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As a fashion expert, author and co-host of the popular daytime talk show "The Chew," Clinton Kelly is a real Renaissance man.
Whether he's teaching women how to dress, mixing exotic cocktails, offering entertaining tips or redesigning a room on the "Trading Spaces" reboot, he does it all with a sense of humor and finesse.
And, if it looks like he's having a whole lot of fun on "The Chew," that's because he is. As Kelly, 49, celebrates his seventh year on the show, he admits he's at a very good place in his life overall.
"I love my job on 'The Chew,' and I adore working with Carla [Hall] and Michael [Symon]," he says. "I'm at a point where spending quality time with family and friends is a top priority."
Growing up in Port Jefferson Station, Long Island, New York, Kelly says he was "the shyest kid you'd ever meet." A communications major in college, he loved to write. And, after obtaining a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University, he began working as a writer and editor at several magazines, including Marie Claire and Mademoiselle.
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While he was working at the Daily News Record, a weekly men's fashion magazine, he was approached by producers of TLC's "What Not To Wear." They had decided to recast the show's original male lead, Wayne Scot Lukas, and invited Kelly to audition. After three auditions, he joined fashion stylist Stacy London as co-host and went on to share his highly regarded fashion advice over the course of the series' nine seasons.
"When the show first started, I thought the premise of 'What Not To Wear' was somewhat silly," Kelly says. "Yet, over the course of filming the show and talking to the women about self-image, I was struck by how profoundly damaged some of the women were by the pressures put on them by society and the nasty comments made to them by family members and complete strangers."
He says that, as the show progressed, he viewed it as being less about clothes and more as a way to help women forget about their past and love their bodies.
"Many of the stories I heard from women were heartbreaking," he says. "I wanted to help them find a style of clothing that not only looked good on them but also made them happy."
In the five years since the show ended, Kelly admits he's grown both personally and professionally. Although he doesn't serve as a fashion consultant on "The Chew," he continues to address women's fashion questions on his website, Clinton Kelly.com, and in his monthly Woman's Day column, "Clinton Makes Over."
"There were several fashion mistakes I frequently saw repeated on the show," Kelly says. "Women who wore clothes that were too tight and actually made them appear bigger and women who had put on weight and didn't feel good about their bodies, so they turned to wearing loose clothes that made them appear frumpy."
He stresses the right fit is critical when it comes to choosing clothes and encourages women to dress for the size they are – not the size they want to be.
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"The clothes you wear tell people who you are without you ever saying a word," he says. "Wearing the right clothes isn't just about fashion. It's about having a style that aligns with who you are. That's empowering."
One of the most common fashion questions women ask Kelly is how to dress to camouflage their midsections.
"A jacket is the best way to hide a tummy or, if the weather is warm, wearing a shirt or blouse that floats away from the body," he says.
Another common conundrum: how to dress on-trend while also looking age-appropriate.
"My advice is to pair a trend piece with a classic piece, such as dark jeans or walking shorts," he says.
Kelly strives to offer clothing that's both trendy and timeless in his QVC collection, Kelly by Clinton Kelly, available on the QVC.com website and the shopping channel.
"I designed my QVC line for the average women, who is 5'4" and a size 12 or 14," he says. "Most clothes are designed for a size 2 or 4, which is such a small subset of the population. I start with a size 12, and, if it looks good on a size 12 model, I can scale the clothing either up or down in size." Although Kelly maintains a busy schedule, he confesses that, in recent years, he has become more focused on where he puts his energy.
"I'm more attuned to how people and situations make me feel," he says. "Life is too short to spend around those who leave you feeling exhausted."
A perfect day for Kelly, he says, is spent in the Connecticut home he shares with his husband, Damon Bayles, a clinical psychologist, and their Jack Russell rescue dog, Mary.
"We like to have friends and family over for dinner and make a big pot of pasta and grill some chicken," Kelly says. "It's all very casual. There are times when I'm not filming when I don't shave and sport the mountain man look for a few weeks."
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In the winter, Kelly and Bayles often escape to their home in Miami Beach, where they ride bikes (with Mary riding shotgun in a basket), enjoy the warm weather and barbecue in the evening.
"On TV, viewers only see a fragment of my personality," Kelly says. "I'm naturally somewhat of a shy person."
Over the years, his confidence has grown along with his career, and, in his most recent book, 2017's "I Hate Everyone, Except You," he reveals a side of himself that viewers may not see onscreen.
"I finally feel comfortable sharing myself with the world," Kelly says.
In the book, he strives to connect with readers – in the same ways he does on his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts – by sharing essays and personal stories that are extremely relatable and sprinkled with his signature sass and humor.
Looking to the future, Kelly says he wants to embark on more writing projects and continue as co-host of "The Chew" - which he calls "the best job in television."
"I love my job and the people I work with," he says. "It's nonstop high energy, and every day brings so much laughter into my life." O
