IN CONVERSATION WITH SOPHIE BROOKS

Sophie Brooks' second feature film, Oh, Hi!, was truly so fun to watch in theaters. It’s like a classic NY romantic comedy with a fun timely contemporary tone. We spoke via Zoom about the balance between femininity and practicality, what not to wear on a first date, her grandmother's designer vintage outfits, committing to a uniform, and so much more.

Thank you to our friends at Sony Pictures Classics for making this happen.

Hagop Kourounian: I’d love to start this off by asking you about your own personal style and your relationship with clothing. How much time do you spend thinking about clothes?

Sophie Brooks: My personal style… I definitely think about it and care what I wear. I feel like personal style is inherently personal, right? So it's not something that I have overthought. I feel like a lot of my style has just kind of come quite naturally to me and there's certainly some phases I've gone through where I've looked at specific women and wanted to emulate them. But most of what I wear has sort of been the same since I was in college. I'm someone who always wants to feel comfortable most of the time. I dress semi-androgynous, but I also love a girly dress and a summer dress and feeling really feminine. So I actually think that the fun part about dressing for set is finding the balance of femininity and practicality. Sometimes a dress is not the most practical, you have no pockets and that sort of thing. But I did wear a dress for a few days on set for Oh, Hi!. There's something quite joyful about directing in a dress. 

Hagop Kourounian: That's so cool. That reminds me of that famous photo of Sofia Coppola directing The Virgin Suicides in a dress. Who do you think are the best dressed filmmakers? Are there any you look to for inspiration?

Sophie Brooks: Certainly Sofia Coppola, I love her style. I think anyone who feels like they're being themselves is always very attractive to me. I really love her style. I love Greta Gerwig's style. There's also some BTS photos of her on set in a dress and that's always fun to see. Who else? Gosh... 

Hagop Kourounian: Doesn’t have to be directors specifically, maybe there are some films that have inspired your sense of style?

Sophie Brooks: I really love Sofia Coppola's sense of style and how she uses costumes. It feels very grounded but also like her characters have good taste, which is fun to watch. I also love Diane Keaton and how she brings her personal style to a lot of characters. I don't know if that was the director's vision but when you call Diane Keaton, you can kind of lean into certain looks that are really authentic to her and feel very fun. I really loved the style of Past Lives. 

Hagop Kourounian: Katina Danabassis was the costume designer for Past Lives, she’s probably been my favorite costume designer of the last few years, she's been killing it. You mentioned you had a uniform way of dressing earlier, is there a specific kind of way you get dressed for a typical day on set? Are there any items that help you feel grounded on set or comfortable? 

Sophie Brooks: I think about my shoes first and I make sure that I'm wearing comfortable shoes because you're on your feet so much as a director. I never want to feel like my feet are hurting so I typically wore the same pair of sneaks every day, just some Nike sneakers. I just got a new pair of Reebok sneakers and I'm excited about them. But for a few days I wore a boot when the weather required it or a ballet flat when I wore a dress. But yeah, I definitely think about comfort and functionality. I would never wear a short dress or something, that would be so impractical and make no sense. But a long dress or jeans very often, cargo pants, yes. Ultimately I wore a t-shirt and jeans most days with sneakers and socks. I think it's nice to feel like yourself and not feel like you can't bring your personal style. I have this brand of t-shirts I really like called FLORE FLORE and I wore a lot of those t-shirts on set. But yeah, just feeling comfortable and functional. I feel like I'm someone who stretches and squats a lot when I'm walking. I like to use a handheld monitor which usually means I'm hiding in a corner of a room, hunched over it. Having the ability to move freely and not feel constrained is important. Like I would never wear a jacket that felt tight or constraining in any way. 

Hagop Kourounian: Your movie, Oh Hi!, did such a funny and great job at touching on modern dating issues and this whole epidemic of situationships, etc. I wanted to ask, is there anything clothing related that is kind of like an automatic red flag for you when it comes to a first date? What do you not want to see a potential romantic partner wearing? 

Sophie Brooks: That's a fun question. I must say I do care about how a man dresses. I think it can say a lot and I like someone who has a sense of themselves and of their taste. I’m not single but if I went on a date with a man wearing super skinny jeans I would be alarmed. I think anything that feels like you're trying to be trendy is not the most attractive. I think trends are so fun and you can lean into it, but if someone's trying really hard to have a ripped shirt to make it look cool as opposed to it just being an old shirt that happens to be ripped. Do you know what I mean? Someone feeling just naturally themselves is very attractive as opposed to someone putting in too much effort which is not as suave in a man. 

Hagop Kourounian: Yeah, that's kind of the beauty about clothes, right? Everyone has to wear them and the way you go about it says so much about a person. You may have answered it in that last question, but I'm also curious about the opposite. What do you like to see a potential romantic partner wearing on a first date? Do you have any advice for the audience on how to dress for a first date?

