Saturday, November 14, 2009

a conversation with jen brill


Back in September, in the midst of London Fashion Week, something quite exciting happened. Infact, naturally during Fashion Week there were multiple moments worthy of girlish grinning but the personal relevance of this event made it all the more lovely. Following the buzz of the Topshop Unique show I decamped to my Aunt's flat for a chilled evening of worthy salad and cups of peppermint tea (any of you in need of a detox, you should really book yourself in for a week of looking after from 'Aunty Mary'). Watching Come Dine With Me, very possibly with a towel full of wet hair on my head and certainly in my pyjamas sans make up, I came across a direct message in my Twitter inbox. Upon closer inspection it was from the lovely Jen Brill (you all know that as far as I'm concerned Jen is cool as pie) who proceeded to tell me '
I am the BIGGEST fan of your blog! I read it every day and gush whenever you write about me. XXX'.

The next few seconds consisted of headfuck and a resolve to feel flattered big time. From there we exchanged a few emails and Jen agreed to take part in an interview for the blog. It only seemed natural to prod her into bestowing information about her lippie collection and style musings..
For those of you who don't know a lot about Jen, she is the Director of New Business Development at Fred and Associates in New York, very involved in the arts scene and general purveyor of stylistic splendors all at the same time.

So Jen, thank you once again for being such a good sport, it was a pleasure getting to interview you; you are a total babe.

How do you feel about the increasing attention you receive from the fashion blogging community?

It puts a smile on my face whenever there's a picture of me on Discotheque Confusion. I have a friend who subscribes to zillions of blogs-once in a while she'll forward a photo of me and I am so shocked and flattered that the young and cool 'blogging community' has me on their (your) radar. I almost fainted when you posted that letter to me!



How did you dress as a teenager; were there particular cultural references that influenced your style?

I wore a school uniform for most of my teenage years, but when I wasn't my favourites were cigarette pants from x-girl and motorcycle boots from NaNa. What I wish I had most is my KeroKeroKeroppi backpack- I took a stuffed animal and turned it into the smallest backpack ever! I still dream of it...



Many of your friends are frequently put under the style spotlight by bloggers. Do you all have a laugh about it?

Not at all. If anything, I'd call a girlfriend and scream 'Ahhhhh! You're on Discotheque Confusion today!!!' The only time I'll laugh at a post is when I'm called an 'It Girl' or a 'Socialite'. The definitions are a little foggy to me, but the last time I checked, I haven't been a girl in years and I don't spend my days playing dress up and partying (though I enjoy both on occasion). Hopefully people will start labelling me 'Career Woman' or 'Worker Bee'.



Your red lippie/glossy hair combo has become somewhat your trademark. Which shade of lipstick do you wear and do you have any hair advice?

My favourite red lipsticks are Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Dragon and Chanel Hydrabase in Coco Red. As for hair, wash it and brush it?!

Do you abide by any style rules?
No way!



Whose style do you admire?
I think all of the women in David Lynch films have incredible style. Laura Dern and Isabella Rossellini in Wild at Heart, Sherilynn Fenn in Twin Peaks.. Another favourite is Exene Cervenka from the band X.

http://spb.fotolog.com/photo/43/49/114/sexy_cigarettes/1222715057463_f.jpg
laura dern in david lynch's wild at heart

Where do you buy your clothes from?
I love love Christopher Kane, Chanel, Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang, , Balenciaga, Marios Schwab, Versus... Sophomore for the best t-shirts and pullovers. I buy most of my vintage from No 6 on Centre Market Place in New York and Exquisite Costume. My favourite shoe store is Edon Manor in TriBeca, my friend Ryan Korban owns it. I also love Opening Ceremony- they just opened up a department store in Japan!

Describe your perfect Saturday..
Is this a trick question? Nothing is perfect!

Which books do you recommend reading?
Dave Hickey's 'Air Guitar'. It's a collection of essays on everything from Las Vegas to Waylon Jennings

[jen+brill+chanel.jpg]
all images from varioud sources via the fashion spot

40 comments:

young-shields said...

so fun! thats so weird how she reads your blog though, definite headfuck material.

and ha ha, although i do wash and brush my hair, i'm afraid i'm not sure it will ever create such glossy results!

claire x

ChristingC said...

ah lucky you! love her!! she's so effortlessly beautiful, chic, and stylish. wouldn't we all love to have hair like that from just washing and brushing :-)

http://fashionhedonism.blogspot.com

Cindy said...

so incredible. what a lovely surprise.

love the interview. it would be amazing to see pics of her in her high school years get ups.
plus, anyone who takes style cues from twin peaks is aces in my books.

Jazz Virtue said...

What an awesome surprise! Lucky you :)
I love her outfit in the last picture...actually I love all of her outfits!

Disneyrollergirl.net said...

Well done you for asking the lipstick question. Answer duly noted... Nice work DC x

Aisha said...

Ohmy.

isn't she beautiful? and very chic!
She seems like a cool down to earth person indeed, which is hard to find nowadays.

Incredible interview, mainly because you didn't focus in the classic "Describe your style" and "who are your fashion icons" stuff.

x

Aline Dahl said...

thank you so much for the great interview! I love her style - a perfect inspirational source!

CHICSETERA PARIS said...

Great interview! I love the "worker bee" appellation as opposed to "it girl" - very cool! :-)

xoxo

www.chicsetera.com

--CHIC news from Paris--

Isabel said...

