“The Art of Simplicity is indeed an art. It appears effortless but requires tremendous expertise to execute well. In design, true simplicity is a refined skill. It comes only through deep understanding and disciplined practice.

Stripped to essential elements, good design maintains purpose and beauty. It achieves timeless quality. I confirmed this thinking during a Kintsugi exercise at a retreat. This Japanese art repairs broken pottery with gold. It embraces imperfection as part of an object’s beauty.

My philosophy creates simple designs with just the right flair to last a lifetime. It’s about knowing what to keep and what to remove. Each element must serve a purpose while celebrating imperfection’s beauty.

Read more about my philosophy: it’s never too late to make imperfection beautiful. 

Thank you to The Lotus Network Experience to have me as one of the Lotus Ladies.

Photo: Jennifer Lord Photography

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In fact Betty will wear both pieces again, which is a testmament to the timeliness of my pieces.

Betty is a bad ass and we had a great time collaborating.

Timeless jacket style will be worn again and again with wardrobe choices already in her closet.

Working with Betty to create this look gave me so much joy.

Meet Betty

Betty is an avid traveler, very athletic, likes to swim with the dolphins, follow Bruce Springsteen wherever he may land and is curious about many things.  She has many hobbies and is an artist in her own right.  When her son announced his engagement, she was thrilled.   Since she is athletic, she wanted to emphasize her good form, posture and cover her arms as she gets cold.   One of the requirements was a certain color of blue.  Moreover, when you are restricted, it becomes a daunting task not to mention dresses are hard to fit and a bit confining for those who like to move with grace and ease.

After much research Betty reached out to me, came to the atelier and tried on several prototypes.   She asked if a full tulle skirt would be appropriate for a Mother of the Groom for a luxurious Chicago wedding venue.    Of course, I said yes and we were off and running.  She chose a short, cropped jacket(part of my prototypes) with a back flared detail in a specific color of blue silk shantung.  For the skirt (another prototype) we worked together to determine the layers of colors of tulle to create depth and interest when she walked down the aisle.  It was like layering paints on a canvas to come up with just the right mixture.

New Look, custom artful wearable

I like to think of this ensemble as a spin-off of Dior’s 1950’s design called the New Look 

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My design is different as I am a firm believer in comfort first.  Betty’s jacket was tailored to her figure, and skimmed her body in just the right places so when she moved the jacket moved with her.  If she lifted her arms to hug her friends, the jacket moved with her.  When she danced the skirt was a delight to maneuver in.  It was playful and whimsical.

Problem Solving

I am in the business of helping humans with solving problems in how they want to dress.  Betty had some ideas, I listened and with that we came up with the most comfortable appropriate ensemble where Betty got compliments all evening from both peers and her son’s friends.

At her son’s wedding reception, Betty was touched by an unexpected compliment in the ladies’ room. A friend of her son’s stopped her, and commented:  “Betty, your outfit is stunning,” the young woman gushed. “When I get married, I want my mother to look as cool and comfortable as you.” Betty felt a warm glow of pride by this kind gesture.

It’s always nice to feel that age is not a factor when dressing for important events and still achieve comfort and style along with elegance wearing classic designs.

Reuse

I trust Betty will separate the pieces as an additional way to include them in her wardrobe.  Her exuberant display when we had our fittings is apparent in the photograph below.

We believe that to reuse is an important feature to cherish pieces while keeping them out of the landfill.  Its a win win situtation.

Working with Betty and others who appreciate attention to details with an artistic flaire where collaborating and having a creative experience is what we have become known for.

Reach out here if you are interested in working with us.  

The post Custom Wearable Art Fashion appeared first on Brooks Ltd.

Details

I add stitched details by hand or with my sewing machine. Sometimes it’s the combination of stitching on the machine and hand stitching that adds the dimension I desire for a piece. Take my classic berry jacket or duster, for instance.  It’s a design I’ve created and used for many years, but now it’s morphed into this collection as a stitched piece.

The berry jacket can take you out on the town, to yoga class or cozied up by the fireplace with friends.  Did I mention it’s a perfect wrap to wear to a wedding? Made of eco-friendly ponte fabric, it glides over your body like a comfortable piece of sleepwear.  It moves as you move, draping beautifully, whether you pair it with fuzzy slippers or over-the-knee boots.

Stream of Consciousness

As an artist I need to create and express my stream of consciousness.  It relaxes me in a world filled with lots of noise and confusion. And as a clothing designer, I’ve always had a desire to look different than everyone else. This element of stitching on garments has proven to be a rewarding way for me to explore unique dimensions in fashion while finding inner peace as well.

Each of us chooses how we present ourselves to the world. Perhaps a versatile, but original piece of clothing is just the thing your wardrobe and you need.

The post Hand stitching with pizzazz appeared first on Brooks Ltd.

