The Basics: Levi's Denim

For some reason, I can't wear jeans produced post 1995. All 'modern' denim never fits- the waist band is too low, the material too stretchy, length not right. I love vintage Levi's for denim. You can find these at most vintage stores. Iguana in LA has an amazing selection and you can pick your waist size and corresponding length to get the perfect fit. 

The Basics:Extreme Weather Dressing & Utilitarian Chic

Jacket- Patagonia

Pullover- Supreme

Boots- Frye

I've headed out on the road with a documentary film crew. A trip that spans many cities and multiple climates so packing was a challenge. First stop: PORTLAND, OREGON. It rains constantly in Portland and the terrain outside of the city is rough, but I was prepared for the voyage. 

I discovered my love for Patagonia. I could spend hours in that store. The quality is unbeatable and their down jackets are designed with thoughtful engineering: light weight, water resistant, easy to pack. Frye makes the best boots (I've had some pairs for 8+ years) and I swapped out the boring brown laces for blue hiking laces. I also couldn't resist this forrest themed Supreme pullover.

You can read my behind the scenes coverage of the film shoot here. 

Foxy Brown Halloween

Make-Up/Hair: Even if you don't have the hair to pull off the look, afro wigs are available almost everywhere. Keep the rest of the face natural with neutral browns and add big false lashes. 

Accessories: Push-up bra, cropped knit top, hoop earrings and extra wide bell bottoms. Find a fake gun if you really want the real thing. 

Attitude: Foxy.

Halloween à la Josephine Baker

Halloween costumes should not be bought in plastic packaging. You'll spend too much money on something you'll only wear once and likely run into a few other people with the exact same look. 

Instead, use your resourcefulness, imagination and clever styling create a look. I've always loved Halloween because it's about self-invention and creating a radical image of yourself using clothes and make-up.

This is a halloween costume I've been trying to do for years. I never quite prepare enough to get it right but I think it's one of the best ideas because she had such a strong look and it's simple to recreate with enough planning. 

Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress.luent in both English and French, Baker became an international musical and political icon. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess".

Legendary in her time and a legacy that will live on for centuries, Josephine had a strong character to match her looks and talent.

Make-Up/ Hair: There are great 1920s inspired videos on YouTube for that thin pencil brow and perfect finger waves. 

Flapper Inspired Look

Finger Waves How To 

Accessories: Multistrand pearls from any bead shop or costume jewellery shop. Big, big chandelier earrings. Faux Bananas to attach to a belt and create her signature skirt OR create a modified version by cutting a hula skirt into a mini so that you have movement when you walk. Any added bling you can find to create a dazzling effect.

Attitude: Dance all night, make a grand entrance, make yourself unforgettable. 

Extra Treat: Watch Baker on stage!

The Basics Before The Basics: Fall Reading

Fall is the season for reading. 

I get great style inspiration from movies and streetstyle blogs but nothing satisfies like good reading material. 

Garage Magazine- From Dasha Khukova is one of my favourite magazines. The extra large matte pages only add to the allure. 

Vogue- Consistently good. Consistently inspired. Fashion editors Tonne Goodman and Grace Coddington always demonstrate fresh ideas/ new ways of wearing great clothes. 

Anything by or about Diana Vreeland- D.V., her memoir is fun because it's in her own voice but I'm also enjoying this one by Eleanor Dwight. 

Enjoy a cup of tea, get under your blankets and read for your inspiration this season. 

#MusicGetsYouTalking

Between buying Doc Martens and Olive Oil soap, I also get to do fun things for work. I spent some time in NY this September for the launch of Nokia Music in the US and conducted a series of interviews with kids on the street, music executives and artists as part of the #MusicGetsYouTalking campaign.

The videos are all so much fun, enjoy!

What Song Could Only Be About New York?


What Song Reminds You of Your First Kiss?



One Album You Would Take To Drive Cross Country?



Song People Would Be Surprised To Know You Love?

The Basics: Doc Marten Lace-Ups

I have been searching for one pair of 'wear with everything' flats for 3 months. Not passively either. I have been actively searching department stores, boutiques, outlets, vintage shops, the internet, for a pair of beautiful shoes that go with everything and have absolutely no heel whatsoever. 

Something classic but cool. Ballet flats feel too girly,somehow not modern. I love velvet slippers but they also have a preciousness about them.

