Gap Fashion Illustrations for InStyle Party

Two weeks ago I was hired to create some fashion illustrations for an event with Gap and InStyle magazine! Being a huge fan of both powerhouse brands I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to sketch for them. 

The project involved two parts, first I had to create sketches in advance of the party that would be scaled up and printed out as posters to adorn the interactive art wall/step and repeat that guests would see when they arrived at the NYC flagship store event. The second part was, while everyone was mingling, I live sketched the event hosts; Kimberly Pesch of Eat.Sleep.Wear (shown with her sketch below), Christine Cameron of My Style Pill and DJ Harley Viera Newton. 

All the Gap fashion illustrations shown throughout this post were inspired by the "Outfit's We Love" spotlighted on Gap.com. They're a bright mix of cozy and luxe layers styled with plaids, stripes and colorful basics. Throughout the event I live sketched the three hosts who were decked out in head to toe Gap looks as well. As each sketch was completed it was added to the art wall so guests could take a look and snap some pics. 

This was such a great evening with such positive feedback from all the guests including my [possibly bias] little brother and 90 year old grandma, the fabulous hosts as well as the teams from InStyle and Gap! It really was such a fun event to be a part of and I'm excited to share the sketches and photos. 

(Photo's by Gap and InStyle, Illustrations by Brooke Hagel) 

Fashion Illustrations for InStyle & Gap

I'm so excited to share my recent sketches for Gap and InStyle! You're invited to come tomorrow night and see my fashion illustrations of some of Gap's "Outfit's We ♥." You can snap a picture with my sketches on the Gap Art Wall, as well as say hello and watch me sketch the two super stylish hosts of the evening, Kimberly Pesch of Eat.Sleep.Wear and Christine Cameron of My Style Pill.

Where: Gap, 60 West 34th Street @ Broadway 

When: Tursday Dec. 6th 6:30-8:30

RSVP: INSTYLE_GAP@TIMEINC.COM

Enjoy cocktails, treats, fashion illustrations and 30% off your purchases! Hope to see you there! 

Halloween Dessert Table Sketch

Its quite an odd Halloween having just had one of the largest storms ever on record rip through the east coast wreaking such havoc on the city, but I'm pleased to report I'm safe and sound and live in a part of Manhattan that wasn't hit so badly by Hurricane Sandy. Unlike many of my friends and family I was lucky enough not to loose power an have been able to stay home. Thank you to all who reached out with concerning calls, emails, facebook messages and tweets!

A few weeks ago I was commissioned by Amy Atlas to sketch another of her exquisite dessert tables for Halloween (last one was for July 4th.) This design was to be used for a segment Amy was planning for a national television segment. Unfortunately the segment was cut due to the hurricane but Amy posted the illustration and all the elements that her and her talented team concocted for it. They even posted templates you can download and recipes (like Bewitching Bark) to make some of the elements yourself.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween and maybe this dessert table illustration will inspire my displaced neighbors, friends and family to enjoy a treat during this trying time.

Lash Menu Illustrations

I'm excited to share these new "lash menu" sketches I was commissioned to draw for Lash Affair Lounge. They asked me to illustrate an assortment of lash extensions offered in the new salon. I had no idea you could get lash looks ranging from a natural, soft and pretty lash boost, like "The Beauty" shown above, to intense dramatic fullness like "The Diva" shown below.

Whats funny for me about illustrating a lash menu is that I was taught not to draw tiny details like eyelashes, nails or teeth in fashion illustrations. In the past few years, especially with all my bridal illustration clients and the dramatic lash making a comeback, I've rebelled and began adding lashes to my sketches but I have to admit I feel guilty every time and wonder what my professors would say. Crazy right! (Its true, every-single-time I sketch a lash I see FIT Professor Steven Stipleman shaking his head at me.)

This was my first foray into illustrating a lash menu (hair and nails, I've drawn a few.) I'm really proud of how all these lashy ladies came out and I'm pretty sure the client, Lash Affair Lounge, loves them as well. Now I just need to get myself up to Edmonton Cananda to try out their lash services like mink lash extensions. I mean how luxuriously Oprah would that be? Fingers crossed theres a Lash Affair Lounge hitting Manhattan in the not so distant future because my lashes could use a boost.

