Miss Brache Talks Her Custom-Made Rockabilly Designs

Oh La La Maillot

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New Times: Did you grow up in Miami? 

Diane Brache: Yes, I was born and raised in Miami. I love this place, even with its problems. I just moved back from living in Seattle for three years. I needed to get back to some serious sunshine. I'm an island girl at heart and need some warm weather to feel sane. Also, people here are so different. They're very outgoing and love life. That comes with some rudeness, but it's a price I'm willing to pay. A good song comes on here, and people dance even if they're in CVS. 

Yes, totally. I grew up a bit poor, due to painfully young parents who didn't like each other very much. So, I would make what I didn't have. Both my parents are that way too. It's a sort of way I can save money and make it better anyway. 

I think I've always enjoyed this. In high school sewing class we had a fashion show and many of the girls wore my stuff because they liked it better. I was shy then and they didn't ask me, they kind of just took the stuff. It was weird. As a kid, my mother made us bad ass Halloween costumes and my sister and I were always first or second place at the San Juan Social Club's Halloween party. It was held at Knights of Columbus. That's when I learned to sew. I'd help my mom cut patterns and stuff. 

I made a fashion show with my three cousins that I'd babysit. I made them outfits with a stapler and Publix paper bags. As I got older and would shop with my girlfriends, I would hear their woes. I have a few plus-sized, gorgeous friends that couldn't find anything to wear. I thought it was bullshit that they couldn't wear something to show off their curves. I knew then that I needed to do something about it. 

Miss Brache is my first store. It's a work in progress and could be much better. I need to visit the Small Business Administration and try to get a mentor. I want to write a business plan and seek out an investor or loan, so I can hire help and make a better product. I need to hire someone, but the responsibility of someone else's livelihood from my business is something I'm terrified of. I want it to be a good place to work for. 

I probably creep a lot of women out. I'm always looking at their clothing and thinking "very flattering," or "I'd change this seam to make her waist look smaller." Based on those observations, I make dress patterns. I want women to feel beautiful just the way they are. A great fitting outfit is a good start. 

My clothing is handmade to order and made to measure. It's rockabilly subculture with a modern wearable sense. Who doesn't love pin-ups and that era of clothing?

I'm always at work. It's the one sucky thing about running your own business. I'm either really busy or slow. Slow means I don't know if I get to pay rent, and busy means I don't eat dinner with the boys, my Mister and Professor Miles my dog. It's a roller coaster, But I'll see it through to something great. 

It's been almost a year since I moved the one lady sweatshop out of the living room. Professor Miles is no longer covered in thread. It's a bit ghetto, but I love it. I have a big old window that faces Dogma on Biscayne Boulevard, and it leaks like crazy when it rains. I put the lucky bamboo my Mister's grandmother gave me underneath the rain so it get watered. I've seen a couple car accidents from the window. 

I'm on top of Moonshine Sushi, and the first floor reaks of tempura and plum sauce. My neighbors are really loud Miami guys who say bro a lot. I think they're bounty hunters. They're nice though. Gerri, the building manger, always makes me smile. She's a sassily dressed Jewish woman with fantastic energy. I pass her as I get my mail on the second floor. 

What do you think about the fashion in Miami? How would you describe your personal style? 

I love Miami and its style. People like to get dressed up here and aren't afraid to push the envelope. You see women and the occasional male doing their groceries in heels. I don't care too much for the Ed Hardy rhinestone craze, but at least they're dressing up. Just tone down the cologne boys. I went to the Opera House in Seattle all dolled up, and everyone was in hoodies. I felt like a turd. Granted, being in Seattle I should of known better, but that would of never happened in Miami. 

I like to consider my style rock-n-roll meets the beach bum. Sometimes I'm in a maxi dress and sandals. Sometimes it's a band T-shirt and my thick plastic glasses. I love to wear my clothes the most which try to be rockabilly, a subculture of people who love Gil Elvgren, pin-ups, and music of the '50s meets the tattoos and debauchery of the new millennium. I'm not that into the scene; I kind of just admire it from afar and make clothing inspired by it.