Share My Story Sloane West Clothing owner Katie

Sloane West’s Story

Meet Katie, owner and designer of Sloane West Clothing co.

Sloane West is a clothing company with a focus on challenging traditional gender stereotypes to bring you a brand that unites boys and girls. “Let’s let their personalities dictate who they are, not their clothing.”

Sloane West Clothing co. was brought to life after Katie and her husband had their beautiful baby girl Sloane. Wanting to dress Sloane in a gender-neutral way, they kept trying to find baby clothing that was not gender specific, but had a hard time finding anything. So, Katie and her husband decided to put matters into their own hands, and thanks to Katie having gone to Kwantlen Polytechnic University with a Bachelor’s of Fashion Design & Technology they were able to start creating their own line of children’s clothing.

“I think it’s important to let your kids grow into themselves and not let their clothes dictate who they should be. It puts them in a box and I feel that we shouldn’t impose those societal rules on our kids before they know who they are.”

Gender Neutral Babes

Showing parents they can allow their kids to just be kids, Sloane West Clothing is offering an amazing variety of gender neutral clothing.

The support they have been getting from our local LGBTQ community as well as from parents looking for gender neutral clothing has been absolutely incredible.

Katie told me in our interview, that during on of the markets she was attending, she had one Dad approach her and say: “Thank you so much for making gender neutral clothing. I am a father of a trans gender child and it’s so great that we can let them grow into themselves before their clothes tell them who or what they are.” She told us that meeting people and parents like him is what keeps her going.

But let me tell you a little more about Katie. During our interview she told me that she does everything from sourcing materials from Vancouver, to designing and sewing. (Yes, you heard that right, Katie does it all!!) When I asked her how she comes up with new designs, Katie told me that she does a lot of trend forecasting. Seeing what’s out on the market, what seems to be on trend as well as finding the right colors, prints and design details are all part of the design process.

Her latest creation are reusable facial rounds, which she creates from leftover fabric. Trying to reduce waste as much as possible, she came up with this wonderful idea. Rather then using scratchy single use makeup remover pads, you can simply toss the facial rounds in the washing machine and reuse them over and over.

Sustainable Fibers

Coming from the fashion industry Katie is very aware of the negative impacts that fast fashion has on our environment.

That is why all of their clothes and accessories are made from natural fibers and created to be sustainable and environmentally friendly.
For their summer and spring collection they mainly use Lyocell and organic cotton making the clothes more light-weight and naturally breathable.

For their winter and fall collection they use rayon from bamboo, and cotton. Katie told me that “It is pretty much the same fibre content as the one for the summer material, it’s just a different weave, which makes it a nice sweater material and super cozy.” Also included in all of their clothing is a small percentage of Spandex, which ads stretch and durability giving them longevity to be passed down to other little ones.

If we got you all excited to check out some of Sloane West’s Clothing, make sure to check out their website, or find them in one of these stores. Amelia Lee Boutique, Thistle and Wren or Merge in Tofino.

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