That's when I came across the Doc Marten, low ankle, lace-up shoe. So fundamentally unsexy and off trend that they're cool. Reactions have been mixed: a girlfriend of mine remarked that these are the shoes chefs wear in the kitchen, cool. Because they're unisex the get a seal of approval from guys. Granted men won't find these sexy but they can respect it. 

I've been wearing them with everything for 2 weeks. My favourite look so far: paired with a  sexy spaghetti strap black mini dress. The severity of the shoes offset the skimpiness of the dress and I just felt perfectly comfortable and cool. 

What flats will you be wearing all fall?

The Basics Before the Basics: Olive Oil Soap

I love olive oil: in a deep conditioning hair mask, used a gentle makeup remover and especially drizzled over a piece of crusty sourdough bread.

The benefits of olive oil are well documented.

"This oil is full of antioxidants such as vitamins A and E, polyphenols, and phytosterols. These antioxidants help neutralize the free radicals that cause skin damage. Olive oil also contains squalene and trace amounts of chlorophyll. Squalene is a moisturizer that helps regulate your skin's sebum production."

When I came across this Pure Olive Oil Soap bar at Whole Foods, I was overjoyed. This is a soap that doesn't strip your skin of natural moisture and cleanses naturally.  At $1.99 this may be the best beauty product I've purchased this year. 

I can't find this particular brand, pictured above, online but Kiss My Face has an 8-pack for $4. 

Enjoy and cleanse naturally.

The Basics: The Little White Dress

Dress: Marni

Metal Belt: Ralph Lauren Collection

Shoes: Christian Louboutin 

There are only a few days left of summer. Pull out your little white dress while you still have time!

The Basics: What To Wear To Polo

Hi Friends,

It's my first summer in London but I keep getting summoned to Windsor to see polo on the weekend. It's good fun and it feels very old school European. What to wear: keep it simple and classic. Polo events usually draw a conservative, older crowd. This isn't the time to debut your neon bandage dress and biker boots.I chose a crisp white Ralph Lauren Collection shirt. It's nipped at the waist and backless so it maintains the sexy, classic balance.  Paired with classic navy Prada pants and then one element of swag, just one:The glorious Prada Turban.
I've had this turban since 2007, it's the fashion equivalent of truffle oil...it just elevates everything. So if you find yourself invited to a polo match go for a classic outfit and then add one dazzling accessory. 


Cheers,
Brooke

Happy Birthday: To the Divine Mrs.V!

I'm a day late, but I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the late Diana Vreeland, who would be 109 today.

If you haven't read her memoir D.V., I highly recommend it. Arguably the best fashion editor of all time,  she was truly one of a kind.

To celebrate, the best of her famous 'Why don't you' column:

Why don’t you…

… use a gigantic shell instead of a bucket to ice your champagne?

… cover a big cork bulletin board in bright pink felt, banded with bamboo, and pin with colored thumb-tacks all your various enthusiasms as your life varies from week to week?

… tie an enormous bunch of silver balloons on the foot of your child’s bed on Christmas Eve?

… paint a map of the world on all four walls of your boys’ nursery so they won’t grow up with a provincial point of view?

… tie black tulle bows on your wrists?

And here are some of the more extravagant ones, inspiring nonetheless.

Why don’t you…

… own, as does one extremely smart woman, twelve diamond roses of all sizes?

… bring back from Central Europe a huge white baroque porcelain stove to stand in your front hall?

… wear violet velvet mittens with everything?

… have an elk-hide trunk for the back of your car? Hermès of Paris will make this.

…wear, like the Duchess of Kent, three enormous diamond stars arranged in your hair in front?

…have a room done up in every color green? This will take months, years, to collect, but it will be delightful—a melange of plants, green glass, green porcelains, and furniture covered in sad greens, gay greens, clear, faded, and poison greens?

The Basics before The Basics: Notebooks and Lists

I’m always scribbling away in a notebook. Usually lists. Grocery lists, schedules broken down into 30 minute chunks, beauty products I need to buy, workout routines, albums I should download, movie times in all surrounding cinemas for that week, cities I should visit, books I should buy etc.



It’s as I’ll lose the ideas unless I write them down. I ‘catch’ the thoughts by putting them on paper. I find list making necessary and therapeutic-- crossing off those items feels like REAL accomplishment.


I also use my notebooks for creative ideas. Never anything lofty like poems or reflections on the state of the world but I’ll write down outfit combinations I want to try or my thoughts on a film, book or speech I watched on TED.


