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Immaterial World
A dedicated and transparent space to re-center how we explore glamour, fashion, magic, wellness, culture, and everything else we love, together.
hosted by Jessica Richards and Jezmina Von Thiele
Immaterial World
REDEFINING THRIFT with Brownie Brown
Brownie Brown is a fashion stylist, creative director, and designer based in Brooklyn, New York, who specializes in various realms of fashion, including personal, commercial, editorial, campaign, e-commerce projects, and upcycling. Since relocating to New York in 2022, Brownie has garnered an impressive portfolio, having worked for renowned brands such as Pilsbury, Square, Meta, THE MET, Nasdaq, Netflix, Paramount, Ebony, Essence. Adidas, GQ, Instacart, and more.
Brownie is deeply passionate about sustainability. She is committed to helping individuals make the most of their existing wardrobe; through her work, she empowers others to make conscious retail choices that not only benefit the environment but also enhance their overall quality of life.
In this episode, Brownie discusses her unique vision for re-imagining fashion; by giving new life to existing garments on both an editorial and individual level, she collaborates with what can be repurposed in creating more with less.
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Hosted by Jessica Richards and Jezmina Von Thiele
For bookings and for more about Jessica visit: www.the12th.house and Instagram: @jessicaxrich
For bookings and for more about Jezmina visit: www.jezminavonthiele.com and Instagram: @jezmina.vonthiele
Music and editing by DIA LUNA
Instagram: @dialunamusic
Artwork by Lane Friend
Instagram: @friendlane
Welcome to Immaterial World, a dedicated and transparent space to recenter how we explore glamour, magic, culture, and everything else we love together. Brownie Brown is a fashion stylist, creative director, and designer based in Brooklyn, New York, who specializes in various realms of fashion, including personal, commercial, editorial, campaign, e-commerce projects, and upcycling. Since relocating to New York in 2022, Brownie has garnered an impressive portfolio, having worked with renowned brands such as Pillsbury, Square, Meta, The Met, Nasdaq, Netflix, Paramount, Ebony, Essence, Adidas, GQ, Instacart, and more. Brownie is deeply passionate about sustainability. She is committed to helping individuals make the most of their existing wardrobe. Through her work, she empowers others to make conscious retail choices that not only benefit the environment, but also enhance their overall quality of life.
SPEAKER_04:So we talk a lot about magic on our show, you know, the type that you might associate with spirituality or with ritual. But our guest today is actually a fashion magician, someone that can imagine possibilities so far beyond what is revealed to us with the naked eye. And I have a lot of questions about that. So she is in creation with her imagination, both for high editorial pieces and the type of magic of just a well-styled look in the everyday. So we are welcoming today Brownie Brown. Thank you so much for joining us.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. Thank you for having me. Pleasure. Yeah, we're so exciting.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. You know, you have such an incredible portfolio of work. And we actually met at an editor dinner one night for a jewelry brand that I love. Um, I met you because you had a phone, or I'm sorry, a bag that looked exactly like a rotary phone. And I was like, my head went on a swivel like whoop. So I know you have so many incredible pieces in your closet and the way that you style, but we really want to start with your origin story and your beginnings and how you even got here to where you are today.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, how I got to just being more of a sustainable talent, I guess, artist is I was watching, I've always loved fashion. You know, I grew up in Nigeria, then I moved here, and my parents are just the way they dressed is very colorful, vibrant, just beautiful. And then when I got here, I always had that itch for fashion. I would sit um in my closet and just cut up clothes and put them back together and just like I love puzzles. I think it just comes from my love of puzzles. I just like to figure things out. So the sustainability part came when I was watching, um, I had all these dreams to work for like Zara and HM, all the fast fashion companies. And I was watching um a documentary called The True Cost. If you haven't seen it, please watch it. It's amazing. Yeah. And I was like, wait, fashion is uh polluter? Like I didn't understand that. It was brand new for to me until I watched it. And I was like, okay, I can't go about what I've been doing. Even though I've been sustainable, I still kind of wasn't. So then um I just started creating with what I had uh available, which was like going to thrift stores and just figuring it out. It didn't look as good when I got it, but then I just upcycled and just used my imagination and just started there. And it just grew into what it is now.
