Behind the scenes with Wildfang’s Creative Director

It takes a certain amount of badassery to leave a solid 9-to-5 and launch a fashion brand with your friends. It takes even more to launch one with a vision to shake up the status quo. Thankfully there are people in the world like Emma Mcilroy, Julia Parsley and Tara Thuot. They left jobs at Nike to launch Wildfang in 2013 and have since created a massive force of a brand that celebrates all things tomboy. Whether Ruby Rose is your style icon or you just prefer pants over skirts, the Portland-based fashion boutique and brand has something inspiring, and empowering, for every woman. We fell in love with it when we walked through the doors of their Portland store so we had to find out more about what goes on behind the scenes. We caught up with their Creative Director Tara Thuot to talk about building a business, gender politics in fashion, and all of her favorite things.

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HAVE YOU ALWAYS HAD TOMBOY STYLE? I have always loved to mix masculine and feminine. Even when I was 4-years-old, I rocked pants under my dresses. Pretty sure I am still rocking that style today.

WE LOVE THE EMPOWERING ATTITUDE OF YOUR BRAND. TELL US MORE. We believe being a Wildfang and a tomboy is as much about spirit as it is style. By having a two-way conversation with women and featuring real and empowering women in our content, our hope is that we are building a brand that is inclusive and inspiring.

Ring stacking and tequila stocking with Tarin Thomas

Kylie Nakao has had a life long romance with adornment, so starting her own jewelry line seemed as natural as Kim Kardashian publishing a book of selfies. After growing up in Toronto, Kylie headed to NYC to study design at Parsons and went on to get some serious industry experience working as a buyer for trendy upscale boutiques. When buying for others, Kylie saw a lack of cool, easy to wear, sophisticated jewelry at a reasonable price point, so she filled the gap by creating Tarin Thomas. The line is the perfect balance of old world craftsmanship and modern awareness. Each and every design explores dualities like masculine and feminine; delicate and bold; and modern and traditional. We caught up with her to talk unisex style, stack stories, grapefruit margaritas and more.

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