Bow and Drape cofounder Aubrie Pagano brings bespoke designs, customization, and irreverent fun to fashion

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Ideometry

6 min readApr 26, 2017

The intersection of high fashion, customization, and humor isn’t one that’s often explored, if it has ever been, but that’s exactly what Aubrie Pagano, cofounder of Bow and Drape, is doing. Aubrie’s personality is stamped all over her company, and it’s propelled her from making her own clothes to giving thousands of other women a way to express their own irreverent sense of humor.

To wrap up our Future-Forward Fashion Founders series, we interviewed Aubrie to learn how a job in finance and apprenticeship with a fashion designer catapulted her to the forefront of her own growing company, why Kickstarter’s not for everyone, and where she gets her sense of humor.

This is part 7 of our Future-Forward Fashion Founders series. Don’t forget to check out part 1 (Nineteenth Amendment), part 2 (Ministry of Supply), part 3 (Tyme Wear), part 4 (Pixi), part 5 (Forsake), and part 6 (Sebo Designs).

You originally started in finance/banking. How did you decide to start your own apparel company?

The truth is, I never intended to stay in finance. I studied History and Literature in college. When I graduated, I knew I would love starting something myself. I had originally started a nonprofit, but I didn’t feel prepared to run a business. I went into finance as sort of a secondary education. I could learn the ins and outs of business, pay off my student loan debt, and save money to start a business.

I had lots of ideas for different kinds of businesses I could start, but Bow and Drape was the one I was most excited about, so I just went for it.

What problem were you trying to solve with Bow and Drape?

I really wanted fashion that expressed my personality. A few years ago, I was going to a wedding, and I originally wanted to get a custom dress. I searched all over the place for some place that made something that expressed my own style, but I thought that most of what I found was awful. There were either high-end retailers selling bespoke dresses or schatzke sites selling team building slogans on shirts. I wanted to combine those approaches into something better.

How did you know you had something you could go to market with?

I don’t think you ever know — you make informed guesses and quickly iterate until you find that product-market fit. No one ever thinks what they’re doing is perfect. I did do some surveys and market research that showed that customization would be a meaningful trend. But then we tweaked and iterated a ton until we found something that worked.

That’s the process: Change quickly based on the data you have. I definitely didn’t know it would be this big from the get go. I never knew that five years later I’d be still building it.

You got your start in fashion as an apprentice for another designer. Do you think the apprenticeship model should be more widespread? Any advice for someone looking to do the same?

I think education in general is just important, and everyone learns differently. I got a job in finance so I could learn about it in a hands-on way. This eventually gave me the confidence when I went into fashion that I knew what I was doing on the ground level in terms of running a business. I can’t just sit and read books, I have to live it. For people like me, I think an apprenticeship is a great idea.

As far as finding an “apprenticeship” opportunity, it’s just about packaging yourself. You need to show what you bring to the table, and show that you’re enthusiastic. My apprenticeship was unpaid — I wanted to learn from her, and in return, I was a resource for her. I helped her build a financial roadmap for her business, while she taught me about fashion and design. It was a tradeoff. My biggest piece of advice is to package yourself for the person you want to work with so they can see the mutual benefit.

Custom products can be a logistical nightmare — how are you overcoming those hurdles as the business scales?

That’s the secret sauce — scalable sourcing and design processes. I’ll say that we use a lot of technology and have tweaked our production a lot to make it possible. It’s the secret stuff. It’s not easy, but it’s our differentiator and it keeps competitors out.

Any tips for running a successful Kickstarter campaign?

I actually don’t think it’s the best platform for everyone. It’s not always necessarily the best barometer to test your product. The majority of what’s on there is gadgets and apparel for young men, and if you don’t fit into that category, you might not get the results you’re looking for. I don’t think there’s a direct correlation between Kickstarter success and a great business idea.

What are your biggest influences on your design/tastes?

It changes. I’m influenced by a lot of great American sportswear brands. Old Polo, adidas — I love the classic worn-in look. Other than that, I love American silhouettes mixed with different quirks — nostalgia, emojis, Japanese kawaii, and other cultural references. It’s all about irreverent fun.

Why did you decide to 3D print your belts?

3D printing is key in the customization world, so we thought this could be a new formulation for custom belts on-demand. We wanted to test if that’s what the market would bear. We tested plastics and stainless steel (which at the time was only available in Europe). In the end, we found that the customer didn’t really care about 3D printing. Plus, it’s very expensive to print in stainless. The belts were very intricate, but customers didn’t want to pay that price point. It just didn’t work.

It all goes back to product-market fit. Just because something can is a great idea, it doesn’t mean it will be a great product. I’m in the business of selling products, not ideas. Let go of the pride you have over what you come up with.

There’s a lot of humor in your products, as well as from you personally. Where do you get your sense of humor from?

I get it from my mama. Actually, both my parents are lighthearted and funny people. My little sister is the funniest in the family though. I think the youngest child usually ends up being the funniest.

(Editor’s Note: Aubrie lists phantasmagoria as a skill on her LinkedIn profile. Someone hire her!)

If you weren’t running your company, what would you be doing?

I would be running another company. This was really what I wanted to do most, but I did have other ideas. Possibly a nonprofit. I had an idea for a nonprofit where people would trade volunteer points for prizes, so I’d probably pursue that.

What has been the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome so far?

Cash management and building a great team. You need a team that can push through the tough times, and you need to be able to manage your cash. Both propel you forward.

Where do you see yourself this time next year?

I see us becoming a household name as a lifestyle brand for expressive apparel and accessories. If people want something fun, I want them to think we’re the go-to for that. We’re looking to have our own store too.

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Read the rest of our Future-Forward Fashion Founders series here:

If you liked this interview, check out our Boston’s Booziest Businesses series, featuring interviews with founders from Boston’s alcohol industry. Also, don’t forget to read our wrap up of the top three marketing lessons we learned from business and marketing leaders at CIC Boston.

This interview was conducted and written by Camden Gaspar, Content Strategist & Copywriter at Ideometry. You can follow him on Twitter @camden_gaspar.

Ideometry is a full-service marketing agency located in Boston helping awesome companies and organizations amplify their growth strategies.