J Crew’s Jenna Lyons on Charlotte Rampling, Cy Twombly and the best shopping in SoHo

My personal style signifiers are my black glasses by Moscot; a weathered gold Rolex made the year I was born, which I bought through a vintage dealer called Michael Ashton; and a bespoke gold ring. My father wore a family crest ring when I was growing up and I always thought it was the coolest thing. My girlfriend Courtney and her brother, the jeweller Philip Crangi, made me a ring with a relief of the crest in rose gold. It was a really special gift. www.michaelashtonwatches.com. Glasses, from $250; www.moscot.com. philipcrangiandco.com.  

The last thing I bought and loved was a pair of old-school Gucci loafers. I wear them with almost anything, as long as there is some ankle showing. From £370; www.gucci.com.

And the thing I’m eyeing next is a painting by Genieve Figgis. Her work is so beautiful and so odd, and she has the most incredible sense of colour. I love House, 2014, and Raspberry Nook, 2015. My friend Sunrise Ruffalo told me about her, and then a week later I was at Half Gallery, run by Bill Powers, and he happened to have a few of her pieces. From then on I was obsessed. www.genievefiggis.com. www.halfgallery.com.

The site that inspires me is the New York City skyline at night – it never gets old.

The indulgences I would never forgo are naps – nothing is better; then fresh flowers, especially coral New Zealand peonies and black and white anemones; and super-long, 24-inch tapered candles from Creative Candles. I burn them every evening. $18.75 for two; www.creativecandles.com.

The last item of clothing I added to my wardrobe was a navy and black tulle skirt from Dries Van Noten. It’s heaven – it looks like a cupcake. Dries’s clothes are quite eclectic and I probably wouldn’t wear them head to toe but I love mixing something of his with something more structured. He’s a colour-and-print-mix master; he’s like a painter. €1,182; www.driesvannoten.be.

The objects I would never part with are the Polaroids of my son Beckett [9] when he was a baby.

The last music I downloaded was David Bowie’s complete history. I’ve always been a huge fan. He was groundbreaking, and there are so many songs that were a part of my growing up. He also made being different seem special, which was quite unusual at the time. Through his music he introduced those ideas to a much wider audience.

My favourite room in my house is my kitchen, which is the hub of the house. Everyone gathers around the island, which is 12ft across – people sit on it, dance on it, all sorts of things happen on it.

The best gift I’ve received recently was a necklace with little gold leaves. Beckett spotted it in a shop window and made the babysitter take him back there to buy it. He was so excited when he gave it to me; the look on his face – it makes me misty just thinking about it.

A recent “find” is the El Cosmico hotel in Marfa, Texas. Donald Judd left New York in the 1970s and ended up setting up shop in some old army buildings in Marfa. It has since turned into an artists’ community but remains remarkably untouched. The hotel is a series of beautifully appointed vintage airstream trailers and teepees. It’s very simple but really well done. At night you can see every star in the sky and it’s a unique and cool place. www.elcosmico.com.

The beauty staple I’m never without is Silver Mountain Water by Creed, a great perfume I’ve worn for a long time. Beckett would be unhappy if I tried to change it. In the morning he leans on me in the elevator, and if I don’t have it on he makes me go back up. From £95 for 30ml; www.creedfragrances.co.uk.

My favourite websites are Artnet.com and Liveauctioneers.com for browsing art sales; I use Bonappetit.com in a totally voyeuristic way – I love food but I can’t cook to save my life; and interiors site Theapartment.dk just feels very happy – its furniture is eclectic and colourful and I like a mix of old and new.

My style icons are Charlotte Rampling and Iris Apfel. Charlotte Rampling has elegance. It can be hard to find women who are still beautiful and who haven’t had work done. She is still sexy and that’s inspiring; she owns her sexuality. She’s also refreshingly unapologetic, straightforward and not political. Apfel, another woman who doesn’t conform and who speaks openly about her disdain for plastic surgery, is the most unbelievably funny, smart, real person I have met. She finds beauty in little things and not the sparkly things you might expect. She’s not traditionally beautiful but she’s certainly iconic.

