Interview with Ginny Branch

I had been reading Ginny's blog My Favorite Color is Shiny for a few years. I was constantly inspired by her photos, designer finds and just everything she featured.  She attended the Savannah College of Art and Design, and then moved to New York to work in fashion. Ginny is also a fellow Southerner, she currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where she runs her own styling and design company. She also styles and plans the most beautiful weddings I have ever seen. Her own wedding looked like it was something out of The Great Gatsby- so beautiful! I contacted her a while back to collaborate with me on Audrey Grace. I was so excited when she accepted, and she is creating some very special illustrations for the shop. For more on Ginny, check out her site: Ginny Branch. My conversation with her follows below. How adorable is she?

Ginny Branch Styling and Designs 

Tell me a little bit about yourself, your blog and your styling business. 

I started my blog forever ago and it has evolved from being my daily gratitudes from my life in New York to a little sketchbook of inspirations and recent work from my styling gigs. I started styling when I moved back to Atlanta and I am really loving being my own boss. I work with a lot of really talented and creative people and I am never ever bored! I actually just moved into a dream studio with some really great women- amy osaba, erica loesing, and Maria Taylor. 

What do you like about living in the South?

Southern hospitality and accents. 

How do you think Audrey Grace will contribute to the retail scene of the South?

I am always excited to see young women creating new outlets for the South's fashion scene. The brands you are showcasing are phenomenal and I wish more boutiques in the South would take risks on newer, independent designers. 

What are you creating for Audrey Grace?

A series of illustrations based on a few of the owner's favorite storybook characters.  

What are you favorite films for fashion?

Ooooooh that's tough! I could list a million: Picnic at Hanging Rock, Fried Green Tomatoes, Midnight in Paris, A River Runs Through It, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, I Capture The Castle...pretty much any film that takes place between 1900-1930s. I'm a sucker for depression-era period pieces that were filmed in the 90s-ha!

Who is your style icon?

I don't know if i have any personal style icons... but I do like katharine hepburn and her sartorial contemporary, Marina Munoz. Oh, and Sarah Sophie Flicker is like my ultimate muse, ever since I was in college. 

Ginny on her wedding day

What was your favorite SS12 collection?

A tie between Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs.  

What are your favorite places in Atlanta?

The goat farm where my studio is, Warhorse Coffee Joint, star provisions, Scott's Antique Market that comes        once a month, The Book Nook for finding great old books, nicholas kniel is the most too-die-for trim shop that rivals some of my favorites in New York.

Which celebrity would you love to style?

Hmmm. I'd like to be friends with Michelle Williams and Emma Stone. Also, if I ever met Claire Danes, my childhood girl inside me would spontaneously combust.  

What are your favorite Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly films?

Audrey Hepburn- Two For The Road and Grace Kelly- Rear Window. I grew up with that being my mother's favorite movie and Grace Kelly being my older sister's style icon. 

What can you see yourself buying from Audrey Grace?

I think Alexandra Grecco is the jam. 

Describe an ideal day for you. 

Can I teleport? If so, I'd start off at cafe cluny in New York for brunch after sleeping in terribly late, followed by some stops in left bank books and the strand. I would definitely have to go to tinsel trading, geminola, brook farm general store, moon river chattel, darr, obscura, and the Chelsea Antiques Garage flea market and all of my best friends from college would be living in New York with me again. We'd finish the night at little branch for a bramble or two or three. Basically i would relive my entire first year in New York all over again.

What are your favorite books and magazines to look through for inspiration?

I really love Cecil Beaton's the art of the scrapbook, the quilts of gees bend, any book by maira kalman, any book by sibella court, tim walker's pictures. 

Magazines- Lula, World of Interiors, Donna Hay, Selvedge, French Playboy...

Your wedding was extremely beautiful. Were you inspired by the 1920s and The Great Gatsby? Where did you source your beautiful vintage dresses from?

That's so sweet, thank you :) I have a crush on the entire depression era fashion scene- from the workwear overalls to the beaded flapper dresses. The Great Gatsby, Fried Green Tomatoes, and A River Runs Through It all were on my inspiration board (and still are). My dress came from ebay-ha! And people bought them online various places, flea markets, and several made theirs!  

Who are your favorite designers?

That's one looooong list! In my fanciest version of myself- Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Margaret Howell, J.Crew, Sonia Rykiel, Marni, Dries Van Noten. Throw in some old school Maison Martin Margiela for good measure. In reality I'd rather collect lovely vintage pieces that are kind of threadbare: silk with it's worn out spots, dresses with the beads and sequins falling off, and wool with moth holes in i,  a good cotton voile lawn dress or blouse. I like pieces that tell a story about its past life. 

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Movies, paintings, textile art, flowers, the farmers market, people from the past and present. I sort of collage a lot of different images into my life and work. 

I read that you worked at Marc Jacobs for a while. How was that experience? His runway shows are always a fairy tale! (Especially his most recent for Louis Vuitton!)

I worked at Marc Jacobs right after college, straight from Savannah to New York. I worked with some of my best friends in the whole world and have pieces from his collections that I will never part with and hope I can pass down to a sweet little girl one day. And I would say going to his shows and working for the company were on my childhood bucket list. It felt pretty awesome to cross those off! 

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Brussels or Maine. 

Who are your favorite artists and photographers?

Artists- egon schiele, henry darger, the quilters of gees bend, maira kalman, shona heath, mary delany, cy twombly, simone shubuck, louise bourgeois, cynthia warren, livia cetti. These people all have shaped my aesthetic over the years.

Photographers- tim walker, wendy bevan, paolo roversi, johnny miller, jen gotch, josh goleman. 

What are you looking forward to this holiday season?

Listening to the Andy Williams Christmas album. And the new She & Him Christmas album. I really like Christmas music. Everything about the holiday season actually: an excuse to wear sequins, being with my and my husband's family, late nights with friends, driving around looking at Christmas lights, mistletoe, the smell of Christmas trees. Oh man, October-December really is the most wonderful time of the year. After New Years it's all down hill-ha!

What is your favorite Southern food?

Three-way tie: biscuits, pecan pie, and collard greens. 

What's in the future for you and your company?

I wouldn't mind owning a nostalgia shop one day ;) Or selling flowers out of an airstream trailer... It was a dream i had recently that felt so real. 

Thank you so much, Ginny!

All photos courtesy, Ginny Branch Styling & Designs