Brigitte Robinson: REAL STYLE
1) Define your personal style in three words?
Classic, Eclectic, Fitted.
2) What is your fashion philosophy?
When you shop:
Be brave! Go out on a limb. Always choose great fabric, cuts, and colors. Bring along a friend who is honest and fashion savvy
3) What is a fashion faux-pas in your fashion books?
Never, and I mean NEVER wear running shoes unless you are indeed running, or on the way to the gym.
4) Favorite places to shop for clothes? Shoes? Accessories?
Goodwill, Christian Benefit Shop, Value Village, and Vintage 69. One of the benefits of shopping second hand is that all the above items can be purchased at the same location. One-stop-shopping. Note: all undergarments must be new, no exceptions…The Bay downtown Toronto is second to none.
5) Style or comfort?
They go hand in hand. It’s impossible to achieve a personal style without comfort.
6) Heels or flats?
Heels- Absolutely. Simply put, they enhance the shape of a woman’s leg. Leave your Crocs at the back-door thank-you.
7) Most inspiring style icon? And why?
Katherine Hepburn- pants and Audrey Hepburn- practically everything else. Current icon
8) Top three accessories of all time?
Pearls (necklace, earrings and bracelet), Hermes vintage scarf- Value Village, Ottawa $3.99, and Yves St. Laurent vintage bag, Talize $7.99
9) What is the most important and beloved item in your closet?
A Peach Berzerk cocktail dress purchased in London, ON in 1992, NEW!!! Reversible silkscreen with a fabulous scalloped hem – a showstopper!
10) If you had to would you rather be over=dressed, or under dressed?
Definitely over-dressed. My fashion nightmare – someone throws a surprise party in my honor, and I’m in something wholly uninspired.
11) Favorite fashion era? Why?
50’s and 60’s because of the silhouette that those styles define (e.g. Dior, New Look)
12) Your style trademark?
Blonde hair clamped in place with a Goody hair clip (the only one that really works). Silk scarves, the brighter the better.
13) Favorite designers? And why?
Dior – he accentuated the magnificent curves of a woman’s form
Lida Baday- Beautiful cuts, fabulous fit, Canadian star
Jean Paul Gaultier- for his sculptural designs, and obvious brilliance
Chanel- just because
14) Style at home?
Ripped jeans, Lulu yoga pants, over-sized men’s cashmere v-necks.
15) Vintage or contemporary?
Both, whatever fits. Too much vintage tends to look like a costume. My work is on the stage, so I don’t need that in my personal life.
16) Where do you get your style inspiration?
My mother. She live in London, England and in the early 50’s and in Paris, France after where I was born. Pictures of her in that period are truly magnificent. She had the perfect figure for that period, even after three kids!
17) Where do you get your hair done?
The amazing women at Bliss Aveda Concept Salon, Virgil, ON. Sandra D’Intino at the helm. Worth the drive to Virgil.
18) Favorite nail spa?
My house in Niagara-on-the-Lake, with my favorite technician: my daughter Olivia
19) Do you have a fitness regime? If so please share.
I powerwalk/ run for 40 minutes every day. I go to the gym 3 or 4 times a week to use the machines and lift weights.
20) Best fashion advice?
One of my oldest friends Alexandra Palmer (Senior curator, Textiles and Costume at the ROM) said to me in New York City in 1980: Never leave the house without thinking very carefully about what you’re wearing. You never know whom you’re going to meet or what sort of adventure you might have. You want to look fabulous.
21) Items that Jeanne photographed me in?
Shoes: Max Studio, Value Village, Queen Street $11.99
Bag: Balmain, Black Leather, Talize, Dixie Road $3.99
Gold: 12 Karat bracelet, Goodwill $3.99 (find of the year!)
Pearl Bracelet: New, Berks, can’t remember what I paid
Earrings: Christian Benefit Shop, $11.00
Dress: Club Monaco, purchased at Value Village, St. Catharines, all wool, $14.99
Vintage Leopard Rain Coat: Made in Paris, Value Village, Dixie Road, $8.99
Blue Glasses: The Bay, Winnipeg, Manitoba, $6.36