Illustrated Invitations

Recently I've worked on illustrations for a bunch of new client invitations and announcements and when these two arrived in my mailbox I couldn't wait to share. 

The first one (above), a stylized wedding illustration of a bride and groom is near and dear to my heart because its actually a save the date announcement for my brother. They're a playful and fun couple, and they liked this bride and groom I drew in the past, so we decided to go with stylized "bobble head" illustrations for their save the dates. They were thrilled with my depiction of them and have been getting glowing reviews from all the guests about my sketch.

This second invitation is for a bridal shower luncheon and uses my Gwen print from my bridal illustration shop Brooklit Bride. The mother-of-the-bride and luncheon host contacted me because the illustration resembled her bride daughter. She bought the usage rights to my illustration and made these gorgeous invitations. This invitation so strikingly lovely in person. The bridal illustration is printed on a velum overlay, the shower/luncheon information is printed on a gold edged card stock beneath, and the two pieces are held together with a actual ribbon bow tied at the waist! Its beautiful. 

Party Guest Illustrations for Vogue & Piperlime {Part 2}

Time for more fashion illustrations from my live-sketching at the Piperlime store preview party hosted by Vogue. Sorry its taken so long to post part two, September turned out to be a crazy month! This was such a fabulous event to be a part of and resulted in some great illustrations to add to my portfolio of live event sketches.

There was quite the spectrum of sketchable models (aka. chic party guests) in attendance to preview the beautiful new Piperlime Soho store. I got to sketch everyone from fashion bloggers, Vogue staffers and Piperlime shoe designers to teachers and private jet flight attendants! Everyone seemed to love their sketches and were thrilled to be taking them home as a custom favor.  

It was truly an honor to be hired by Vogue and Piperlime to sketch at this event and hopefully it will be the first many. To see more sketches and the guests that inspired them, check out Part 1, and afterwards you can even click over to this Piperlime video covering the event and see if you can spot some of the guests I drew. (I spotted 6!)

For questions about my live-sketching or you're interested in my rates for your next corporate event or private party you can email me at FabulousDoodles@gmail.com.

Party Guest Fashion Illustrations for Vogue & Piperlime {Part 1}

A few nights ago I was honored to work for Vogue and Piperlime illustrating guests at an exclusive preview party for the very first Piperlime store, here in Manhattan. The beautiful new store was packed with designer labels, lust worthy shoes and jewelry, and hundreds of guests all eager to have their outfits captured in a custom fashion illustration.

I want to share some of my models (aka. Vogue & Piperlime party guests) here along with the quickie sketches they inspired and got to take home as a custom party favor. The guests were all so great to draw in their fun and flirty end-of-summer party dresses.

Throughout the party I was busy sketching away while chatting with my models/guests but afterwards on my way uptown, I shared via Twitter and Instagram (@Brooklit) a few snapshots from the night, also shown below.

Later in the week as I'll be posting more favorite sketches, guests and photos from my memorable night with Vogue and Piperlime, so stay tuned.

Line Drawings for Remington at Target

While on a vacation in Maine a few weeks ago I spotted more of my drawings on hair products in Target. Remington Products commissioned me to create line drawings for their hair accessory collection at Target. A little while back I shared my drawings for the hair scarfs and now these cuties depicting the many ways to wear the flower clip.

Above is a instagramed photo I took in Target of the actual product packaging with my sketches. It's always exciting to see my work on a finished product but even more so in a huge national chain store!

Material Guy

Last week I was contacted by one of my favorite repeat clients, the Material Girls, to illustrate the newest member of their team, who surprisingly is a man! Meet the new "Material Guy." I drew him based on a image sent to me of a painted portrait from the 18th century. We kept his hair blond to match all the Marie Antoinettes that I previously drew for the girls and I added blue with gold accents for a regal touch.

