Brea Stinson's Got Stellar Style
"As a stylist, I get to help people live their dream and be confident. You build a relationship with your clients…. If they look good and the show went well then they feel good. Making people feel good about themselves is never a bad thing."
Education: Clark Atlanta, BA Business Administration
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Current Residence: New York, New York
Age: 20-something
One of my favorite parts of the fall and winter is fashion. I know as women we are always trying to create that signature look. Especially around the holidays when there are oodles of festive activities to attend and a true fashionista wants to look fabulously stylish at each one. To help me with this topic, I enlisted the help of professional wardrobe stylist and winner of the 2009 Alize Concrete + Cashmere style maven competition, Brea Stinson. Through her company, B*Star, Brea has created fashion masterpieces for several A list artists and athletes. Here, she shares with us how she got started and a few fashion tips to help you create your own look that will turn heads and invoke envy.
Jae: How did you get started in such an exciting career?
Brea: I’ve been designing since I was young. In high school, I designed my friends’ homecoming dresses and prom dresses. When we went out, I was the one who would get everybody’s outfits together. Then, I went to college at Clark Atlanta and began participating in the homecoming fashion show. It’s the biggest event of the week other than the game. But it all really came together when I took an advertising class and we had to come up with a business so I started a t-shirt line. I named it B*Star and I’ve had it (the name) ever since. I started selling those shirts as a part of the class and it just continued on. I even opened a little boutique where I would sell my clothes while I was in college to pay for school. I was making scarves, rhinestone belt buckles and denim skirts made out of blue jeans.
Also, a friend of mine introduced me to a stylist named Tameka Raymond (Usher’s ex!!!), who at the time was working with Toni Braxton and Lauryn Hill. My goal was to have her use some of my clothes on them but she liked my eye for fashion and I ended up assisting her---as much as I could while I was still in college. In 2002, I graduated and moved to New York and assisted her full-time for a couple of years. I’ve been on my own since the end of 2004.
Jae: Name some of the people you have worked with.
Brea: Usher, Jay-Z, Ginuwine, Raheem Devaughn, Keri Hilson and Letoya Luckett. I’ve been doing some commercial work as well. I did a State Farm commercial with LeBron James that aired during the Superbowl last year, and I just finished a T-Mobile commercial with Dwight Howard, Dewayne Wade and Charles Barkley. I also won Alize’s Concrete and Cashmere Competition this past June!
Jae: Congratulations Brea!! I saw the shows. It was obvious your competition had no idea what they were up against. What are some of the things you take into consideration when dressing a celebrity?
Brea: I try to zone in on their personality and body type and observe how they dress on their own. It’s a lot to consider when you are trying to dress somebody who is about to debut before the public because a lot of times management has their own idea of what they should look like. Then you have the person, who is just now getting to live their dream, and they have their own idea of what they should look like. You have to consider what type of music they’re putting out and what they’re going to be comfortable in because you’re your most confident when you’re comfortable. You can’t put a Norah Jones in a Rihanna outfit. She wouldn’t make it through the night. So my job is to key in on their personal taste and what I think they would be comfortable in and then fine tune it.
As a stylist, I get to help people live their dream and be confident. You build a relationship with your clients. You’re usually the last person they see when they get on stage and the last person when they get off. If they look good and the show went well then they feel good. Making people feel good about themselves is never a bad thing.
B*Style Suggestions
Brea was kind enough to give us a few fashion tips to help you create your own signature look for the holidays, even if you're on a budget. Next to each one, I posted an example of her work with her celebrity clients. Don't Jay-Z, LeToya Luckett and Keri Hilson look fabulous!
Education: Clark Atlanta, BA Business Administration
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Current Residence: New York, New York
Age: 20-something
One of my favorite parts of the fall and winter is fashion. I know as women we are always trying to create that signature look. Especially around the holidays when there are oodles of festive activities to attend and a true fashionista wants to look fabulously stylish at each one. To help me with this topic, I enlisted the help of professional wardrobe stylist and winner of the 2009 Alize Concrete + Cashmere style maven competition, Brea Stinson. Through her company, B*Star, Brea has created fashion masterpieces for several A list artists and athletes. Here, she shares with us how she got started and a few fashion tips to help you create your own look that will turn heads and invoke envy.
Jae: How did you get started in such an exciting career?