SPEAKER_03:That is so cool. I love the inspiration of um just making the world better with whatever your artwork is. It's my favorite kind of inspiration. And your portfolio is so expressive, spanning from personal styling to commercial styling, projects with brands, windows at department stores, partnerships with events, bespoke creations for Met Gala attendees, costuming for major concert tours. You do it all. So let's talk about some of the achievements and milestones that you are most proud of.
SPEAKER_00:Most proud of this is one of your questions that made me feel like, oh, I don't, I really don't know. I think what I'm really most proud of is just me continuing to just go and and do it, to be honest. Because there's a lot of times, I mean, it all looks great on the outside and it is good, but a lot of times you doubt yourself, you don't know where you're going with it, you're doing a lot of great things, you forget what you're doing, like you just mentioned all that. You do it and then you move on. You don't really remember your whole portfolio. So just me not giving up and keep it moving forward. I feel like that's the proudest thing I could say doing this, because you know, what are we gonna do if we stop?
SPEAKER_04:I'm gonna make you go through some of your achievements, though. I'm gonna start picking them apart because there's some big ones that I know people want to hear about. So I'm gonna start working backwards with one that was quite recent. Um, tell us about the look that you created for Beyonce's cowboy carter tour.
SPEAKER_00:Oh man, that was um, I work with Chris Habana, he's incredible. He's worked with name it, he's worked with everybody. He's an incredible designer, a great person to work for, very gentle. In this industry, you don't find that a lot. Everybody's like, you know, on edge and just just doing the most, but he's just incredible. So yeah, I work with him with for that collection. We created so many looks. It had to be, they didn't even use everything that we created, had to be over maybe 60 or so. Wow. Looks yeah, it was crazy. But a lot of people created for that tour, and a lot of the looks that they created did not that they weren't used. So we're so lucky that ours was actually used for the tour, and not only that, it was used multiple times. So yeah, that was an incredible experience.
SPEAKER_04:I love that. And I'm a huge fan of Shiona Trini, who I think was the the stylist for that tour. So I I know she's and she's a Virgo, her standards are very high.
SPEAKER_00:I know. My mom was a Virgo, I know my standards for sure.
SPEAKER_04:And you know what I love to see too? And and I want to also segu this same comment into talking about the look that you worked with um Tyla for the Met Gala. We don't really hear about sustainability being incorporated as a reason to do something, especially like for red carpet or concerts. It's like a nice to have rather than a focus. So it's really beautiful that you're collaborating with designers and stylists to bring that into these red carpet looks or these concert looks. Um, please, please tell us what you did for Tyla for the Matt Gala, because that was one of my favorite looks too.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, that look was great. It was Jacques Moose, so the whole team came down um from Paris, I think. Yeah, and they were there for days and they had this dress, and the dress actually was supposedly ruined or something, and they didn't want to use it at first. Oh, no way. But I think it was just it wasn't ruined, it just something happened with it, but it wasn't like a huge deal. I'm glad they ended up using it because of all the looks. I love that one, it was just beautiful. Um, so I did like hand embellishments, like um on the you know how it had the pinstripes, but the pinstripes were were they had beating all through them. Wow. Yeah, you couldn't see that on the on camera.
SPEAKER_04:So you did like hand beading down the pinstripes.
SPEAKER_00:Hand beating. Maybe there was a team, it was like probably one, two, three, four, maybe four or five of us. We added more and more and more just to get it just right. So yeah, that was cool. That was fun.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, and I love that brand too. I was we just did an episode where I talked a little bit about the astrology of the past runway shows and and really talking about, you know, I I think that the what work that Jack Mooch does is like the the brand, everything he stands for. He's so himself in in everything that he creates. So I love that you worked with that team. I feel like that must have been experienced. Yes. Amazing. Well, now that I know that you did that hand embellishment, how do you become such a prolific sewer? Like that's a talent that not many people have now to be able to hand sew like that.
SPEAKER_00:Am I? I feel like I'm just I really I love to figure things out. I don't care what it is, like half the things you see that I do, I don't even know what I'm doing. I just put myself in there, even when working with Chris. He just saw usually you would have to um uh turn in your resume and this and that, but it was just word of mouth. People just spoke so highly of me, and he just hired me on the spot. And I just like to figure things out. So the hand embellishment, I was there, like, okay, all right, just put the bead in on this, blah, blah. Looked at it for two seconds and just did it. So I just feel like it just comes natural.
