3 LUXURY LOOKS FEAT. DR. REGINA FLIPPIN
Dr. Regina Flippin, a podiatrist on St. Croix, doesn’t go for the norm when it comes to dressing. Her high-end luxury style is on full display, every day. Photo courtesy of Dr. Regina Flippin.
She is one of a small number of podiatrists on St. Croix and one of the island’s most fashionable women.
Dr. Regina Flippin, DPM, originally from Memphis, Tenn., has been caring for feet on St. Croix since 2012. But in addition to her medical degree, from the looks of it, she may also hold an advanced degree in style!
“I like high fashion, but I think my fashion is unique in that it’s not something you would see on a daily basis,” she explains. “I don’t go for the norm, I like what I like, and I try not to be defined by other people or what they wear.”
Calling her style “unique couture,” the doctor, who has been in the medical field for over 25 years, is all about living every day to the fullest when it comes to wearing her high-fashion looks—pulling them out and putting them on for the office, for weddings, on weekends, and whenever.
“A lot of times, people say that when I go to the hospital that ‘she’s over-dressed’ or ‘why is she wearing that?’ To me, it’s not that I’m over-dressed, it’s just what I like to wear. I like to dress in my own style, and I don’t save things for a special occasion, because to be alive is a special occasion,” she says.
She enjoys wearing clothes that make her feel feminine and says it comes from advice she received from her mother long ago. “My mom would always say, ‘Be a young lady at all costs.’ I like feeling feminine. I like feeling like a lady. That matters to me.”
What She’s Wearing
Her preferred ready-to-wear luxury brands are Dior, Loewe, and Brunello Cucinelli.
“I love, love him,” she says of Italian designer Cucinelli, calling the brand her “all-time favorite.”
“It’s so understated. I don’t have to have the LV’s the Gucci’s and all of that,” she explains. “I like the understated luxury. I don’t buy just because it’s a brand, I just like what I like, so those seem to be more understated luxury items.”
Dr. Flippin believes the way a doctor dresses and presents herself can affect the confidence her patients have in her. “Probably personality, as well, it affects a patient’s confidence because you have to be believable,” she says.
And we believe Dr. Flippin just might be the Queen of Couture on St. Croix. She shares three of her favorite luxury looks with us.
LOOK #1 - Bonjour, Paris!
Dress: Acca
Shoes: Gucci – Limited Edition
Occasion: Photoshoot at the Louvre in Paris
“Paris, as we know, is all about fashion. We were doing a photoshoot at the Louvre, and I felt red was very Parisien and just the whole vibe. Obviously, doing the whole thing, I felt amazing and confident. Red is a powerful color,” she shares.
Dr. Flippin during a photoshoot at the Louvre in Paris. Photo courtesy of Dr. Regina Flippin.
LOOK #2 - A Belle in Blue
Suit: Dolce & Gabbana
Shoes: Gucci
Occasion: A friend’s wedding at the Castle in St. Croix, USVI
“I do love Gucci shoes—their shoes are great!” she laughs. “This look is at an outdoor wedding. The color I chose because I felt that it was very in line with the feel of the wedding and it felt Spring-ish—the light blue for the castle. It was an upscale event.”
LOOK #3 - Pretty & Playful In Pink
Dress: Kika Vargas
Shoes: Rene Caovilla
Occasion: Cousin’s wedding in Memphis, Tenn.
“This look was for a very fun wedding back home in Memphis,” she explains. “What I like about the shoe designer is that he makes both high heels and flat shoes. All of his shoes have Swarovski crystals on them. You’ll notice his signature style around the ankle.”
Dr. Flippin wearing Kika Vargas at her cousin’s wedding in Memphis, Tenn. Photo courtesy of Dr. Regina Flippin.
When asked what inspires her style from day to day, the fashion-forward foot doctor says she simply enjoys looking good and “just goes for it.” Her approach to shopping focuses on purchasing pieces whenever she sees something she likes, then shopping her own closet to put her looks together.
“A lot of times, I’ll get pieces that I like…it’s not that I get something to wear to any particular place,” she says. “I’ll like it, I’ll get it, and then one day decide, ‘Ok, I’ll wear this’ and then the pieces just come together with how I pair them.”
You’ll find Dr. Flippin in her work scrubs on surgery and wound-care days; but after that, there’s no limit to her clothing choices. “On days when I see patients in clinic, I wear my regular clothes,” she explains. And those regular clothes, she says, “can be as dressed up or dressed down, but still stylish and feminine, as what I want to wear for that day.”
In fact, she says her Parisian look is something she would wear on a “typical clinic day” in the office, but with flats. “Fridays at the hospital is usually a dress-down day, but my dress down might be somebody’s dress up,” she laughs.
In closing, Dr. Flippin cautions that dressing well and looking good isn’t about wearing the most figure-hugging dresses out there. However, it is about being true to oneself and wearing the things that make you feel beautiful.
“You’ll notice most of the things I’m wearing do not accentuate my shape,” she says. “I think some people feel like you have to wear things that are super tight to get noticed, and you don’t have to. Just wear what you like. And if that’s what you like, then that’s fine.”