Jeanette Chivvis is keeping it real for LeeAnne Locken on ‘The Real Housewives of Dallas’

Photos by Danny Fulgencio

Close followers of “The Real Housewives of Dallas” will note that Preston Hollow’s LeeAnne Locken’s style has taken an abrupt turn this season. In one episode, her hair was longer with purple extensions (she says she’s channeling “Game of Thrones”), and she wore some flamboyant pants. Then she unleashed a new fashion line: a black dress that can be worn 135 ways with different attachments. Standing by her on the show is stylist Jeanette Chivvis. She’s the one with blonde curly hair and has been behind the scenes until now.

Tell me about your career.

I’m a celebrity stylist. I also do styling for Neiman’s, the Container Store, Pier One, Mary Kay. I make my living styling for companies. When you buy a website, it’s styled by someone whether it be props or clothing. I’ve done “Good Morning Texas” for five years. I talk about trends. I lived in L.A. for eight years, and I had a boutique. I had my own line of clothing there, and that’s where I started styling celebrities. Paris [Hilton] and Kim Kardashian and people like that would come through, and so I started styling them as well. I moved back to Texas about 10 years ago because I missed my family, and I wanted to have kids or adopt. 

 

How did you get involved with “The Real Housewives of Dallas”?

I met LeeAnne on numerous occasions. She scared me to death. At one event, she asked me about what I did at “Good Morning Texas,” and she was real sweet. But I was always like, “Oh, my gosh, I don’t know about LeeAnne.” But my friend, who is a hair and makeup artist, said, “I want you to style LeeAnne and Tiffany.” That’s where LeeAnne and I met for real. The first time we worked together was the end of the first season. I did not style her on the first season. But she knew she wanted to up her game. So I dressed her and Tiffany for the press tour in L.A. I helped style her for the second season. LeeAnne had a great idea for a dress. She’s had it since she was 15. I worked with her as a partner to realize her dream. I’m her business partner with that dress. She calls it the L’Infinity dress. We have different colors coming. And then she brought me in and said, “You’re doing this with me. You’re going to be on camera.” Everything you saw on TV, that was the first time we saw the prototype.

How many times have you been on the show?

I was in a couple of episodes of the second season, but they got cut. I worked on her dresses for her engagement party for the second season. We have quite a few times together for season three, so you’ll see our relationship grow.

How has LeeAnne’s style changed over the years?

When I first met her, she was Miss Charity person. I had her in Escada because that’s how she wanted it. But then when we went into season two, she wanted to up her game. She said, “I want to do it full out.” So we’ve really added a lot of sexiness. For season three, we just went overboard. We kept pushing it. Most of the time it works. She’s more of an edgy girl. She doesn’t care that much about the ladies who lunch. She’s just trying to be LeeAnne. She will continue to break the mold.

How do you two work together?

I go to her house, we go shopping or we go to a designer we love. We love to feature Dallas designers. We’ve featured Nardos. Dallas has such a strong fashion base so we’re all about featuring local designers, local boutiques. I’ll just go into her closet and put together outfits by segment.

What’s your style?

It’s just me — gypsy meets “Sex and the City.” I like vintage mixed with contemporary. I love textures, colors. I have a big personality, so I like to mix prints. That’s what I do for LeeAnne. She’ll say, “I would never put that together.” But she’ll say, “I feel amazing when you’ve styled it.”

How would you describe the “Preston Hollow look?”

People of Preston Hollow have an eccentric taste. I think it’s edgier than Highland Park, which I love. It has more of an eclectic mix versus classic, which you’d find in Highland Park.

What “finds” are there in Preston Hollow? 

I love Nardos. Her local designs are gorgeous. Of course, I love NorthPark. I love Rich Hippie, and I love Elements.

LeeAnne doesn’t seem as mean on this season’s show as she did in the first two seasons.

This season she’s all about growth and about her business. She wants to be in a good place emotionally, so she’s not letting things bother her. Honestly, she’s an amazing person. She’s a ride or die kind of gal.

          

LeeAnne has been engaged for a long time. Are you styling her wedding dress?

Yes, we’re working on that. It’s a local designer who is doing it. Nardos did her engagement dress. 

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. Photos shot at Anderson Studio.