How Ramy Brook Built Her Fashion Empire in Her 40s

There's certain moments, especially when a celebrity wears your stuff. Yes. And it's not like a friend of a friend of a friend. So that's when you're like, oh, wow, like, yeah, this is really happening. Well, I actually know that celebrity that you're talking about. Matt, pull up the picture. Taylor Swift wore your skirt. Oh, no, that was incredible. Hey, it's Natasha. Can I ask you for a quick favor? If you've been enjoying these conversations, hit the follow button wherever you found us. If that's YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you found us, that way you never miss an episode. And if you have 10 more seconds, can you leave us a review, maybe even rate us? That way new people can find us. As always, thank you so much for spending your time with us. Hey guys, welcome to the Talking With Natasha podcast. Each week, I'm sitting down with founders, trailblazers, and some names you definitely know. Matt Friend. The Watch King. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Darna Gard. The Scarlatta Twin. Cal Penn. How are you? But we're skipping the small talk. We're taking it to the next level. It's live. It's really thrilling. And fun and honest. Let's get to mucking. It's ChocoClock. How are family gatherings, though? Painful. Almost like getting a colonoscopy. So come hang out, and let's get into it together. All right, guys, Taylor Swift, J. Lo. Some of the biggest names in Hollywood have worn her clothes, and she didn't start her fashion empire until her 40s. Please welcome the one, the only, the New York moment, Ramey Brooke. Thank you. Great to have you on. Thank you. I love being here. And I'm wearing your dress, Ramey Brooke dress. And you're fabulous. Thank you. And you're also wearing. I'm wearing full Ramey Brooke. I love it. It's a top and a skirt. And your boots too. Oh, and our boots. Boots. Really comfortable. Yeah. That's the key. You got to have comfort with these boots. Because we're walking all over New York today. Taking the subway. I was on the subway. I love the queue. The queue? The queue's your favorite line? The queue's my favorite line. Oh. Yeah. Where's the queue go? What is it? So it starts on the Upper East Side. It's the 2nd Avenue line. Oh, okay, okay, yeah. So it starts on 96th Street, and then... I take it down to 42nd because my office is on 39th, but I think it goes all the way to Coney Island or Barclays. Yeah, I think it goes to Coney Island. I'm an NRW girl. NRW. Because I got to get down to Midtown, takes you downtown too. It's the best. Yeah, I used to be like a six girl, like J-Lo, her album was like something about six Yeah, it's Jenny from the block. Jenny from the block. She was like a six girl, I'm like a two girl. You're a New Yorker. Well, I grew up in New Jersey. You grew up in New Jersey. Yeah, but not far, but I'm a full Jersey girl and so proud. I've been living in New York for over... 30 years. It's changed so much. Sure has. You've probably seen it all. I've seen it all. I mean, I remember the days coming in with my parents and having the squeaky, those squeegee people clean your windows. Yes. And that was just like a rite of passage. Like you get out of the Lincoln Tunnel and then you either have a couple bucks with you or you're like putting your windshield wiper. My father was like, no, no. I'm like, oh my God, they're scary. But they weren't scary. They're just hustling. Yeah, and I forgot which mayor finally got rid of that, but like... Was it de Blasio? No, definitely not. Or was it Bloomberg? Bloomberg? No, I can't remember. Someone earlier on. Yeah. I'm looking at Matt like that. Maybe Google or ChatGPT. But that was like one of the greatest things that Mary did. And you've seen kind of like them resurging. I saw them. We saw them like a couple of years ago. I remember we talked about it in one of our news conferences. Probably with de Blasio. Yeah, but... It is interesting because you've got this, like, you've got the hustler, the hustler in you from being a New Yorker. Right. It's kind of the grind. Yeah, like grit. I remember one market appointment, this woman, she worked at Saks at the time. And she was like, wow, I didn't realize you, like, were so, like, you had so much grit. Like, you're so, oh, she called me scrappy. She's like, you're pretty scrappy. Yeah. I'm like, yeah, like. Is it a compliment? That you get the job done. Yeah, that's right. And you built your empire from the ground up in your 40s. Yeah, I started, I was 42. My kids were 10, 7, and 5 at the time. Wow. And they went to school. In the Bronx, so they were on a bus. So I had a lot of time on