One of the things about style is that it’s ever-evolving. Even here at Joe Browns we’re constantly finding new ways to express ourselves through our clothing. In fact, this season, we’ve brought a stylist to our team to help bring an exciting new energy to our looks.

We were lucky enough to be able to sit down with Thomas Dugdale to ask all our burning questions about where to find fashion inspiration, how to build your personal style, and the key to feeling confident in your clothing. For those interested in a career in fashion, we even got some top career tips for aspiring stylists!

Read the full interview below.

"I'm a fashion stylist with a love for creativity, individuality and personal style. Inspired by everything from old films to travel and everyday life, I’m always looking for new ideas and different ways to approach fashion.

 

 For me, great styling is about helping people feel confident, have fun with what they wear and find a style that feels like their own." - Thomas Dugdale, Fashion Stylist at Joe Browns

I was about 21 when I got my first job in fashion. I started working on the shop floor at The Hip Store and that’s where I got into visual merchandising. So, I got to put outfits together for the mannequins and arrange window displays. From there, I got the opportunity to work in the creative team. 

So, I was quite lucky to have a platform there and go into styling, then I went freelance after that. I did two years freelance before I landed here at Joe Browns.

I like to see a story  from beginning to the end. Freelance is quite frugal, so you’ll work on a project and you might see it 6 months later and that might be it. When you’re working in house you get to see the project to the end, and that’s what I quite enjoy. It’s more personal.

That depends how I’m feeling, how I wake up in the morning. You know, what I’ve seen, what I’ve watched on telly. I usually wear a lot of layers. It’s ivy, preppy, and there’s some workwear influence. I’m a big fan of Japanese and Americana fashion. 

I find a lot of influence in older things and magazines, and in everyday life as well, because everything’s been regurgitated anyway, so it all comes back around. Old movies are really interesting to me. For example, Hitchcock and, you know, Sean Connery, and all the things that come with that. A lot of influence is the old stuff I suppose, which is really great for our men’s tailoring because it’s got that sort of classic gentleman style.

Yeah, there’s plenty! On the men’s side it’d be Steve McQueen, Sean Connery, you know, anyone that’s played Bond. Cary Grant, James Stuart, all the classic gentlemen. That’s what I love to see.

For the women, it’s Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, and Tippi Hedren. It's all about that classical ladies clothing, which was obviously influenced by their wardrobe teams, but it's the way that those ladies carried themselves that made their looks so iconic. What I love about that era of fashion as well is that the clothing isn't outdated, it's something you can easily bring into a modern wardrobe.

It’s just another form of expressing yourself, but I get a lot of people asking for advice. I might even get people who are really good at styling themselves but they’re just trying to find that one item. So, I’ll give them options, brands, and everything else. But, because it’s a form of expression, it’s very personal to yourself. 

Styling is a matter of opinion and there’s lots of many different opinions on how you would style that one piece. You could pick out 20 different people from Joe Browns to style one jacket, and they would all style it differently. 

I’d choose a lot of colour in there and that’s how I express myself. A lot of people are wearing darker clothing and that’s fine as long as they’re comfortable and that’s what they want to do. I know it can be a challenge, but I like to see people try it for themselves.

I think you need your icons and influences. Not that you need to go out and buy that full outfit that Cary Grant is wearing, but you might find the pair of sunglasses he was wearing and you might pair them with something else that you like from someone else. 

Ralph Lauren does it best, he might take a rag from a blanket that he’s found in a ranch and match that with a suit, and he might add in a preppy polo shirt, and then all the bits start coming together. So, you’ve got to find influence wherever you can.

It’s a work in progress, but it’s good fun styling yourself and getting into fashion.

What really attracted me to Joe Browns was the story behind the brand. You know, the idea came from Simon Brown having a beer with his mates in a beach bar. It’s fun and spontaneous, and you can still see where the brand started and what influenced them in the clothing.

I also love how fun and vibrant the clothes are, and there’s so much versatility. You’ve got your heritage checks and your tailoring, but you’ve also got your leather jackets and boho dresses. So, there’s something for everyone really.

My previous work has similarities with Joe Browns styling but there’s some differences here and I’d like to put my own spin on the styling from time to time, but I know how important it is that the customer comes first.

I’ve got to think about who’s buying the clothes and how they look, and what they feel like, and who they actually are. It’s very important that they can see themselves in our styling, but it’s also important to see how we can maybe change things up and see how we can push it as well and put a new spin on it, and be influences for people’s personal style.

It’s that balance between what the customer wants, and what you can show them that’s new, and different , and that they might not have seen before.

I spent some time freelance and that’s usually where people land themselves when they’re starting, and they’ve just got to put themselves out there. 

Take every gig. Sometimes they won’t be paid, but you’ve got to take every opportunity to find the bigger opportunity at the end. 

Set up your own shoots with your own storyboards, find photographers and make up artists to work with and just keep creating, keep working on your craft and building your portfolio. Eventually you’ll land a job and you’ll start getting to know people in the industry. You’re not going to land the big jobs at the first attempt. It’s tough but that’s the only way to do it.

Talking to our new stylist taught us so much about finding our individual style, and we can’t wait to see some of Tom’s remarkable work through AW26. If you loved this interview and you want even more behind the scenes content from Joe Browns, make sure to check out our blog.

Shop our latest collection here, and start your fashion journey today.