Jordan Foster – The 3rd in the Foster Sister Act Talks to The Tidalist About Style, Sisterhood, & Proving That Finding Your Bliss Is Timeless

Ok so, we at the Tidalist are not ones to easily fall in love with “celebrities.” Yes of course it is not the person’s fault that they are famous, however, we all know that fame can make even the most humble people turn into divas, and worse, we come to find that they aren’t as cool as you imagined. In our “adult” years, it becomes clear that rather than being just pretty and seemingly cool, the value we admire most in those we feature is wholesomeness, authenticity, kindness, and the cool factor… which we’ve outlined before (here IKYMI!). Ultimately it is a person’s values that separate the plain janes from the gems. And since we try to be as honest as possible with our readers, I must admit that my affinity to the Foster sisters, and particularly Jordan, is biased as I too am the youngest of 3 girls and have a very similar dynamic as she does with her sisters.

I have to say, it is a true breath of fresh air to literally smile when looking at social media. Any time I see or read something that resonates, it feels good. And that is how the Foster sisters have made a very long COVID feel so relatable. Their podcast, which Jordan frequents is honest, raw, funny, insightful, smart, sexy, and one that I’ve listened to doing everything from running to driving.

Though she may be more BTS in the ads, as the head of styling for the brand started by her 2 sisters, Favorite Daughter, Jordan is an integral part of the tripod. She adds the perfect look and feel to the brand that we’ve already grown to love. Having already asked her the must-know questions in our Line-Up piece, we got a bit more personal with Jordan and couldn’t love her more.

Read on below!

The Tidalist: How did you get into this industry and more specifically, what was the impetus of your social media following growth?

Jordan: I wasn't working. I didn't know what I wanted to do and was very stuck. I had just gotten married in 2013 and there were a few people that knew I wanted to get into fashion, but I didn't know what I wanted to do, or if I was good at anything. I was already 27 at that time, so I should have had an idea… but the next thing I know, a friend of a friend had just left Vogue and was starting a fashion brand and they needed an intern. I learned so much from them. They're absolutely my mentors and we're still very close and I feel very lucky about that. I was working with them when they started La Ligne. So I had a lot of exposure. The crazy interesting process to launch. But that is how I got started. I just interned and worked my way up.

The Tidalist: I feel like there was an impetus for your social media boost in followers and your growing awareness. Can you tell us when you felt that moment occurred?

Jordan: So basically at my daughter Juni’s first birthday, which was now a little over a year ago, I wore this Reformation little mini dress and my New Balance sneakers and there is a picture that I posted and it's so funny because I really count that as like the very beginning of me having any sort of like shoe following. It really was the beginning of me doing more on social media. There was that one look just got so much attention and still to this day, people asked me about it. And it was nothing. It was just a little dress and a pair of sneakers. But some good stuff really came of it!

The thing is that everyone wants to look good and feel good, but so much of the inspiration that's out there is just not realistic. There are so many people on social media who have incredible style and look amazing all the time. They look like they've just walked out of a magazine, but that is just not realistic and not always affordable. A lot of people have trouble knowing how to put outfits together like that and it's just that oftentimes people don't have time. So I tried to put together outfits to inspire people with things that I know they can achieve, like whether they already own those things and it's just a different way of putting something together. Something as simple as putting a colorful sweater over your shoulders when you're wearing a white t-shirt — that's simple to me, but maybe everybody doesn't think about that. Then suggesting things people can buy that are not going to break the bank card and of course, trying to show ways to wear things like when I suggest sneakers for people, I try to show lots of different ways to style it.

The Tidalist: If any of the readers listen to the World’s First Podcast, this topic has been discussed, but I must ask, youngest sister to youngest sister – do you ever feel left out of the mix with Erin and Sara?

Jordan: I think my answer was really surprising to them, especially because like, yes, of course, I feel left out. But it's not because I'm the youngest. It's because they have so many businesses together. They have so many things that they do together every single day, all day, their lives are so intertwined, but they're not leaving me out. To be honest, it's on me 100% because I'm the one who's constantly removed myself from situations, like leaving LA and going to boarding school or moving to Switzerland and then landing in New York. All those things. So I have removed myself from the situation. And then there are moments where I also want to be back in and styling and being a part of Favorite Daughter has been amazing in that way.

The Tidalist: Biggest pro and biggest con about working with your sisters?