my hands. They left at 7.30 and they really didn't come back till 4.30. So I had like a full day that I really had to figure out what to do with my time. Yeah, we've got some pictures, Matt, of some of those early days of you and the show being scrappy. I mean, you just got to get out there and start designing. These are some of the pictures. Oh, yeah. I mean, what year was this? Like, right around what time? So that was probably, like, 2013 or 2014. So I worked out of my apartment. I took another apartment for three years. And then nobody wants to come to the Upper East Side. You know, it's really hard to get appointments, really hard to get employees. So after three years, I took space in the Garment Center. And that's when things really started to build. It's interesting to make a career pivot in your 40s, right? Yeah. Why did you decide to make that leap of faith? So I never, I always wanted to surround myself with adults and I love being a mom. It's like my priority and my favorite thing. But I wanted to also do something else than just drop off, pick up and, and. I wanted to really engage, I don't know, my brain in other ways. So starting from my apartment was great. I kind of had the best of both worlds. I was able to be home and also able to work. And in the beginning, I was able to make every soccer game, make every play. I made my own schedule. Well, I like. The business didn't take off as much, so I had a lot of control. And I really enjoyed that. I liked having that part of my life that was more for me and my creativity. Right. It's a good outlet. It's a great outlet. I felt like I had something to say at dinner that wasn't just so focused on only the kids. Yeah. So for me, it kind of gave me that. And I did volunteer work to fulfill that part of my... life and fulfill that part of my brain but having like your own thing yeah and building that on my own timeline I think kind of like created who I was in that stage of life. That's amazing um I can see you light up when you talk about it yes it must give you so much purpose it's what you're here for. And honestly my mother worked my whole life growing up um my sister also always worked So I come from like a big working family and it just. Was there a moment when you're doing your business and you think, oh, wow, this is really taking off? Yes. I mean, there's, there's certain moments, especially when a celebrity wears your stuff. Yes. And it's not like a friend of a friend of a friend. So that's when you're like, oh, wow, like, yeah, this is really happening. Well, I actually know that celebrity that you're talking about. Matt, pull up the picture. Taylor Swift wore your skirt. Oh, that, that, that was incredible. How did you find this out? So... actually my niece was the one who told me first so I guess it comes up on your feed and yeah she was leaving um the restaurant the corner store which just opened Love Corner store which like every hot celebrity went there and she was with one of the Hadids and they step outside and the paparazzi was like all over them and they were able to identify that it was a Ramy Brooks skirt so I think the New York Post like literally like she walked outside at 10 o'clock and it like 10:01. It was like, my niece is like, is Taylor Swift wearing your skirt? I'm like, I don't, I don't know. I'm like, I don't know. And it turned out. She was wearing the skirt. What was that moment like to find that out? I, you know, I asked my team, I'm like, do we know her stylist? Like, how did she get it? Like, I was so curious. Right. And this skirt in particular wasn't sold many places. It was sold like a Ramy Brook. And I think Bloomingdale's had it and maybe ShopUp. Oh, wow. So we really didn't know. Our PR agency said we didn't send it to her. So we we tracked down her publicist or her stylist. Yeah, I think she's got a few. But there's one guy in L.A. and he was so funny. He's like, no, I don't know who you are. I'm not familiar with your brand. And then he looked online. He goes, oh, but it's really cute. He goes, but no, it wasn't me. So I was like, oh, like we still to this day. I'm not sure how she got it, how she got it. I love her. I don't know her personally, but everything about her, I'm a big fan. I just think she seems like a kind person. She loves plaid, so I guess it makes sense that she's wearing the plaid skirt. That was a big moment. That's a surreal moment. Yeah, what does a celebrity moment like that do for business? It's incredible. Like right away, you see the traffic on your website. You see the spike in sales, you see it live, you see it really. Taylor in particular, not every celebrity has the same