Custom Fashion Illustrations

Today I have some new custom fashion illustrations to share, the first client being the lovely Sunny Hostin, CNN Legal Analyst, host and mom! Sunny commissioned a custom illustration to be used on personal correspondence cards. She told me she absolutely loved the finished sketch and promptly  ordered it printed on personal notecards. Within just a week or so one of her friends reached out to me for one of her own, which I'm actually finishing up this weekend. 

Fashion blogger Veronica Parga saw the custom illustrations I created for Love Gold and was eager to order one of her own to be used in her blog revamp and social media. Coincidently Sunny and Veronica chose the similar poses but the overall style couldn't be more different. Sunny is cheerful and light in a beach-chic coral printed caftan and Veronica is sultry rocking a glam-girl cheetah print jumpsuit and bold fuchsia pink lip. 

For more examples and information on my custom illustrations check out the custom listings in my Brooklit Etsy shop and contact me for artwork usage rates. 

Vintage Vogue Illustrated Covers

(Vogue, June 1929)

Today I've decided to do a little "throwback thursday" feature of illustrated vintage Vogue covers from the 1920's and 1930's. Since it's finally starting to feel like springtime here in NY and warm weather is just around the corner I've chosen covers with a light spring-summery vibe.

(Vogue, 1937) 

I've always loved flipping through vintage magazines for the plethora of fashion illustrations they offer. Now you can find just about everything online, archived issues and websites full of visual references, but even just 10-15 years ago that wasn't case. I remember spending hours in the FIT library devouring vintage issues of Vogue and WWD, for illustrations not only on covers but in most of the ads and editorials too. Years later while working for Hearst Magazines I once spent a solid week wearing white gloves and thumbing through vintage issues of Harper's Bazaar and Esquire with the task of choosing vintage cover art and interior illustrations (including work by Warhol, Etre, and Varga) for Hearst archive product development. 

(Vogue, July and August 1930)

Although fashion photography can be incredible, especially when the right team is assembled (model, photographer, stylist, creative director, etc.) something has be said for the beauty of a fashion illustration and one single illustrators artwork gracing a magazine cover. How amazing would it be to see a stunning fashion illustration grace the cover of Vogue today instead of Kim and Kanye?…Ahh, a girl can dream. 

Inspired Weekend

I'm having a major leopard moment, which is odd since I've really never been a leopard-print-kind-of-girl, quite the opposite actually. I realize working in the fashion industry for all of my career that it should not surprise me that my taste may change or I might fall for a certain trend every now and again but this one really surprises me. I can't just seem to get enough leopard these days! Case in point, the newest notecards added to my Etsy shop and the impulse-buy slip-on sneakers I couldn't seem to take off all weekend.

1. Kate Moss leopard fashion illustration notecards with craft paper envelopes are the newest additions to my Etsy shop and this weekend I sent some out as thank you cards. (She's also available as an art print.) 

2. Joe Fresh fashion illustrations. My mom was not familiar with Joe Fresh and after popping in to check it out this weekend, she became a fan and it was a big topic of discussion. She was happy to learn I shop there already and fashion illustrations often adorn the store walls. 

3. The new Warby Parker Wilkie glasses in "graystone" are now mine! Although I mostly wear contact lenses it's amazing to finally have nice new eyewear that I don't mind wearing out and about. My old Prada frames were nearly 10 years old, so it was certainly time for an update, and I'm loving them.

4. My mom and me, walking around the city this weekend in our not so fancy footwear. My aforementioned H&M leopard print canvas slip-ons that are surprisingly very comfortable, and my mom in classic cons. 

Mapping Out Mr. Bazaar's American Book Tour

I'm excited to share this colorful map I illustrated for my friend Will Taylor, aka Mr. Bright Bazaar, to help him announce his first American book tour. It was wonderful to collaborate with Will on this illustration. We went for a soft watercolored look, which I created primary using Pantone Letraset and Copic brush tip markers, Faber-Castell pencils for sketching the highlights and outlining, and a Micron pen for tiny details and final touches.

I'm so proud and excited for Will, making the jump from design blogger to book author. Will's first book Bright Bazaar: Embracing Color for Make-You-Smile Style is now available for pre-order and will be released later this month with a stateside book tour kicking off May 1st. With the help of West Elm and Jonathan Adler Will will be hosting events in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Click on over to Bright Bazaar for all the dates, signings, and party info. 

I'm thrilled to see my illustration up on Bright Bazaar, and I can't wait to see Will at his NYC events! Hope you can make it too. 

Custom Bridal Illustration Wedding Gifts

Bridal Fashion Week starts tomorrow so what better time to feature some of my latest custom bridal illustrations. I'm regularly commissioned through my bridal print shop, Brooklit Bride, to draw brides by their friends and families as a custom wedding or bridal shower gifts. This past wedding season however, it was my own friends and family who were tying the knot. I was my own client, sketching up illustrations for wedding gift after wedding gift, two of which I'm featuring today. First up is my beautiful stepsister Vanessa (shown above) in a sweetheart strapless Marisa gown with floral lace overlay that trickled off as it flowed down the skirt.

Next is Jen (shown above,) a fellow FIT fashion design major and one of my closest friends from college. Jen wore a lovely Vera Wang for Davids Bridal organza gown with fern patterned embroidery of metallic and silk with a net overlay. It was such a unique pattern, I really enjoyed rendering this one. (In the original illustration all the layers of organza really popped with beautiful shadows and highlights but the scanner wasn't corroborating so the skirting isn't showing up too well in here in this image.)

This last custom bridal illustration is Marisa, and was a gift to her from her friend and coworker. The many layers of ruffles on her dropped waist gown were certainly tedious to render, but I have to admit I love the outcome of this gorgeous BHLDN gown. And so did Marisa, the bride and her coworkers Instagrammed away upon receiving the final sketch! 

If you would like your own custom bridal sketch or to give one as a gift you can check out the custom listings in my Etsy bridal print shop Brooklit Bride. Custom illustration gift certificate's are also available as well as an option to add the groom and have both the newlyweds sketched. For more about my custom process you can take a look at this older Fabulous Doodes post from a few years ago where I've shared each illustrated step-by-step.