An unforgettable place I’ve travelled to in the past year is Lake Powell, a reservoir on the Colorado River where we stayed on a houseboat. To me, it’s that real American landscape and one of the most exquisite places you will ever see. The water is very pure and clean and the sunsets are insane – purple one night, pink and orange the next, misty lavender the night after that; it’s spectacular. www.lakepowell.com.

And the best souvenir I’ve brought home is a picture of my son Beckett [9], jumping from a rock during that trip. I did the jump myself first, then we went down with goggles to look underneath the water and even got some guys with a powerboat to check how deep it was with their sensors. It was terrifying but it was one of those moments when Beckett really wanted to do it for himself, and it was poignant.

If I had to limit my shopping to one neighbourhood in one city, I’d choose SoHo in New York. Matter carries interesting new furniture designs – almost everything I own is old as I find it hard to purchase new pieces, but it does an incredible job of curating really great contemporary designers. Westerlind is a new store, really small, selling clothes with an outdoorsy feel, some new and some vintage. I also love Marni and Kiki de Montparnasse. And at Despaña you can get incredible tapas and cured meats; they do everything themselves. Despaña, 408 Broome Street (+1212-219 5050; www.despanabrandfoods.com). Kiki de Montparnasse, 79 Greene Street (+1212-965 8150; www.kikidm.com). Marni, 161 Mercer Street (+1212-343 3912; www.marni.com). Matter, 405 Broome Street (+1212-343 2600; www.mattermatters.com). Westerlind, 31 Spring Street (+1212-226 6916; www.westerlindoutdoor.com).

The best gift I’ve given recently was a Cuisinart soft-serve ice cream machine, which I bought for Beckett. He specifically asked for it. $99.95; www.cuisinart.com.

The last meal that truly impressed me was beer-can chicken made by a friend. It was mildly pornographic watching it being put together. You take a beer can, open it and put it upright inside the chicken so that the bird is roasted standing up. I had never had it – it is insanely moist yet the skin gets really crispy; it’s phenomenal.

The people I rely on for personal wellbeing include Amanda Lapointe, who I train with at ModelFIT. She is awesome, although I feel bad mentioning her as I am not in good shape – I need to work out more. And I have a masseuse called Alexson who comes to the house. I have a bad back so I should probably have an osteopath too but Alexson really makes me feel better.

The books on my bedside table are a collection of EE Cummings’ poetry and Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein. She formed a successful and groundbreaking punk-indie band called Sleater-Kinney, and since then has written and starred in an Emmy-winning satirical TV series called Portlandia and is currently in a new show called Transparent. Her memoir is remarkable, the way she writes about growing up and the complications of it. The language is beautiful, lyrical and really inspiring – she is able to talk so eloquently about things that happened when she was young; similar things happened to me but I have zero ability to write about them in such a profound and clear way.

The one artist whose work I would collect if I could is Cy Twombly. I haven’t found another artist whose art I like as cohesively as his. I am mildly obsessed. There was a triptych at the Gagosian that I could never have afforded but I went and looked at it anyway. There’s not a lot of his work for sale these days, but I was super-fortunate to meet Yvon Lambert in Paris when he was closing his gallery and I managed to get one piece. www.gagosian.com.

If I didn’t live in New York, I can’t imagine where I would live. I grew up in California and there are bits I love, but when I visit I can’t wait to come home. I don’t have anywhere I yearn to live other than New York.

In my fridge you’ll always find beef jerky, truffle and cheese dip, avocados and cold-pressed juice. And we always have ice cream in the freezer: espresso, mint choc chip, chocolate salted caramel and a homemade flavour of Beckett’s choice.

If I weren’t doing what I do, I would be a tattoo artist. I’ve done some stick and poke tattoos – not very well I might add – to the pleasure and dismay of my friends. It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I think they’re cool and I love to draw.