Kerry Washington is currently gracing the latest issue of Net-A-Porter’s The Edit and looks so fresh and heavenly we want to know all her skin-care secrets. And while the issue does cover some beauty tips, the actress focused on her thoughts on fashion and dressing her Scandal character, Olivia Pope.

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“The fashion on the show is almost another character — [costume designer] Lyn Paolo and I were on the same page about that from day one,” she said. “When we sat down to discuss Olivia’s wardrobe, we had pulled all the same images off the Internet and from magazines. I think because Lyn had worked on [political] shows like The West Wing before, she really understood the aesthetic of Washington, and I had already been working for the White House for two years when I started this job. We wanted to get out of the typical navy-blue, boxy, ‘woman in a man’s suit’ definition of power dressing.”

Washington also shared the instant trick she has to fall into character on set.

“The biggest thing for me are the shoes,” she said. “I’ll wear Uggs around set, but I can’t rehearse a scene in them because I don’t feel like Olivia until I put the shoes on. Shoes define how you walk in the world and how you stand, like: what is your posture in life?”

But just because we’re so used to seeing Olivia look on-point at all times — even when she’s relaxing at home in cashmere and silk — Washington admits that her style changes drastically depending on her mood.

“I’m a very moody dresser,” she said. “For the red carpet, I am totally a stiletto girl. But in the rest of my life, I would say I’m 50/50. I love a good heel, but I also have a really great sneaker collection — that’s the Bronx girl in me.”

To read her entire interview, click here.

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(Photo: THE EDIT by NET-A-PORTER.COM)