Brea: I’ve been designing since I was young. In high school, I designed my friends’ homecoming dresses and prom dresses. When we went out, I was the one who would get everybody’s outfits together. Then, I went to college at Clark Atlanta and began participating in the homecoming fashion show. It’s the biggest event of the week other than the game. But it all really came together when I took an advertising class and we had to come up with a business so I started a t-shirt line. I named it B*Star and I’ve had it (the name) ever since. I started selling those shirts as a part of the class and it just continued on. I even opened a little boutique where I would sell my clothes while I was in college to pay for school. I was making scarves, rhinestone belt buckles and denim skirts made out of blue jeans.
Also, a friend of mine introduced me to a stylist named Tameka Raymond (Usher’s ex!!!), who at the time was working with Toni Braxton and Lauryn Hill. My goal was to have her use some of my clothes on them but she liked my eye for fashion and I ended up assisting her---as much as I could while I was still in college. In 2002, I graduated and moved to New York and assisted her full-time for a couple of years. I’ve been on my own since the end of 2004.
Jae: Name some of the people you have worked with.
Brea: Usher, Jay-Z, Ginuwine, Raheem Devaughn, Keri Hilson and Letoya Luckett. I’ve been doing some commercial work as well. I did a State Farm commercial with LeBron James that aired during the Superbowl last year, and I just finished a T-Mobile commercial with Dwight Howard, Dewayne Wade and Charles Barkley. I also won Alize’s Concrete and Cashmere Competition this past June!
Jae: Congratulations Brea!! I saw the shows. It was obvious your competition had no idea what they were up against. What are some of the things you take into consideration when dressing a celebrity?
Brea: I try to zone in on their personality and body type and observe how they dress on their own. It’s a lot to consider when you are trying to dress somebody who is about to debut before the public because a lot of times management has their own idea of what they should look like. Then you have the person, who is just now getting to live their dream, and they have their own idea of what they should look like. You have to consider what type of music they’re putting out and what they’re going to be comfortable in because you’re your most confident when you’re comfortable. You can’t put a Norah Jones in a Rihanna outfit. She wouldn’t make it through the night. So my job is to key in on their personal taste and what I think they would be comfortable in and then fine tune it.
As a stylist, I get to help people live their dream and be confident. You build a relationship with your clients. You’re usually the last person they see when they get on stage and the last person when they get off. If they look good and the show went well then they feel good. Making people feel good about themselves is never a bad thing.
B*Style Suggestions
Brea was kind enough to give us a few fashion tips to help you create your own signature look for the holidays, even if you're on a budget. Next to each one, I posted an example of her work with her celebrity clients. Don't Jay-Z, LeToya Luckett and Keri Hilson look fabulous!
1. Select Classic Pieces
Purchase classic pieces instead of super trendy things. The trends don’t work for everybody and in this economy it even makes more sense to select pieces that you will be able to wear for years. A lot of times people get stuck in the trends, and they end up buying a lot of disposable clothes because the next year the outfit looks ridiculous. That’s a question you should ask yourself at the register, ‘Am I going to like this next season?’ Think....embarrassing or an investment?
2. Be Comfortable.
People are more confident and sexy when they’re comfortable. The key is to find great things that fit. So, if there’s a piece you find that you love instead of wearing it all the time and damaging it, get it in several different colors. If it works, it works and you should continue in that feeling.
3. Mix and Layer
I’m into mixing fabrics, textures and colors. I love luxury. Layering your clothing can create a sense of luxury and warmth. Matching colors is over (laughing)! You limit the fun of fashion when you limit yourself to one or two colors. Your outfit doesn’t have to directly match your shoes and belt. Try using simple colors like grey and taupe that you can mix with your outfit to kind of break it up a bit. You can even use multicolored pieces to change things up as well as accessories. But I am not a fan of colored accessories at all. I tend to stick with metallics.
Also, mix different articles of clothing. You don’t have to wear the same shirt with the same pants all the time. Buying pieces you can change up will make your wardrobe look larger than it is.
With my personal style and with my clients I always mix the cheap with the expensive. If you buy classic pieces that fit you well people won’t be able to tell if they are expensive or not. You can do the same thing with your accessories.
Also, mix different articles of clothing. You don’t have to wear the same shirt with the same pants all the time. Buying pieces you can change up will make your wardrobe look larger than it is.
With my personal style and with my clients I always mix the cheap with the expensive. If you buy classic pieces that fit you well people won’t be able to tell if they are expensive or not. You can do the same thing with your accessories.
Want More Brea Stinson?
If you would like to see Brea at work, you can catch all 12 episodes of Concrete + Cashmere here.
