How Much It Costs To Be Brooke Davis From One Tree Hill For A Day
Her budget really said clothes over bros.
Brooke Davis (Sophia Bush) is the bestie everyone deserves. From the outside, she appeared to be just a popular cheerleader at Tree Hill High, but deep down, Brooke was so much more. She was always there for her BFF Peyton, even when said bestie was stealing her man, and she used her designer skills to create a brand of her own, Clothes Over Bros.
When it comes to One Tree Hill characters, Brooke was *that* girl. Maintaining her Queen B status wasn’t cheap, though. As a fashion girly, Brooke kept up with the latest early aughts style and beauty trends. She also drove to school in her iconic blue Volkswagen Beetle, and lived in a nice house with her parents before moving out in Season 2. By the end of the series, though, Brooke and her husband Julian bought her parents’ old house with the red door back, so she got to live out her childhood dreams.
Even though she isn’t from the luxurious Upper East Side of Manhattan like Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl or Newport Beach, California like Marissa in The O.C., spending a day as Brooke Davis is expensive. Below is a full breakdown of what it costs to be Brooke from One Tree Hill for a day:
The Long-Term Expenses: Brooke’s Red Door Home Is Decently Priced
Unlike Marissa or Blair, Brooke attends public school, so her parents aren’t having to fork over an expensive tuition each semester. However, they are paying for the roof over her head. The home that gave Brooke her nickname “the girl behind the red door” is estimated to cost $1,132,000 on Zillow.
If Brooke’s parents paid off their home in North Carolina — where the show was filmed — they would just need to take care of the property tax, which was estimated to be $6,867 in 2023. That’s roughly $19 a day.
Brooke’s long-term expenses also include her convertible Volkswagen Beetle, which cost around $22,200 when her model was new. Assuming that her parents have also paid off her car, Brooke would just need to pay for insurance each month. The average premium coverage in North Carolina is $1,880, which is about $5 a day.
Total: $24
Brooke’s Morning Routine Begins With Coffee Before Classes At Tree Hill High
6 a.m.: Brooke likely started her day by putting on some “getting ready” music and her robe ($119). Her bedroom had a multi-disc CD player, like this $200 system from Best Buy. To wake up, she’d pick an album like Beyoncé’s Dangerously in Love ($7), which she mentioned in the second episode of Season 1.
6:10 a.m.: After getting the right tunes going, Brooke started on her beauty and skin care routine. Finding Brooke’s go-to products is a bit tricky, but One Tree Hill’s makeup department head, Shutchai Tym Buacharern, told a magazine at the time that she had a “woman in power look” that involved a milky complexion, false lashes, and lip gloss. The product Buacharern picked for Brooke was Fushion Beauty’s LipFushion Lip Gloss ($15).
For everything else in Brooke’s collection, Sophia Bush’s current makeup artist, Amber Dreadon, shared on Instagram in 2021 that she uses Armani’s Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Flawless Oil-Free Foundation ($69), Tom Ford’s bronzer ($75), Jones Road’s Miracle Balm ($40), Jason Wu’s Matte Agave eyeshadow palette ($13), Sweed’s mascara ($30), and Sweed’s No Lash-Lash ($30).
Dreadon shared some of the skin care she uses on Bush as well, which includes Caudalie’s face spray ($49), Augustinus Bader’s The Rich Cream ($305), NYX’s High Glass Primer ($10), and Sisley Paris’ lip balm ($100). Of course, Brooke isn’t spending money on these products every day, but this is what you’d need to purchase in order to step into her shoes.
7:10 a.m.: Once Brooke had her makeup done, she’d go to her closet to pick out her cool girl ‘fit for the day. Brooke wore a lot of red and donned a Marc Jacobs tank in Season 1, so this Marc Jacobs red tee ($195) would be something she’d grab and pair with her go-to True Religion jeans ($159). Also in Season 1, Brooke wore her brown sherpa jacket ($159) all the time, so that’s what she’d throw on to complete the look.