SPEAKER_04:I love that. And I also love that on your website because you've already sort of mentioned it two times, talking about putting people first in fashion, in a especially in an industry that's not known for nice people.
SPEAKER_01:That's right.
SPEAKER_04:That is right. How do you curate such great relationships with all of the partners that you have that someone thinks like, oh, Brownie's the person we want to bring on for this?
SPEAKER_00:Um, I just think I look at them as people, you know. I don't look at them as anything else but that first. I don't want to get anything out of you. I don't want to like build a relationship just to be in the in the scene. I don't even go out. So it's like, I don't care about any of that stuff. I think I'm just naturally myself and being myself, it's it's natural, but then it took a lot of work, a lot of self-work, a lot of deep, deep dive into myself, into like just being very self-aware and um fixing things. And I think that just shines through. I don't have to try, I'm just being myself and treating people with respect. And that's that.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that's beautiful. It it makes sense. I mean, um, and I think it's it's easy to get um I think intimidated even by the process of your own work. Like I loved what you were saying about how moving forward is just the most important thing, even though you're doing all of these wild things. So it makes sense that you just trying to stay grounded, connect with people as people. Sure. Always. What got you interested in working with fashion from an angle of sustainability? We hear this word all the time in fashion, but it's not always an aspiration for people coming into the industry. And you clearly have a through line in all of the work you do uh of creating from what already exists instead of continuing to contribute to overconsumption, uh, which we love and admire. So we'd love to hear you talk about that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's just like I think watching that documentary, you started everything and then actually seeing it for myself and seeing like the waist and being like, oh my God, I'm going out and I want, I want to go to where was I going back in the day? Forever 21 papayas, whatever, to go buy an outfit just to go out and then never really wear that outfit again. I had to see it in myself first before I I before anything else. And I always say sustainability is is um an inward thing. Like you have to be sustainable, sustainable inward to actually make a difference. Like you can't just say, Oh, I'm sustainable, or I'm trying to make the planet better. No, you have to really figure out yourself first, and then I think from there that it comes out, um, for me at least. Um But yeah, after seeing it, it's like when you see certain things, you can't unsee it, and there was no going back for me. And I'm not saying everyone has to be perfect, you don't have to be, you can still shop at Zara and whatever, but just know, you know, it's it's in moderation and also know the effects, because at the end of the day, none of this is gonna be fixed until those corporations figure it out. Like we can't really do much, but I think the most important thing we can do is just know where your money is going. It's all about it's all a money game. Like, if you're not buying as much, they're gonna change. And there is with these companies a lot of greenwashing, a lot of like, yeah, we're sustainable, but they're really not. So you just have to do your research and yeah, just start from within. That's my advice.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I I talk about this a lot. Having a background in design and product development has really it the awareness that I have for how products are made is is really difficult for me because I know how much wastage there is. I know how much there's happening on the other side of the world that we pretend like doesn't affect us here, but very, very much contributes to to a lot of the pollution problems that we see. I think that fashion is the number one polluter at this point. So I I have such enthusiasm around anyone that loves sustainability because that is the way we need to move. And we're voting with our dollars. Like you said, the consumer votes with their dollars and they can they have the power to change the corporate mindset.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, for sure.
SPEAKER_04:For sure. I want to talk to you about a skill that you have, which is vintage shopping. I don't know anyone that that has the vision that you have. I love now knowing that you are a puzzle person in your head. You're already always sort of like configuring what something could be. So when you share videos on social media of the garments that you purchase or that you have or that someone donates to you, and then what you create out of them, I don't understand it, especially when you have the emojis that's like no sewing and no scissors. I'm like, how? I'm like sort of like screaming at the phone, like, how is this possible? So tell us about that, how that unfolds, because I am so impressed with what you're able to do.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, thank you. Well, I'm screaming at the phone with you too. I'm like, how? Because right after I do it, I don't even I literally have to record how I did it to remember because I'm like, what the heck? So that process is, I don't know. So I'm more spiritual, I'm not religious, but it's I think it's like a spiritual process because before I touch any garment, I go. My process is I go to the third store or find something in my house or my apartment, and I feel the material. Like it has to call to me. Something about it has to speak to me. Then I buy it, I bring it back, I let it sit sometimes for weeks, months, depending on how I feel. I don't rush anything. And then when I start working with it, I just stand in front of the mirror. First, I pray. I'm like, God guide my eyes, my hands, and my mind. And let me create something that's gonna inspire people. Oh, I love that. Yeah, make people happy. I pray and then I start. And I swear to you, it just starts to flow. And sometimes it could be a quick thing, or sometimes it might take me days. Like I can't figure it out, but I keep trying. It's a lot of work, but it's cool. It's cool once I figure it out.
