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)

Blush Band Wardrobe Styling

Months ago I was thrilled to be contacted by the manager of the pan Asian pop girl group Blush to collaborate on their wardrobe and styling. I ended up sketching each band member in a wardrobe illustration that fit her personality, taste and comfort level while complimenting one another and staying true to a monochromatic palette of "blush" pink, black and white. Each girl truly has her own unique styling esthetic. Angeli's a girly girl who loves lace, Victoria likes tight and tailored with a elegant and preppy vibe, Ji Hae is uber-blingy and hasn't met a sequin she hasn't liked, Natsuko is edgy and likes a touch of masculinity, and Alisha favors fun urban looks and can't live without her hoops!

This was such a fun project to work on. The Blush girls were a joy to work with and I'm excited to see them grow. Blush is already making history. Blush are the only singers to date to, from Asia, to have their first two singles hit #3 (Undivided featuring Snoop Dogg) and #1 (Dance On) on the US Billboard chart. Now maybe their styling will be a hit too!? You can check out Blush here on iTunes.

Which Blush girl's style resignates with you? I'm a Victoria/Angeli mix myself.

(Illustration by: 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.

Custom Bridal Fashion Illustration {Wedding Gift}

Today on the first day of summer, or wedding season as I've come to know it, I'd like to share examples of my go-to wedding gift, an original custom bridal fashion illustration. The commonality that these brides share is that their custom sketches were all given as a wedding gift, plus I happen to know them each personally.

(Photo: Gulnara Studio. Gabrielle Bridal Illustration: Brooke Hagel)

The first blond bombshell here was given her custom bridal illustration as a surprise present from our mutual friend. The lace bustier and satin mermaid skirt is actually the first custom bride I've been commissioned to draw wearing separates and I think its such a striking look!

(Photo & Sari Bridal Illustration: Brooke Hagel)

The next bride is my beautiful bohemian cousin in a head-to-hem opened back lace gown. After attending her wedding last summer I couldn't wait to get work drawing her. The wow factor for me was her beautiful hair, which was worn in such a editorial/high-fashion style with a beaded headpiece and loose tendrils. She also carried a voluminous wild flower bouquet that I loved incorporating into the illustration, which normally I avoid, but this one just enhanced her whole boho bridal look.

(Ariel Bride Illustration: Brooke Hagel)

Last but not least is another friend that gifted the illustration as a wedding present. She however opted to give a gift certificate the day of the wedding (for a custom illustration) so I could then work directly with the bride throughout the design process. Her slinky silk gown with delicate floral embellishments was ideal for her long lean figure and the beach destination wedding.

To get started on a custom bridal illustration, read more about my process or to give one as a gift to a special bride in your life, check out the custom listings in Brooklit Bride or click here if you'd like to give a gift certificate for a custom illustration.

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)

Italy Textile Design

 Not long ago I was commissioned for a unique project by Italian handbag designer Alexandra de Curtis to sketch an Italy themed print for a textile. The fabric will be used to line the interior of her collection of fine leather tote bags and clutches. In addition to a couple of stylish Italian girl fashion illustrations, her logo and sketches of some of the bags, Alexandra provided me with a list of iconic-ally Italian things that she wanted me to add to the design. In the "swatches" shown here you can see a cup of cappuccino, wine, designer shoes and sunglasses, art, the coliseum and even a Vespa were all drawn in along with key phrases and cities.

Hopefully this is the first of many more countries I will illustrate for Alexandra's line but in the mean time I'm thinking I need to book a trip to Italia asap. (I've been twice before, but Italy is just one of those places that never gets old.) The bags with my illustrations inside are due out next year, I'll keep you posted once they're available. Ciao bella!

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.

Brooke Hagel Illustrations on VH1's House of Consignment

If you've caught VH1's new show, House of Consignment, you may have spotted my sketches blown up as giant wall decals all around the offices of E-Drop Off, the home of the new fashion focused reality show. I was commissioned by Corri McFadden and her right hand woman Nicole Guarascio about 2 years ago to come up with a bunch of custom illustrations for their website relaunch. To my pleasant surprise since they purchased the full usage rights to the custom sketches, they've used them not only on their website, but as large wall decals to adorn their office walls, which is now the "set" of their VH1 show. (For a closer look check out the post I wrote at that time here.)

The E-Drop Off girls reached out to me again to create some sketches for the holidays and their holiday party, which I believe was actually the party show in episode 2 of House of Consignment. For the holiday project I drew a bunch of new girls for their windows, holiday garlands with designer ornaments, logo snowflakes and even sketched jewelry that was made into temporary tattoos for party guests, which they briefly showed on the show! (My previous post on the holiday project is here.)