reach that she does, yeah, but because I think she appeals to so many different age groups and so many women, like you saw right away and it was late at night. It was like 10 o'clock. Yeah. So you see the jump and you see the sales and you see the traffic. You saw it on Shopify sale, sale, sale, like right away place for the skirt right Right away. Did you have enough inventory for it? We did not have enough inventory. It happened to also be friends and family. So in addition to that skirt, you also got 25% off. Oh. So it made it like a real sellable item. Yeah. And people were searching for it everywhere. Yeah. And we ended up recutting it. But unfortunately, it takes a couple weeks. Right, right. To recut it. But she really has a strong following. And people love her. And they love her style. And they love the skirt. and we like really it's so much fun to talk about yeah and it's such a cool moment to open up your feet and see your skirt on a celebrity like Taylor Swift absolutely it's amazing and there's been like amazing celebrities like Kate Hudson, Cindy Crawford, Halle Berry like we've had some amazing yeah celebrities wear it but this moment was really like fun interesting and like everybody saw it yeah like everybody I don't care if you're like 10 years old or like 100, like, you saw it. You saw it, and it's got just such range. Is there any celebrity that you're still dying to dress? Um, so... There are some celebrities, I have to think about that because there's a range of celebrities. I would love Alex Earle. Alex Earle, yeah. And I've been following her since she's been in college. And I feel like she would look great in the top that you're wearing right now. I feel like I get her. She's a Jersey girl like me. She's from Jersey? She is. I didn't know that. Yeah, she's more like South Jersey, more towards the shore. Yeah, yeah. And I feel like this is a Jersey girl. She's also lovable. Yeah. You know, she's honest. She's gorgeous. She's And I love her style. So I would love her to wear it and her mom and her stepmom. They could all wear it. They could all wear it. Okay. And her sister. Maybe she's hearing us and she wants to wear Remy's. I feel like fellow Jersey girls who like stick together. Stick together. I think it's a great idea. I want to shout out everyone in our group chat right now, our live chat. It's going, a lot of good questions here. I think because you're so inspirational, a lot of people want advice from you. So we got one person asking, what is your advice for someone looking to make? A major change or take on a huge project in their 40s. So, you know, it's so funny now that I've been in it for a while. 40s to me is like totally young. So I feel like there is so much time ahead of you that the 40s is a great time. You know, the average age of an entrepreneur is 39. So there are, it actually is older than probably what you think it would be. And you should just. Do it like try that one thing. And with like Instagram and Facebook and TikTok, and there's so many ways to get your message out there. And I recommend doing it. And you just have to try. Just got to try. And it's easy to be like, I can. And it's also easy for other people to say. Who's going to, who's going to buy that? Or like, why would you do that? There's so many naysayers and I really just think they're jealous. So you just have to believe in yourself and just try. And if you fail, you've learned from your mistakes and you will try again. I've heard so many different iterations of that. Some people say, you know, like work through the cringe, just post it, just put yourself out there. Even if you don't think that voice inside your head's like, don't do it. Or you hear from haters, just keep doing it and betting on yourself. I mean, the haters. Like I just ignore the haters and I don't even know like who they are. Like show your face if you want to say something to me. But it could even, like haters could even be people in your world that aren't supportive. So if you believe in yourself, you need to try. Yeah. And you don't want to turn around and keep on saying, oh, I wish I did that. And I wish I did that. So just do it. Yeah. And find the people who support you. And it could be your parents. It could be your friends. Your husband, your kids, like, you need the love and support. I think that does help. Yeah. Instead of just going and doing it by yourself. Did you, as you did your climb, did that get revealed to you and people who weren't supporting you? Do you have to become better at just cutting them out? Yes. And there were actually very few. I felt a lot of support from my friends. Yeah. When I started, I