The Interview —

Brooklyn Decker, Actress and Chief Design Officer of FINERY

I wore a seatbelt belt in high school, I also had a studded belt in rotation. AND I made my then-boyfriend wear a fake lip piercing. I had a crush on Tom Delonge. I was going for faux punk rock, but clearly having an identity crisis.

With Finery, I love getting to work with a dear friend. It makes me so proud, and happy, to see her thrive as a founder of a company. I also love being within this small bubble of female-run companies in technology. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait for that bubble to pop once we see more growth within these companies, but I’ve found it to be a very supportive group. We, as women, are living in an exciting time in technology.

The piece of advice I would give to my 18-year-old self is “It’s okay to say no.” IT IS OKAY TO SAY “NO.” As a model, I felt pressure to do so many things that went against every fiber of my being. I didn’t realize that I could say “no,” and that people would still hire me. I think saying no is one of the strongest, most compassionate things you can do for something. It’s honest, it saves time and energy, and all parties know exactly where they stand.

“Don’t be a dick.” You can lead with kindness and still maintain all that makes you a strong leader. Some of the people I respect most in this world are straightforward and brutally honest, but above all else—they are kind.

One of three things. I’m either on set for Grace and Frankie (you can have call times around 5:30 am some days,) slacking from set with the Finery team in NY (I live in Austin and work in LA, so slack has made our communication much more efficient.) OR, if I’m off, I’m chasing my toddler around the house and tossing back another cup of coffee.

I have a mediocre singing voice, but I can sing ONE song really, really well. Adele’s “Crazy For You” from her live iTunes session. I secretly worked on it for over a year while driving in my car. One night I was really rockin’ that liquid courage, my husband was driving us home from a date, and I decided that was the time to sing the song. He had no idea I could even hit a note. I was brilliant! It was a huge triumph, and I’ve never done it again—nor will I ever. It’s the small victories in life. (Ps- I wasn’t really that good, I just benefitted from very low expectations.)

I have homemade N*Sync pants. In middle school, I cut out pictures of the guys from a teen magazine and taped them to my favorite pair of MUDD jeans, I completed the look with A LOT of puffy paint and glitter. Ta-da. Homemade N*Sync jeans. I haven’t worn them since middle school, but I’ll certainly never grow tired of them. 

Dave Matthews. I’ve been to 21 DMB shows in my life. I’m a huge, huge fan. Their music just always sounds right. Every single time. Dave’s my main man (behind my husband, of course.)

Just last week my husband surprised me with a compilation video of all my favorite people in the world sending me birthday messages for my 30th. It was so unbelievably meaningful. I bawled like a baby, and it immediately became my most prized possession.

My baby boy. He’s 18 months and he’s the brightest thing in my life. On the heels of his birth—my friend, Whitney, and I launched our company FINERY.com. I feel delirious, I feel like I am not quite managing it all… but somehow, I currently feel like Superwoman. This is a first for me in my life, and I’m hanging onto it for as long as I can.