VH1's House of Consignment has 7 episodes left to their season so you have a few more weeks to tune in. Not all the sketches shown throughout the show are mine, but see if you can spot my work. My first TV moment was The Nate Berkus Show on NBC, now VH1, I wonder who will be next!?!

Bridal Illustration Wedding Gifts

My custom bridal illustration orders keep rolling in and I realized its been a while since I shared some of them here on Fabulous Doodles.

(Kristina in Vera Wang gown)

This first bridal sketch was a gift for the bride from her bridesmaids! For her bridal shower they gave her a gift certificate for a custom sketch, then after her wedding I worked with Kristina to pick the pose and style she liked best to come up with this illustration. This goes without saying, but its always great hearing from my brides after they receive the artwork and I got the most lovely email from Kristina here saying "I received your illustration today and I absolutely love it!!!! Thank you for your beautiful work! I cannot wait to show my bridesmaids, who gave me the best shower gift ever! I will truly cherish your illustration always."

(Bridget in Mori Lee gown)

Next up here is bride Bridget. Not to toot my own horn here but I just absolutely love the way her dress came out in this illustration. I love the angle of the satin draping, the heavily beaded bodice and her heart shaped neckline. (And as you can tell from my blog header, I also love a red head sketch!)

(Sari)

Last but certainly not least is my friend Sari! Ironically enough the sketch is not actually a gift from me though. One of our mutual friends commissioned me to sketch Sari as her wedding gift. I love getting to illustrate to occasional modest wedding gown, with sleeves and high necklines. They're few and far between and make for such beautiful fashion illustrations. To me they have that sophisticated Grace Kelly/Dutchess Kate vibe, which I adore.

If you would like to commission a custom bridal illustration to give as gift, or to treat yourself check out the custom listings in my Etsy bridal shop, Brooklit Bride or purchase a gift certificate.

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.

Syms & Filene's Basement Project

About two months ago I was approached by a branding group to sketch fashion illustrations for a new re-branding proposal for discount chain stores Syms and Filene's Basement. They commissioned me to draw some simple line illustrations to be used in ad mock-ups for their proposal presentation.

Normally I'd feel uncomfortable sharing conceptual artwork that never made it to print but since the retail giant announced that they were filling Chapter-11 and would be closing all their stores I thought I would share a few examples from the project with you.

I grew up making frequent trips to Filene's Basement with my mom and I'm sad to see them close, although it was a thrill to work on this little project for them before they bid adieu.

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.

Custom Bridal Illustration: Emily

Another summer weekend has come and gone and with it another custom bridal illustration is mailed out to a bride. This one is Emily who happens to be a previous client actually. (No, its not her second wedding!) I previously worked with Emily years ago on seven custom Marie Antoinette inspired illustrations for her website, Material Girls.

Emily sent over a entire online album (from her photographer Taylor Lord Photography) of her bridal session photo shoot. It was the ideal way for me to work on a custom bridal illustration. It also didn't hurt that Emily is gorgeous and her stunning Lazaro dress wasn't too shabby either. Its often a bit of challenge to illustrate from the photos clients send over. They can be too small, poorly lit, and rarely have close up shots of the bride and the dress details. This was not the case here though as you can see from these lovely photos.

It was a joy to work with Emily again and I hope she likes her bridal illustration as much as I do! For your own custom bridal illustration or to give one as a gift, you can check out the custom listings in my Etsy bridal shop, Brooklit Bride.

The image above is from Wisteria, I simply photoshopped my illustration of Emily on in there. Emily does plan on custom framing the artwork though and I can't wait to see a photo of it and add it to my client photo album.

Custom Illustrations: Sister Wedding Gift

Wedding season has arrived and for me that means the custom bridal illustration orders are rolling in.

(Bride Regan, gift from her sister Sam)

The bridal sketches I'm sharing today have a unique commonality, they were all commissioned to be wedding gifts from the brides sisters. (Well three sisters and one sister-in-law, but that counts right?)

(Bride Tracy, gift from her sister Christine)

In the past when not working directly with the bride, the most common person I was commissioned by was the groom. Since the first year anniversary gift is "paper," my custom bridal illustrations make an ideal gift for a new wife. But this year sisters seem to be ones showing their love with my custom bridal sketches.

(Bride Jessie, gift from her sister Rachel)

If your sister is getting married, or you would like a custom bridal illustration for yourself, you can check out the custom listings in my Etsy bridal shop, Brooklit Bride.

(Bride Danielle, gift from her sister-in-law Raegan)

And for a more detailed description of my whole custom bridal illustration process you can read this post from my blog archive.

(After posting this I noticed another commonality among these brides. Although they all have uniquely beautiful and different gowns, these sisters are all sporting a similar dress silhouette, the mermaid/trumpet! How funny.)