The story of the Bruce & Olive difference is a very personal one. Living and working in Austin, Texas, over the years, we often found ourselves having to choose between looking good and feeling good, at least when it came to our clothes. With high humidity and heat topping our list of wardrobe dictators for three quarters of the year, we didn’t necessarily have all the fun options of a New Yorker or Angeleno at our disposal. Things that look cute in a coastal city in June get sticky and gross on a night out in the early spring in Austin. And dry cleaning and laundry bills can make even an affordable frock into something way less manageable.
Bruce & Olive was created to find the intersection between form and function where fashion was concerned. We wanted to stay cool, layer up, and look good doing it, all with the same essential pieces while fulfilling our need to be eco-friendly. Here’s how Bruce & Olive clothes are different from everything else in your closet.
The first thing we knew we needed when we set out to design Bruce & Olive’s line of clothing was something we could wear in the Austin heat, from SXSW in March to ACL Fest in October. We also wanted something we could layer in during the few cold days that pop up in our wet winter season.
This meant we needed to address temperature regulation, odor control, and sweat-wicking capabilities, all while maintaining a level of comfort for our sensitive skins. We wanted something lightweight but durable, too. We designed a fabric that contains a proprietary blend of TENCEL® and organic cotton that hits each of these marks in a number of ways.
The fabric in our clothes is naturally breathable, so your sweat dries and your skin gets a breeze. At the same time, the material is capable of absorbing 50 percent more moisture than cotton alone. This high moisture absorption rate also makes Bruce & Olive pieces anti-bacterial. And because they’re made of 100 percent natural fibers, bacteria and odor don’t get trapped in them, even over years of wear.
The fibers in the blend also contain water, giving them a high heat capacity. This means that a Bruce & Olive top or dress can help you regulate your temperature when you start to sweat. The end-result is a fabric that not only feels great to the touch, but keeps feeling better on your skin than other cotton or polyester blends do in humid heat. The bottom line is that our shirts won’t stick to your back, no matter how hot the Texas summer gets.
As city-dwellers, we know the high price of good closet space. We like to minimize the number of pieces we have to keep to maintain a solid wardrobe. The capsule wardrobe is a philosophy we absolutely live by. So we designed Bruce & Olive pieces in classic basics to serve as the staples of any fashionable person’s closet. At the same time, the cuts and colors are bold and modern, making those staples anything but “basic.”
Each of our pieces can stand on its own or be part of a bigger layering endeavor. Because of their simplicity, they can also go from day to night without batting an eye, even during the summer. Whether it’s a cool morning brunch or a hot patio soiree, Bruce & Olive clothing lets you live your life without being uncomfortable or feeling like you need to change every 20 minutes.
Like all good Millennials, we care a lot about the environment and want to minimize our effect on it. All of our clothes are made out of natural and sustainable fibers, and most are fully biodegradable. We use low-toxicity solvents in our manufacturing and recycle them to be used again, which helps us keep our production sustainable.
Our manufacturer is proud of their ability to specialize in knit and woven textiles that are both environmentally and socially responsible. That’s why they ensure that their partner mills adhere to many global standards for environmental and social compliance, including the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®, which tests for harmful substances in clothing components.
But beyond our production, our clothes also offer you the chance to make a more sustainable lifestyle. Because of their sweat-wicking and odor-controlling properties, you don’t have to wash the pieces as often as you would other items of clothing. This also means you don’t have to stock up on three week’s-worth of white tee shirts just to stay dry for a few days. And they last longer than fast fashion pieces, so you’re not going to throw them away after a season.
Perhaps the biggest difference between Bruce & Olive and other clothing brands you may interact with is our attention to detail. We take our clothes personally, mostly because we wear them, too. We designed everything to fit our lifestyle and the lifestyle of our friends. That means we pay attention to every detail, from how the clothes are made to how they feel when we wear them. We also treat our customers the way we would want to be treated.
Ready to feel the Bruce & Olive difference yourself? Check out our women’s and men’s original pieces (we highly recommend mixing and matching between the two!) and start building the bold and light wardrobe you’ve always needed.