did trunk shows. And I. I didn't have salespeople, but they all worked the shows. Yeah. Oh, wow. And they wrote the orders and they were just so proud and so helpful. Yeah. And my sisters are really also helpful. My younger sister lives in New Jersey and she did my first trunk show. Yeah. So like she hosted it and her friends were going to show up. So I feel like I've, I had a lot of love and support. Yeah. It sounds like you hit the jackpot with your family. Matt, we've got some photos of the family. We've got some photos. of you and your sister when you were younger. Oh, yeah. And look at this picture. Yeah, so my mother made our clothing when we were younger. Oh, no way. So, you see, we're always matching. Yeah, I love it. And I don't know if we have one, but she made them really short. Like, I don't know, the diapers were showing. But she wasn't, like, a true seamstress or designer. She just did it for fun. Yeah, she did it for fun. But, yeah, they're my grandmother, my mother, my sisters. So, that's always fun. And then we got a present day picture also of the sisters. together. Oh yeah. It seems like your sisters are everything to you. I love my family. I live with my family and I love my sisters. So you know my older sister she's a psychologist. Yeah. She does TV and she's written a few books. Dr. Robbie Ludwood. So she has really she's always been put herself out there. Yeah. Way before I did and so supportive and my younger sisters great and we love being together. What is it about Jersey that. I know what is it about Jersey. What is it about I think New Jersey's small, and I don't know what makes us have this grit. Yeah. And maybe because people make fun of New Jersey all the time. Yeah. Like, they'll be like, you know, what exit are you from? And I always be like, why is your mother a truck driver? You know, that was, like, my, like, standard answer, because that's what I heard all the time. And, like, they make fun of Jersey all the time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Meanwhile, you can't beat those rest stops. They're amazing. Yeah, I know. On the Garden State Parkway, right? I've heard. Yep, yep. They have the best food. Yeah. Amazing. There's so much. Rami, you're so funny. We got to sneak in a quick break and then think about this. Someone in the chat is asking, do you have a favorite Taylor Swift song? So when we're back. I'm going to think about that. When we're back, we'll have an answer from Rami Brooks. Stay with us, guys. Welcome back to Talking With Natasha live. We've got Rami Brooks in the house and we want to shout out our people watching on TikTok. We have someone from Italy, Rome, saying hello from Rome. We'd love to go if you could host Rami and I. Oh yeah, we'd love to go. And there's some really good stores in Rome. Yes, good shopping, gelato. Gelato. Do you like pasta? I do like pasta. I'm more of like a chicken parm girl. Ooh, okay. My husband's part Italian. I was about to say. Yeah, and he's an amazing cook, so he makes these incredible meatballs. That's nice. I didn't grow up with like ever having pasta. Yeah. So he was shocked like when we went out. I'm like, I just didn't grow up on pasta. This is why we have to have a Sunday dinners. Sunday dinners, yeah. And like pasta's a great food. It's a great food. Just a great food. And then shout out to all our people in the YouTube chat. YouTube and Facebook. You got everybody. Yeah, we're on Facebook live now. Shout out to Facebook. I guess because, you know, the audience, like if you're going to start a business in your 40s, like you're still on Facebook. Facebook. I always open up my Facebook and I see someone else from high school pregnant. Oh, yeah. And I'm like, what in the world is going on? Right. This is just. And my mom's on Facebook. Everyone's on Facebook. I'm on Facebook. I just have my like high school reunion. Yeah. I go on and like. Everyone's posting on Facebook. Yeah, Facebook is great. We love our people on Facebook, okay? And TikTok and YouTube and all the things. Someone in our live chat wants to know, do you have a favorite Taylor Swift song? And I guess they ask this because Taylor Swift was wearing one of the skirts that you designed. Right, and I'm a big, I like her as a person. And it's funny because I'm like a 70s rock and roll girl. But I think Shake It Off is like one of my favorites. And she did this video where like, Every, like, athlete, like, was, like, shake it off. Yeah, she did. Hater's gonna hate. Yeah. And I just think that's a brilliant line. Hater's gonna hate, hate, hate. