Miriam Alden on Brunette the Label and Horse Girl Aesthetic

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2023/12/15

Miriam Alden is the Founder, CEO, and Creative Director of Brunette the Label and the Founder & CEO of Brunette Showroom. She’s a fashion industry entrepreneur with a focus on equine fashion. Recently, she was featured in a Vancouver Sun article entitled “Equestrian style: The enduring allure of the ‘horse girl’ esthetic,” which made a bit of a splash in the local horse community with Vanity Fair declaring 2022 the Year of the Horse Girl. Here, she talks about her experience and growth as a person and a fashion entrepreneur. 

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Today, we are here with my first equestrian fashion brand interview, Miriam Alden of Brunette the Label. How did you get involved in fashion? Did this start with Janis (Alden) in any way?

Miriam Alden: It started when a girl walked past me in a t-shirt about 20 years after my friends and I made it in high school. There was a football team in my high school. We made t-shirts to support the team. I saw a girl wearing one. It was about 20 years later. I realized that the t-shirt I made in grade 10 or 11 had continued for 20 years. I think that was probably the beginning. But really, the reality of it is that I honestly wanted to be a competitive equestrian. It was the goal. I wanted to do it. I worked at a farm mucking stalls from 9 years old to help subsidize the costs because it wasn’t affordable for my family. I worked to do it, and towards it, my whole life. Until about 20, I realized. It wasn’t something I wanted to do. I fell out of love with the idea of that as my career. I still had a love of the animal. At that point, I decided it wasn’t the direction I wanted to go into.

I took a break for a while. I hung out. I retired my horse that I loved so much. It was either sell her so that I could buy something else to continue or keep her and retire – take a break. Because I couldn’t find another horse. I decided to keep her. I kept her until she was shy of 26. She died the day before her 26th birthday. I was 30. We were four years apart. I took a break for probably ten years from riding and about 4 or 5 years working and finding my next direction. I always wanted to work in fashion. I didn’t know exactly where I wanted to go. I went to business school at BCIT. It was a business and marketing program. I talked about why I wanted to work in fashion. They suggested that I don’t work in fashion because, typically, it is a low-paying industry. My dad wanted me to sell airplanes. There were so many different things.

I was in BCIT and did a practicum at a radio station because I wanted to get into media. Ultimately, my instinct of wanting to work in fashion didn’t go away for me. That has driven almost every decision I have made in business today. I ended up going and applying for a sales job at a showroom. What is kind of cool is that while I was in school and before that, I did modelling. I made these modelling appointments for working with retailers. I loved the business side of fashion. I was thinking about everything I could do that would be successful for those stores. I wanted to do fashion. I wasn’t quite sure, but kind of everything. I did fashion writing. I used to have a column in local magazines. I did styling for magazines as well as for people. I did writing, fashion styling, and wholesale. After school, I got a job in a showroom.

I worked for about a year there. They brought me up and then laid me off. I worked at a barn to return to the sales job when they needed me again. Then, I started from the bottom. I loved business fashion. I loved the idea that we could grow with our customers and help them be successful. I always believed there was room for everybody. There is this collaborative thing. I worked for somebody for five years. I travelled. It was full circle.

When I moved back here from the US, one of my riding trainers was a woman named Sandy, who ended up being the sales manager for the brand that I got hired for. So, she already had a vested interest in me and helped me learn a lot about the manufacturing side of business. She’d bring me to all the trade shows. It’s funny. She is at the tail end of working in the industry. It is cool. It is a bit of a full-circle moment for both of us. She helps me. She came on when I came back from maternity leave to get the business restructured. It’s been cool. I’ve been there for five years. I decided to start my own business. I asked my boss if they wanted to partner with me. I didn’t have any money to offer. I don’t know why he would want to say, “Yes.”

So, he ultimately decided that it wasn’t the right choice – they had a family business going on for 50 years. What they did do was let me start my business there while I was training my replacement; for about six months, I stayed training my replacement and started my own business on the side. I didn’t have anything to start it; I didn’t have any business starting a business. Other than the fact that I was passionate about it. I was lucky to be able to continue working there. It was nice of them to let me do that. On October 1st, 2009, I left and started Brunette Showroom, my first business. I had Brunette Showroom. It started with no name brands. I started selling pashminas out of my car and started all of these other side hustles to help me self-fund the business.

