Custom Fashion Illustration Gifts: Neutrogena Beauty Bloggers

(©BrookeHagel Illustrations, top-to-bottom: Dovey Kim Cute and Mundane, Alexis Johnson Beauty Bender, Liesa Goins The Daily Glow)

Recently Neutrogena commissioned me to illustrate about twenty top beauty bloggers sketched with their favorite Neutrogena products. These custom fashion illustrations were a surprise gift sent to each of the beauty bloggers. Although I couldn't resist snapping a instagram when I finished I wasn't able to reveal the sketches and full details of the project until now, making sure all the women received their custom illustrations first.

(©BrookeHagel Illustration: Bridgette Duplantis The Not So Blog) 

It was really fun to work on these beauty blogger illustrations. I wanted to capture their over look or style in a "quickie" illustration, similar to the ones I do when event-sketching although here I didn't have people watching me and I wasn't on such a time crunch. The sketches weren't meant to be fully rendered and polished, the goal was simply to capture each girl and have her holding her favorite Neutrogena product. (Which the Neutrogena team researched and provided me with beforehand.) I'm really happy with how the sketches came out and hope the beauty bloggers liked them as well. Many of the ladies have already tweeted and instagramed me thank yous and photos with their sketches, which is always a treat to see! 

(©BrookeHagel Illustrations: Kathryn Romeyn Beauty Bender, Karen Monterichard Makeup and Beauty Blog) 

Each original fashion illustration was rendered on 7"x9" white card stock, making them ideal for displaying on their own (as shown below,) on inspiration board, or framed.

(@BrookeHagel Illustration of Meredith Edwards-Cornwall Retrodivas Beauty) 

If you'd like to commission a group of custom fashion illustrations to give to your clients, friends, bloggers or colleagues you can email me at FabulousDoodles@gmail.com for rates and information on group orders.

Custom Bridal Fashion Illustrations

(Melinda in Amsale) 

Its Bridal Fashion Week here in New York, so what better time to share some of my recent custom bridal fashion illustrations. This summers wedding season brought me so many beautiful bridal clients its hard to choose which to feature. This first custom bridal illustration (shown above) however is one of my favorites to come along in quite a while. This brides gown by Amsale is so simple but absolutely beautiful. I'm not normally a fan of a one-shoulder neckline, especially for bridal but something about this minimal dress is just so sophisticated and pretty. This illustration was a gift and I worked with the gift giver throughout the custom illustration process, shipped her the final artwork, and she then framed it and presented it to her friend, the bride, as her wedding gift.

(Nicole in Rivini)

The next illustration is another stunning gown that was wonderful to interpret into a fashion illustration. This custom bridal illustration was a bridal shower gift from Nicole's soon-to-be new family. At the shower they gave her a custom illustration gift certificate from my Brooklit Bride etsy shop and after the wedding Nicole reached out, emailed me wedding photos of her in her beautiful Rivini gown, and we worked together on her custom illustration, making sure it was the pose and look she wanted to display in her home. I love the fullness of the layered underskirt and the pretty accent of color with her orchid/lavender bow. 

(Dana in Rivini)

Most of the custom bridal sketches this summer were wedding gifts but Dana (shown above) was actually the winner of my one and only custom illustration giveaway I hosted here on Fabulous Doodles a while back. Dana's wedding dress, also by Rivini, features a dropped waist and dramatic skirt made up of layers of organza which created a large rosette. This beautiful gown made for quite a unique bridal illustration with its unique bottom. The actual original illustration I sent to Dana had a lot more depth and shadows in the organza rose skirt, but my not-so-fabulous scanner didn't pick up on the shading and shadows. (Sadly bridal illustrations, being white on white tend to be the most challenging to scan accurately.)

If you'd like your own custom bridal illustration or would like to give one as a unique gift to bride in your life you can check out the custom listings in my bridal Etsy shop Brooklit Bride. I've also featured the whole custom bridal illustration process is this older Fabulous Doodles blog post. 