SPEAKER_03:Do you find that the sewing and creating itself is also a bit of a spiritual process for you?
SPEAKER_00:Yes, especially when I'm upcycling like my own thing. There's a difference between doing it for somebody else and then doing it for yourself. When I'm doing my own and I'm just sitting there, I'm in like this meditative state where I'm just going, I go for hours and hours and hours. And I love hand sewing. Something about hand sewing, everyone was like, just do use the machine. Yeah, sometimes. But I just love to hand sew. So I'll sit there for hours hand sewing something I could have done on a machine in like two minutes. But yeah, I definitely feel that.
SPEAKER_03:That's fascinating. Yeah, because I've met people who uh from a lot of different, you know, cultures and backgrounds. It seems like a through line of hand sewing is that kind of meditative aspect where you're maybe you're saying a mantra or a prayer or just focusing your energy. And I always thought that was so beautiful.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER_03:So cool. When you uh are building a look, do you have the final outcome in mind and you're searching for silhouettes and materials to create in, or do you find something and get inspired by what it can become?
SPEAKER_00:Yes, the second, definitely. I have nothing in mind. I don't even sketch, I just look at it, and then I'm like, okay. And like I said, it could sit there for months. Like the purple look that I did, that has it sat for like over a year, and then I got the idea from just like tr playing around with it for one day. I was like, okay, I know I'm gonna do, and I let it sit for like another year. You know, I take my I really take when I say I take my time, I take my time. Well, that one was magic because I still don't know how you did it. I know I think I tried to like show you guys how I did it, and then the video just would have been too long, so I was like, yeah, I'll forget it. Um, but yeah, the the actual garment is the thing that inspires me. That's where the looks come from, is the garment itself. Like I have no idea till I see it and I play around with it.
SPEAKER_03:Oh interesting.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, that was sort of my question. What keeps you inspired? You know, for me, like when I'm thinking about styling for a shoot or putting together a concept, like there are certain resources I'll use, like certain magazines or editors or people that I find very inspiring. What is what keeps thoughts fresh or ideas fresh for you?
SPEAKER_00:I when I first started, I would read Vogue magazine a lot just to look at the editorials. And then I was like, okay, this is kind of repetitive. So then I started going to um I mean museums is one. I love looking at art. And also I go, my friend works at um Pratt Institute, and she lets me go to the library there. Beautiful. And I yeah, I pull fashion books. I have like three thing is my mic is sitting on one of them right now, but I have uh um a few books on the floor. I'll just look through that, like old like designs, and just it's very interesting. They were very free back then, and I think now everybody's just scared, but yeah, I like looking at stuff like that.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I'm the same way. There's I'm really into Vogue Arabia. I think that like the editorials that they do are are really conceptual and beautiful and like very aligned with the aesthetic that I'm known for. And like there's a lot of art books that I always go back and reference. And I also look at Rihanna's book a lot because she's done a lot. Like, I sometimes I'm like, wow, I totally forgot about that era that she did, and then I'll be like reinspired by something that that they were working on.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, people need to give her way more credit. That girl, fearless, like her and her stylist. Oh my god, the work they've done, like things will she just wear anything, and it doesn't make sense, but then it looks good, and then you're like, and then it becomes a trend. Like Rihanna started so much.
SPEAKER_04:There's so much, and I go into that book all the time because you forget how many things she did, and like even mini moments within larger moments were just so impactful on and they look really fresh if you bring them back. Now, I can't believe that they like documented it the way that they did too, which is I'm so glad they did because now we have the book.
