Nothing But Air … and a Pocket Square
Steve Jerome shows off his ‘refined’ style
By Stacey Gualandi
Restaurateur Steve Jerome is all about presentation. As a partner in the Refined Restaurant Group (along with wife Lin, this issue, Her Style), his eye for detail has helped build an epicurean empire in Las Vegas. Presentation has also helped refine his style: comfortable, with a side of flair. “I always try to be fun and casual,” Jerome says. “I wear Jordans with everything.”
Suits and pocket squares were the norm in his early days of working with gastronomic giants like Wolfgang Puck, Elizabeth Blau and Kim Canteenwalla. He kept the squares, but now this culinary connoisseur says his style reflects his restaurant group’s “upscale, cool, fun vibe.” (Refined Restaurant Group recently opened Sorellina Cucina Italiana in the southwest.)
He wears lapel pins (“It’s always a conversation point”), Lululemon athletic pants (“I have every color”) and his own Saint Honoré regal-style merch (“If Louis Vuitton had a doughnut shop”) to complete his look. “If you’re a suit and tie guy, rock it! But if you’re a Jordans and backward-hat-guy, well, I mean, you can’t always get away with that on the Strip,” Jerome jokes. “But I can now because I own these places.” Ten places and counting, that is.
Their empire keeps expanding, but Jerome jests he’ll never be able to out-style his wife. “Lin is the fashionista. I complement her without looking too foolish.”
How do you feel about men wearing pink? I’m okay with it. It sometimes gets a little overplayed. When we opened [the pink] Cafe Lola on the Strip, I got a pair of soft-muted pink Jordans. I wore those and had a little pink pocket square.
If you had one minute to grab some pieces to throw on, what would you grab? It would be something black that fits right—get those jackets tailored—then, I would say a pocket square for sure.
Is your 6-year-old daughter Margaux following in your style footsteps? She’s Mini Lini! God help me.
The Feminine Touch
For Mompreneur Lin Smith Jerome, fashion is the ultimate power move
By Stacey Gualandi
Lin Smith Jerome wears many hats—restaurateur, wife, mom, influencer—and wears them well. But when it comes to her wardrobe and workplace style, this lawyer-turned-businesswoman likes to think outside the shopping cart.
“I don’t like to do anything that anyone expects,” she says. “I have to think larger than life. That may be the Leo in me.”
As co-founder of Refined Restaurant Group with her “super swaggy” spouse Steve [see “His Style”] and partners Alexandra Lourdes and Michael Santos, she is dominating Las Vegas dining with Café Lola, Sorellina Cucina Italiana, Emilio’s Contemporary Mexican Kitchen and many more.
The fashionista comes by her inspired Instagram following naturally. Jerome says she’s been known for her style since high school. “My family didn’t have a lot, so I had to be scrappy then, like I am now in business,” Jerome says. “My mom would take me to TJ Maxx or Marshalls and I would go through the racks.”
Jerome loves a good deal with an old Hollywood feel. She found her $1,300 wedding dress at David’s Bridal.
“I can scroll for hours,” Jerome says. “I shop a lot on Amazon and Zara is one of my go-tos for timeless pieces. I had a construction site meeting this morning and wore sneakers and jeans, but I threw on a Zara blazer.”
Heels or no heels? Every day, I wear sneakers or flats. I [won’t] wear heels during the day. It’s just not my style. I need to be able to move freely.
Give us wannabe fashionistas your number-one style tip. It’s the shoes. A shoe can throw off your outfit. I like a strappy heel sandal that I think is comfortable and that I love, like Dream Pairs on Amazon.
Any unfulfilled dreams? My dream is to have my own clothing line someday.