New Brooklit Bride Fashion Illustration Print

Over the weekend I added this lovely new bridal print to Brooklit Bride, my bridal fashion illustration print shop. I sketched her about a month ago, while procrastinating by sketching (and instagraming) instead of getting ready for a wedding I had to head to over in Brooklyn. Since drawing her she's been front and center on my shelves and I simply adore her. I've named this print "Martha" since she's inspired by a photo I pinned from Martha Stewart Weddings and the name just seemed to fit her personality as well we the charming vintage vibe of her J.Crew wedding gown.

To purchase a print of Martha or for information on my custom bridal fashion illustrations, click on over to Brooklit Bride.

Kiss Kiss, Lipstick Prints for Dior & Vogue

I have another fun illustration project I worked on for Vogue to share, sketches of my lip prints for La Vie En Rouge, an event with Dior Beauty in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Rouge Dior. They sent me a handful of images of the new Rouge Dior collection and I illustrated lip marks for the team to use for lip-print analysis'. Since each lip print tells a story, Dior and Vogue were on hand to help determine what does your lip print say about you? The lip-print shown here is The Doll, with thin lips and light nude saturation (these would be my lips and my color of choice!) "Ever analytical, this woman is full of insights and is meticulously detailed. She is known for being organized, optimizing processes, and styling new looks." Okay, I'll take it!

I love sketching for beauty clients especially for such an iconic brand as Dior and this was certainly a unique out of the box project. Unfortunately I couldn't make it to the event last week as it was at Saks down in Miami and I was at another Vogue event here in NY (which I'll post about on Fabulous Doodles soon) but I wanted to share the project with you. Also, check out the new Rouge Dior collection!  

Designer Sketches from NYFW Spring 2014 Collections {Part 2}

New York Fashion Week comes to an end today and closing it out is the designer behind one of my favorite inspirations sketches of this season, Ralph Lauren. His inspiration, along with these two from  Joie and Honor were three of my favorite stylized sketches from spring 2014. These pieces are all quite artistic and stylized, and certainly not your typical "fashion illustration" but they are all such beautiful pieces of artwork and examples of illustration.

Joie's inspiration (shown above) is a stunning use of mixed media. They combined a beautiful illustration with actual fabric swatches of textured whites to the paper and make tiny gathers to create the clothing silhouette. They also used a craft paper base, which you know I'm a huge fan of these days and have been illustrating on and experimenting with myself. (Remember this project for Vogue and Bobbi Brown)  

Next up is Ralph Lauren's simple yet powerful watercolor silhouette. Again, not your typical "fashion illustration" but such a wonderful minimal painting. Sometimes keeping it simple and showing restraint makes more of an impact, or as they say "less is more." I'm curious to see his collection this morning and see if this feeling is carried through to the collection. 

Lastly is Honor. At first glance this sketch seems to be just a floral appliquéd veil. It's only once you take a closer look and see the figure beneath veil: the head, the long arm, the tiered black dress, that you see how impressive this stylized illustration truly is. I would love to have a piece like this framed in my apartment. It also makes me want to whip out the gouache and experiment with painting layers of whites over a pencil sketch. 

These three designer illustrations from New York Fashion Week inspire me to take risks and experiment in my own artwork. Fashion illustration doesn't have to be traditional. Sometimes thinking outside the box can is where your creativity can truly flourish.  

Check out part 1 of my NYFW designer sketches for spring 2014.

(Fashion Illustrations by Ralph Lauren, Joie and Honor from WWD) 

Invitation: Illustrating for Vogue & B. Brian Atwood

 
I'm excited to share that I'll be live illustrating for Vogue Magazine this fashion week and you're invited! We'll be celebrating the launch of the new B. Brian Atwood handbag collection. Vogue along with Helena Glazer of Brooklyn Blonde will be hosting the soirée and I'll be on hand live-sketching guests with their new B. Brian Atwood handbags, giving each customer an original custom fashion illustration as a unique and personal gift with purchase.