SPEAKER_00:Because they knew, they knew, especially they knew, yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Um, tell us a little bit about shopping vintage and and thrifting. And I know you have a lot of partnerships and and groups that you work with. Um, how do you shop vintage for yourself, for other people? What are you looking for? I think this is really fun too, because it's like thinking about all of those eras. Are there any eras that like really that you respond to that you like any decades you like to shop into? Yeah, all the vintage secrets, please.
SPEAKER_00:Oh my gosh, there's so much vintage. I just love vintage. I don't know why. I just love the way it looks, the way it feels. That's one thing. Like the you have to feel the material for me. Like I have to feel it, I have to make sure like it it aligns with me in some way. Um, I love the 70s, I love the 60s. For some reason, I always upcycle 80s because I guess it's because it's so much material. Yeah, lots of taffeta. Yes, I always upcycle 80s. I'm like, okay, I don't like the 80s, but do you not like the 80s? Because that's all you you select when you go to this thrift stores. Um, yeah, 70s, 60s, and you could take it back to even like the 20s, 30s. I don't know. It's just all of it I just really love. But the 70s for sure is is has to be my favorite. Um, I think there's so many vintage stores out here. I think if you want to get like the best deal, I would look into because a lot of people don't know even know what they have. Parsmark is great, um, and you could be very specific with what you want. I mean, eBay is always good, but I don't I it's a lot going on there. Um where else? And there are a lot of cool vintage. I don't know if you've ever been to a show called A Current Affair. I used to actually be part of that, and then I did social media for them.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. You've heard of them. I've heard of them, and I I go to the vintage show. I actually um went with a friend, I got invited, went, and then looked at them when we got there, and I was like, Oh, you didn't mentally prepare me for how good this was gonna be. And like I had to really like have a moment to anchor myself because we spent the entire day there. And the things I bought there like a 1940s lace apron, and I was like, Oh, this was for me, like and it's a thing that will hang in my closet until I'm ready, and then I'll have like a little apron moment that I've been wanting to have.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly. When they say that they have the best vintage on the planet, they're not playing around. And I know most of the vendors because I spent so much time with them, and they are incredible, incredible. So if you haven't gone, just please do yourself a favor. They have shows in New York, LA, and I think those are the two places for now. And they did one in um Texas at one point, I think. They're moving around, so yeah, they're great.
SPEAKER_03:Do you have any super beginner tips for anyone who's never really thrifted, doesn't know how to start? Like any basic, basic tips um that people need to know.
SPEAKER_00:Well, the thrift store is not what it was before, I will say that. Um it's not, I mean, the major ones are not. A lot of fast fashion in there. I would say look for a hole in the wall of vintage shops. I would say look for small curated vintage. Um, there's some that are really expensive, there's some that are cheap on the cheaper side. The ones that I do love in um New York, uh L Train Vintage, it's affordable, but you can find some really, really cool stuff there. That's such a good one. Yeah, I love that place. I'm like, still keep your prices at thrift store prices. That's crazy. You don't find that. Even Goodwill is cra being crazy right now. Yeah, stuff is like watered down. So yeah, I would say um really uh focus on timeless pieces, don't focus on trendy pieces because timeless and quality pieces will even if you have to pay a little bit more money for it, just do it because those pieces will be in your closet forever and they'll last. That's why vintage clothing clothing is still around. I have pieces from the 1800s and they're still in pristine. Yeah, I have a walk two walking suits. I have this netted uh Victorian top, still in pristine condition from the 1800s. Where do you buy vintage from the 1800s? Uh I think I bought this one from I think I bought them from Etsy a long time ago in 2018. So not from El Train vintage. No, I mean you could get lucky, but probably not. They usually toss stuff like that, which is crazy.
SPEAKER_03:That's so cool.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, the quality is incredible.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, focus on quality and timelessness.