Photo:  Fred Langer

Classic Little Black Dress

The Turner Tank Dress is our latest take on the classic little black dress. Style it for warmer weather with bare arms and legs. Or layer it, for the cooler months, over a button-up, a turtleneck or a long-sleeved t-shirt. Heels dress it up, while sneakers or Birkenstocks make it casual, but chic. You could even wear it over jeans or leggings for a completely different look. The options are endless with this incredible piece.

Photo;  Fred Langer

Slow Fashion

As with all our clothing, this dress is made locally in Colorado by a small group of creatives. It’s the product of ‘slow-fashion’, a movement that honors and values products created by hand and not mass-produced in a factory. It’s quality over quantity. Adding to its artisanal essence, The Turner Tank Dress features unique hand-stitched details and a subtle peek-a-boo slit on the skirt that adds style and sexiness.

Timeless Design

You’ll reach for this dress again and again. Wear it to the theater with a heeled boot or toss it on over your yoga clothes so you look chic at a post-workout lunch. It’s perfect for travel too – so comfy on plane rides or long car trips. Timeless and terrific…that’s the Turner Tank Dress, shop it here.

The post How to Style The Turner Dress, our ‘Little Black Dress’ appeared first on Brooks Ltd.

What is deadstock fabric?  Deadstock isn’t a word you come upon every day. When you hear it, it doesn’t exactly bring to mind beautiful clothing and environmental wellness. But, that’s exactly what it means to us at Brooks LTD.

You might ask, “What exactly is deadstock?”. Good question, dear reader!  Deadstock is the surplus fabric manufacturers(including our own brand) haven’t used during their production process. Basically in our mind, really pretty leftovers. In the past, these fabrics often found their way into landfills, adding to the already overloaded and damaging textile waste supply. Since companies need to clear out this extra material to maintain their low-cost inventories, small businesses like Brooks LTD., are able to purchase these fabric remains.  This keeps the textiles out of landfills and instead, using them to create new designs for their customers. In addition, other deadstock fabric could be a quilt top your Great Grandmother made and you’ve stored it in a chest of drawers.  We can fix that, read what we’ve done with one client’s textile she wanted to be made into a wearable here. 

Sustainability and style

Sustainability and style are pillars to the design process at Brooks LTD. Our goal is always to create clothing that is unique, comfortable and easy-to-wear. Using deadstock fabric  in conjunction with modern fabrics allows us to do just that.  This simultaneously limits textile waste and lowers the environmental impact of the garment industry. It’s a win-win and keeps us authentic to our aesthetic.

We always select notable fabrics to use in our designs so most everything we create using deadstock is one-of-a-kind. There’s just not enough of the extra material to mass produce any particular item. We take a couple approaches to working with our beautiful deadstock fabrics. Sometimes we use the entire piece of deadstock to create a special item like this linen duster. The fabric was leftover from a home goods store and we added hand stitching and beautiful appliques to create a fun, seasonless topper.  See this piece here.

Other times, we may have smaller amounts of modern textiles that we combine with different fabrics to create a patchwork effect. The Ida shirt is a great example of this technique – we combined the excess modern fabric from garments we made last year with vintage tablecloths. This allowed us to add fun details like the accents at the wrist and the attention-getting back to a simple style making a piece that is easy and fun to wear.  See more of this piece here.

Our priority

I hope this has given you some insight to how we create pieces for our customers that can never be duplicated thanks to the use of deadstock. And how reducing the amount of textile waste is a priority for us at Brooks LTD. Utilizing deadstock allows us to do our part for the environment, it pushes us creatively, and ends up resulting in unique and exceptional clothing for our cherished customers to enjoy for years to come.

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Brooks Luby Accepting the Sue Miller Survivour Award 2014

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is in October.  It is a gentle reminder to be procative with your individual wellness.  Over 31 years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  The journey to wellness followed as I was lucky to integrate what I love to do (designing clothes) with my health and well being.

Survivors walk the runway for Breast Cancer Awareness

For those of you who don’t know my history, I was chosen to be the exclusive clothing designer for a Non Profit Organization, The Day of Caring over 8 years ago. For the next 5 years in succession I created garments for breast cancer patients (surviviors and those in treatment). Each woman had the benefit to have something designed for them by me to walk the runway at an evening event in Denver, Colorado. I met some amazing people and we all together showed our strength an perserverance during and after challenging times. It became a sisterhood of women going through hard times.

Images for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Survivors walking the runway in my designs throughout the years.  I like to think of my brand in the category of top designer brands, created in Colorado.  We fit a range of womens body types with comfort and ease as a main focus.

