Lauren Conrad Dishes on her New Fashion Collaboration & Her Valentine’s Day Plans

Photo Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Paper Crown + Rifle Paper Co.

Lauren Conrad is a busy bee this Valentine’s Day. In addition to celebrating her first V-Day as a married woman (it’s her anniversary as well!) the reality star-turned CEO is showcasing a new collaboration between her own Paper Crown line with the Rifle Paper Co. with a pop-up at The Grove. The pop-up will showcase the beautifully designed collaboration which features an understated sense of femininity, elegance and romance with a diverse range of items from stationery and cell phone cases to apparel. Guests will have the chance to shop the unique Spring 2015 collection before it hits stores—and they might even get to meet Conrad and Rifle Paper Co. co-founder Anna Bond at the pop-up, which will be open to the public from 10am-10pm on Friday; 10am-9pm on Saturday; and 10am-6pm on Sunday.  We sat down with Lauren at The Grove as she debuted her fab collab on Thursday to chat fashion, spring style, her favorite places to shop, and, of course, her first Valentine’s Day as a newlywed.

Photo Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Paper Crown + Rifle Paper Co.

Tell us about the inspiration behind your collaboration. 

We’ve been long time fans of Anna Bond [and the Rifle Paper Co.] so a year and a half ago we reached out to see if they wanted to do something together, and we were so excited that they wanted to work with us. We threw around a couple of ideas and came up with this concept, where Anna sent us prints, put the prints on garments, and put those prints on paper goods. There are calendars and cards, agendas and a few additional items that matched that, like a phone case and  little journals.

Why is your pop-up a great destination for Valentine’s Day gifts?

We wanted to create a one-stop shop. You can get an outfit to wear, you can get Valentines for all of your loved ones, and also buy a couple of little presents. Things get busy and you’re running around: it’s nice when you can find one place to do it all.

Are you a big fan of Valentine’s Day?

I was never a big Valentine’s Day person, but I met my husband [William Tell] on Valentine’s Day, so it became a little more special. It’s our anniversary.

Do you have anything crazy special planned considering it’s your first Valentine’s Day as a married couple? 

We’ll do something special, but nothing crazy. We’re not crazy people. We’ll just go out to dinner!

Photo Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Paper Crown + Rifle Paper Co.

What are your favorite shopping destinations in Orange County and in L.A.? 

I do a lot of my shopping online. I have an irregular schedule, and a lot of times I’ll be looking for something specific and I’ll be looking at a lot of places at once, which is just easier to do online. If I have a day set aside for shopping it’s either The Grove or The Promenade in L.A., and then in Orange County I like Fashion Island—it’s usually nice and sunny there. At The Grove I love Barney’s Co-Op and Anthropologie and J. Crew.

What do you see as being big spring trends this year? 

I’m always excited for florals, and we have so many of them. I would dress in spring fashion year round if I could! This year I think jackets are coming back. I feel like coats really replaced jackets in the last year—people would wear a bodycon and coat instead of a little jacket. As it’s warming up, I think it will be nice to see a similar length with light layering coming back. Things are starting to skew a little more feminine again. For the last few seasons, [the trend] was boxy and masculine and very simple, so I think that femininity is starting to come back which I’m very happy about.

Why do you think so many fashion designers are starting to show in L.A. [such as Dior and Tom Ford]? 

Everyone is trying to find their place. There are so many smaller showings, as well as big shows. L.A. is a new shiny thing. It’s where the entertainment industry is and we’ve never really had a fantastic fashion week. I’m excited to see where it goes. [It’s also great because] you don’t have to get on a plane!

Photo Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Paper Crown + Rifle Paper Co.