Check Out Rachel Brow’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Brow. 

Hi Rachel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
As a teenager, I was totally obsessed with the 1980s — the music, the fashion, and especially the movies. My search for ’80s-era clothing is what first got me into thrifting, and from there all sorts of different styles entered my radar. Taking inspiration from Vogue, I would attempt to recreate the outfits I saw there with garments from my own closet and my thrifting trips. (Rest assured; the results were not always so fashionable!) 

My interest in style carried through my college years in Seattle, and in 2010 I started my blog, Inspirsession. It was a place where I detailed my “inspirations and obsessions,” hence the name, and it served as something of a personal referential catalog, as well as a place to exercise my passion for writing. When style-blogging became more popular, I started taking digital photos of my outfits and including them with my posts. 

When I moved to New York City in 2015, I felt more shy about taking my camera out on the streets, so I took a break from photos and sketched/watercolored my outfits instead. In an effort to both live more sustainably and pare down my wardrobe for an NYC-apartment-sized closet, I explored and blogged my journey through capsule wardrobing as well. This kept me sane while pursuing acting in New York — an ambition which can really take a toll on one’s creative spirit and confidence! 

Finally, when the pandemic landed me at home and temporarily unemployed, I started challenging myself to remix my wardrobe. In January of 2021, I transitioned Inspirsession to Instagram and started detailing my outfits there in daily reels. Since then, my page has continued as a mix of styling challenges, personal style tips, outfit cataloging, thrifting adventures, sustainable collaborations, goofy reels, runway recreations, and embodying my favorite pop culture icons and characters. It’s a blast to get to explore all sides of my creativity in this way — writing, video editing, photography, and, at times, acting & directing — all while celebrating my personal style. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
While I have a clear idea of my values and personality, I don’t consider myself to be a “niche” individual. I’m interested in so many different aesthetics and style influences that the idea of choosing one category in which to operate feels limiting to my creativity — not to mention boring! It’s something I admire very much in others people’s approach, but I just can’t seem to make it work for me. When it comes to my style approach, I think I will always be a bit of an actor at heart, ready to quick-change into a new character at a moment’s notice! 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Inspirsession celebrates the notion of embracing the creative spirit in all forms. While my focus is on personal style, I’m inspired and obsessed with pop culture, music, traveling, food, dance, art, movies… and all of these things inform the way I dress, day to day, year to year. When we learn to channel everything that delights our spirit into our wardrobe, it imbues it with a sense of personality that is totally unique to us. To me, that’s a kind of magic. 

Alongside that, magic is a human responsibility to protect the planet that makes it all possible, and advocating for sustainability is immensely important to me. So, I’ve made a commitment on Inspirsession to resist fast fashion, to embrace more sustainable shopping practices, and to celebrate and rethink what I already own. My fashion motto is: Wear, Rewear, Donate, Thrift. 

I’m quite an enthusiastic person, and it’s pretty impossible for me to hide that truth (but then, why would I want to?) I don’t know the meaning of playing it cool, and I think nonchalance is often a waste of time. It doesn’t mean I don’t worry or hesitate over unknowns; I’m as anxious as anyone. But I am proud of my fearlessness when it comes to vulnerability and authenticity. I try to bring that to Inspirsession as much as possible, even if it means forgoing a fashionable trend or admitting when I need an offline mental health day. 

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
Music stirs a lot of memories for me, and some of my happiest childhood memories involves music in some way. Whether it was falling asleep to my dad’s guitar, waking up to my brother’s piano scales, learning ballet combinations, dancing and singing around our living room, swapping harmonies with my parents on road trips, watching my first musical, or listening solo on the bus to school, it all comes back to music. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.inspirsession.com
• Instagram: inspirsession
• Facebook: Inspirsession

Image Credits
Rachel Brow