The Woman I Wanted To Be

The year is 2015. I was contemplating my life, as I usually do in airports... After five months of wantrepreneurship, I stumbled upon a copy of The Woman I Wanted To Be by Diane Von Furstenberg in one of the bookshops. 'Twas truly serendipity. Over the course of my travels, her words fluttered off the page and soared through my retinal lenses, neuro-transmitting everlasting serotonin in my soul. At least, that's what it felt like. Her raw memoire not only fueled my inner fire, it allowed me to learn some truly valuable lessons at her expense.

1. Don't name a company after yourself, because someday it may no longer belong to you
2. Have gratitude for where you came from no matter how difficult it has been, keep your eyes on the horizon, only you can create the life you want
3. Love is life is love

A portrait I did in 2016 of Iris Apfel. This painting is now part of The English Room’s private art collection

I then passed it on to my mother as I felt everyone who loves fashion, entrepreneurship and the raw truth should read it.

In early 2016, I was nannying for several families, continued painting massive paintings of celebrities to pay my rent, sold my first three pillows to buy more canvas, freelancing for anyone and everyone, cultivating a long distance relationship with Mr. Oceans, designing a needlepoint collection and hustling. I signed up for a Masterclass with Diane in order to learn more from this prolific mentor. You could say, I was hungry for wisdom. I lingered on every word and came to realize, it is important to learn from those who have failed and gotten back up again, but ultimately, you really just have to work hard, have a glass half full and make what you want to make.

Last week, here in 2019, between hanging out at the Lingua Franca office with @graciewiener and LF's beautiful embroiderers and celebrating the fabulous work of The Women's Earth Alliance hosted by Stacey of Alice & Olivia, my jaw dropped. The DVF Flagship store was right across the street from the event. Checking my watch, I decided to go for it and ran into DVF to check out this STUNNING exhibit by Ashley Longshore that I had seen online. A rush of power took me aback and I immediately felt like Wayne & Garth on the floor saying "I'm not worthy," and shamelessly took a selfie with some of these incredibly beautiful paintings. Paintings representing a vast range of powerful women who have paved the path so I can dream my big dreams. If you have the opportunity to pop in, I cannot recommend it enough. Diane's store is everything you could ever hope for and so much more. It also gave me the opportunity to take three minutes (because I was running late) to remember where I came from, the adversity I had overcome, the true grit I had gathered and how much I have learned; allowing me to get closer and closer to the woman I want to be and to keep raising that horizon.

From her mother surviving Auschwitz to marrying a Prince to raising children while building an empire, the trials, trepidations and simply put, courage have informed her successes. I believe that every woman, young and seasoned should read her story or listen to her self-narrated audiobook.

For the first time in my life, I took my eyes off the prize and looked back at all the obstacles I had climbed in order to be where I was on that very day. I got to meet a couple of my heroes, one of which through one of my very first clients of whom I also had the opportunity to meet, talked about meaningful pathways for change with women taking action, picked out two dresses I can’t wait to wear and capped it all with some time with some of my dearest friends and a bit of bubbly. A serendipitous full circle.

With that, I leave you with some wisdom straight from the goddess herself.

“Fear is not an option... Don’t dwell on the dark side of things, but look for the light and build around it. If one door closes, look for another one to open... Never, ever, blame others for what befalls you, no matter how horrible it might be. Trust you, and only you, to be responsible for your own life...Landscapes change, people come and go, but all the landscapes, all the experiences, all the people weave into your life's fabric. Love is not just about people you had affairs with. Love is about moments of intimacy, paying attention to others, connecting. As you learn love is everywhere, you find it everywhere.”
― Diane Von Furstenberg, The Woman I Wanted to Be

xo, Brooke