Meet Toby, wearing a jumpsuit with hand appliqued lace motifs on the bodice.  The wool melton coat was hand painted and purchased in Paris.  Note my love of interesting textures and fabrics.  This ensemble is good for most female body types as it skims the body in just the right places-not to tight, not to loose.  The second photo shows how to style the same jumpsuit with an embroidered kimono jacket to change up the look.  One size fits all.

Exhuburant emotions while walking the runway, meet  3 ladies each wearing a style suitable for their personality as well as their individual body type.  As you see we fit a range of female body types, sheath dresses to camouflage waistlines(red dress), loose fitting sleeves to cover your arms(black dress) or fitted bodices that accent your favorite parts and cover up your concerned areas (green dress).

2014

From social occasions to everyday lifestyle events.

The range of creative garments that we make can fit into your lifestyle as well as enjoy comfort and ease of movement.  Listen to a short overview of the process.

Thank you Sue Miller, the Founder of The Day of Caring

One of our first events together was with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble where their dancers wore my garments in an intimate setting.  It was the beginning of wonderful collaborations with many to follow.

Founder of The Day of Caring, Sue Miller wearing a custom Brooks ensemble

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Fashion West is a newly developed and well curated fashion show featuring designers from the West.  Often one thinks of Fashion in the West as purely western style.  Think cowboy boots, hats, bandanas and other such traditional things.  Additionally western can mean many things to many people. The range of talent in this show will be very modern and nothing like one expects. Above all, I am honored to be a part of the whole and I am excited to show you my vision of Fashion in the West.

It’s more than western style, or western dress, it’s an attitude.

Additionaly, In preparation for the show I was recently  interviewed by Charlie Price for the upcoming Fashion West Fashion Show in Denver Colorado.  There are alot of insights as to the tranformation I have recently gone through being in isolation for the 2020 year of Covid.  If in the Denver area, the show is August 16  doors open at 5PM at the Exdo Center.

Cow Punk? Absolutely.
Cow Chic? Indeed.
Cow Town? Not on your life.

From the interview in Fashion West:

You have such a range of work in your showroom, how would you describe your design style?

My aesthetic radiates a sophistication that is attained by using interesting textiles, handmade qualities, patterned with a semi tailored effect.  My design style is consciously curating perfectly made garments that have a sense of whimsy, artful details with a flair for femininity.

Why are you – and – what is the thing you love most about being a citizen of The West? 

I am forever grateful of my environment and it is constantly influencing my design and color choices.  The noise of the fashion industry is tempered by my choice to live, play and work in The West.  Being a creative has its advantages not necessarily where you live – as the world has become smaller. Things are more attainable with the Internet being so easy to adapt to.  Of course the fashion mecca’s of the world also has its advantages. I choose slow fashion where I can be the Creative Director and maker of how and why my brand remains sustainable.

Your creations are often quite fluid – is that something you specifically intend and what are your favorite fabrics to create with?  

Fluid fabrics enable the wearer to move seamlessly and joyfully. Women adore feeling feminine and being able to move in their clothes.  I love to drape designs and let each textile speak to me. I am using my instinct and intuition rather than traditional methods learned. Fluidity has always been as aspect of what I achieve…now even more so since I have recently let go of many rules. As I create I am becoming one with each piece that is a new exploration of design with confidence and quality. Every piece has a story and people are very interested in listening to those stories and working directly with the creator. My voice is being heard!

You are a trailblazing business woman in Denver – and have been working as an independent designer for decades in Denver – a city some say disregards fashion – What made you launch here – how has it been and has the business and your clientele changed in recent years?  

As a native after attending design school at Fashion Institute of Technology (1972) I made a conscious decision to take lifestyle over career.  I always felt that executing and creating my craft could exist wherever I chose to be, all I needed were the right tools and equipment.  Being in Denver has had its challenges and I have had to adapt to paring down some of my outrageous design aspects in order to maintain a sustainable business.

Being in business for over 45 years has made me adapt, pivot and recreate my business model and my clientele. More so this year (2020-21), than ever before.  I am proud to say that some of my clientele is multigenerational. My designs have proven to trickle down from generation to generation as I am continuing to meet daughters of women I have worked with as far back as the beginning.  With the influx of people moving to our Mile High City people have brought with them their sophistication but with a sense of comfort and ease.  Environments have a tendency to change desires in how one presents themselves to the world when they dress.  I say “Welcome to Colorado, embrace our sense of style, ease and comfort while living your best life”.

What fashion trend do you loathe and what fashion trend do you love?

As I look back at many archives I see a reflection of a continuous flow of a tailored effect mixed with a flair for creativity and whimsy. It just comes out that way; the mixture keeps it wearable for many women, conservative or edgy. I love that mixture, unexpected and definitely something I strive for in my designs so that they are a recognizable brand. I loathe garments that are not made with care and attention to details, seams that pucker, insides that aren’t finished and hanging threads (unless it’s intentional). Quality fabrics and workmanship are just as important as the design.

