I used to actively dislike Kate Bosworth, but these days, I find her rather harmless. She got married to Michael Polish in 2013 and she’s seemed more “settled” ever since. I remember when she was more of a pap-stroll girl, but nowadays, she can go months without being photographed. Which is kind of too bad, because everyone always likes to see what she’s wearing, whether it’s on a red carpet on just her street style. In some ways, I kind of wish that Bosworth had just given up acting and just gone full-blown into fashion or styling. But what she’s actually done – as the scripts dried up – is start her own lifestyle website, Kind.Est, which you can see here. It absolutely reads as early-days Goop, just a hodge-podge of personal stories, recipes, reviews and yes, some spon-con. This is why Kate had a big feature in InStyle. Some highlights:
On her early fashion: “Before I walked the red carpet for the [2000] première of Remember the Titans at age 16, someone had to explain to me that I’d need a fancy dress. I’m from a small Connecticut town, so my only concept of fashion was whatever store a normal teenager would shop at in the ’90s.” Luckily, a co-worker on set knew someone at Giorgio Armani, and Bosworth soon found herself in the designer’s showroom browsing options and considering what her father, the vice president at a menswear label, might choose. “I was thinking how he would tell me, ‘Classic never goes out of style,’ when I picked an ankle-length skirt and a strappy velvet tank top… I might have also been looking to Gwyneth Paltrow for inspiration.”
Her style is “classic, minimalist, experimental, and unexpected.” She has worked with the most in-demand stylists but now she does it herself. That’s not to say she doesn’t have any help. “I’ve become friends with many designers, so I’ll text them if I have my eye on a piece,” she explains, citing as an example her pal Jason Wu, whose unfussy approach to high-glamour gowns suits her sensibility. “It’s a close collaboration between the person who created the design and me.”
She styled herself for the InStyle shoot, focusing on every detail: “The short answer is that I’m a control freak. But the real answer is I feel most fulfilled when I’ve earned something. I like the work, you know?”
Her Kind.est website: Since the pandemic began, Bosworth has turned her focus on a new project: Kind.est, a website inspired by the vulnerability she felt after her grandmother’s passing. Since its début in April, she’s been using the space to share personal anecdotes, product recommendations, and conversations with people she admires. “It’s a handmade destination; every word is written by me,” she says. “I’m up late every night obsessing over the design of an article.” Her guiding ethos? Kindness and topics of substance. “No matter how serious or light the subject matter is, there’s a story behind every post.”
Expressing herself in new ways: Telling these stories has helped Bosworth, who struggled to find meaningful online interactions in the days following her grandmother’s death, express herself in new ways. “Social media made me feel so self-aware about what I was going through,” she remembers. “I wanted to create a space where people could be open.” And while she certainly did not plan to launch her site in the midst of a worldwide health crisis and social upheaval, Bosworth hopes her little corner of the Internet can be a place of respite for others as well—be it through a thought-provoking interview or a fun fashion editorial. “This is a complex time,” she says. “But as cheesy as it sounds, I believe that any challenge we’re served is a chance to evolve.”
I was curious, so I did look at Kind.est and it didn’t really have the feel of, say, Hello Giggles (which is Zooey Deschanel’s positive/girl-power site). But it did seem nice and just… old-school, almost? As I said, very early-days Goop. Very 2008. I wonder if there’s much of a market for that, or whether Kate will just sort of slowly build a lifestyle/fashion/home-cook brand out of it.
Cover courtesy of InStyle, additional pic by IG.
I actually like Kate Bosworth a lot. She was interviewed on a podcast I like and was such a sweet, down-to-earth person.
I wonder how much they actually make of these sites? You hear of celebrities doing this, Meghan M being another, and I didn’t realise they were so lucrative.
Fair play to her. I mostly remember her now for dating Orlando (when he was a big thing) and Skarsgard, to be honest.
Blue Crush!
I remember one of her early magazine interviews when she proudly called herself “American royalty” with false modesty (she used the word “actually”) because she grew up Connecticut and had a distant ancestor who’d been here during early U.S. history – late 18th century. I’ve disliked her ever since. I don’t find her either talented or attractive.
I’ve always liked her. She used to have (maybe it’s still a thing?) a monthly jewelry subscription site called Jewelmint that I got sucked into maybe 10 years ago? It seemed like the early days of those subscription sites and a new concept. I still have some of the jewelry, some of it has held up and it pretty cute. I keep thinking she has a baby but I think maybe she has a step daughter.
OMG I loved Jewelmint, was in a Facebook group that would trade pieces, and still have a bunch of the jewelry. Such a fun time!
The site seems very “inspired by” of Alicia Silverstone’s Kind Life site—
Another skinny blonde American actress steps up to sell us over-priced stuff no one really wants or needs.
+1,000,000
Just what we need!
-Said no one.
She’s always single white femaled Goop. This isn’t a surprise. And she’s always seemed just as insufferable. When she dated Orlando, and Skaarsgard she was so try hard, calling the paps. I never got good vibes. She’s seems like Goopy 2.0