Oh wow, its so cool that she's a fan of your blog! Jen Brill is such an inspiration.

Ashley said...

So awesome!! I love Jen!
Loved reading the Q&A.

http://fashionroadkill-halifax.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

love her! great interview

hannah-rose said...

ahhh love love love it!!! i still remember reading about her in an issue of i-D and thinking how cool she was. And she was from australia, so the patriot in me instantly loved her.

this interview was fantastic! you asked great questions. loved knowing about the red lippie, and i wish i could get my hair to be as perfectly tussled as hers!

X

Brooklynfluff said...

Congrats on having one such a style icons as a fan and great interview!

WendyB said...

I certainly approve of red lipstick.

Ringo, have a banana! said...

Whoa right on, this is so cool! I always just assume that all those girls we watch, like Jen or Alexa or Valentine, couldn't care less about what goes on with blogs, or worse they're kind of annoyed by it or tired of it? But that's so sweet that she not only read your blog but loves it! Frickin' adorable.

Unknown said...

OH MY GOODNESS Stevie!!!!
Many of my nights and days have been made with this post!

JOANNA said...

Jen seems so sweet in the interview. She's so stylish and beautiful and I love that she's part Asian like me :) Thanks for the interview dc!

Unknown said...

my favourite dc post ever!!!
i wonder if any other celebs read dc?
x

Miss at la Playa said...

jen is amazing! well, YOU are amazing too Stevie!
That was a great interview, you must be really proud of having Jen as one of your readers

Siru said...

That's so great!

juliet xxx

Anonymous said...

OMG! YOU'RE SO LUCKY!! I love Jen Brill!! I wrote a blog about her a few months back:

http://runwayhippie.com/2009/08/26/it-girl-jen-brill/


Although, I now feel bad for calling her an "it-girl"...WORKER BEE IT IS JEN BRILL!

xo

Emma Lavelle said...

Oh my god i cant believe that she reads your blog, you must be over the moon!! Congratulations and i loved reading the interview x

Michelle said...

This interview is AMAZING! and thank you for solving the mystery of Jen Brill's perfect red lipstick, I was dying to know!

Rosie said...

Aww that's such a great interview and it's really nice to hear things from her side of the story for once (it's especially useful knowing what lipstick she uses!). It's awesome to hear she likes reading blogs as much as we like writing in them about her :) x

Anonymous said...

I always thought her relationship to TR was sick.......... thought she had to be a hardcore groupie or a golddigger....

but she'd like to be known as a career woman?

hm... we'll see about that

Andrew said...

Wow! Congratulations! I pretty much had the same "oh my god I'm on Discotheque Confusion" moment when you blogged about me too, but it's funny to think someone who is constantly having their photo taken has the same reaction. I guess we're all just humans har har ahr

Rackk and Ruin said...

it's always fun to find out a someone you are a fan of feels the same way right back! Thanks for sharing this interview! xx molly

Iñaki said...

That was amazing. Thankyouthankyouthankyou

xx

AAAAA said...

love the interview, love jen brill even more

Kiki said...

That was a great Q&A and I'm amazed she was so forthright with her answers, especially with her fave stores (most girls would like to keep those secret, especially when vintage finds are concerned!) Love your blog x

Mónica said...

great interview, it's amazing that you could get to interview her!

OnePerfectMorning said...

She is so beautiful!
I agree with what she says about being called an "socialite". I definitely wouldn't call her that and put her in the same packages as the horrible lindsay lohan/paris hilton kind..
I mean, it's not because she goes to great events and has a good sense of style that it means she doesn't work. From what I've heard she a workaholic and I have so much more respect for girls like her than most of the girls we see in the fashion pags for this reason!
At least looking up to women like her I can aspire to having a career, aspiring only to be extremely skinny and 19 again like the so called socialites could be much more of a trouble..

KP said...

such a cool read-love your questions and her answers. I posted about her too:
http://fringeoffashion.blogspot.com/2009/09/girl-crush.html

I love that she's not just another fashion ed who gets free shit, she's just a NY girl who's super original xo

Fashion Minute said...

I would be interested in hearing her comments/opinions about matters beyond style too... the gal has a penchant for wit, so why not give her a few questions that would allow her to provide more curious sides of herself beyond the pale?

Hélène Heath said...

This an amazing post, serious congratulations are in order, this is awesome shit! Lucky girl :)

Also, it's great to hear there's a voice behind a face we just see all the time without really knowing why!

Stefanie said...

Note to self: Don't use the "it-girl" cliche ANYMORE!

You're brilliant Stevie! And she seems so nice!

selina said...

what a royal treat! so great to hear her beauty secrets, if i had brown hair i'd find a signature lipstick too

ANDWHATELSEISTHERE said...

congrats! i would have fled up to the sky if jen brill had been a fan of my blog. i was just wondering which lipstick she got on and now i have it! great interview :)

ANDWHATELSEISTHERE

SHOP

syiF said...

ohh wowwww!! i am so jealous of youuuu..xD
i lovee jen brill..i think she is a magnet for me,& that she is a fan of you blogg woww that is superrr xD..great work dearr..
i only stumble to your blog for several times, i know that you love her from your posts..great blog
ohh & glad to knoww her signature lipstick, haa!!

Aimi said...

Aw, she's so sweet! Great interview! I just came across your blog through it actually & I am in love! Your writing is so fun, a nice change from most fashion blogs. :)