Evolving from its 1990’s origins, Brooks LTD creates memories to modern designs, transforming a treasured gown between mother and daughter.

This story beautifully illustrates the power of reimagining a piece of clothing for a new chapter in it’s cherished life. It demonstrates how quality garments can transcend their original purpose, adapting and evolving just as we do. Each piece carries memories while opening doors to fresh possibilities, bridging past and present in deeply personal ways.

This Brooks LTD custom dress bridges generations, read on for the shortened version…..

In 1990, the bride Carrie made a dramatic entrance on horseback wearing this stunning, custom-made gown by Brooks Luby.

Unconventional themes

While traditional venues were typical at the time, Carrie’s entrance was anything but conventional. This story likely resonates with those who appreciate unconventional wedding themes, venues, and attire.

Carrie circa 1990

Meet Zoe

Fast forward to 2023, and Carrie’s daughter, Zoe, got engaged. As athletic as they come, Zoe and her now-husband are avid travelers who seek out high mountain ranges for their adventures. Their lifestyle is exotic and always on the move, reflecting Zoe’s passion for health, fitness, and constant motion.

What you wear says alot about how you live and Zoe wanted this reflected in her gown with ease of movement in elegant fabric choices.

Fascinated by her mother’s wedding story, Zoe became enamored with the idea of wearing the same art wearable dress for her own wedding. Together with her mother, they opened the heirloom storage box that had preserved the gown for over three decades. To their delight, they discovered the original Brooks LTD label still intact, which led them back to me, the original wearable art designer.

Heirloom dress revealed

During our consultation, Zoe tried on her mother’s dress. It fit her like a glove, but she wanted to update it to suit her active personality and modern tastes. We lowered the neckline, removed the sleeves, took out the petticoat for a sleeker silhouette, and added a pocket for her vows – all changes that reflected Zoe’s style while maintaining the dress’s essence.

Zoe in her Mother’s gown after 30 years of storage, note the neckline, the fit and the sleeves, all about to change.

Transformation

New neckline, armhole and pocket details.

The Wedding Day

The result is captured perfectly in a photo that truly showcases Zoe’s personality. The image reveals the impeccable fit of the updated dress and her husband’s adoring look. Their smiles radiate joy and happiness, a testament to living a life together as a couple, the success of our collaboration and the dress’s transformation.

Wearable Art Clothing Designer

As the designer, I am forever grateful to have met Zoe after 30 years of knowing her mother. It gives me immense pleasure to help women attain the dress of their dreams. Working on my original dress was a treat, allowing me to appreciate its excellent construction from the inside out. The hand-stitched elements, luxurious fabric choices, and attention to detail – both in 1990 and now – make me proud to know that the dress has been passed down and worn with great pleasure.

For anyone inspired by this story or looking to breathe new life into a treasured garment, I encourage you to reach out. Together, we can transform any meaningful piece – whether it’s a beloved jacket, a family heirloom, or a vintage find – into something that honors its history while celebrating your present self. I specialize in creative transformations that break conventional rules, helping you showcase your authentic self through reimagined clothing that tells your unique story.

Zoe’s infectious smile

Connecting in a personal way

Zoe and I at the final fitting

Memories to Modern: Transforming Treasured Clothing

Quality garments can transcend any purpose, adapting and evolving just as we do. Maybe you’re entering a new phase of life and want your wardrobe to reflect who you’ve become. Whether you’ve embraced your natural gray hair, shifted to a more relaxed lifestyle, or simply want to express yourself differently, your clothing should be a true reflection of who you are.

For anyone looking to breathe new life into a treasured garment, I can help transform any meaningful piece into something that honors it’s history while celebrating your present self.

Together, we can create unique transformations that showcase your authentic self through reimagined clothing that tells your story.  I encourage you to reach out,

This concept includes any cherished garment, I’ve been known to recreate pieces into wearables that break the rules and let you showcase your true newly discovered self where authenticity takes center stage.

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By working with your hands, the process of mending also calms the mind and allows you to think deeply about things that are personal to you. It’s about the journey and not the destination although, in this case, the destination can have a beautiful visual effect. I shared my personal mending techniques with clients and friends at my private atelier last month and found that there is great interest in the age-old practice of mending.