In the past I bought Moleskin notebooks, and when you write lists as often as I do, this becomes an expensive purchasing habit. Enter: Chartwell Notebooks. I discovered them at my office and they’re super old school. They come in sunshine yellow and forest green and have a nice old school quality to them.


Remember decorating your binders and notebooks in 3rd grade? It was THE BEST! You would add your fuzzy stickers and hologram unicorns, write your name in neon highlighters and stamp your pages with hearts and stars. I even glued my Pokemon cards on the inside of my composition book.


The grown up version goes something like this: finding the best postcards and magazine clippings you can get your hands on. Images you’ll love and enjoy seeing day after day and arrange these onto your notebook. Cover the images with clear tape so they stay in place and don’t fade.


Finally, use your notebook as much as possible. There’s power in writing things down. Writing what you’re thankful for, recording your progress on a task, journaling your goals, taking note of the places you want to see. The more you write down, the more you have to cross off.


Happy list-making!

The Basics: How to Dress for a Film Premiere

I love movies. I see a movie every chance I get. I’m at the theatre 3 times a week and I see them all—obscure indie films, hard hitting documentaries, sappy romantic comedies and big action blockbusters.I’ve been waiting to see The Dark Knight Rises for what feels like FOREVER. I think Christopher Nolan is a master filmmaker and I have nothing but respect for him and his ability to make thoughtful crowd pleasers and high budget drama.


Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the European premiere of the Dark Knight Rises in London.

It was such an EVENT—red carpet, hundreds of screaming fans, flashes going off, an oversize Batman symbol set ablaze with fire, and the movie stars (not a term I use often but between Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard and Christian Bale sweeping down the carpet, I think it’s appropriate).

The movie was phenomenal but the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado casts the film in a particularly strange light. It was undoubtedly violent, and when we’re confronted with violence in the real world we have to question ourselves as a society and the messages we’re putting forward. Doodai Stewart of Jezebel wrote this really thoughtful piece:  Violence on the Screen, Violence in Front of the Screen: Trying to Process the Dark Knight Shooting

Dark Knight Rises aside, lets talk about clothes. How does one dress for a film premiere?


The Boring Approach: The voice inside that says ‘Don’t kid yourself no one is there to see you. Wear something semi-fancy, a cute dress and some heels.’ Yawwnnn. No fun.


My Approach, The Glamorous Eccentric Approach: Dress to the film’s theme and tone. Dark Knight Rises marked the return of Cat Woman so I was thinking Ertha Kitt, Halle Berry, Michelle Phieffer all poured into body-con black leather. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any leather bodysuits on hand but I was going all black, Catwoman swag.

I took a black mesh American Apparel top, over a strapless La Perla bra, and paired it with a sweeping Yves Saint Laurent skirt, winged eyeliner and some very tall black pumps. I felt very cool, very Gotham city.


So dress to the films theme, it makes watching that much more enjoyable.

Video Art: Azaelia Banks x Paris is Burning- Fierce

To My Glamorous Eccentrics,


Those of you who have been following me since January know that I make these little videos, mashing up visual content and song.

In the past, they've recieved 100-200 hits max. But I always enjoyed making them. So I continued.

In April, I made one for Carol's Daughter putting the spotlight on Natural Hair and it got a ton of views-- just over 1,000! Mind blown, I was so excited.

Fast forward 3 months later and I'm listening to Azaelia Bank's Fantasea mixtape and hooked on this one track Fierce.
 'Werq me goddammit!'
I was voguing in my living room and swiveling my hips, this song was clearly a drag queen anthem. Go Ms. Banks! She got it so right.

That night, I accompanied my parents to a dinner party and found myself talking to some fabulous women and men who were once a part of this legendary 90s gay club scene. They loved how the 'children' were adopting the culture and had respect for artists like Azaelia and Zebra Katz. Inevitably, Paris is Burning (1990) came up.

I watched the documentary, profiling the drag ball subculture of the early 90s, about a year ago and it blew.my.mind. The characters-infecteous, the story-deeply moving and overall tons of fun. Oh to be a drag queen in the early 90s.

With this sentiment propelling me forward, I spent a few hours editing this:

And today July 17th, just 4 days after its creation, it has 18,123 views!

I fee like a struggling artists who's finally been recognized. In reality, I may be a one hit wonder and continue toiling away on videos that reach hundreds instead of thousands but for now, this feels pretty good.

Live your fantasea...