Amanda Brooks Left Barneys To Be Like the Pioneer Woman
When Amanda Brooks announced, quite abruptly, that she would be leaving her post at Barneys to go live on a farm in Oxfordshire, England, it’s safe to say the fashion industry (us included) was pretty puzzled. We wondered: Had Barneys been displeased with her performance? Had the company’s precarious financial situation caused tension in the office? Was she poached by another company–or perhaps starting her own? Now, we finally have some answers. Sort of.
In an interview with the New York Times, Brooks revealed that she left the famed retailer not because of bad blood or another opportunity but because she was inspired by a blog. And not one that has anything to do with fashion. A New Yorker profile tipped Brooks off to The Pioneer Woman, a blog penned by Ree Drummond, a mother who lives on a ranch in Oklahoma, homeschools her children and calls her husband exclusively (seriously) ‘The Marlboro Man.’ It struck a chord.