You can check out some of my previous commissions for Material Girls here and here on Fabulous Doodles and here on Material Girls. (<-If you click on each city name you will see a different Marie themed illustration for each header.)

Sister Sketches

A while back I was commissioned by three stylish sisters to create custom fashion illustrations for their online boutique. The girls each had their own unique fashion sense and clear vision of how their sketches were to be styled, dressed and drawn. The sisters were lovely to work with, and I thought it was about time I shared the sketches and their shop, 3 Sisters Style. Above I've featured two of the sisters (the two that mirror my current surroundings as I write this post on vacation in Maine!) Greer to the left with her nautical stripe top, woven leather bag and skinny jeans and Laurel in her ocean hued ombre sundress with sun glasses atop her blond highlighted hair, would fit right in here. For a look at the third lovely sister and to browse their San Francisco based e-shop click on over to 3 Sisters Style.

(Illustration by Brooke Hagel)

Fashion Illustrations of Party Guests {Part 1}

Last week I participated in a fabulous party/event where I sat and live sketched quickie fashion illustrations of party guests. My illustration table turned out to be quite the hit of the party and resulted in some fun and fashionable new sketches, like the one shown above of Kimberly, the lovely author of Eat.Sleep.Wear. I did share (via Twitter & Instagram) a few pictures of illustrations fresh off my sketchbook that night but thought I'd feature some more of my favorites here on Fabulous Doodles.

This "Midsummer Soiree" was thrown by Cameo PR as thank to the NY based editors and fashion bloggers whom they work with on a daily basis. I was only signed on to draw guests for 1.5-2 hours but my table got so crowded and I had such a long list of party guests wanting an illustration that I ended up staying and sketching just over 3 hours without getting up even once! It was a challenge to capture each guest in a such a small time frame but I tried to zero in on something that made them unique and made their personality and style shine through. For some it was their edgy summer party frocks and rocking attitude, like Kim's cheetah print silk shorts and dark shades, or Dawn's classic LBD and giant quilted Chanel bag.

 As for other guests/models it was their demeanor and pose witch made their personality come through in the drawings. The top two friends wanted to be drawn together and I loved how their two summer dress looks complimented one another as well their stance. Sarah (in the middle above) was adorable in her preppy "anchor pants" and I tried to capture her preppy-chic style in a comparable fun and flirty pose.

My live party guest sketching station was certainly a success, guests were thrilled with their illustrations and I plan share more sketches from the event later in the week. For rates to sketch at your event you can email me at FabulousDoodles@gmail.com.

(All images and illustrations: Brooke Hagel)

Amy Atlas Dessert Table {July 4th}

Just in time for 4th of July festivities I'd like to share a dessert tablescape I sketched for sweets stylist Amy Atlas' Access Hollywood segment last week. Although I'm a fashion illustrator at heart, its always fun to take on other illustration projects, like this perfect Independence Day dessert table complete with red, white and blue "snowcone" cupcakes, mini pies, sparkers, and a patriotic trifle (<-personally my favorite element of the table!)

I met the lovely Amy Atlas a few months ago while out with a mutual friend. Amy and I hit it off right away and have since worked together a handful of little projects. You can pick up Amy's book Sweet Designs for more of her impressive confectionary creations and check out her blog for a closer look at elements of this table and other creative dessert table designs.

New Blo Girls

Last friday I took a little day trip to Connecticut to see my latest custom fashion illustrations blown up on canvas' at the grand opening of Blo Dry Bar West Hartford. It was so exciting to finally see them so large scale in person!

I was commissioned to illustrate two girls for the new Blo salon. The first (shown above) a trendy-chic girl mid "blo" greets clients near the front, her I had printed on a 4 foot tall canvas. For the second (shown below) I illustrated a traditional preppy Connecticut girl on to go, ala Charlotte York with a cable knit sweater, blo-pink Birkin and shopping bags in tow. She was printed on a whopping 6 foot tall canvas and makes quite an impact on the back washing station wall.

