style an integral part of how she showed up every day to run her business. “If you saw what she wore every day, you swore she floated.”

Personal style was always an integral part of Claudette’s life, and it’s one she’s spent the last decade reconnecting with in a dedicated way, admitting that she spent much of her teens and 20s mired in what people thought of her. She names Iris Apfel as a source of current-day inspiration. “Do you know that rule from Coco Chanel, take one thing off before you leave the house? I’m the opposite. I like to put additional things on.”

The M.M. pieces that were selected for Claudette, by Jenn and Madi, for her book tour

Her current approach to her style, which she calls whimsical and unapologetic, just can’t be contained in a capsule closet: “I’m feeding my inner child, and I’m really letting her take the driver’s seat in a lot of my choices—really just letting my freak flag fly a bit. Every missed opportunity to be myself, that I cared too much about what people thought when I was younger, is now being healed.” She’s passing this same advice to her daughter, who turns 21 this year. “I don’t want anyone to deter you from being you. Because what happens is that you just take longer to become you.”

Claudette’s Style, On Tour:

Claudette’s book tour included 11 stops in many cities, and she needed looks that would work across all of her engagements. To put together the perfect M.M. foundation, she worked with M.M.LaFleur’s Head of Design Jenn Cote, and Madi, an expert stylist on M.M.LaFleur’s Bryant Park team, on looks she could mix and match as her schedule changed, and into which she could also infuse with her signature flair. Here’s how she pulled it off.

Look 1: Good Morning America

For Claudette’s tour kickoff look, she embodied her grandmother’s rule in garment form, pairing the Sunset Red Yasmine blazer and Smith pant on the set of Good Morning America.

“I just love a full monochromatic look. A full suit is a statement: if you walk into a room, head held high in a red suit, there is no one in the room that can look away. They have to look. If you have something to say, or you need people to look at you, that’s when you pull out the full red suit.”

This is also how Claudette approaches her cooking: “I don’t believe in barriers. That’s the reason why I’m so rebellious in my cooking as well as in what I wear. Whenever someone says some things don’t go together, that’s a challenge for me to make them my own.”

Look 2: Watch What Happens Live

Claudette knew she needed to bring the drama for her turn opposite Andy Cohen and his guest Jennifer Lopez. Inspired by city nightlife, she paired the Yiyan blazer and Drew shorts in Palm Toile with black tights and a low-cut black bodysuit and heeled booties.

For a daytime version of this look, Claudette recommends that you swap the bodysuit for a simple black underpinning, like the Malley Tee, Axam Top, or Vicky Tank.

Look 3: Summer Solstice Dinner at Sarah LaFleur’s home

For this special dinner hosted at Sarah LaFleur’s home, Claudette selected the Gracie dress in Burnout Print for its lightness, ease of movement, and the silky texture of the fabric. “I’m neurodivergent, so textiles—how they feel on my skin and hands—really determines whether or not I’ll wear something,” she explains.

“This dress is very slinky, but it’s not clingy, so I didn’t need any extra coverage. It was incredibly easy to move in.” Claudette spent the evening floating back and forth between the kitchen and the dining table, channeling the spirit of her Aunt Lorenza.

Look 4: Aspen Food & Wine Festival

As Claudette’s tour wound its way west, she stopped for several days at the Aspen Food & Wine Festival. There, she paired the Elton Blouse in the same Burnout Print with the Bia trousers in crisp Ivory. What inspired this look? “I just love a really beautiful feminine blouse, and I typically love pairing one with a Wrangler Jean and cowboy boots. That’s my everyday look.”

In high school, before Claudette was introduced to her first cooking role, she briefly considered becoming a contract lawyer for the fashion industry. When she thought about this life for herself, she always envisioned herself in a three–piece white suit. Of this look: “My little Claudette is screaming at the top of her head: “We are doing it!”

Looks 5 & 6: San Diego and Los Angeles

For Claudette, the classic silhouettes in timeless colors are as at home in her closet as a Mexico City market find. In fact, they play a key role: investment pieces like the O’Hara blazer can help “turn one look into twenty in a heartbeat,” especially with the help of her signature accessories. For one of her tour’s final stops, she paired the O’Hara in black with the coordinating Milo Jeans. What made her look pop? Her accessories: black-rimmed glasses, a statement belt, and a custom-made nameplate necklace—crafted from her old baby jewelry—which she purchased with her first paycheck from her very first job.

The O’Hara in Ivory also made a star appearance days later as the anchor point to a “high-low” look borne out of necessity. “These pants are Zara. After three weeks on the road, my Bias needed to be washed.”

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Cooking The Borderlands is available for purchase on Amazon, Target, and Williams Sonoma, or through your local bookstore.

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