Longhorn Fashions Launched in August 2010

Longhorn Fashions launched in August 2010 with the vision of bringing cute and affordable burnt orange and white clothing to fans all over the United States. The goal was to make it easier for busy students and young professionals to find high quality, stylish burnt orange apparel for less. I wanted to sell apparel that could easily be worn to the office, out on the town, or to class this year and many years from now. 

Before launching the store in August 2010, I interviewed other companies who started their own business, took internships and jobs in online marketing, and worked retail to gain the experience I needed to make my dream of opening a store a possibility. Although I was very young, I knew I had the passion to make Longhorn Fashions successful with a very small loan. I grew the brand over the past three years by putting my all into it. My all included taking Photoshop classes at Laguna Gloria to expand my skills, working a full time job while running the store so I could use my second paycheck for advertising and additional inventory, spending my weekends renovating the Trendy Trailer, and pulling all nighters to get orders out. Most importantly, it included and still includes putting my heart and soul into Longhorn Fashions every day. The hard work and dedication of the past three years started paying off and I am so proud to say that the third football season is the best one yet.

Therefore, I am saddened to see a company who makes millions of dollars a year use my business name to market the new non-branded apparel that they launched this fall. Sure, there is a chance that it is not on purpose and I know as the owner I am probably overly defensive of my business, but when I see posts such as the following it makes me wonder:

I have been a fan of the University Co-op for a long time and was actually honored when I saw that they started following all my Longhorn Fashions social networks last year. I have blogged and posted on Facebook several times about how much I love their student government boots, and I have directed traffic their way for UT branded T-shirts, accessories and more, so if this is on purpose, it is very disappointing. I have had dozens of customers ask me if Longhorn Fashions is now selling to the Co-op, so I want to take this moment to let you all know that no we are not selling to the Co-op and have never been approached about working together, something I would have been open to.

I believe that with the huge UT fan base made up of many different people, there are plenty of opportunities for many kinds of companies who want to cater and market to the Longhorn Nation. This post isn't supposed to speak negatively about the Co-op or make you feel like one store is better than the other, but I've worked hard to be open with my customers about the growth and plans for Longhorn Fashions and would not want you to be confused or think we've partnered with a company when that is not the case.

Austin, TX is often named the best city for small businesses because of the overwhelming support that this remarkable town gives to entrepreneurs. I am so grateful to live in Austin and can’t thank you all enough for the constant support.

A huge thank you from the bottom of my heart,

Tessie