View the entire magazine HERE.

Interview by Charlie Price

Edited by Tiaja Pierre

©2021 Fashion West | Design by David Rossa Design

If in the Denver area, the show is August 16 at the Exdo Center.  Tickets available here.

View my designs

I am keeping my newest designs under rap until the show,  however, you will be able to see them after August 16th.

 For those of you in the Rocky Mountain Region I will have an open studio August 20-21 11-4 each day.  Save the date!

In the meantime check out my new page on my site HERE.

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Four Ways to Support Independent Artists on Social Media

Hi there, it’s nice to meet you! We are McLernon & Co., a social media agency, and we’re also friends with Brooks Luby here at Brooks Ltd. She invited us to write an article for her email newsletter about why  engaging in social media with your favorite creators can elevate their prescence.

Many of our favorite local artists, designers, and creators – even those who have brick & mortar storefronts – rely heavily on their digital presence to build their audience, connect with their communities, and as a result, make more sales.

Here are four ways you can support independent artists in your community with social media:

1. Follow them on social media, and like their posts

Show your appreciation for their art and work by following your favorite artists on social media! This helps them achieve more credibility and clout online, and also has the added benefit of filling your feed with beautiful works of art.

2. Comment on their posts

On one level, engaging with posts helps them achieve a higher reach; the higher a post’s engagement rate, the more the Instagram or Facebook algorithm will favor the post. In turn, more people will see the post.

But on another level, the comments section also allows you to connect with the artist on an individual, human level, and encourage them to keep sharing their work by Keeping Social Media Social™! If you don’t want to write a full sentence, even something as simple as a single word or an emoji can be very supportive.

3. Save and share!

Saving posts (by tapping the bookmark icon on an Instagram post) is the best way to tell the Instagram algorithm that you want to consistently see a given account’s posts on your newsfeed. Saving is also a great way to keep track of artists, pieces, or items you love and want to be able to find again, and you can even sort your saved posts into different categories! Click here to learn more about saving Instagram posts.

Sharing (by tapping the airplane icon on an Instagram post)  is a great way to #KeepSocialMediaSocial, allowing you to connect with others on social media by sending posts and pieces that made you think of them. This also helps expand the reach of the artist’s account!

4. Make a purchase

The best way to support the artists you love is to pay them for their work. If you do purchase a piece from an artist you follow on social media, be sure to share your new art on your own social media profiles and tag them so they see it!

If you are an artist or brand who wants help developing and managing your own social media strategy, you can learn more about the Keep Social Media Social™ mission and community at keepsocialmediasocial.com, or work with McLernon & Co. to up your social media game at mclernonandco.com. We hope to see you in our inbox soon!

Thank you for the tips!

Thank you McLernon & Co for these helpful tips. The more we educate how important it is for everyone to help our favorite brands the better .  Engaging instead of just surfing elevates the rank of a brand.  As said above, just one word makes a difference.  If you are social on social media, please like and engage on my page here.  If you are interested in what you see, shop the looks here!

Having fun being social

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” Now, moms are encouraged to wear a look that makes them feel fashionable and confident (with the bride’s approval of course)” a quote from The Knot by by Sarah Hanlon.

I know Barbara well, she’s been a follower for years.  She loves blue. Pulling out all  stops with a special textile (pleather and tulle) with blue as the accent color.  Working around that theme I  put together different shades of blue in different textiles, all 100% silk.  With my current knowlege of the Art of Japense Draping I began the process which can be appropriate for Mother of the Groom or Mother of the Bride as well as for a speaking engagement, or any event that you may be participating in in the near future.

Documenting the finished product

I choose to make artisan clothing for Mother of the Bride & Groom which has delightful interesting details.  View the front, back and up close in these photos:

The wedding event

Fast forward to the actual event that took place in September 2020, with Covid restrictions in effect.

Barbara, the Mother of the Groom looks very happy in her artisan clothing piece.

Jo Julia Photography

Relationships

With each artful piece I create I’m lucky to say that important relationships are created.  I love working one on one with women helping them to create handmade clothing that speaks to their personal style.  Fashion has no age limits as I believe that age doesn’t matter. Whether it’s for a special occasion or your everyday lifestyle choice, it’s all about how you present yourself to the world.

I  help you with your fashion needs, including a mask that might be appropriate for the occasion. In my newly revised web site I take you through the steps on how easy it is to work with me.  Read about it here.

We are all about one stitch at a time, slow fashion at it’s finest.

 If you have a need for a special garment or know someone in the market, send them our way!

Lastly, we’ve got you covered, literally!  We help you reveal your favorite body parts and conceal ones you’d like to hide.

Here’s to your well being,

Brooks

The post Mother of the Bride & Groom Dresses appeared first on Brooks Ltd.

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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