Ultimately, I got hired with my first big brand after about a year. I grew from there. It became one of the biggest Western Canadian showrooms there. We carried all sorts of brands like Quiksilver Women. We grew that for five years. Then, after about five years, I decided I wanted to build a brand around my showroom. This was before inclusivity was a topic of conversation in the fashion business. We started hosting media events talking about the brand value of the business. It was where “Babes Supporting Babes” started. We made a sweatshirt for the media events: “Brunette is the new black.”

Jacobsen: [Laughing]. 

Alden: One of my retailers, my business, was Brunette the Showroom because my name is not easy. It was a tagline for the showroom. It was about new beginnings as a company. One of my retailers said they could sell that. So, I made 12 sweatshirts, then 24 sweatshirts, then 48 sweatshirts. Then, it was a slow and steady growth. It will be ten years for Brunette the Label in February (2024). We are in our 14th year and are heading into the 15th next year.

Jacobsen: Congratulations!

Alden: Thank you.

Jacobsen: This all started with cleaning stalls, as you noted at the start of the narrative. 

Alden: Yes, I was cleaning stalls at 9.

Jacobsen: I see this with many moms at the current barn. When I interviewed Lynne Foster, she also noted the same about her two daughters. They had to work. 

Alden: Yes, Tiff and I worked together.

Jacobsen: How did that relationship develop, the barn and Tiff?

Alden: She was a couple of years younger than me. Tiff and I began riding in North Vancouver. Then, I went to a different barn. She started to work for Thunderbird. Our parents would alternate days for driving to the barns. Both of us were in the same situation. It wasn’t super affordable for us, our parents, to ride. So, we both had to work to be able to do it. We are both still very close now, working very hard.

Jacobsen: How have you seen her trajectory into the #1 show jumper (in the country)? How did that help build a relationship? The one from their personal lives into one more professional, with Brunette the Label being part of her brand of herself. 

Alden: It’s not totally. Honestly, we’re just really good friends and support each other. We’re both working hard to build our dreams parallel together. They’re not cohesive businesses.

Jacobsen: How do you gauge the interests of style and aesthetic of your audience and your target market, and then develop the series of clothes for them?

Alden: We do collections four times per year. I just finished designing Fall/Winter ’24. I learned over time that I have to believe in what I am making, or it doesn’t work. My brand was the lifestyle of “Babes supporting Babes.” It is a community. A lot of people support the brand and live the lifestyle. Then, as we grew, the brand grew into a fashion brand. We have launched into new categories like knitwear and outerwear. Sometimes, some things don’t hit initially because they are new to the brand. But it is something I genuinely believe in. My brand is horse aesthetic, but it is also clothing for everyone. My goal is to be a clothing brand that makes people feel good.

When you go in, there are extra smalls and XXL. It is meant to be a brand that is wearable by everybody. Whether you love fashion or want something cute to wear, it is what I am trying to develop. It combines my and my brand aesthetic, and means a lot to me.

Jacobsen: What is the horsegirl aesthetic? 

Alden: 2022 was the year of the horsegirl aesthetic. My brand has always carried a lot of equestrian elements to it. I ride in our clothes. Many of our people who support Brunette the Label the most are horse people. We use it in graphics. I use horses in a lot of my inspiration. The country lifestyle, especially in the current collection, is about knitwear. You can wear it. It’s cozy. It has a country vibe and is cozy, comfy, and wearable clothing.

Jacobsen: How are the growth patterns for a fashion business with a niche set forth with a horse-girl aesthetic? Even though, it is for everyone. How do you get through the more emotionally difficult moments?

Alden: [Laughing].

Jacobsen: As with any business, input for income may not be as high as the output. So, you have to ride that low wave while waiting for the next round of income generation. 

Alden: It is really difficult. Being an entrepreneur is difficult; I am probably working 18 hours daily. Covid was an interesting time. It gave everybody a shift in their business structure, especially for us at the fashion level. Our manufacturing factories closed. We had to come back and do things quite different. Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart, it is hard. It takes a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice. Believing in yourself and knowing you are in the right direction is important, I think the only way out is through. It is knowing that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. Everything has ups and downs in every business. It is more seasonal. When there are changes, when you make changes, there are always hard times. You can take the good with the bad and have to believe in what you’re doing. You have to work hard. Sometimes, that is not enough. For me, I find that I just need to keep going.

Jacobsen: What are your moments of oases?

Alden: When I am with my son, I can be present. My favourite thing is to sit in my house when it is black and dark outside in the morning and have coffee by the fire. When I am on my horses and with my family, I think you have to surround yourself with people who love you. That is when I feel my best.