Where: Bloomingdale's 59th Street on the Balcony

1000 Third Avenue

New York City

When: Wednesday, September 11th, 6-8:00 PM

Enjoy stunning bags in an intoxicating mix of shapes, textures and skins along with cocktails, sweet treats, and fashion illustrations. Hope to see you there!

Designer Sketches from NY Fashion Week (Spring 2014)

Time to drool over designer fashion illustrations fresh from the designers studios and hitting the runways. Unless you're living under a rock you probably know New York Fashion Week has kicked off this week and at the start of each fashion week WWD collects and publishes designer inspiration. Its something I, as a fashion illustrator and fashion illustration enthusiast always look forward to. This season it was a nice surprise to see that some designers opted to show more than one illustration from their spring collections. It's such a treat to see grouping of illustrations, how the collections take shape and the consistency of each designers illustrative style.

I absolutely love the first grouping of sketches from Erin Fetherston (shown above) inspired by her recent Barbados summer wedding. Her illustrations are all so feminine, soft and delicate while still conveying personality with their simple stylized top knots and a single dramatic eye. Rebecca Minkoff's sketches (below) are quite different but equally as striking. Her "strong Latina woman" inspired illustrations are certainly more detailed and the fabrics are thoroughly rendered yet not overdrawn.

Brandon Sun's sketches (below) are super simple pen and ink illustrations with no color, skin tone or design details yet you get the feel of his collection and its bold and modern Japanese samurai armor inspiration.

Last but not least is of one my longtime favorite designers, Oscar de la Renta. These illustrations are quite unique, they have classic Oscar features, faces and hair styles yet the garments are very stylized. Taking a close look, if I had to guess I'd say that the "dot calm" inspired clothing was rendered digitally from actual fabric scans. Their whimsical and fun styled illustrations for Oscar's always sophisticated, classic  and timeless designs.

For more designer illustrations from the NYFW Spring 2014 collections you can click over to Women's Wear Daily, as well as checking back here with Fabulous Doodles in a few days as I plan to feature a few more of my favorites but with an interesting twist.

(Fashion illustrations by the designer named.)

New Print: Lauren & Ari {For A Good Time Call...}

I'm happy to share this fun illustration inspired by Lauren Miller and Ari Graynor in the movie For A Good Time Call.... I drew this sketch of Lauren and Ari months ago, shortly after their film premiered but it wasnt until just a few weeks ago while visiting Lauren (who also happens to be my cousin) in LA that I finally framed it and gave it to her as a birthday present. Here it is sitting in her home along with the actual prop phone from the film and a copy of the dvd. This fabulous independent film is a must see for every girls-girl who's ever had a best friend, and experienced the roller coaster of emotion that is a female friendship.  (Its also now on demand so you should check it out!)

I simply love this movie. Not that I'm bias or anything but my talented cousin not only stars in For A Good Time Call... but she also co-wrote the script, my other cousin Dan produced it, and last but not least I happen to make my big screen debut! Well, my coral J.Crew scarf did really, as I was an extra in one tiny scene but unless I'm sitting beside you to elbow you for the split second my coral scarf appears in the distance, sadly theres no chance of you spotting me.

If you'd like your own fashion illustration of print of the fabulous girls of For A Good Time Call... you can click on over to my Etsy shop because I've just added Lauren and Ari as a 8"x10" print. (The aqua and gold frame in the top photo, since people always tend to ask, is from Z Gallerie.)

(Fashion illustration: by Brooke Hagel.)

Pandora Jewelry Illustrations

Two weeks ago I was flown out to Los Angeles to live sketch fashion illustrations for a garden party at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills in honor of Pandora's newest jewelry collection. This party was unique because the majority of the guests were stylists, costume designers, and studio executives whom were being shown the collection with the goal of getting product placement in photo-shoots, television shows and movies. For years I wanted to be a costume designer and throughout college (FIT) most of my internships and projects focused on wardrobe styling and costume design so needless to say I was in seventh heaven chatting with all the guests as I sketched.

