Amanda Brooks

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When Amanda Brooks left the city for the farm, she had loads of fashion goodies that she couldn't take with her. Fortunately for those of us still left in the city, she left the likes of Prada, Phillip Lim, and Chanel to the New York City Opera's annual pop-up thrift shop. {NYPost} Miley Cyrus is engaged to Gale Liam Hemsworth! The engagement ring, designed by Neil Lane and featuring a 3.5 karat diamond, cost a reported $100,000. {Hollywood Life} Victoria Beckham is British and proud of it! She appears in a video for Britain's GREAT campaign in which she discusses great British design and music and lets the world know that hottie husband David can't dance. {Styleite} Gisele took a trip to her homeland of Brazil for the Green Nation Fest. The supermodel planted trees wearing a baggy shirt, leading to further speculation that perhaps she's growing more than just trees. {PopSugar}

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.

Amanda Brooks surprised everyone a few weeks ago by abruptly leaving her position as fashion director at Barneys to relocate to England to "pursue other opportunities." She's since resurfaced on a farm in the UK and written a flurry of new blog posts, so we're assuming she's content. But what about fashion director-less Barneys?

It's been over a month since Amanda Brooks unexpectedly left her post as Barneys' fashion director and announced that she'd be relocating to England with her family "in the interest of further pursuing other opportunities." And now we finally know a little bit more about why she's decided to make the move and what she's planning to do with her life. Yesterday, Brooks updated her inspiring blog, I Love Your Style, for the first time since February 2011, when she began her "DREAM JOB" at Barneys. And you'll never guess what her next plans are. She's moving to a farm! With pigs and horses and everything. She is also probably writing another book. Here's her little update:

File this under news we did not see coming. Amanda Brooks, who was named Barneys' fashion director in January 2011, has resigned, WWD is reporting. Just yesterday we attended an event at Barneys in which Brooks hosted a talk with the creative directors of Maiyet, introducing Barneys' newest label to a group of online editors. She looked immaculate as always, and asked thoughtful, well-researched, questions. She also just wrapped a busy fashion month--a fixture in the front row and a favorite of street style photographers. Brooks is leaving for England to pursue other opportunities.