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I feel like I quote that all the time. Yeah. When people are critical, I'm like, hater's gonna hate, hate, hate. I know. I'm like, just shake it off. You gotta shake it off. I mean, I don't know. I don't know. She writes really well. Yep. And I feel like she puts it in music so everybody hears her. She's a businesswoman, so she's got to deal with a lot. She really is. She's like scrappy, works hard. I mean, her tour, that tour she did. I know. She's working. For what, like two years? Right, working all the time. Yeah. And I heard a beautiful story of the bonuses she gave, like all the drivers of the buses. Yeah. I feel like she cares. I'm a fan. Yeah. I'm a big fan. And it's not only because she wore baby brook. I liked her before, but the fact that she did wear it just makes it better. It does make it better. Now there's a picture plaid. I love plaid. It's so great for fall. Are you seeing, let's talk about like the trends right now. It's fall, but we're already looking ahead to winter, even spring. But what are the trends that are happening? So plaid is like that heritage print and plaid. And Herringbone, it really is having a resurgence. And so they bring back classics and they do it in a cute way. So it could be in a mini skirt or like a top that has a little bit of like lurex gold running through it. So they find ways to reinvent classics. And so that's what trends I think in the fall and holiday, you know, the jewel tones are great. Purple is big. Purple is big right now. Purple is big right now. You can see it everywhere. And purple, like, isn't always a big color. Yeah. And, like, the reds and the hunter greens always seem to be important. But purple is exciting because I love purple, but not everyone always wants to wear purple. Because it's not like oxblood. Is it like a true purple? No, it's like a true purple. And it's bright. And I think purple's... Somewhat of a neutral. I mean, it's not like a navy, but it falls in that world. Right. And it goes with your denim and it goes with black and it goes with brown and it goes with gray. So it is a color I feel that mixes in people's wardrobes. Is there something that every woman should have in her closet like staples? So besides like denim, I feel like jeans are important and just get the jeans that you feel So you don't have to be. You don't have to buy what they're telling you to buy. I love low-waisted, and that to me is also becoming more popular. But if you like high-waisted, wear your high-waisted. And if you like stretch, wear stretch. Yeah, whatever makes you feel confident. What makes you feel confident. And I think a good staple in your wardrobe is a silky satin button-down blouse. Because that's a good layering piece. And you can wear it alone. You can wear it with jeans. You could dress it up. But you could also put a sweater over it or a blazer. And it's still like a classic, but sexy look. Yeah. And you can wear jeans with it. You can wear jeans with it. You can wear a belt. Like it really is something that's basic. And those days where you're like, I don't know what I want to wear. Yeah. You grab that and you're like, okay, I feel good. Yeah. As I'm talking to you and the lights hitting your jewelry, I'm distracted by all the bling. You love jewelry and this is something that you're launching. Yes. Yeah. When I first started, I wanted to design tops that show off jewelry. Yes. And I was like, I love my necklaces and my earrings, and I just want a beautiful top that shows it off. And that has stayed with me the entire time I've been building this business. And a couple of years ago. We decided, like, why am I showing everybody else's jewelry in our ads and our editorial shoots and our lookbooks to be Ramey Brooke? Like, I know what I want to design. Yeah. So I'm still learning that process, but we have developed some amazing jewelry pieces, and they're fashion jewelry, and it's priced to be affordable. Yeah. So you could get a ring for... Yeah. And you're wearing one of them right now, which I love. I'm wearing one of them now. I'm actually wearing a bunch of them right now. Yeah. And they're meant to be bold and they're meant to make a statement. And all the earrings are lightweight. Yeah. Because I can't wear heavy earrings anymore. No, it hurts. So everything is still like a statement, but not heavy. Yeah. So everything that I have issues with, I'm like fixing it with our own jewelry line. Lightweight earrings, like beautiful cocktail rings. Um, and, and they're multi-sized. So we come with like, you could something on the inside, you can make it tighter. Oh, so you have a choice. Oh, that's a way. How does that work? So on the inside of the ring, you can