In addition to live sketching the soirée, the week leading up to the event I also illustrated some of the Pandora's newest jewelry pieces which were then blown up into large prints and displayed throughout the party space. Shown here are two of the necklaces, my personal favorite is the pave feather necklace (attached to the header of this post) and the charms shown "hanging" from the photo above.

For more information about my live-sketching or rates to sketch your corporate event or private party, you can email me at FabulousDoodles@gmail.com.

(Photos and Illustrations: ©BrookeHagel)

Child Fashion Illustrations {Sadie Yanks}

How insanely adorable are these little girl fashion illustrations inspired by the lovely Sadie, daughter of Editor in Chief of Hamptons Magazine and Editor at Large of Gotham Magazine Samantha Yanks!? I met Samantha about a year and a half ago at New York Fashion Week. We had great chat about her love of fashion illustration, discussed possible custom sketches, and soon after started following one another on Instagram.

Aside from the recent book I illustrated (which I just posted about this weekend) and the occasional bat-mitzvah girl, I haven't actually drawn many children. Well, cut to this summer and Samantha posting all these amazing photo's of Sadie and her adorable Hampton's-chic looks that I continually "like" on Instagram, and the conversation of custom sketching her fabulous little daughter started up again. 

I chose my three favorite looks from Sadie, which turned out to be Samantha's favorites as well! I tried to capture not only her style but also attitude and personality, which certainly shine through in her photos. I have to admit, I'm sort of obsessed with how these sketches came out! Samantha loves them too and we're making them into large prints to frame and hang in Sadie's room. I can't wait to see how they look blown up and in her space. 

To commission a custom illustration of the little one in your life simply click over to my Etsy shop where you can see more examples of my custom work, read about the process and purchase a custom listing of your own. Also be sure and follow Samantha through her site, twitter and instagram for all her chic and "#spyLUXE" finds.

(Instagram photos by Samantha Yanks and illustrations by Brooke Hagel) 

My Third Illustrated Book, The DREAM BIG Academy

I'm so excited to share that the third book I've illustrated is now available! The DREAM BIG Academy Rosie Wants to be a Fireman is written by Marissa Klein and illustrated by yours truly, Brooke Hagel. This was such a fun project to work on and quite different from my previous two books, which are drawing tutorials as opposed to a story-based children's book about a single character.   

The DREAM BIG Academy Rosie Wants to be a Fireman is a wonderful little book in what will hopefully become a full children's book series about a little girl named Rosie who goes to bed at night and dreams big dreams of the places she could go and what she could become when she grows up. I think Rosie will truly touch both little girls as well as their moms. I'm not yet a mom but I can tell you she resonated with me, my inner girl, and the big dreams I had and still have for myself. (Rosie even has a stuffed elephant named Ellie, which was the name of my favorite childhood stuffed animal! Mine was light gray and about ten times the size of Rosie's but it's a fun coincidence nonetheless.)  

This book is in the process of being self published by the author Marissa Klein, through a fundraising site called Indiegogo. By clicking on over to The DREAM BIG Academy page on Indiegogo you can help Marissa reach her goal of self publishing this book while getting yourself a signed copy of the limited first-run! If you chip in a little more you can also get a signed print of Rosie to frame and hang in your home. I have my fingers crossed that Marissa raises all the seed money she needs to publish this wonderful little book and I can soon hold a printed copy in my hands. 

Beauty Illustrations {Vogue & Bobbi Brown}

The lovelies at Vogue Magazine reached out to me again about two weeks ago to create beauty fashion illustrations featuring Bobbi Brown Cosmetics new summer collection for a makeup event at Saks Fifth Avenue. They were open to creative input so I suggested something different, using tan craft paper as the background of the illustrations, putting the focus on the makeup and its bronzy colors. I sent this recent doodle I instagramed and this post as examples of what the artwork for this project could look like and they were on board and let me run with it.