SPEAKER_04:It's funny, I I've been really into 1980s vintage. I I mean like I'm a very extra person, so I think that that makes sense for me. But recently I've been buying more like giant shoulder pad tops and a lot of beading. And I'm going to Palm Springs next week. I'll probably buy a Moo Moo. It's like kind of like that's what the market is. You know what, you know, big jewelry and moo moos, it's gonna be very Palm Springs, which, you know, it's so particular, it's very me. But I think that you, as a stylist, are better at identifying what each of your clients' individual needs are. And that's why you're such a good personal stylist as well. Tell us about your personal styling services. I read this on your website, so I did take a note because I think it's a beautiful philosophy. I firmly believe that you don't need more clothes, you just need guidance on how to make the most of what you already have. So when you walk into someone's closet and you are helping them curate, what are you looking for? How do you how do you help them bring new life to what they already own?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. So the service is called Wear What You Have. And the process is first, okay, I have the client, and then I have them fill out this detailed questionnaire so I can understand them as a person because it's very important to know who you're working with, and also their um their style goals and what they like, what they don't like, what part of their bodies they don't want to really show that much, what part they want to accentuate, just questions like that. And then I get on a Zoom call with them after they fill it out just to get super detailed because sometimes people just, you know, fill out basic answers. I want to really get in there and I create like a mood board for them just so they could see it visually, like their style. So I have them also send me um inspirations like who's your favorite celebrity or influencer or just person in general. Who do you love their style? They send it to me and I create this mood board, and I actually add from Pinterest my own photos as well. And then we go over them, see if they like it, and then we go into their closet. Now I know what I'm I'm trying to create. Like it's not just me just going in there and saying, You need to wear this. No, I need to know what you like. So then I go into their closet, I look at their clothes, I have them pick out first the stuff that they find they have a hard time styling. We start there.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, wow. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So there's pieces in our closet that we love, but we just don't know how to style. So I have them have them put those to the side. We start there, start with the hard stuff, and then it gets easy. They start inputting, they start styling. So it just becomes this whole experience. And yeah, it's it's an amazing, amazing thing. My the last one of the my previous previous clients started crying, and that surprised me. And she was just like, You really just changed my life. Like, how I know it's not people are like, oh, what you wear is not important, but it is to certain people, it is. It's just how you present yourself, and you know, and even here, if I wear something, I go somewhere myself, people are gonna talk to me because they're just like, Okay, I like what she's wearing. Let me say, let me give her a compliment, and then we get into conversation. So, yeah.
SPEAKER_04:It's totally true. I feel, you know, the styling that I do is more commercial. I've never really been able to do as much personal styling because it it's hard, right? It's very different to tell a model what to wear versus to hold someone's hand in in in creating and helping them express themselves. So I think this is it. I do think that people become paralyzed by the thought of what to wear and what to put on. So I love that you're you're starting with the hardest things with them and saying you can't part with this. Why? What is this emotional attachment? Like, let's explore this. It's so psychological.
SPEAKER_03:It definitely is, for sure. Yeah. Do you have an approach for helping people who feel paralyzed? Is there like uh a way that you can help them move past emotional blockages or fears around how they want to present in the world? Because I imagine that could show up in a lot of different ways from you know, like gender expression to like uh uh feelings about like how clothes hang on them. And I feel like it could get deep.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it could. And I see it all the time. I styled this lady, she's probably in her late 60s, maybe early 70s, and she just was like scared to wear certain things, like scared to wear these red boots, cowboy boots. They were fabulous, beautiful. And then she had these diamond studs she didn't want to wear because she don't want to be too much, and then she, you know, she just paralyzed with what people would think about her and how they would perceive her. And I think it's just me, my presence, you know, just with them and just talking with them and just like showing them, giving them like breathing life into them, giving them that confidence, like and allowing them to do it for themselves. So I can't make you confident. I just want you to see certain things. And I think after they're um, they speak with me and we we talk about things. I'm like, I always ask them why. Like if they say something, I can't wear these boots, but why? And then them talking it through makes them realize, like, oh, I'll I was just stopping myself from wearing this. I could wear this, I could do this. I think it's just a thing of just letting people um figure it out for themselves, but being a listening ear for them and being a calming, you know, person or a spirit or whatever it is for them to experience. themselves.
SPEAKER_03:That's lovely. What surprise or aha moment do clients have when you're reimagining what they already own or how they can wear it differently? How do you get clients to look at their own closets with fresh eyes?
SPEAKER_00:I think after we style it, that's when they're like, oh, whoa, like I could do that. I could wear this dress as a top. I could do this. I could like I didn't know I could. I'm like, why do you keep putting these limits on yourself? Yes, you can.
