Q&A | Molly Ringwald

I met Molly Ringwald on Twitter. File that statement under: 2012, things I never thought I'd type, awesome. Of course we know her as the epic and adorable 80s teen idol and actress (and I grew up in John Hughesville, so, it's taken incredible restraint to play it cool when we've swapped emails), but today she is the epic and adorable prolific author. Her first book, out two years ago, Getting the Pretty Back addresses beauty, motherhood and facing 40 with gusto. Her next book, When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories, is coming out this September! I have to say, I love Ringwald because of her iconic and brilliant portrayals as tomboy style antipodes (Samantha Baker, Claire Standish, Andie Walsh), but I love her even more because, today as a mother, author, actress and jazz singer, she has embraced that strong style and spirit that we call Tomboy Style.

If not in Los Angeles, I would live in... New York City.

My dream holiday would be to...The Amalfi Coast.

My current obsessions are...

Food:  Hand-rolled pasta with lemon and Parmesan. 

Music: Jazz music. Especially Blossom Dearie and Anita O’Day. 

Fashion:  Rachel Comey. 

Retail Stores: Creatures of Comfort, APC, Thom Browne, J Crew.



I channel my childhood self when I...read the books that I loved as a child to my children

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The fictional characters I most relate to are...all of the characters in my new book When It Happens To You (Harper Collins, September 2012)! 


If I had to be outdoors all day I would...tear up every lawn in sight and plant vegetable gardens in their place.



My favorite quality in a man is...authenticity.

My favorite quality in a woman is...honesty.

I'm terrified of...being trapped in a room with Fox News playing on a non-stop loop.



My dream car is a...White Stingray a la Joan Didion circa 1970.

My cocktail of choice is...one that they served at a restaurant called Range in San Francisco. I loved it so much that I asked for the recipe and I have been carrying it around in my wallet since 2009:

5 muddled sungold tomatoes
½ lemon
1 oz. elderflower syrup
3 oz. gin

My celebrity crush is...Steven Colbert.

The beauty product of choice is...a happy love life.

My friends and I like to...have elaborate “friends and family” dinners al fresco. 


If I could go back in time for one decade it would be...the 1920s in the South of France.

As a teenager I was totally into...F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I tend to splurge on...Saint James sailor tees and Wayfarers in every color
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Confidence...is what makes me have Tomboy Style.