Sophie Brooks: My boyfriend has a really good style. I do like pants that aren't too tight. I think this is what I'm realizing. I don't like super tight pants on a man. So it’s pants that aren't too tight, a t-shirt that fits you well, you know? Not oversized, not too tight, but just a well-fitting t-shirt is very attractive. I do like a simple button-up. I'm a huge sweater girl, so a beautiful knit in the fall or winter is very attractive to me. I do like someone who has a little bit of a signature look in some way. Even though I was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans most of the time on set, I kind of always wear earrings and I've had the same haircut since I was five years old. Bangs and earrings and lipstick make me feel like myself. So I think someone having a sense of their style and committing to it–even if every now and then they go left field–is quite attractive.

Hagop Kourounian: I feel like that's something that's kind of lost in our current generation. People aren't really dressing in a uniform too often. There used to be people who were known for wearing the same leather jacket every day. I appreciate uniform dressers very much. In my personal opinion the best dressed directors are those who kind of have that uniform dialed in. Like you said, something special about the uniform is that sometimes they go left field and it makes that left field moment so much more special because you're so used to seeing someone in a certain aesthetic and then once they deviate from that for a day or two, it stands out. I also love what you said about your hair, lipstick and earrings because Justine Triet also said something very similar to me. She said that above anything else she feels the most herself, especially on set, when she has her red lipstick on. 

Sophie Brooks: If I have no other makeup on, I will wear lipstick. That is like the one thing I always put on. 

Hagop Kourounian: If I had to jokingly reduce the film to a singular lesson, it’s that if a prospective partner has not seen Casablanca you should immediately turn around and never look back. Is that your litmus test for taste? Is there something that is your litmus test for taste? If someone doesn’t agree with your opinion on a movie or a book or an album does that bother you?

Sophie Brooks: You know, almost the opposite actually. Obviously I referenced Casablanca in that movie but I went to film school and I found it really annoying when the film boys would be like you haven't seen The Godfather? What's wrong with you? I think it's kind of charming when someone hasn't seen a really iconic movie or piece of art or piece of music. It would be an ick if someone was like you're stupid for liking that. I don't want to yuck anyone's yum so I think it would be an ick for someone to be really judgmental of anyone not seeing something. Iris is quite playful about it in the movie, she obviously doesn't really care that he hasn't seen it. If someone was overly pushing me to see something that would be more off-putting than if they hadn't seen something I loved. I do think sometimes rom-coms get kind of a bad rap and men look down on them sometimes and if a man just categorically was like I don't like rom-coms I'd be like you haven't seen a good one then because that's not a reasonable thing to say. I love When Harry Met Sally. I love Four Weddings and a Funeral. It wouldn't be an ick if I showed it to someone and they didn't like it but I would hope that they would give it a shot. 

Hagop Kourounian: Do you have any favorite brands right now? Are there any places you specifically like to shop for clothes, knickknacks, accessories? 

Sophie Brooks: There's this store in my neighborhood called Outline that is owned by lovely people and they have beautiful, beautiful stuff. I love that store in Brooklyn. I'm wearing Levi’s jeans. I love classic Levi’s jeans or these new Reebok sneakers that I have. I love the shoe brand LOQ which is a friend of mine's brand that I love and wear a lot. I mean, I can't afford it but I love The Row. I love looking at The Row and like admiring it. I think it's so beautiful. I really like Sandy Liang a lot and I love just a classic good timeless piece that will last you for years. I'm not a fast fashion girl and I'd rather buy something that I really like that will last. I re-sole my shoes every year. I have shoes that I've had since college. I have a Barbour trench coat that I love and will have for years. So I like a classic thing. A white shirt, some jeans.

Hagop Kourounian: You completely answered what I had planned for my last question… I was to ask if there are any items that you cherish and plan to keep forever but you just named like six. 

Sophie Brooks: Well, I'll give you one more. My grandma was a nanny for many years for a very wealthy family. Whenever the mother of the family got bored of a piece of clothing she would give them to my grandma. So my grandma has all these unbelievable vintage Celine and Chloé and Chanel outfits from the ‘70s that she's given me. So if there's a fire, I would save my grandma's vintage stuff from the ‘70s. 

Hagop Kourounian: That's awesome. Must come in handy for premieres and big events, etc. Thank you so much Sophie. The movie truly was so fun. I haven't had that much fun at the movies in quite a while. The casting is great, the location is great. It really did feel like a Nora Ephron-esque, When Harry Met Sally-esque type of vibe but with a cool modern edge. I think that the first 20 minutes or so on its own is like the perfect rom-com of the last five years. Congratulations on this accomplishment and I can't wait to go see it again in theaters. Thank you for your time!

Sophie Brooks: Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. Nice talking to you.