Even though I've worked with the Blo crew for a while now, illustrating their hair menu and their NYFW Barbie menu, the grand opening of Blo West Hartford was actually my first time in a Blo salon. Although Blo Dry Bar is the largest blowout chain in North American, there's still no Blo here in NY! (I was planning on sharing before and after shots but my curly-frizzed out before shot is just too embarrassing to publish.)

In addition to seeing my artwork adorning the walls, the grand opening of Blo West Hartford was a great event all around. There was lots of mingling between blowouts, sipping pink champage, munching on Blo cupcakes, diving into gift bags of goodies, and seeing my two favorite Blo girls, Hilary and Lizzie who flew in from Blo headquarters in Canada.

If you're in the West Harford Connecticut area definitely stop into Blo, check out my sketches and treat yourself to a fabulous blowout.

Rue Magazine Blogger Side-by-Side

About a year ago I was thrilled to be contacted by the Rue crew to sketch fashion illustrations for the Rue Magazine blogger side-by-side column. I was sent a bunch of photo's of the two lovely bloggers they were featuring that month and I created these fashion illustrations, reflecting them and their style. Sarah Klassen of Haute Design (shown above) was a fun one with her bright red hair and chic accessorie styling (don't you love those shoes!) and blogger Daniella Marie (shown below) of Dress Design Decor and Daniella Marie Blog was a lovely and more girl-next-door look.

Unfortunately the sketches were pulled at the very last minute and never ran in Rue, but in going through some old project files I found them and thought would share.

(Illustrations by Brooke Hagel)

Head Scarf Sketches for Remington at Target

A little while back I was commissioned by Remington Products for this fun little project sketching hair styles that showed the five different ways to style their newest hair accessory, a sequined head scarf. They requested the sketches be simple line drawings with only the product drawn in color, so it would stand out. I was also asked to keep the face consistent on each illustration, so the focus was only on the different hair styles.

Once the tags were in production they said I'd get samples for my portfolio but nothing ever came and I almost forgot about it. Then a few weeks ago while on a trip down in Florida I decided to swing down the hair accessory aisle of a Target just to check out the Remington line and see what was there. To my pleasant surprise I found my sketches right there, in store, on hang tags in Target! Needless to say I bought one and am excited to share the illustrations here with you.

(Illustrations by Brooke Hagel for Remington Products)

Head Shot Illustrations for Polka Dot Bride

Years ago I was commissioned by Ms. Polka Dot Bride to create a "head shot" illustration for her popular site as well as an original bridal fashion illustration of a retro polka dot bride to adorn her office.

Since that first commission, Ms. Polka Dot Bride has expanded her Australian based website and taken on a new staff of bridal bloggers, who of course now need illustrations as well. The girls reached out to me for a new batch of head shot sketches. Each fashion illustration resembles the writer behind the blog in hair color, eyes, hair style and wedding dress silhouette.

I think the bridal bloggers are pretty happy with their new sketches, Ms. Floral recently tweeted that "They all look fantastic. If only my hair stayed that perfect in real life!" This was such a fun little project, as I absolutely love illustrating head shots, making them brides, well that was just the icing on the cake.

Belts, Bags, Black & White

Not long ago I was asked to create an assortment of fashion illustrations as well as consult on the branding and design esthetic for an accessory company called Bali Belts Studio. I created eight illustrations of fashion forward girls all sporting their belts while donned in classic black and white. Having a background in brand development, I advised that keeping the color story simple will prevent the sketches from becoming dated and will be relatable to multiple markets.

My design idea's were implemented and my sketches featuring the companies handbags and belts were used as decor in their NYC showroom, as well as within trade show booth displays at The Accessories Show in New York, and Magic in Vegas.

Barbie at New York Fashion Week

This weekend I had a major highlight in my fashion illustration career, I was commissioned by the one and only Barbie to create sketches for "Barbie: The Dream Closet" at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week! If that's not a dream job as an illustrator, I don't know what is. Being approached by of those powerhouses alone would have been a thrill, but both Barbie and New York Fashion Week, its just beyond. (Apparently in my excitement I've lost the ability to be articulate here.)

