Why We Started A Fashion Brand

On July 26, 2014, Kelly and I[Laura] got married on a beautiful farm in Pittsfield, Vermont. One week later we packed our bags to take a once in a lifetime nine month sabbatical from work and traveled the world. While we were trekking to Everest Base Camp, scuba diving in remote islands in Indonesia and drinking from pristine streams in Patagonia, we dreamed up the wild idea of starting a clothing company for women who prefer menswear style clothes.

We have always gravitated towards button-up shirts and bow ties, so we often find ourselves envying the clothes in the men's section, but get frustrated because we know they won't fit us. Through the process of looking for clothes for our wedding we realized there was a big gap in the marketplace for women like us. Neither of us feels comfortable in a dress, so we had to find an alternative stylish option to wear on our big day. We ended up getting customized suits from Brooklyn bespoke tailor, Bindle & Keep. We loved our suits and have continued to have clothes made from B&K. However, customized clothes are great for those special occasions, but are not necessarily affordable or styled for everyday wear. As such, we decided to launch, Kirrin Finch, a ready-to-wear menswear-inspired women's clothing brand to meet the growing demand for gender-defying and sustainable fashion. 

The name, Kirrin Finch, was inspired by iconic fictional tomboys "Georgina Kirrin" from the British children's book series, The Famous Five, and "Scout Finch" from the American novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. I am from Scotland and Kelly is from New Jersey, so we each felt a connection to the characters in the books. Both these characters embrace the tomboy spirit and are not constrained by society's views of how a woman should behave or dress. With those characters as our inspiration, we believe fashion can be a way to embrace change and improve our world. That's why we are committed to making ethically-produced clothes that break gender barriers and embrace freedom of expression.

We are currently working on our collection of menswear-inspired button-up shirts and plan to launch a Kickstarter campaign in early 2016. We are excited about the journey ahead.