There are a few reasons why the art of mending matters has such appeal. By repairing a garment you gain a better understanding of it from a construction standpoint and connect yourself in a way to the original maker.

“When we spend time patching, stitching, darning, or otherwise fixing torn fabrics, we ultimately deepen our understanding of quality, composition, and craftsmanship.”  —Excerpt from Mending Matters

Repairing a favorite garment

There’s also the environmental aspect. Mending can be a counterpoint to the dark side of consumption in the fashion industry. Lily Fulop, author of Wear, Repair, Repurpose: A Maker’s Guide to Mending and Upcycling Clothes, writes that “mending is an act of resistance — a rejection of the sort of capitalism that puts profit before the planet.” She even coined the term ‘Craftivism’ noting that the act of mending clothes is a form of activism that sends a message about reducing waste and minimizing environmental damage.

Mending can also improve your mental well-being. Taking time to do something with your hands, like the simple act of stitching, can create feelings of awareness and joyfulness. Mending is proof of the possibility of renewal. It also helps to reduce ‘eco-anxiety’ because it’s a concrete way to take action against the unsustainable practices in the fashion industry.

Working with your hands

Teaching Mending Textiles in 2023

I will be teaching Mending Textiles Matters classes at The Art Student’s League in Denver. (If these links don’t work for you, scroll to the search box and select Fall Adult 2023, Brooks Luby, from the dropdown menu.) Dates are Oct 6, 2023 and Nov 17, 2023. Hope to see you there!

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Upcycling with style is creating beautiful garments out of textiles that are used for something besides clothing. Reusing has long been a practice of inventive and curious designers. The first pair of jeans was created in the 1870’s out of a sturdy, cotton fabric originally used in tent-making. Flour  sack dresses(see below) popularized in the 1930’s made adorable day dresses from the bags that contained feed and seed used by farmers. This practice of repurposing materials not only served a smart economic goal, it also opened the door to new designs and eventually changed common styles forever.

Photo from National Museum of American History/Smithsonsian Institution

We embrace this technique at Brooks, LTD. We value reducing waste and reusing things to create beautiful and unique pieces to wear. Take for instance a special coat we designed. Our client had a quilt top(see below) that had been sewn by a dear friend who was never able to complete a project using it. The piece held deep meaning for our client and leaving it in a drawer for safekeeping didn’t feel right. The client came to us and gave us free reign (yahoo!) to create something special and wearable using the quilt piece.  This is upcycling with style!

Bias Cut

At first, you don’t notice the grainlines of the quilt pieces that are cut including the bias. This gave us quite a challenge. A bias cut is a technique used by clothing and quilt makers to cut fabric at a diagonal angle across the weave (called the grain) to give the material more softness and elasticity. We let the fabric hang on our dress form for awhile. As a result, we decided to stitch down the drape so it would take on the shape we were trying to execute. Challenge accepted and completed.

The Final Artful Wearable

The client was thrilled with the result. She ended up with a wearable piece of art that is imbued with meaning. Moreover, she can celebrate and honor her friend by wearing their work as a unique and beautiful piece of clothing.  This is such a fun and special way to utilize meaningful textiles. Do you have something hiding in a drawer for ‘safekeeping’ that could be better enjoyed? Consider bringing or sending the  piece to Brooks, LTD. and enjoy the experience of repurposing and transforming your keepsake into something functional and truly special.

Reach out HERE to learn about all of the possibilities.

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Baseball style jackets or bomber jackets for women that are creatively designed can have a place in your wardrobe.  Moreover, bomber jackets does not mean they have to have a logo or a team printed on it.  Take my neoprene bomber jacket for instance.  I fell in love with this fabric and had to create the perfect design for it.  Part baseball style, part jean jacket style.  Taken to a new level.  You can too, think out of the box.  This piece can go to your local grocery store, that picnic in the park or an evening out on the town.  This all depends on how you style it.

Here are 4 ways to style one baseball jacket for women.

Koya from Let Me Show You Different chose to style the baseball style jacket with mustard colored pants and red boots.

Dorothea chose a party ensemble and used the jacket as a cover up.

StyleBeyondAge choose a simple tee shirt and jeans while out on her town in Dallas, Texas.

Finally, Samantha chose a bomber as a cover up in a beach setting.

