FASHION INTERVIEW: SAMANTHA BUSCH


"To travel, is to live….."
Samantha Busch has traveled enough to last two lifetimes. 
Whether she is at a black-tie event, a fundraiser for the Kyle Busch Foundation, or in the pit box cheering on her husband at NASCAR race, Samantha is making a fashion statement with her head held high. 
Samantha Busch is the epitome of style, class, grace, and confidence.  
So without further introduction, meet one of the kindest ladies I've ever met. 
MEET MY FRIEND,  
S A M A N T H A   B U S C H
 
Tell us a little about yourself and your life as a fashion icon, wife, business woman, and blogger! 
My name is Samantha Busch and I am the wife of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch.  Kyle and I met when I was going into my senior year at Purdue University.  After long distance dating so I could finish my degree, I moved down to Charlotte and then we were married December 31, 2010 in downtown Chicago in a huge vintage glam themed wedding! We live in Denver, NC with our three puppies: Kelly, Suzie and Lucy.  We travel 38 weekends out of the year, usually Thursday through Sunday (the window is basically Valentine’s Day to Thanksgiving).  We own Kyle Busch Motorsports where we field two trucks in the NASCAR truck series with drivers Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace (Kyle drives one of the trucks part-time with Erik).  Along with racing, we have a charity called the Kyle Busch Foundation which helps a variety of other organizations from children’s homes to women’s shelters to a foundation providing financial assistance to women, and men, going through breast cancer.  Though many of our weekends focus on racing, I am as girly as they come.  I love fashion, beauty, cooking, reading and all types of fitness.  In college, I was an aerobics instructor and still continue to work out constantly on the road. My website, www.SamanthaBusch.com, is a place for me to share fashion tips, beauty product reviews, work outs and recipes.

What are three words that describe your style? 
1.      Moody – I don’t have one particular style, it kind of changes like my moods.  One day, I am ultra feminine in a midi skirt. The next day, I want to rock some faux leather leggings and some Moto boots. Then the next day, I’m throwing on a boho maxi.  I just love all styles and I don’t limit myself to one look.
2.      Confident – There are a number of times that I wear things that most people might not like or find ‘weird’.  However, if I put it on, it is because I love it and, therefore, I rock all my outfits with confidence.  It doesn’t matter what other people think or if something is in style or not, if you like it and feel good in something, wear it in confidence. 
3.      Bold – I love to experiment with colors and patterns! It’s fun to shake things up and throw an unexpected piece into an outfit. That’s why I like to take pictures of outfits I put together and share them with my readers. Hopefully, it will inspire them to go through their wardrobe and experiment with new looks by putting things together they may not have originally thought of. It may even allow them to get a little more bang for the buck with a couple of their favorite pieces!

What is the one item you own the most of? Shoes, scarves, jeans, etc...
SHOES! I blame this on my grandmother. She was a fashionista and shoe lover herself and it clearly rubbed off on me!  She unfortunately had dementia and we had to move her out of her house and into my parent’s home when I was in high school.  As we were helping her pack up, we counted probably close to 200 pairs of shoes from throughout the decades…if only I was her shoe size! My sweet husband even built me a shoe wall for Christmas two years ago so all of mine are on display! Honestly, a dream of mine would be to design shoes.  I truly believe the quote by Marilyn Monroe that said “give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world.”  To me, they transform an outfit and really make a statement.

You have ten minutes to get ready, what outfit do you pull out of your closet? 
In the summer, I’d grab a dress for sure. Toss it on, add some fabulous earrings and a pair of heels and head out the door!

In the fall, I’m obsessed with jeans, a plain shirt and a blazer or statement coat.  If I wear a simple blazer, I always throw on a huge statement necklace. If I wear a statement coat, I opt for some killer heels.

Favorite splurge store?
I really love the store Intermix.  They carry a number of awesome brands and a cool, eclectic mix of pieces.  Whenever anyone gets me a present, it’s usually an Intermix gift card. This is definitely my splurge store.

Favorite discounted brands/store?
TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, and Neiman’s Last Call are some of my favorite chain places to shop.  You can score such fantastic pieces at a fraction of the price! I am also obsessed with eBay! I seriously find the best deals on there and I really like the thrill of the hunt finding great buys.  
For example, I purchased a dress that was originally $895 for $100! Another time, I scored a designer top that had tags on it for $495 and I only paid $52.  
It’s crazy!  I also sell a bunch of my clothes on eBay and donate a portion of the proceeds to the Kyle Busch Foundation.