I illustrated three different looks, the first and my personal favorite is "Beach Bronze Night" shown above. This look is all about a golden bronze eye and peachy pout. Since it's the evening look I gave her a sparkling drop earring and dark silky hair for dramatic contrast.

"Summer Bright" is next. This look called for a bold and bright passion fruit glossy lip, coral shimmer blush and sharp black ink eyeliner. As the bright day look I gave her a casual and fun side braid with a lavender hair tie and huge pout for that bold lip color.

The third look, "Beach Bronze Day" is the most natural of the group. It consists of a nude cheek tint, bronzed pink lip tint, and sandy gold eye shadows. I complimented this look with a white striped headscarf and bright green eyes. I tried to give each girl her own style and personality since Bobbi Brown is all about celebrating individuality. 

(Top: Brooke Hagel, Saks 5th Avenue. Bottom: Bobbi Brown makeup artists with Vogue's Cara Crowley, Bobbi Brown display in Saks) 

Walking into the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store and seeing my sketches on display for Bobbi Brown and Vogue was quite the pinch-me moment. My illustrations were incorporated on displays in multiple areas of the first floor beauty department and seemed to be a huge hit both with the Bobbi Brown makeup artists, Vogue staffers, and event guests, who repeatedly posed for pictures with and alongside the illustration displays.    

(Top: Beach Bronze Night Illustration by Brooke Hagel on display in Saks, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Bottom: Cara Crowley Instagram, Brooke and Cara.) 

I'm so happy with how these illustrations came out and that Vogue and Bobbi Brown took a bit of chance and let me use the tan craft paper instead of standard white. This was a wonderful project to work on and certainly a proud moment having my illustrations on display in such an iconic institution as Saks Fifth Avenue.

Fabulous Doodles' 4th Blogiversary

This past weekend marked four years of my little fashion illustration blog Fabulous Doodles! It's been a great year with many exciting new clients and experiences so what better time than now to look back and spotlight some of the years highlights (alongside a few Instagram memories.)

The biggest change of this year which brought about incredible opportunities was deciding to live-sketch at parties and events. After trying it out just once, and featuring the sketches here on Fabulous Doodles, I was approached by Director of Events for Vogue Magazine, Anne Vincent! As a life-long fashion nerd, walking into the Vogue offices, portfolio in hand that first time was a surreal experience.  Even though I was a nervous reck our meeting went great, my portfolio and resume were a hit, and I booked my first Vogue job for two weeks later. I live-sketched for Vogue at the opening party of the very first Piperlime store.

Since that first illustrating job with Vogue, over the past 8 months I've been rehired to illustrate at a handful of Vogue events, sketch for their partners, attend parties, make custom stationary for Vogue staffers and had countless introductions to editors, designers, and stylists. It's been incredible working with the team from Vogue this year and knowing that I have the support and encouragement of such an iconic and influential fashion powerhouse has been extraordinary.

The next highlight of this year is one actually not featured on Fabulous Doodles but instead one that it led to. Months ago after learning of everything I was working on via Fabulous Doodles an old FIT professor and friend recommended me for a highly coveted illustration position. I was called in for an interview to be in-house illustrator for Ralph Lauren Collection! Not for Polo, not Chaps, not Rugby, not Lauren, but the creme de la creme, Ralph Lauren Collection! This meeting unfortunately didn't go as well since I didn't get the job but it was such an honor to even be considered and meet with the head designers. I now truly get it when actors say "it's an honor just to be nominated," because thats exactly how I felt simply being considered and called into the Ralph Lauren Collection offices.

Working on Sociologie Wines featuring a different stylized sketch of mine on each wine bottle has been so gratifying and I'm thrilled with the final product. The feedback from friends, family and Fabulous Doodles readers both in person and on my social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) was overwhelming, and its something I'm really looking forward to working on more as the line expands.