My design aesthetic includes many ways to wear one piece that is timeless, a show stopper and comfortable. We all like these elements when dressing.   It makes dressing up fun and adds value to your wardrobe.  Something we all need in today’s saturated market, an investment piece.

We’ve got you covered when it comes jackets for women.

Lastly, we’ve got you covered when it comes to jacket dressing both creatively and literally.

Shop this jacket  here.

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Denim dress done differently with a tencel fiber seems to be a new theme for my brand.

“The (tencel) fibers originate from the renewable raw material wood, created by photosynthesis. The certified biobased fibers are manufactured using an environmentally responsible production process. The fibers are certified as compostable and biodegradable, and thus can fully revert back to nature.”

 https://www.tencel.com

As a result, tencel now becomes a sustainable fabric! TENCEL™ branded cellulosic fibers define a new standard of sustainability and natural comfort.  Also known as tencel lyocell.

Three new denim designs

Designing 3 different pieces incorporating denim gives  a new sense of awareness for my love of denim.  This caftan shape tencel dress  has movement in the body. Of course there are pockets to hold your necessary items.  It’s carefree, casual and comfortable for hanging around the house as well as going to beach.  The open arms has a peak a boo effect without baring too much skin.

The second one is a turtleneck style that is draped  into a tencel cocoon dress. A cocoon, it’s just that– you feel like curling up as if you were inside a cocoon.  With the turtleneck sleeve and neck element it protects you from the elements of mother nature when changing weather  arrives.  I’ve detailed it with hand stitching along the sleeve line giving it a slow fashion feeling.  Something I like to do in front the the TV on cold winter nights.

Lastly is a sweatshirt shape. This design on tencel has been treated with a pinkish color to create colorful, artful shapes along  the hipline.  As a result, separate appliques are stitched onto the garment on top of the pinkish dyed color in the garment.

See these pieces and purchase them in my shop here.

I trust denim will follow my branding as the new year develops.

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Our team of creatives consists of 3 models, 5 Clydesdale horses, photographer, jeweler, myself and an assistant.  The photos are an awesome visual that is based on our vision of lifestyle choices on a ranch, Colorado style. With collaborative efforts one encounters unique ideas, whose combination always results in something great.  This is our somethiing great! 

Follow along to see more of the day, I will post more weekly as there is so much to share, I created many looks for this shoot.

These new artful jackets can be found on my shop page.  The red dress is here. 

I’ve made sure they are available to you, but remember they are one of a kind!  Once gone they are gone!

The creative team

A shout out to Hardy Klahold for the photos, Christine Marguerite Designs for her custom made jewelry, models Aidana Tokenova, Danshay Martinez and Alyssa Wahr and Suzanne Hagmaier with her friendly horses.  A portion of the sales of these items go back to Hope Held by a Horse a non profit organization for breast cancer survivors.  Support local artists and look fabulous doing it!

I miss my community but am hopeful that reaching out by blogging keeps us connected.  Having these creative photoshoots are my way of also staying connected in an interesting way.

Any comments are greatly appreciated.  I am learning that your interaction with my posts helps me stay in the virtual world game, so don’t be shy, please comment!  Help me be visible to that huge virtual world!  It would be much appreciated.

Here’s to your health and well being,

Brooks

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Fashion and Relevancy

I believe that taking care of yourself especially during times of crisis is self healing.

Chic clothing for well being.

My clothing can be described as Artisan designed playful sophisticated clothing  so that ageless women can look and feel comfortably chic.  At home or otherwise.  Here is our basic white shirt with a fun mask as seen in Malvie Magazine, June 2020.

‘Henry’ blouse available here

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My work from home studio is a bedroom converted into a work space.  Nothing fancy, just my tools to complete smaller projects.  Some of you have asked for behind the scenes photos so I decided to honor your requests.  As you can see from the photos I have alot of sun peering in and I surround myself with favorite art pieces hanging on the wall. This corner of the room has my seerge machine ready to sew masks that I am currently working on.  I sew these masks everyday, only 6-12 at a time.  My back can’t handle much more of that.  When I need a rest all I have to do is look up and see my friends art work on the wall.  On the right is a quilt by Lea McComas and on the left  is a 3 dimensional piece by Michele Brower.

Finished masks for the day   

My work from home  studio has great light.  Sometimes I have to shut the shades because of it!  I have alot of cubby holes that keep my supplies at bay.