actually make it tighter. You can make it tighter. So if I want to wear it on my ring fingers and my middle finger, I can make it smaller. I love that. Yeah. That has to be my biggest issue with rings is I have to now commit to the finger that that ring is going to be on. Right. And that's a big commitment. Yeah. So I don't want people to have to make that big commitment. Exactly. I'm trying to make your life easier. Yeah. And we do another necklace that's like three strands and it just layers it for you. And because I love a layering look, but then you have to buy three different necklaces. And I don't think that's I feel like, yeah, you're very solution-driven. I am. And so I... We sell, like, this gray necklace, but also, if you want to wear it separately, you could take it apart. So you have a choice. I like that, too. Yeah. You can really change it up. Why did you decide to launch Ramey Brook, this brand? Was it... Were you missing something in your closet where you wanted to find a solution? I was missing sexy tops and I just wanted to wear like a great top to dinner. Yeah. And I, when I looked in my closet, I really was at a loss. I'm like, I have nothing. Yeah. Which we all know isn't the truth. Like everybody has something. But sometimes you walk into your closet and you're like, I don't have anything to wear. We have so many clothes. Which is always fascinating. So it's like, how do you have nothing? But you do want that simple, sexy, elegant top that... goes with anything. So I really didn't find that when I was shopping. There was not too many contemporary brands that existed at the time. You know, there was Theory and I think there was Vince, but there wasn't a brand that had that designer feel at a contemporary price point. So, and I... I was like, I'm going to learn how to do this. Yeah. So you started making it yourself. I didn't make it myself. Yeah. But I did. It was my creation. So it was pieces that I loved. It was. Like changing them up a little bit so it would be like lower in the front or like something that had a stretch to it. It was solution driven for what I wanted. Yeah. And then when I started doing trunk shows selling it, I found other women wanted the same thing I wanted. So they would see this one top. I have a top called the Harriet and you can wear it six different ways. And women bought like three of them in three different colors. Yeah. Where do you think fashion is headed? So where is fashion headed? I hope fashion is headed in a place where women buy clothing that makes them feel confident and makes them feel great about themselves. And they could also, you know, write their own script and design it with their own accessories as they see fit. So I hope it's headed in a direction where you're not pigeonholed into one item and you're also not defined by your age of what you're told to wear. So, you know, we love the mother-daughter aspect of the brand and, you know, a lot of them could share the clothing. So I like that it's kind of doesn't pigeonhole you into one like grouping. Yeah. So this way it's a wide range for people. Do you think society does that, tells women of certain ages what is age appropriate or what they can wear and can't wear? I think they may, they do that maybe without knowing. Yeah. And. I feel like, um, you know, Hollywood has done a great job, like opening up that world for women who are 40 and over. I feel like Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, I mean, they're killing it and they're over 40 and they've created these roles for women because, you know, we're alive and kicking. So there's no reason, um, that we don't have beautiful clothing to wear and, and that you can't start something new when you're older. Absolutely. We only have one minute left. I want to mention you've got a sample sale happening right now. Yeah, the sample sale is on 231 West 39th Street. And it's really worth going because there's a lot of fabulous product there that's for all year round and it's priced under. Mostly a hundred dollars. It's amazing. I want everyone to enjoy it. Yes, it's perfect. It's a perfect price point. Ramey Brooke on Instagram website. Yeah, Instagram. We have our own website. Facebook, LinkedIn, everywhere, TikTok, like you name it, any social channel. We are there. It's amazing. I loved getting to know the woman behind the brand. Thank you. So great to have you. You're fabulous and beautiful. And thank you for wearing that dress because you look stunning. It's just so nice. And the ruching, everything. Ramey Brooke gets me. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you. Okay. Thanks, everybody. We'll see you next time.