Jordan: I think a lot of there were both pros and cons. When you work with family, you're going to be a lot more open about things, you're going to be a lot more honest about things and I think that can be a con in the sense that you can be combative sometimes, but it can be a pro because you end up with a better product. So we can be really hard on each other in terms of things we want to make. One person loves the design another person hates it and othe other person is in between and we can really fight about those things with the color of something or I don't know, so many different things.

The fighting over that stuff really does in the end make it better. As we hash it out, we find the best solution for all those things. Another pro is for me to be working with them. They work together so much. This is the first thing I've ever worked on with them. So for me personally, there have been lots of pros and the time I get to spend with them and having a different element of our relationship, you know, being business. Most people assume it is evenly divided by all three of us, but it's really Erin and Sara’s, which is probably for the best. It wasn't started with me in mind, but I styled the photo shoot and it went well. And then they were asked to do something bigger and so Favorite Daughter was born. Fashion is obviously not their background, right. so it just made sense for me to come on board. But I act as much a part of it and I'm as connected to it as I would be if I owned it as well.

The Tidalist: You and your husband are both very driven yet busy individuals with 2 kids. Knowing that Tom is pretty private, How do you keep the romance alive?

Jordan: Well we are just constantly connected. We don't really go a day without talking and when we do talk, we try to talk about even the small things and it helps us feel more connected. Anything from “what did you have for lunch today?” which might seem like a stupid question, but for me, those small things make me personally feel more connected to him. So when we travel, we really do keep in touch, and we FaceTime. He used to travel a lot more... He used to be five days a week in Detroit, where his current job is based. He used to leave every Sunday night and come back every Thursday night and sometimes didn’t even come back. That was for like two years and that was really tough. I would say we were definitely more disconnected then, and it was very hard but yeah, we spend every evening together and like to do everything together. There are obviously times where I go out with my girlfriends or something but we eat dinner together every night. We sit and watch TV together, get coffee together in the morning, and honestly he is just my best friend.

“They’re the most supportive sisters you could ever have, truly. There is zero competition amongst the three of us, which I think is really rare, especially with three. It has taken a lot for me to do a lot of the things I’ve done in the last few years.”

The Tidalist: Most surprising thing you’ve learned about yourself recently?

Jordan: I think I've really started to realize that I am good at things that I just discovered and I do have something to say and there are people who want to hear what I have to say. It's a nice reinforcement and that's what is so incredible about social media. It's good and there is so much interaction with people and so much engagement and most people, at least 95% of people, are so nice and so supportive. People don't have to go out of their way to say something nice, but when someone does go out of their way to say something nice, it means like so much to me, and all of this has helped my confidence and my self-esteem which you can’t always say about social media.

The Tidalist: How would you describe your personal style?

Jordan: A lot of people told me recently that my style is “coastal grandma,” which I was offended by at first, but then I realized it's a thing. And it is my style. I was styling a client the other day and she was like, I just don't know how to dress anymore. I'm not a Tomboy - that doesn't work - I'm not super girly - so that doesn't work - and Coastal Grandma really fit!

The Tidalist: Plans for the future?

Jordan: I feel like I've been doing a lot of new stuff for myself in the last year. With Favorite Daughter, I think the opportunities for us are just endless. I'm so excited for a lot of things that we have coming in the next few years and the plans that we have.

I'm also very excited to watch my kids evolve and become people. I can't wait for Otto to start kindergarten in another year and really start to become a person because I think he’s so special. And then Juni is coming into her own and I'm going to figure out what she's like!

The Tidalist: Can you describe your mom to us?

Jordan: She’s beautiful, she's positive, the most generous, thoughtful human being on the planet. We are very close and she still she picks me up from the airport every time I come to LA. She cooks and brings me food and she is just a mom who loves to do those things so much. I’m so lucky.

The Tidalist: What is something most people don’t know about you?

Jordan: Probably the same fact that I am a homebody. My perfect Saturday night is probably cooking something really tasty. Tom is a really good cook and I don’t cook often, but I like something like bolognese or something. Having a glass of wine while watching TV with Tom.

“I’m very excited to watch my kids evolve and become people. I can’t wait for Otto to start kindergarten in another year and really start to become a person because I think he’s so special. And then Juni is coming into her own and I’m going to figure out what she’s like.”