Here is the current dress design that I’m working on.  Unfortunately I only had 2 yards to work with so I had to improvise and figure out a way to make it as long as possible.  There are no seams in the body of the dress, just the side seams so I was able to use the selvage to incorporate only one pocket, and an extended hem.  This will be a one-of-a-kind piece that I will add to my collection for early fall.  I’ve also found a new app that removes the background so you can really see just the dress.  I’m always experimenting!

Here is the extended hem piece.  I am taking a draping class so I’ve experimented with draping instead of patternmaking for this particular design. My work from home area only allows for a small table.  My table is on rollers, so I can move it around when needed.  It’s very useful that way.

The dress above is in it’s raw form, below is the completed piece.  Notice how I utilize the raw selvage, something I always try to do even though it takes extra time.  It’s worth the details for me.  I’ve also found a new app that removes the background so you can really see just the dress.  I’m always experimenting!

As I wander through the challenges of our daily processes I am hopeful that a post like this is something you are interested in.  I never really know unless I hear from you.  Please comment below so I know that you are listening.  We all need to listen and learn during this work from home time frame.  It may go on alot longer than we imagined.

Stay home, stay safe and thank you for following me.

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Putting final touches on my Brooks LTD Spring 2020 jumpsuit look

That’s why when the opportunity arose to collaborate with another noteworthy Denver designer – jeweler Andrea Li – on an editorial shoot with uber-talented photographer Nicole Marcelli, I jumped on it.  Both Andrea and I had the intention to “try on” a new look with our content this season, and so we brought stylist and creative director Vanessa Barcus on board to help come up with a shoot concept and aesthetic that would push both of our typical boundaries just a bit.  We also roped in one of my favorite bag designers, Mel Barcelona, to give some extra flair to the accessories.  Coupled with makeup artist Lillian Marsh and model DanShay Martinez, it worked out to be quite the dream team.  And in case you can’t tell from these behind-the-scenes shots, what fun we had!

Behind the scenes with photographer Nicole Marcelli and model DanShay Martinez, with K Contemporary gallery as the backdrop

Model DanShay strikes a pose in a Brooks LTD jumpsuit at K Contemporary

Though not always visible from the public’s perspective, editorial shoots oftentimes have a storyline running behind them.  This helps to create a cohesive look for the shoot.  For this particular photoshoot, we crafted a backstory about a young heiress who was in love with an artist.  This called for quirky, avant-garde (yet luxe) looks – the types of things a patroness of the arts might wear.  We reached out to K Contemporary gallery for the location, and luckily proprietor Doug Kacena was happy to oblige, letting us shoot with his incredible art as the backdrop.  Andrea’s sculptural jewelry made with tourmaline gemstones played an artful counterpoint to my bold SS20 designs.  Favorites from this Brooks LTD collection included oversized jackets paired with tapered pants for a bit of 80s/90s flair, draped jersey dresses, a wildly layered tulle skirt contrasted with a cashmere sweatshirt, and a cozy jumper.

DanShay wears a layered tulle skirt, contrasted with a casual, slouchy cashmere sweater, as seen through the lens of Nicole. Artwork by Ken Gunn Minn, represented by K Contemporary

DanShay in a structured neoprene vest and slouchy silk pants, poses in front of art by Melissa Furness, represented by K Contemporary

Scroll through to see the end results of this special collaboration!

Clothing by Brooks LTD with jewelry by Andrea Li. Photos by Nicole Marcelli

DanShay stands in front of art by Jonathan Saiz

DanShay wears OOAK Brooks LTD and Andrea Li, with handbag by Mel Barcelona

DanShay in a draped jersey dress in front of art by Nina Tichava.

DanShay huddles in front of art by Mario Zoots.

Custom Designs by Brooks LTD

Truly unique clothing and custom ensembles don’t need to be limited to special occasions.  I love designing one-of-a-kind jackets, jumpers, separates and more that can be worn and enjoyed on a regular basis.  With each piece made to order, every garment fits like a glove and suits your individual needs and taste.  A timeless, well-crafted piece of clothing can be a great investment for your wardrobe, offering tons of “mileage” for years to come.  Let’s chat about how we can transform your wardrobe in simple, easy ways with just a few custom designs – visit the Contact page of my website to get started.

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