The reality show is supposed to be about real estate. But many viewers are coming just for the fashion, and the cast knows it.
“Selling Sunset” is anything but subtle.
The Netflix reality show follows a cast of real estate professionals at the Oppenheim Group, a Los Angeles-based luxury brokerage. It features multimillion dollar listings and brief celebrity name-drops and appearances. Side eyes are even more abundant.
But as viewers continue to binge the show season after season, chatter has focused not on what the agents and associates are selling, but what they are wearing. That, too, is anything but subtle. Each episode, the Oppenheim Group’s office turns into a catwalk.
Though high-production scripted shows like “Succession” and “White Lotus” sparked lengthy over-analysis surrounding “stealth wealth” or “quiet luxury,” the wardrobe on “Selling Sunset” is flashier — there are more sequins than pinstripes.
Some viewers have criticized the agents’ sartorial choices for being garish or unrealistic, but the apparel — which has become progressively louder with each season — is working. The show’s sixth season, which premiered in May, was in Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched shows in nearly 60 countries, and there’s more to come — Season 7 premieres on Friday.
Cast members on “Selling Sunset” don’t have designated costume designers or stylists provided by production; they’re responsible for funding and choosing their own clothing. In interviews, several of the agents said that they dress for the show, not the showings — often amping up their style just for when they’re filming. If they didn’t, would we still be watching? Here’s a look back at some of last season’s most memorable style moments.
Revenge Dressing
Chrishell Stause, Season 1’s Oppenheim Group newbie, said she was at first intimidated at the thought of dressing for her glitzy job. Fast forward to Season 6, Ms. Stause authoritatively stated that the cast’s fashion, including her own, was “camp.”
“It’s so over the top, and I think sometimes we just lean into it,” said Ms. Stause, 42. “We’re making a show at the end of the day. We want to give people something fun to look at.”
While filming, Ms. Stause keeps a garment rack of outfits at the ready, tracking what she’s already worn. At the beginning of Season 6, she wanted to feel confident for her first scene back in the office after breaking up with Jason Oppenheim, the brokerage’s president, so she wore a red Ivy Park jumpsuit.
“Each season we would see what the feedback was and then it became about, ‘how do we outdo ourselves?’” she said. “When somebody shows up in something so ridiculous, you can almost see what the meme is going to be when you’re looking at it.”
Deal Hunting and Diesel
If there’s one thing to be said about Chelsea Lazkani’s style, it’s that she commits to the bit.
In an episode where she’s meeting a fellow cast member for coffee, Ms. Lazkani wore a mini Diesel belt skirt that already had a viral moment in 2022 following its runway debut. Giving the skirt another chance at internet fame, the scene shows Ms. Lazkani struggling to sit down. What the viewer doesn’t see is how she got there in the first place. “I put it on, and I got in my car, and I realized, ‘oh my gosh, I can’t sit down,’” said Ms. Lazkani, 30. “So I took the skirt off, I put it in the passenger seat, and I was driving in my underwear to get to set. As soon as I got to set, I put the skirt back on, and it was time to go.”
On TikTok, Ms. Lazkani has been vocal about how the cast members have to pay for their own hair, makeup and wardrobe. So she tries to save where she can, and like anyone, she loves a good deal. “I’m utilizing resale places, I’m going to vintage stores, I’m going to thrift stores,” she said.
Oh, and her iconic gloves? She ordered those on Amazon. “Thanks, Jeff Bezos,” she said.
‘I’ve always been extra’
Unlike some of the other agents, last season’s new real estate associate Bre Tiesi said she “despises pink.” Drawn to sportier and more masculine styles, she’s seen in monochromatic looks and matching sets.
“I obviously step it up a little bit because we are on a show but for the most part, this is very much how I would dress for any occasion,” said Ms. Tiesi, 32. “I’ve always been extra, I’ve always dressed over the top, so this isn’t new by any means.”
Ms. Tiesi is a new mom who doesn’t always have the luxury to shop and peruse on her own since she gave birth to her son with Nick Cannon in 2022. To help build her looks, Ms. Tiesi said she employed stylists and personal shoppers.
In Season 6, Ms. Tiesi is seen on camera showing luxury homes to celebrity clients Saweetie and Deontay Wilder’s fiancée Telli Swift. When she’s working with her impressive clients, she said it’s important for her to “dress the part” and show up “polished and put together.”
“If you’re showing up dressed for the occasion and you’re selling a very expensive listing, I feel like those things are parallel,” Ms. Tiesi said.
Stealth Wealth, Minus the Stealth
“I don’t bring the drama, so I’ve got to bring the houses and the fashion,” said Mary Fitzgerald, 43, who has been on the show since the first season’s debut in 2019.
As Ms. Fitzgerald’s status at the “O” Group rose — she went from agent to partner and vice president — so too did her style. In Season 1, she sported button-down blouses, blazers and an Oppenheim-branded baseball cap. Five seasons later, Ms. Fitzgerald wore a logo-clad Fendace power suit to the office. Her statement necklaces also stood out onscreen, including one with a colossal double-G Gucci logo and a pearl-stranded Vivienne Westwood choker that’s been a TikTok favorite.
When asked what led to the personal style evolution, Ms. Fitzgerald had a simple answer: “Well, it’s easier when you have more money.” She also said that there’s a competitive aspect of dressing up on the show, “where you know the other girls are going to be bringing the fashion, and it’s like, OK, I gotta make an effort.”
But she tones it down for much of her work life. “I tailor what I’m wearing to the client,” Ms. Fitzgerald said. “If I’m showing an older couple in Bel Air, then I make sure I have more of a homey, kind of conservative look.”
‘It’s not just about real estate anymore’
When Amanza Smith first joined “Selling Sunset” in its second season, she wore everything in her closet until she ran out of clothes. Then, she shopped at discount stores like Ross.
“I would have a $14 dress on, and nobody would even know because I would just pair it with some fancy shoes,” said Ms. Smith, 46.
As the show and the houses grew bigger and the commissions higher, Ms. Smith began to feel the pressure to elevate her style. For Season 6, she worked with a celebrity stylist.
“It’s not just about real estate anymore. People are looking at our outfits, our makeup and our hair just as much as they’re looking at the beautiful homes,” Ms. Smith said. “If we weren’t filming a television show, would we be able to show up at the office in those outfits? I don’t think so.” Though Ms. Smith may no longer resort to shopping sprees at Ross, she decided to return to styling herself for Season 7, she said.
Gucci-ed Out
Jason Oppenheim, 46, who runs the brokerage with his twin brother, Brett Oppenheim, said he felt “boxed into professional attire” for much of his career.
“I got more style as I got more comfortable and more successful because I felt like I didn’t need to be as rigid in my presentation,” he said. At the show’s start, Mr. Oppenheim wore ties, button-downs and sweaters — a striped shirt was a wild card for him in those days.
But when “Queer Eye” star Tan France asked him why the men on the show don’t dress up as much as the women, Mr. Oppenheim felt he needed to put in more effort. “That actually encouraged me to hire a stylist,” said Mr. Oppenheim. “I have a stylist literally at my house now helping me with a look book in my closet.”
These days, Mr. Oppenheim has been less afraid of color. He went through several polos from the Adidas and Gucci collaboration line, a favorite of his. “I definitely have a lot of Gucci shirts. And pants. And shoes.”
