The Amanda Brooks Guide to a Fulfilling Fashion Career

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Today's New York Times style section has a two-page article on why Amanda Brooks left her position as fashion director at Barneys after barely a year. There are some juicy quotes, but the most interesting part might be the walk through Brooks's fashion career. We've condensed it into a step-by-step guide.

Step one: Room with Carolina Herrera's daughter at Brown. Form a brief relationship with Alexander von Furstenberg, thereby befriending his mother, Diane, who will be your "fashion fairy godmother."

Step two: Get hired by fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier after meeting him at an Upper East Side restaurant.

Step three: Get hired by gallery founder Larry Gagosian after meeting him at an Upper East Side shoe store. In general, it's probably wise to spend a lot of time hanging around the Upper East Side.

Step four: Work for Tuleh and Hogan, do some time as a consultant, then become director of fashion for William Morris Endeavor. Also, publish a book about personal style and start a blog.

Step five: Sign on at Barneys, attend a ton of fashion shows, maintain unerringly perfect hair.

Step six: Read a profile of Ree Drummond, the blogger behind country-living blog The Pioneer Woman, in the New Yorker. Get "really fired up," as Brooks told the Times, about "the idea of having a career on your own terms, anywhere."

Step seven: Quit Barneys to move to Oxfordshire, England. Figure out a new topic to blog about. Says Brooks, "I'll be looking for style, of course, as I do now. It might be the way I arrange a cheese plate, or how I arrange the flowers in a guest room." Sounds like fun.
· Taking Her Leave [NYT]
· I Love Your Style [Official Site]
· All Amanda Brooks coverage [Racked NY]

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