Next up is my collaboration with the fashion director of Quest Magazine, which resulted in a whopping 6 page spread of my fashion illustrations. I've had editorial features before but nothing that even compared to the 6 full pages in Quest's 2013 Spring Style issue.

The next one is another biggie, something to actually cross off my childhood "bucket list." I've illustrated not one but two books this year! I worked with Capstone Publishing illustrating two fashion illustration tutorial books for the tween market: Fun Fashions You Can Sketch, Girly Girl Style and Harajuku Style. It was a long process and very challenging at times but I can now say my name appears in the Library of Congress! I've also just polished off the illustrations on a third book, which hopefully will be released later this year.

For years I've followed the work of sweets stylist Amy Atlas. After meeting at a cocktail party, Amy reached out commissioning me to illustrate some dessert bar concepts for her segments on the Today Show and Access Hollywood. I've also assisted from time to time, co-crafting, setting up and styling alongside Amy and her partner in sweets Lisa. Styling is something I used to do a great deal of in my previous position before taking on illustrating full-time and its so great to be able to go back to it from time to time, especially with such a talented duo.

Last but certainly not least of the highlights of this year is illustrating for InStyle and Gap. I've been a Gap girl for as long as I can remember and InStyle was my go to magazine for years so this was another dream job/pinch-me moment and something I was thrilled to add to my portfolio.

It has been a monumental year for my illustration career and I can hardly believe starting this fashion illustration blog four years ago has led me to such wonderful opportunities. Heres hoping year five of Fabulous Doodles will be continued success, recognition, and more pinch-me moments.

(Photos and sketches: Brooke Hagel @Brooklit)

Anthropologie Peter Som Collaboration

Since I love a designer sketch I was thrilled to find in my inbox the latest Anthropologie newsletter featuring these fabulous doodles by designer Peter Som. Som has teamed up with Anthro for this fun collaboration and they've chosen to highlight his lifelong love of sketching into the announcement. Som's sketches are charmingly playful and clearly reflect the garment designs while remaining fairly stylized, clean and simple.

Being a fan of Peter Som and a loyal customer of Anthropologie I'm really looking forward to seeing this collection in person."There'e a mutual love of print and pattern and color. What they really do is make happy cloths, and thats what I do too." -Peter Som 

(Illustrations by Peter Som, Photos by Anthropologie)

Quest Magazine Fashion Illustration Editorial

I'm so excited to share this six page fashion illustration editorial spread from Quest, New York's society magazine, Spring Style Issue. I met Quest's fabulous Fashion Director Daniel Cappello a few months ago at a Vogue cocktail party and was thrilled weeks later when he reached out asking if I'd be interested in contributing custom sketches for the style issue.

Daniel came up with the idea of featuring a handful of New York's leading ladies in stand out designer looks from the spring 2013 collections that would suit each of them and their style. Daniel picked a few options for each and I chose from the bunch which designs were most "sketch worthy." First (shown above) is Hilary Geary Ross in a lavish Oscar de la Renta ensemble beside Lauren Bush Lauren in a stunning red georgette evening gown of cascading ruffles by Ralph Lauren Collection. I have to admit, I am not a red fan normally but this was the most enjoyable look to illustrate and I'm really thrilled with the outcome.

The next grouping of illustrations starts with Carolina Herrera in Carolina Herrera of course. This gold and ivory baroque-lame gown was another favorite to illustrate with her signature up-do and elegant gown detailing. (I actually had the pleasure of meeting Carolina years ago at a party and she was incredibly graceful and striking in person.) Next, icon Lee Radziwell in a modern white Calvin Klein Collection suit. Then the lovely Aerin Lauder in a leather Fendi color blocked top and skirt with Hermes heels, and Amanda Burden in chic monochromatic Tom Ford.

