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)

July 4th Costume Sketches

Hope everyone is having a fabulous 4th of July! This year I thought it would be fun to feature costume designer illustrations (you know I can't resist a costume design!) that emanate that forth of July spark. First up is none other than costume design living legend Bob Mackie. Over his illustrious career Mackie sketched and made countless costumes for Cher. This one in particular with long beaded and feathered fringe in red, whites and blue, seems especially appropriate today.

Next up are two fantastic costume designs by William Travilla for Marilyn Monroe. The sketch on the left is probably Marilyn's most iconic and identifiable costume from the film The Seven Year Itch. The red sequined on the right is a design Travilla created for Marilyn in Gentlemen Prefer Blonds. Take note of how meticulously detailed the rendering of that beading is!

What forth of July costume post would be complete without Wonder Woman!? This working sketch by Donfeld (aka. Donald Lee Feld) was for Linda Carter. Donfeld was the costume designer for all three seasons of the Wonder Woman television series and was even nominated for a Emmy in costume design for his work on the show in 1978.

Hope everyone has a great forth of July in or out of costume! I'm heading over to the Hudson River for the Macy's fireworks with some of my girlfriends. Let you know if I spot any Wonder Women out there. ;)

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.