I should explain that I am a self professed Barbie girl. I played with Barbie dolls throughout my childhood, had the dream house, the Ferrari, and as many cloths as I could get my hands on. (Peaches'n Cream Barbie was my favorite fyi.) As a sophomore in high school I was assigned in art class to take an object from childhood and create and abstract painting inspired by it. What did I choose of corse, Barbie. Anyone who attended my high school may remember this painting because it actually hung in the hall beside the main office for two and half years until I graduated. Barbie made an appearance again in my life when I earned my college degree in Fashion Design from FIT. My graduation cake had an actual Barbie in it with a cake skirt! So needless to say I'm certainly a Barbie girl and you can understand why this is such a thrill.

Back to the project here, for Fashion Week Barbie opened up her "Dream Closet" for a series of parties and events celebrating her iconic fashion history. Lincoln Center's David Rubinstein Atrium acted as home to Barbie's Dream Closet featuring real "live" walking and talking Barbie dolls decked out in clothing from designers such as Alexander McQueen and Oscar de la Renta. There were boudoirs where guests could virtually try on over 50 Barbie looks, both contemporary and historical, stations to sit and design your own Barbie fashions, and last but not least there were Barbie inspired make-overs so top editors, celebrities, and guests could get doll'd up! This is where my fashion illustrations came into play.

I was hired to sketch Barbie hairstyles inspired by a selection of the most classic Barbies, some of which I even had as a girl. When guests sat to have their hair worked on by the Blo Bar geniuses, they referred to my Barbie illustrations to choose their "do" of bouncy curls, colorful hair extensions, feathers or even glitter sprayed braids.

It was a star studded Fashion Week event where top editors and celebrities including Kelly Rutherford (shown below), Brooke Shields, Nigel Barker, and Kelly Bensimon were invited with their little girls to take part in the Barbie fabulousness.

As I worked on this project I literally sat at my desk drawing with a huge grin on my face. How many people get to study images of Malibu Barbie and Barbie and the Rockers for their jobs? I mean really pinch me, just another day in the office right!?! Hopefully its the first of many dream come true projects.

For more from this event you can check out my Facebook Fan Page albums of event photo's and other commissions I've worked on recently. And later in the week I'll be sharing a few more of my illustrations for Barbie: Dream Closet.

Bat-Mitzvah Girl

A few weeks ago my close family friend Kyra here had her bat-mitzvah. We toyed with different idea's of how to incorporate the custom fashion illustration I had done of her into her big day. We thought about printing custom stamps, placing it on invitations, or onto party favors like t-shirts or cds. In the end we used it for a truly custom sign-in board for her bat-mitzvah party.

Kyra's unique sign-in board set the right tone at the party entrance, it was instantly identifiable as being the bat-mitzvah girl and was a big hit among all the guests! A custom bat-mitzvah illustration could also make a great gift, if your not in the market for a sign-in board.

Custom Bridal Illustrations

Over the past few weeks, with summer coming to an end, I've been busy sending out new custom bridal fashion illustrations. I thought now, mid New York Fashion Week, would be a great time to share a few of these brides with you.

(Bride, Amy)

This first bride was a fun client to work with, not only did I love her gown, but her spunky personality as well. She told me she was "very sassy" and wanted her personality to shine through in the illustration.

(Bride Catherine, gift from her sister Christina)

This second bridal fashion illustration is unique for me. The reason being, although I've been doing these for years now she is my very first custom illustration commission for an Asian bride! I was so excited to work on her and absolutely love the chic simplicity of her minimal and modern look.

(Bride Lyndsey, gift from sis Drew)

Last but not least is this lovely southern belle wearing a classic sweetheart neckline, adorned with lace applique and a figure flattering waist-cinching bow on a-line gown. I happen to be a total girly girl, so this bride is certainly another favorite!

If you would like a custom illustration for yourself or to give as a gift you can check out the custom illustration listings in my Etsy bridal shop, Brooklit Bride. You can also read this older post detailing my custom process.