The last two, a somewhat unique pairing, starts with the statuesque Julia Koch whom I've also seen before in person, at opening night of the ballet. For Julia we chose this gorgeous green silk Gucci gown, with a high neckline and billowing flounce alongside the legendary Iris Apfel in her trademark oversized glasses wearing a graphic flower printed Prada fur. I was a little nervous to tackle Iris' sketch, as its challenging to draw mature women, plus I'm such a fan of hers I didn't want to disappoint! But I think they both came out well and I love the pairing of the two beside one another.

Here are some preliminary pencil sketches, or "base sketches," so you can see the progression of how I start out sketching compared to the finished colored rendering. I apologize they're a little light, its hard to pick up on faint pencil lines with scanners and cameras but its always nice to compare a before and after. You can also check out some photos of the women and the collections as seen on the runway on my "Project Q" Pinterest board.

It is such an honor to be included in Quest's spring style issue and to have six full pages of my sketches of these strong women is something I'm truly proud of. You can take a closer look at the spread in Quests digital issue here (on pages 106-111 of the March issue) as unfortunately it's not on newsstands anymore since I'm a little tardy with this post! I was traveling when the issue came out and although I tweeted, facebooked and instagramed about it, the Fabulous Doodles post got put on the back burner.

Party Guest Fashion Illustrations (Vogue Magazine & Nexxus)

Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of working with Vogue Magazine again live sketching party guests for a three days at a pop-up shop event they hosted introducing the newest Nexxus haircare collection, Nexxus Youth Renewal.

Guests were treated to blowouts and hairstyling, then once they were beautified sat down to model for a custom fashion illustration. Throughout the three days I shared via Twitter and Instagram a bunch of the sketches and photos of guests showing off their illustrations fresh from my sketchpad, but since it was such a long event and I had so many I'm spotlighting more of my favorites here on Fabulous Doodles. The spot I was stationed to draw at was a little dark at times so the photo's didn't all turn out so well, but I've lightened them up in photoshop and hopefully you can get the gist.

This event attracted a wide array of chic party guests including Vogue staffers, fashion designers (remember the Monika Chiang post,) fashion bloggers, models, and stylists including Phillip Bloch, (shown below) with his custom fashion illustration. This was such a fun event to be a part of, and for a truly fantastic line that I've actually been using on my hair ever since.

Later in the week I'll share more sketches and photos from the event since there were too many to condense into this one post. For now though I have to pack up all my supplies and prep because tonight I'm working with the amazing team from Vogue again! This time I'll be live-sketching at a much smaller cocktail party for their Vogue Blogger Network. Since you can always count of fashion bloggers to be sketchably chic I'm sure this event will result in many Fabulous Doodles worthy new illustrations as well, so stay tuned!

For rates to have me sketch at your event you can email me at FabulousDoodles@gmail.com.
(All images and illustrations: Brooke Hagel)

Best Dressed: Met Ball 2013

Last night was the fashion event of the year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute's annual Met Ball. For this years gala stars and designers rocked their "punk"-themed best to celebrate the Met's newest exhibit PUNK: Chaos to Couture.

(Donna Karen Atelier sketch, Hailee Steinfeld in Donna Karen Atelier) 

There were so many showstoppers it was difficult to pick favorites but in the end its those that really embraced the theme and rocked out fabulous punk-couture who really nailed it. First up (shown above) is sixteen year old Hailee Steinfeld in Donna Karen Atelier alongside an adorable sketch of her in the dress (that DKNY tweeted earlier.) At first glance the dress looks sophisticated and pretty, but then up close you see that what appears to be a floral mum pattern is actually safety pins hand stitched to a cream leather dress! Its such a genius sophisticated/edgy look thats absolutely perfect for this event.  

(Kate Mara in Delpozo, Julianne Hough in custom Topshop, Blake Lively in Gucci, Chanel Iman in J Mendel, and Sarah Jessica Parker in Giles Deacon and Philip Treacy.) 

