Somers Alumna Turned To Booming Businesswoman… The Story of Brown Dyed Girl

Photo courtesy: Jordan Baker

Click on the photo to be directed to Brown Dyed Girl’s website to shop!

Written by Devon DiMichele

Q: Where did you go to college and what did you major in?

A: “I went to Mount Saint Mary in Newburgh for my first year and majored in Communications. I did fashion throughout my entire high school career but I didn’t know what I wanted to do in college. What I did know, was that I didn’t want to go to school. I’m not a good student or anything, but my parents made me go away to get the “experience”. Once I was there, I realized that I hated being away from home, so I transferred to Westchester Community College where I commuted from home every day. At WCC, I majored in fashion design because I had done fashion design in high school and was good at it so I knew that I wanted to go into the industry. Then I think it was around my first semester when I realized that fashion design was just too much for me; it’s very competitive. So, I transferred into fashion merchandising. I finished my following two years at WCC, got my Associates, then went to LIM College in New York City, where I majored in fashion merchandising and got my Bachelors. I had background knowledge of fashion design from high school but I didn’t really know much about the business side of things, so it was a lot more interesting for me. I found that I could go into a lot more careers with a Bachelors in fashion merchandising rather than design because again, fashion design is very competitive.”

Q: What was your first job in the fashion industry and how did that shape the way you run Brown Dyed Girl?

A: “My first job in the fashion industry was at Macy’s. I started while I was at WCC as a seasonal employee just because I needed a job. After working there for some time, I grew my way to become a normal sales associate, then worked my way up to being a manager. I was in the shoe department the whole time I was there and then became a manager about four or five years after. From this, I gained experience in knowing retail, reading reports, good customer service, and all that.”

Q: What prompted you to start your business?

A: “Prior to Brown Dyed Girl, I was working in New York City with Jordache Enterprises and I hated the city- it gave me such bad anxiety- but I knew that I still wanted to be in the fashion industry, so I was back to the drawing board. I didn’t really mean to start my business, though. I wanted a sweatshirt from Bloomingdale’s that was like $300 so I was like “Okay, maybe I’ll just try and make it”. I was bored one weekend, so I went to AC Moore, got a Gildan sweatshirt, some red dye, and tried to make it and it actually came out really good. After showing it to my friends, they were like “Why don’t you try and sell it?” so I made an Instagram account, worked my butt off, and it kind of just blew up.”

Q: What is your vision for Brown Dyed Girl five to ten years from now?

A: “Right now, we are working on moving out of tie-dye. Yes, tie-dye will be around forever, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. We are trying to get into solid colors, which will be launching soon, and we’re also going to be doing some Spring and Summer stuff, which will include no loungewear. What I would really want, though, would be to create a Jordan Baker line or a Jordan Baker collection umbrellaed under Brown Dyed Girl. So that’s really my goal for right now. I’m actually thinking of a denim line because I absolutely love my vintage jeans… I wear them all the time!”

Q: How do you feel social media advertising/ marketing has impacted your business?

A: “I wouldn’t be where I am today without Instagram, especially, or any other types of social media marketing like Facebook. I really only use those two, along with Pinterest, which I’ve been trying to use more. Again, I wouldn’t be where I am today without Instagram. It’s free advertising- it’s just how I grew my company. Most companies pay for advertising maybe like commercials or stuff like that but I just have my Instagram. We are trying to get more into Tik Tok because well, you can go viral in like two seconds and it’s honestly grown to be bigger than Instagram.”

Q: What was your proudest moment so far with Brown Dyed Girl?

A: “My proudest moment so far would definitely be opening up my store. Having my store right behind my home and opening it during a pandemic has been insane. It’s one of my biggest accomplishments, especially because I did it all on my own. Some people think I’ve gotten help from other people like my parents but in reality, not one cent has been handed to me. I built this brand in my parent’s basement and now I have a factory out in California and a store in my hometown. I’m just most proud of building it myself… it’s all really exciting.”

Q: How did your brand grow into what it is today? How did you create connections with some celebrities that wear your brand?

A: “Some people or celebrity stylists would reach out to me because they’d see me on social media and they thought it would be good for their client. That’s the majority of how I got my connections and such but other than that, I would just reach out to people and ask them if they’d want to promote my brand. I met Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest because I went to one of their shows and I brought them their own sets. You just have to put yourself out there. I think that if I didn’t put myself out there, I wouldn’t be where I am today. You can’t care what other people think- you have to go for it. A lot of my promotions are organic. People like the product, they post it and tag me because they like how it feels, how it’s different, and how they can look cute and comfy at the same time.”

Q: Lastly, what is some advice you’d give to people aspiring to create a career in the fashion industry?

A: “Like I said before, I think the biggest thing that I would say is not to care what other people think. Right now, we live in a time where people care so much about if they’re going to be judged by someone or anything like that, especially when it comes to social media. Someone is afraid to post something they like because they’re scared they’ll be judged. I think just don’t care what other people think, put yourself out there as much as you can, and don’t be afraid to fail. There are always going to be hardships or things that you fail in but in the end, you grow, learn, and become a better person and business person from it.”

Devon DiMichele