MUSTERED LADY: What Stylish Women Wear to Work : Aurora James, Creative Director of Brother Vellies

What Stylish Women Wear to Work

Aurora James, the creative director at Brother Vellies, is inspired by traditional African designs. She like to especially wear handmade footwear from Kenya, South Africa, and Morocco.

Her work involves sourcing materials, meeting artisans, visiting workshops, and designing her collections.

Creative Director James, thinks a lot about what to wear to work, and what her clothes communicate. In fact when she has to meet partners who don’t communicate in English, she tends to draw on the kind of wardrobe that can do most of the talking.

Her’s is a practical example of what a fashion statement is meant to be. Most stylish and career women going through similar mental assessment as does James, when it comes to what to wear, for what occasion, and who the target meet up partner is.

VOGUE.com recently talked to Aurora James on what she wears to work, and the following is an excerpt from what had to say:

On the Road

I don’t really have a normal day in the way a lot of people do. I work in a lot of different countries in Africa, so for me, power dressing means being comfortable and moving through the day. You have to be really fluid. That’s one of the reasons I could never wear heels. It’s like—do you want to walk through the Maasai Mara in Kenya in heels? Probably not. I stick with fabrics and materials that are utilitarian and hard-wearing.

I have a pair of Rachel Comey jeans I really love. They’re cropped high-water pants, so my shoes are visible. It sounds like not a big deal, but every day people are asking what the shoes look like. I also have a pair of J Brands and I cut the bottom off of them to make them more cropped.

I have a lot of Ace & Jig. It’s all made in India, but they’re all woven fabrics. I am obsessed with that brand because it’s so amazing to travel with. I would say 50 percent of what I bring with me is Ace & Jig. They have a lot of one-piece jumpsuits that I wear a lot. You can just throw them in your bag! When I’m in Africa I don’t want to fuss a lot with what I’m wearing.

As a woman, I like to feel good and to dress up. I will usually bring lightweight vintage silk shirts to Africa too. In L.A., I’ll go to the Rose Bowl or Long Beach flea markets and buy five vintage blouses.

Natural Materials

I love being outside, but it dictates how you dress. I wear a lot of Black Crane because she uses a lot of linen. My mom is a big influence when it comes to fashion, and she is really conscious of materials. She’s a sustainable-minded person, an architect. So our collection is sustainable and I do vegetable dyeing and use a lot of denim. It feels more intuitive.

When I’m in the city I’ll usually add leather to my look. But I never have to be super formal. Now, people know me so they know what they’re going to get. When you’re younger, you feel a need to dress a certain way so people take you seriously. I had a very specific work uniform. As I’ve gotten older, I have things that are more work-based—Céline skirts, that sort of thing—but they’ve become part of my personal style, instead of compartmentalizing things for work-related moments. Power dressing and being “girl bossy” as they say, is about, for instance, if I’m going to wear a skirt, I choose a denim skirt instead of a wool skirt.

Communication Is Key

In some of the places I travel, women aren’t as accepted as being the boss. It’s important for me to dress conservatively because I don’t want to offend anyone. I’m never showing a ton of leg or cleavage. It’s also not me, but it’s not respectful if you’re visiting different cultures.

Any way you slice it, it’s about communication. You have to communicate effectively with people, even if maybe they don’t speak English. So there’s a lot of cues you use, one of which is your wardrobe. And I think it’s important to be really comfortable and honest, as well as serious. People aren’t going to take you seriously if you look like Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde all day. I stick with a lot of neutrals, and within a landscape it makes the most sense. I don’t wear a lot of logos either.

Hat Game

I wear a lot of hats. They’re really hard to pack! You need a high quality hat that can handle the traveling. I collect Clyde hats—I am obsessed. I usually bring a straw hat and a cashmere hat. I spend half my day outside, and they really take me through the day! The women who do a lot of the beading at the Naboisho Conservancy, they’re outside working. So I sit outside and do my drawing and sketching.

The other thing that’s amazing about a hat is it can cover up a horrible hair day. When I’m on the coast, the humidex is at 95 percent. Worst-case scenario for hair! It’s great to be able to tuck your hair into your hat.

Double Life

I have two different wardrobes. In New York, I’m a huge sweater person—Sally LaPointe sweaters. I’m Canadian, so I’m used to wearing a lot of thick cashmere and fur. When I’m in Africa, obviously none of that is applicable. I have things that I only wear in Africa too, even if it’s summer in New York. But the cropped pants go everywhere.

What I put on my body is also what I use on my shoes—people often say they’re surprised to see denim on a shoe. We also have indigo-dyed cotton shoes, and I wear indigo tops. My house and the store and the collection are all the same: My couch is made of indigo fabric!

No matter where you are, you feel like a boss when you feel like it’s okay to be yourself. That’s an empowering feeling. You’re setting your own standards. I’ve always been someone who wears what I felt like. It’s great to be at a point where the people I’m working with accept that. It’s all very reciprocal. [VOGUE]