The safety pinned Donna Karen wasn't the only hit of the night though. Kate Mara in Delpozo was absolute perfection in an oxblood colored dress with a unique jeweled bodice and molded peplum. Julianne Hough's beautiful etherial custom Topshop gown was perfect on her tiny frame and the tulle fabric was actually embroidered with a delicate spider web pattern throughout. Blake Lively was jaw-droppingly glamorous in a heavily embellished pale green and black strapless Gucci Premiere gown. I rarely meet a stripe I don't like and Chanel Iman in this black and white striped J Mendel dress was a stunner, and very punk meets red carpet. And last but certainly not least is the amazing SJP in a Giles Deacon gown and Philip Treacy punk couture custom mowhawk headpiece. Its one of those looks that really only SJP channeling her inner Carrie could not only pull off but completely rock. I know there were a lot of haters on this one, but I have to say I really loved it! It was the right place, right time, and right mowhawk! 

Unfortunately I didn't make it to ball (one day, fingers crossed!!) but you better believe I'll be checking out this exhibit. The Costume Institute's PUNK: Chaos to Couture exhibit examining punk's impact on high fashion will be on display starting today through August 14, 2013.  

Custom Illustration, Monika Chiang

A few weeks ago I stopped by Conde Nast to catch up with some of my favorite Vogue girls and chat about a couple of future projects. Needless to say sitting in the Vogue lobby always provides for amazing fashion and people watching but on this day I couldn't help but be a little star struck by the gorgeous designer Monika Chiang who was there presenting pieces from her latest collection to some of the Vogue editors.

After a few minutes I went inside and left the lobby but Monika's look was etched in my head. When I got home later that night I had to test out my markers on Vogue embossed paper to possibly use it for a future live sketching event and I decided who better to draw on my little "test sheet" then the chic Monika Chiang. Well, I whipped up a quickie sketch of Monika, sent a photo (shown above) off to Vogue, and they in turn forwarded it along to Monika's team!

Then last week I live-sketched at a 3 day event for Vogue and Nexxus (more about that next week) and Monika came to the opening night party where I surprised her with the original sketch! She was so sweet, and seemed to really love her custom fashion illustration. Monika's so sketchably chic, this may just be the first of many!

Sociologie Wines {Fashion Illustration Wine Bottles}

This time last year I was contacted by the lovely creator of Sociologie Wine about illustrating some fashionable girls to compliment the flavors of her new wine collection. Lots of ideas were discussed and many emails, phone calls and pins exchanged. Well, I'm thrilled to say that it has been nearly one year and Sociologie Wines with Brooke Hagel illustrations on each bottle has launched and are now on store shelves nation wide!

These wine sipping fashion illustrations were such an enjoyable project and wonderful collaborative process. We discussed at length the flavor profiles of each wine and came up with personalities and social settings for each. We also decided to stylize the sketches by having the clothing and accessories fully rendered in color, which put more of the focus on the fashion while leaving the girl as a line drawn sketch, without any skin tone or hair color, to appeal to a wider variety of women regardless of ethnicity.

We collaborated on the outfits, colors, and overall look of each girl to enhance her unique flavor profile. Blushing Rose (personally my favorite Sociologie girl) is a light pink floral sangria, ideal for sipping throughout a party, perhaps a summer birthday soiree or afternoon shower. We put her in a party-ready flirty short pink dress, with delicate roses in her hair and gold accessories.

The Berry Red Sangria girl is little more risqué, she's a classic all-American girl but has edge. The kind of girl who see's a stunning gold sequined skirt and pairs it with a chambray shirt, chunky leather belt and her grandma Sally's pearls. And last but not least there's the wild White Citrus girl with her bright lemon yellow peplum dress, bold green bow heels and voluminous layers of textured curls.

These are the first three wines to launch the Sociologie brand but more are currently in the works and I can't wait to start sketching new girls for them. Its always a thrill to see my sketches on products but these have been particularly cool and exciting. It was such a pleasure to work with Amy of Sociologie, I'm so proud of the results and so excited for her and her growing business.