How I Shop: Ego Nwodim

We all buy clothes, but no two people shop the same. It can be a social experience, and a deeply personal one; at times, it can be impulsive and entertaining, at others, purpose-driven, a chore. Where do you shop? When do you shop? How do you decide what you need, how much to spend and what's "you"? These are some of the questions we're putting to prominent figures in our column "How I Shop."

Ego Nwodim is on a roll: The comedian has been a fixture on "Saturday Night Live" since 2018, but, now, she's extending her reach in the NBC universe by starring in Peacock's forthcoming series "Mr. Throwback," alongside Stephen Curry and Adam Pally. In both roles, she says, costumes have been crucial to bringing stories to life — after all, as she puts it: "Clothes speak before you ever say a word."

At "SNL," Nwodim works alongside Tom Broecker to assemble her most memorable (and meme-able) looks, including the hot pink sweater in "Lisa From Temecula" and the fire-red crocodile bag carried by the "Rich Auntie with No Kids." In "Mr. Throwback," costume designer Olivia Perdoch ups the ante, placing Nwodim's Kimberly in lavish, often full-designer looks (think brands like Chanel, Khaite and Brother Vellies).

Nwodim's style is similarly elevated: She joins our Zoom in a brown houndstooth tank by Celine, paired with a silver knot necklace from Cult Gaia, which she initially bought to wear with a green Acne Studios dress on "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune." ("It was not the right dress to be wearing when you're trying to bend over and spin a wheel," she realized. "At any point, I was like, 'My titties are going to pop out.'")

As one might expect, conversations with Nwodim are punctuated by hilarious anecdotes. Her personal style, however, takes a more serious, mature tone, with an affinity for tailoring and subtle sensuality. Ahead, she speaks about her complicated relationship with jeans, her habit of scrolling the Ssense sale section and her favorite pieces from the wardrobe departments at "SNL" and "Mr. Throwback." (To the folks at NBC Universal, this is also Nwodim's petition to keep all of Kimberly's snazzy garbs.)

"I used to sketch dresses and be like, 'Oh, maybe I'll be a fashion designer.' I would have sketches of clothing that I'd think, maybe, one day, I'd make. I used to love planning out my outfits in elementary and middle school — the night before, I would have my outfits lined up. I didn't have the number of items I have in my wardrobe now, so I'd be like, 'I've got these pieces to work with, and I need to make them look new every time, and so I'm going to pair this thing instead. No one's seen this combo yet.' [Fashion]'s always been something I've been interested in and inspired by. I love looking at other people's fashion and being inspired. I love looking at 'dated' fashion, if you will.

"I like classic, clean, effortless with a touch of sexy. I love a high-waisted pant. I have long legs, and I feel it gives me a nice little curve while showcasing my long legs. I've described this to people before: One of the outfits I feel most confident in is high-waisted denim, a white T-shirt, some jewelry to accessorize and swap the shoes out for sneakers or heels. I love a touch of sexy in there, like, 'Here's the figure, here's the cleavage, here's the clavicle for you!'

"My first fashion splurge was, going back to middle school, probably a pair of jeans. I had this jean complex growing up because I had really long legs, but they were really skinny, so jeans never fit me — they were either too big but long enough, or tight enough but really short. Whenever I would find a pair that fit, I felt like I had to get them. It's a disease I still suffer from today, because if I try on jeans and they fit really well, I gotta get them. I have way more jeans than any person should. I'm constantly buying them.

"My favorite online stores are Net-a-Porter, Ssense and Shopbop for the ease. I got a white Askk NY T-shirt from Shopbop that I had to order in multiple sizes because, when you find the perfect white tee, you gotta hang on. I just got into Moda Operandi... I'm obsessed with Jacquemus right now. I love Acne Studios and Fred Segal, too. I really love Anine Bing right now and have way too much of its stuff. I'm a fan of Re/done's white tees as well, especially for casual looks.

"I hate trying clothes on. I don't want to go in person ever... It also feels like inventory in-store is just not what it used to be. I circumvent all of that in-person mess and love to shop online. I'm online shopping, lowkey, at all times. While other people are scrolling Instagram, I'm online window shopping — and looking at menus.

"I put on all the filters, and that's why it replaces Instagram for me. If there's a sale on Net-a-Porter or Ssense, I will put in all my filters, it'll populate 30 pages and I'm like, 'Great.' When I'm in an Uber, I'm looking through 10 pages. Now, I'm on the train and looking through two pages. I'm in the waiting room of the doctor's office — still going. And I make my way through the entire sales section.

"I recently bought the Jacquemus Nims mid-rise wide jean, and they're my favorite thing. They're perfect. I got them in black on Net-a-Porter's sale, and then got the blue color. These jeans have carried me through summer. Yes, they're mid-rise, but they still have this high-waisted feel to them. The wide leg says, 'I'm chilling, I don't care,' but you could also dress it up. I've worn them multiple times a week. Big-time great investment.

"Kimberly in 'Mr. Throwback' is based on a real person in Stephen Curry's life — Tiffany, his right-hand woman that handles all his operations and sees to it that he's everywhere he's supposed to be. She's a boss. The costumer, Olivia Perdoch, had a conversation with Tiffany and Executive Producer Erick Peyton, who Kimberly is also loosely based on, since he's Curry's right-hand man, about how they shop and what kind of fashion they're wearing. They have personal shoppers because neither of them have time to be scouring the web I do. They wear all designer, all new season. They're not vintage-wearers, and that's what you see reflected in Kimberly, the character: She's wearing all designer everything, at all times.

"There's this beautiful Bottega Veneta strapless top she wears on the private jet, and I want that shirt so bad. Our costumer got it from The RealReal... I did go try to find it for myself, and it was a one-of-one. Kimberly is wearing Bottega, Khaite, Alexander McQueen, Brother Vellies, Toteme and Stuart Weitzman. The tailor on the show did a phenomenal job of making things work that needed some tweaking. Kimberly is dressed to the nines at all times.

"What's cool with 'SNL' is, when you write a sketch — should you write one that makes it to air — it's your responsibility to produce it, to make a bunch of decisions about what the set should look like, what the costume of each character should look like, what you want people's hair to look like. That's not a skill I went into 'SNL' thinking I would get, but it's certainly a skill I now have.

"I got in such practice of doing that at 'Saturday Night Live,' even down to 'Lisa From Temecula,' which is not a sketch I wrote, but I performed a ton. When [Broecker] presented me with options for Lisa and asked what I thought she'd wear, I knew, 'She's this woman. She's the woman who wears the hot pink, cutout triangle blouse that's very 2012... but she's rocking it in 2023 and thinking she's doing it.' There's this inexplicable thing that happens where I sense what a character would and wouldn't wear.

"I love Lisa's sweater. I love that we turned it into a dress one time for a wedding. She likes what she likes. I love dressing as Kimberly, too. I want all of her clothes... I want Kimberly to live so that I can have all of her clothes. Those two [characters' wardrobes] stick out to me as favorites."

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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