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.

Hilarity for Charity {Fashion Package}

Seth Rogen's second annual Hilarity for Charity party benefiting the Alzheimer's Association, raising money and awareness among a younger generation is tomorrow night in Los Angeles and one of my custom illustrations is up for grabs! Not only will this star studded event be filled with funny people like Seth and his hilarious friends, and the musical stylings of the Backstreet Boys, guests will also have the opportunity to bid on a fabulous fashion pack including a custom fashion illustration or custom bridal illustration from moi, a day of personal styling by the Rachel Zoe, leather bags by Jodi Been and Rebecca Minkoff, jewelry by Alexis Bittar and much more, with all proceeds benefiting this great cause thats so near and dear to our families hearts. Even if you can't go to the show, you can still check out the Hilarity for Charity site and make a donation.

Brooklit Fashion Illustration iPhone Covers {New}

Exciting new product news today, I've just launched in my Brooklit Etsy shop fashion illustration iPhone covers! The iPhone covers feature a collection of my most popular sketches (and a new favorite posted on Fabulous Doodles a few ago.) The covers are all white plastic, hard cases which easily snap onto any iPhone 4/4s with the illustrations clearly printed on the back. Shown above is "Lively Leopard," a sketch I drew for a Fabulous Doodles tutorial post about illustrating leopard. I have her on some of my business cards, she's a constant favorite, and was must have in this collection.

The next print in the iPhone cover collection is Miriam (shown above,) one of my personal favorites as well as a best seller in the shop. In all white with a big floppy black sun hat, she's uber minimal and effortlessly chic.

The next cover features the new illustration I shared a few weeks ago and am a little obsessed with! (Inspired by this photo of Olivia Palermo from my She's A Sketch Pin board.) The original drawing was illustrated on brown craft paper so it has a great tan linen-looking background. Her shinny hair, bold striped top and rosy cheeks really pop and compliment the background color.

And last but not least is Brooklyn Ballerina, a constant best seller in the shop and another personal favorite. I've had this one on my phone ever since receiving the first samples about two weeks ago. She's been a huge hit in person, on Instagram, and even caused a little stir at the Vogue Magazine offices when I stopped by last week!

All four new iPhone cover designs are available in limited quantities in my Brooklit Etsy shop.

Branding Sketches for The Stylish One

Here are some fun new back-view head shots I illustrated for Boston based writer and wardrobe and bridal stylist Julie Digiovine of The Stylish One. Julie's previous branding included the back high bun, but although Julie is also a brunette, she told me she rarely ever wears her hair up. I wanted the artwork to resonate with her so I whipped up two rough sketches, one of her recognizable bun logo and another resembling her hair down, as she wears it. Well Julie liked them so much she decided to incorporate and trademark both fashion illustrations into her branding and site remodel!

Julie was absolute pleasure to work with, I wish all my custom client commissions were as easy breezy as working with The Stylish One.