SPEAKER_04:You can do it. That's right. It's like people are seeking permission, right? Like you're the authority or saying, like, yes, this is for you.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, don't even, even if I say don't wear it, wear it. Like, do what you want. Don't listen to anybody when it comes to your style as personal. That's why it's called personal style. And then some people just don't know what their personal style is. That's okay too. And I'm there to try to help them figure that out too.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I love that you sort of get an idea of the celebrities that they're platforming and like an idea of what their perception of what they would like to look at and sort of put those things together, like the aspiration and the reality.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, absolutely. We only wear 20% of our closet or less. So they have it. They just don't know how to wear it.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I was just thinking that in in the work that I do with clients, which is much more kind of like, you know, Mataro reader, palm reader, et cetera. Whenever people are trying to make big life decisions, it often does come down to like, what are you excited about? What are you like? Which I think is so affirming. And I just I love that it's a through line, too, it sounds like, where you're figuring out like what makes you happy.
SPEAKER_04:Yes, absolutely. I was gonna say that's that's perfect, right? So what makes you happy, Brownie? What are you calling in for 2026? What kind of dreams do you have right now? What aspirations do you have that you want to bring in?
SPEAKER_00:Man, I'm just calling in peace. That's my number one out of everything. You could have everything, but if you don't have peace, you just don't have anything. That's my one thing. Have peace, be in a flow state always. Like right now, and I feel like I'm in a flow state. And when you're in a flow state, things just start happening, like left without like randomly, you know. I think a lot of times we try to figure out how things are gonna happen and try to force it and do this. If you just let it go and just do your best, it's always gonna work out. So I think that for the year coming up, that's my biggest goals. Like everything I could have like goals of like dialing here and doing this, but I think all of that's gonna come if I just am in this peaceful state.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Do you have any tools or practices that you like to use for your personal wellness to cultivate that peace or your spirituality? What does that look like for you?
SPEAKER_00:Man, I'd like to. It's a whole lot of things, journaling. I'm reading this book. I was hearing about it so much, I guess because Dochi was talking about it, but I heard it about it before her, and then she talked about it. I was like, okay, I need to get this book. It's called The Artist's Way. Um, really, really great. I think writing down your feelings is so important because then you work it out while you're writing it down, you know. And also reading, like I said, I love to read, um meditating, praying. I think prayer is important. When you're feeling overwhelmed, just pray. And literally it dissolves itself. And do it as many times and forgive yourself because a lot of times this how we are, you know, is kind of programmed and in us. And it's um, but the thing is to change it, it's gonna take time. If you've always been the same way for a long time, it's gonna take time to undo all those things. So you have to be patient with yourself when you go back to what you were doing, it's fine, it's part of the process. So I think just having forgiveness for yourself and just keep going, keep moving forward and keep trying. I think, yeah. Your energy is so affirming.
SPEAKER_04:I love that. Like, I would trust you with anything that you were saying about my closet, about how I should live my life.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. Yeah, I love that. That's the biggest compliment. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03:What's the best way for people to work with you or support your work? How do you want people to show up for you?
SPEAKER_00:Man, um, I guess follow me on social media at Brownie Brown. I think on all platforms. I changed my name recently because I don't know, I feel like I'm in a new phase. So I just want to I want that to reflect, you know, social media and all that. Um, my website if you want personal styling, um, my services are on there. If you need upcycling, I'm working on that page right now, but that's gonna be up soon. And I also do commercial, editorial, all that. I style everything. So yeah, just go on my website, send me an email, send me a DM, and I'll get back to you ASAP. Perfect. And can people get remote sessions to work with? Oh, yeah. That's thank you. Yes, you can. Because I know everyone's not in New York or Northern Virginia, so yeah, I do um virtual styling as well.
SPEAKER_04:Perfect. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. You are truly a delight and a genius.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you. You guys are amazing. These questions are so good. I love a good interview. Amazing. Yeah, it's our pleasure. Thank you for having me. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:I like to see you.
SPEAKER_02:That's the colour, let's take off. Come beat me in the dead material word. The dead material word. The egg material world.
SPEAKER_04:Immaterial world is hosted by Jessica Richards and Jasmina Monkilla. Music by Dia Luna. Artwork by Lane Friend. Follow us at Immaterial World Pod on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Visit our website at www.immaterial dashworld.com. Or send us an email at Immaterial World Pod at gmail.com. Welcome to the immaterial world.