Jacobsen: How do you balance having a family life – husband and child – with this hectic work schedule, especially over the last three months?

Alden: I’m not even sure if there is anything such as a balance. I am still trying to find it. I think, by nature, I am a “Yes” person. I don’t protect my time and energy as much as I should, ensuring I schedule time with my family. I don’t know if there is a balance. I will try to find out if there is. You can’t do everything. But I try to do everything. You pick your battles. Being with my son and my family is the most important thing. Figuring out how I do that and be there for him is hard.

Jacobsen: For successful businesswomen, are supportive partners an important facet of keeping that engine going?

Alden: If you are lucky enough to have a partner, it would be impossible if you didn’t have a supportive partner. Both my husband and I are entrepreneurs. We carry each other’s weight when we need it. I think you need support in your life if you are an entrepreneur. It is like any job. No matter your situation. It would be very difficult if you didn’t have a supportive partner. Luckily, I do. I think that I am grateful for that.

Jacobsen: How about your kid?

Alden: What about him?

Jacobsen: How do you find having a child with all this business in your life?

Alden: It is the best thing in the world. It makes everything worth it. Honestly, it makes everything feel a little less important. When it gets stressful, I have a healthy, beautiful boy. I am so happy.

Jacobsen: How do you find being a horse girl and having the horses amidst all this? 

Alden: For me, nowhere else in the world makes me feel more like myself than I do when I am with my horses. I am the same girl as when I was nine years old. I am still in love with them. I am still so lucky. Not everybody gets to find a passion in their life. I found one. I get to go to one place. The one place in the world where, if I go, I don’t think about anything else. When I get on the horse, it is like meditation. I get to be so present. There isn’t much time that I get for myself. I get to be with my horses, be present, be aware of only that. When I leave, I feel recharged.

Jacobsen: Do you find yourself leaning more toward books in those quiet moments with a coffee and your family? Or do you find yourself more as someone who flips on the television for a show?

Alden: I am a book girl. I like to watch a Netflix show before bed. But I love reading. In the morning, I’m not a TV person. The TV is not on in our house. We are not a TV family. I love reading.

Jacobsen: What was the last book you read, the last show you watched before bed? 

Alden: I just finished the David Beckham documentary. It is so good. Then, I love subtitled shows because I focus on them. The last book I finished was Lessons in Chemistry. I am reading the book I’ll Drink to That Right Now, which is about a New York personal shopper.

Jacobsen: [Laughing]. 

Alden: [Laughing].

Jacobsen: Where do you think this intense motivation for fashion comes from – not necessarily the focus on fashion? That story was told at the outset, but really, that drive. Where does that source itself?

Alden: It comes from riding. If a horse girl applies for a job, she’ll almost be guaranteed to get it. We are built. We have always had to be responsible. When I was younger, there was no going on family holidays when I had horses. We always had to show up. We always have to be responsible for a living being. Riding is super hard. No matter who you are, you can have so much in the whole world, but you can go into the ring… you have to work really, really hard. It doesn’t even mean that it will be successful. Every day, we become very resilient. You keep showing up. You have a super work ethic. Just because you have found someone passionate doesn’t mean you are good at it. You have to work super, super hard for it. I had to work at so many things about something I love and am passionate about. To be there, it is cohesive in some periods as an entrepreneur.

Jacobsen: What would you consider your motto?

Alden: Babes supporting babes.

Jacobsen: [Laughing] That was a softball. For young girls who might stumble upon this interview who are horse girls, what would you give as some words for them? It doesn’t have to be a warning. It doesn’t necessarily have to be advice or something polyannish – just words for them. 

Alden: Something, for sure, which I am trying to follow now. If it is not an absolute “Yes,” it is a “No.” Your body and instincts mostly know. Our intuition is our superpower. If you feel something is right, not emotionally or physically, you just feel it in your bones, then it’s probably right. Things that are authentic work and authentic things are way more challenging because the world works like that. If you are doing something you are meant to do, doors open for you. But you need to work hard while doing it. It cannot be, “I want to do this.” Every overnight success is ten years in the making. It takes a lot of work to get you where you want to go within reason – coming from a privileged place. I know my privilege. I know how lucky I am to have everything I have. I am very privileged. There is a tightrope. You just need to keep going.

Jacobsen: Miriam, despite the hectic schedule you’ve been going through over the last months, I appreciate taking a little time to be the first equestrian fashion interview. 

Alden: You’re welcome, Scott. I’ll probably see you tomorrow.

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