Entrepreneur

This Former Model Used Her Personal Savings to Start a Thrifty Side Hustle — Then Taylor Swift Became a Repeat Patron: 'People Really Responded'

By Amanda Breen,

2 days ago

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Christy Dawn, founder of the regenerative fashion brand Christy Dawn . The brand's new customer acquisition is up 20% year over year, and more than half (56%) of people who purchased its Dawn Dress (its initial and most popular design, also worn by Taylor Swift ) are repeat customers in 2024, per the company. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of Christy Dawn. Founder Christy Dawn.}

When did you start thrifting? How did that hobby lead to the side hustle that would become Christy Dawn?
Thrifting started way back in my childhood. Growing up in my hometown of Placerville in rural Northern California, shopping for new clothes at the mall wasn't an option. Instead, I would go vintage shopping with my mom and rework pieces I found. This was the natural thing to do growing up in a very small town, and with the lack of shopping around, we made it work, and I realized I genuinely loved the experience. Thrifting spoke to the part of myself that loved to be seen as unique, creating one-of-a-kind pieces that I could wear and express myself.

Fast forward a few years, when I moved to Los Angeles as a model and continued the tradition. I became known for my signature style of floral dresses, which was unusual at the time before it blew up in popularity. Each time I'd show up on a modeling set wearing dresses that I would recreate with my local tailor in Santa Monica, I would get several compliments and questions about where I got my dress. One day, I came home from a photo shoot and told my then-boyfriend (now husband and business partner ) that I wanted to start my own company, and from there, Christy Dawn was born.

What convinced you to take the side hustle full-time? Did you have any fears or doubts, and how did you overcome them?
Launching a full-time eco-conscious business was a happy accident. At the time, I was still working as an ecommerce model in Los Angeles. When I decided to start a small dress company, I didn't know that I would end up pursuing this full-time. We had five dress samples three months later, and it just started. We bought deadstock fabric, and I designed five styles for 70 pieces at launch.

With my background as a model, I knew what made for a good photoshoot, so we worked with a professional photographer to take photos of my friends who had social capital. This helped us grow the brand quickly, and looking back, I see that the Christy Dawn DNA is unmistakable in those images. People responded to the designs, and then we started to tell the story of deadstock.

As for fears or doubts, I was too naive to think it might not work. There's a lot of grace in not knowing how challenging something can be when you start!

What helped inspire the very first Christy Dawn Dress? Do you have any habits or routines that fuel your creative process?
My mission is and always has been to create beauty in everything I do and everyone I touch. Having been raised in a small town where trends went on for decades — not seasons — I've always been drawn to pieces that can stand the test of time and never fail to make us look beautiful.

The Dawn Dress is one of the silhouettes we first launched Christy Dawn with and is still our bestseller today, a decade later. It was the first dress I ever designed, and the timelessness of that piece is apparent. It's a silhouette that truly looks good on every type and has made so many women feel incredibly beautiful and confident in their bodies.

I draw my inspiration from getting out into nature . I love hiking in the mountains near our home in Santa Monica. Getting away from the hustle and bustle and sinking into nature's pace is how I refuel creatively.

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of Christy Dawn}

What sets Christy Dawn apart from other clothing brands? What does its regenerative model look like?
Fashion is the second-largest polluting industry in the world. Unlike other clothing brands, we don't aim to avoid being part of the problem. We're committed to being part of the solution, and this mission has shaped our company's very foundation and trajectory.

In 2021, we took a significant step by starting our regenerative cotton farm, which started with four acres and has grown to over 80. We make every piece of clothing from upcycled fabrics, organic cotton and regeneratively grown materials designed to stand the test of time. Since 2021, we have sequestered over 2.6 million pounds of carbon from the atmosphere while paying farmers three times the living wage.

We launched our land stewardship program two and a half years ago to offer our customers the opportunity to actively participate in growing their own dresses. For an investment of $200, participants can steward 3,485 square feet of farmland, and six months later, we will buy back the yield in the form of store credit. This unique program allows people to have a reciprocal relationship with the land and the farmers — something you won't find with any other brand.

How did you approach funding the business?
With limited funding , we tapped into our savings. We paid ourselves nothing for five years, using $20,000 in savings from my modeling. In fact, I was still modeling on the side to fund the business and our growing family. I got pregnant at the same time that we launched Christy Dawn, which added a whole new element to the mix!

After five-and-a-half years in business, we decided to take on investors . We didn't have enough deadstock fabric to grow the company, so we ended up starting our regenerative cotton farm. We became the first brand to bring customers into the mix with our land stewardship program, which generated financial support and inspired a mindset shift in how people connect with their clothing, the people who make it and its impact on the planet.

What have been some of the biggest business challenges? How did you navigate them?
When we launched the first Farm-to-Closet Collection in 2021, we were proud of what we had accomplished and excited to share it with the world. But when the moment came, nobody cared. As a society, we're still trying to understand what it means to be sustainable , and then we introduced regeneration, but there was little context for what it was.

At a broader level, there has been so much greenwashing . People couldn't believe we could enact change, and we can't blame consumers for not trusting brands. But we had invested so much in our farm and into growing a team ready for takeoff, so when things didn't go as planned and we didn't hit our goals, that was devastating for us and me personally. For three years, the company lost money to the point where we were looking at turning off the lights.

Despite the challenges, we didn't give up, but we surrendered. For me, there was an energetic shift of accepting what is but continuing to love and putting intention into this thing I believe in. We ultimately returned to a grassroots strategy , which traditionally worked for us. We put so much energy and resources into growing the farm, growing the business and expanding and reaching new customers . We did all of this because we believed in what we were building. Still, we realized that our customers wanted what they wanted from us — beautiful, ethically-made dresses, and they didn't need every category or want all of these options. When we had that moment of surrender, we paused and listened to our community. I went back to doing many of the jobs myself because we couldn't afford a whole team, but the beauty of owning your own business is you know how to do that already, and I embraced that.

If you were to go back in time, what — if anything — would you change about your entrepreneurial journey?
If I could change one thing, I'd never have named the company Christy Dawn. Originally, we named the company Dawn, which I loved. But after a year or so, we were notified that a company in Germany filed for that trademark before we did. So we had to change the name and didn't want to confuse our customers, so we went from Dawn to Christy Dawn. But now, my name is tied to the company, which can sometimes be a weight. Don't get me wrong, I love our success, but if I could do it again, I'd choose a different name.

What do you envision for the future of the brand, and what are you most excited about?
My vision for the brand's future is to keep inspiring people to change their buying patterns to the extent that fast fashion will also have to change its production methods. It's more important now than ever to know where your clothes come from and use your purchasing power to create real, tangible change.

Now that we have made farm-to-closet fashion a reality by prioritizing intentionality and ethical practices, I look forward to continuing to innovate and expand our core offerings while remaining committed to our mission. I envision a future where our brand not only leads the charge in ethical fashion but also fosters a community of conscious consumers who prioritize quality over quantity and rethink their relationship with fashion.

What's your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs who hope to start a side hustle or full-time business in the fashion industry?
Honestly, the best advice I can give is to design for yourself — make the clothes you want to wear. It's a tough business, and it's easy to lose your way. If you listen to your inner voice and design from that place of inspiration, there will surely be others who are called to your aesthetic. And if there isn't, at least you've got clothes you like to wear!

This article is part of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.

This Former Model Used Her Personal Savings to Start a Thrifty Side Hustle — Then Taylor Swift Became a Repeat Patron: 'People Really Responded'

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