7:25 a.m.: When Brooke and Lucas started dating in Season 1, she grabbed coffee for the two of them before heading to school. A regular black coffee at a local cafe, like Karen’s Cafe, in North Carolina is about $2.
8 a.m.: Before she headed off to Tree Hill High, Brooke would stop to fill up her car. The fall 2003 gas prices in North Carolina were around $1 a gallon, and the fuel tank capacity in Brooke’s VW Beetle is 14.5 gallons. So, she’d spend around $14 at the gas station.
8:15 a.m.: At school, Brooke met up with her bestie Peyton before class. In Season 1, Brooke carried around a red backpack, but for Seasons 4 through 8, she had a pink messenger bag — which was very early 2000s of her. Her Kate Spade Nylon Messenger Bag was $160, according to Tree Hill Style.
Total: $1,751
Brooke Spent The Afternoon At School & Cheer Practice
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: When Brooke was at school, she wasn’t spending any money unless she went off campus for lunch. For one of those foodie adventures, Brooke would head someplace nearby like the The Dixie Grill, which was a filming location for the show. A chicken caesar wrap with fries is $14 on the lunch menu.
1:30-3:30 p.m.: For the rest of the school day, Brooke would be in class not pulling out her wallet.
3:45 p.m.: After school, Brooke had cheer practice with Peyton. By being on the team, she’d pay for her Ravens cheer uniform, which was about $65 for the top and the skirt. At practice, she often wore a Juicy Couture tracksuit ($218).
5 p.m.: If it was a game night for the Ravens basketball team, Brooke would head over to Peyton’s to get ready together. Even though Brooke didn’t wear a lot of heavy makeup, she would add some lipstick ($9) and lip liner ($6) to her go-to look. She also gave her hair loose waves with a curling iron ($18).
5:30 p.m.: To fuel up, Brooke and Peyton grabbed dinner before the game at Riverside Cafe. The River Club sandwich is $16.
Total: $346
Brooke’s Typical Evening Revolved Around Ravens Basketball Games
6:30 p.m.: Fans got to see more basketball than actual high school classes on One Tree Hill, so a day in Brooke’s life would have to include cheering on Lucas and Nathan at one of their games. Luckily for your budget, Brooke didn’t spend any money there.
8:30 p.m.: After the game, the team would celebrate at someone’s house — especially if it was a Friday night. Brooke and Peyton would need to change out of their uniforms into something more casual, like a halter top ($40), jeans ($199), and wedges ($140).
11 p.m.: At the end of the evening, Brooke would get ready for bed by putting on a Juicy Couture tank top ($39), Abercrombie & Fitch sleep shorts ($40), and her go-to Juicy Couture hoodie ($119).
11:30 p.m.: Before falling asleep, Brooke called her BFF or boyfriend on her cordless phone ($22) while painting her nails with Chanel’s Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour ($32). Then, she wrote in her diary ($28) with a monogram “b” on the front.
Total: $659
TL;DR: I Kind Of Want To Be Brooke Davis
At the start of One Tree Hill, Brooke came from money and was considered the rich girl, but she wasn’t overspending like a socialite. Sure, she lived in her designer clothes and Juicy Couture tracksuits like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears did in the early 2000s, but she was also down-to-earth and spent most of her time just hanging out at Peyton’s.
An example of her sustainable luxury lifestyle was using the same pink Kate Spade messenger bag for years, even though she could afford more designer purses to carry around. It also helps that Brooke grew up in a small town in North Carolina, where things are relatively cheaper than New York City or Los Angeles.
While Brooke said being rich was her favorite part about herself when she found out her dad’s company went under in Season 2, Episode 4, Peyton replied that there’s “so much more” to her than that — and she’s not wrong. Brooke, with money or not, is a Y2K it girl. As the One Tree Hill theme song says, “I don't want to be anything other than what I've been tryna be lately,” but being Brooke Davis for the day wouldn’t be a terrible second choice.
Total: $2,780