What are your favorite trends to try for fall? 
Fall to me is always about plaid and leopard and I actually really like to mix these two prints together. 
I also really love black and white mixed together.  It is a timeless pairing and can be made to look really edgy.  
Also, I am bringing my midi skirts from summer into fall.  It is such a feminine shape but takes on an instant edgy vibe when paired with booties and a leather jacket. Also, I love boyfriend jeans (they are so comfortable) paired with a graphic tee for a laid-back look.
How do you think traveling so much affects your style? What are your go-to travel/packing tips? 
I have learned to always over pack.  You never know what the weather is going to do or what will come up so I think it’s better to always have more than less.  Even if you are going somewhere hot and sunny bring a jacket…you never know! As far as packing tips, I have a lot of them and I actually wrote a whole blog on this! You can read it here: http://samanthabusch.com/2014/05/packing101/ 

I am such a huge fan of your webiste! How did you get started writing and sharing your advice and tips?
Thank you so much! My website has been around for about four years now and it really started because of the fans! During the races, on social media, women started asking me about my race day outfits, shoes, makeup, etc… Soon they were asking for fitness and cooking tips too so I thought it would be a great idea to put everything in one place so they could access it when it was convenient for them.

A few months ago the Kyle Busch Foundation helped out a sweet friend of mine. Tell everyone a little about how the foundation came to light and the mission of this amazing organization. 
Kyle started the foundation in 2006. After visiting a children’s home in Michigan, he knew he had to help support their facility.  So, over the years, we have “adopted” additional children’s homes around the country and have supplied them with key things they needed at their facilities. At Christmas time, we also ask for wish lists from the children so that we may buy them something special, just for them.

Over the years though, I really wanted to change the focus of the foundation to the Charlotte area because we became more aware of needs right here in our own backyard. One cause that really sparked my interest was a group in Charlotte called Girl Talk Foundation who have a spring program called ‘Prom Project’, which provides prom dresses to girls in need.  As someone who borrowed her dress for prom and understands that this is a milestone moment for young girls, this cause became really important to me.  Through our fans, we received about 200 new and gently used formal dresses.  We then went out and matched those donations by purchasing 200 brand new dresses so we were able to supply 400 dresses to young girls in the greater Charlotte area. 

Another project we created is called ‘Project Pink’.  We have a big fundraising drive that leads up to a fantastic charity dinner for donors the week before the Charlotte race weekend in October. We also sell hats, beanies and t-shirts to our fans and the proceeds of those further supports the program. Through all this fundraising, we are able to cover the medical costs for women (and sometimes men) in the greater Charlotte area battling breast cancer. There is a large gap between what insurance will pay and the actual medical costs so we help provide the additional funding so that they can focus solely on their treatment, their well-being and their families instead of worrying about the financial burden. 

The foundation’s mission is such that it gives us the freedom to help many different types of people going through many different types of struggles and it allows us to act when God speaks to our hearts.  For example, one night while watching the news, I heard of a women’s shelter in Charlotte called ‘My Sister’s House’ and I just had that feeling that we needed to help them.  Upon calling them the next day, we found out they were in dire need of bedding for the women currently staying there so we quickly went out and bought over 30 bedding sets, towel sets and toiletries for each of them.

What’s the best advice someone has given you about life, style, love, etc…? 
My parents told me to always go out of my way to be nice and help others, to thank God for what he has blessed me with and use my time here to make a positive impact and to remember that even the smallest comment can have a major impact on someone, either positively or negatively, so always be mindful of what you say. I really try to remember those things and use them as a daily guide to living my life.

What’s your advice to people about life, style, love, etc…?
I would definitely pass along my parents’ advice but I would also say, turn to God with your problems and concerns and pray. He will take care of them and get you through hard and challenging times. Also, don’t worry about what other people think. People’s thoughts are out of your control so don’t dwell on them.

And since my blog is primarily about music, I must close with this question:

Who are your favorite artists? What songs do you love at the moment? 

 I really love all kinds of music (especially oldies!) but my last 10 iTunes downloads were:
1.     Cool Kids by Echosmith
2.     Habits by Queen of the Clouds
3.     Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
4.     Rude by Magic
5.     This Is How We Do by Katy Perry
6.     Don’t by Ed Sheeran
7.     This Is How We Roll by Florida Georgia Line
8.     Rather Be by Clean Bandit
9.     Stolen Dance by Milky Chance
10.   Play It Again by Luke Bryan

S T A Y   C O N N E C T E D
TWITTER || FACEBOOK || WEBSITE
I WOULD LOVE TO THANK SAMANTHA FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT OF HER BUSY SCHEDULE TO WORK WITH ME ON THIS INTERVIEW! 
MAKE SURE Y'ALL CHECK OUT HER WEBSITE FOR AWESOME FASHION, HEALTH, FITNESS, AND COOKING TIPS! 

PHOTOS || COURTESY OF SAMANTHA BUSCH