Zhino Koe
Young entrepreneur Ruby Sulter delves deeper into her clothing brand’s ‘Bold, Determined, Fierce, and Outstanding’ mantra
Regardless of age, all women know how hard it is to find clothing that fits and looks perfect—and young Ruby Sulter is no exception. At 16 years old, Ruby has become all too familiar with this struggle. So what’s a middle-schooler to do? Start her own clothing brand, of course!
Download Lemi available both on iOS and Android to see more local businesses!
Bold, Determined, Fierce, and Outstanding, or simply B.D.F.O., is a local clothing brand in Austin that caters to women of every shape and size to help give them the confidence they deserve. Of course, there are plenty of words that Ruby could have chosen to name her brand after; but when she got down to these four words, all the others faded away. “Bold, Determined, Fierce, and Outstanding are more powerful than any of the other options that were in the running. I went with the prompt, ‘How do I want young women to feel in the clothes they buy and wear?’ and these are honestly just the words that screamed the loudest.”
“I absolutely love learning and challenging myself in school and athletics. Though being a hardworking student was fun and challenging in its own ways, I was frequently bored and often felt that I needed to be doing something more with my time.”—Ruby Sulter, Founder of B.D.F.O
Necessity has always been the mother of invention. In B.D.F.O.’s case, it was the need to create a brand of clothing that women can feel good wearing and feel good about buying. Ruby knows building a healthy self-image isn’t always the easiest in the age of social media, so she focuses on details that make women feel good in the brand’s clothes and accessories.
“We have heart-shaped size tags so that customers can forget about feeling like they need to be a certain size and just find the piece that fits right!”
Aside from encouraging women to feel comfortable in their own skin, B.D.F.O. also empowers its customers by letting them know that each piece of clothing they wear is helping the planet. Ruby says, “I do believe it’s empowering for young women to wear sustainable threads. We know that the clothes are awesome, but it feels even better when you know that the tee is pulling plastic out of the ocean,” and we’re inclined to agree with her.
When it comes to inspiration, she keeps a keen eye on the competition but focuses on improving designs that further B.D.F.O.’s vision. Ruby would recall the past summer and the trends that came with it, sharing, “It’s always been so difficult to find the perfect swimsuit, especially last summer when thong bikinis were super trendy. I loved the designs and patterns, but I couldn’t find a bikini with the coverage that I felt confident in.”
She noticed how many designs catered towards a specific body type, so if you didn’t fit the bill, you’d feel like you were skipping out on summer. “It sucked, but it was a perfect example of where B.D.F.O. comes in. It’s the most incredible feeling when you hear that your product has helped customers in more ways than you intended.
My heart melts when they hear the story, the mission, and scream ‘Oh my gosh, I totally get it. This is amazing!’’
Knowing about their struggles and discussing what they feel are issues that must be fixed within the fashion industry are things Ruby listens to intently. She values the instant connection she shares with other women through her clothing, and she can’t help feeling ecstatic to know her vision is vindicated.
It’s been difficult to run a business, especially for someone in Ruby’s position, but she keeps focused on her goals by remembering what’s important. “Running B.D.F.O. has been the hardest challenge I’ve faced, but I keep going because I know that the result will lead to the vision that I fully believe in. I know that my brand will create an important impact on its consumers, and I also know that succeeding with B.D.F.O. will help me meet the vision I see for myself.”
For a young teen with her whole life ahead of her, Ruby knows for sure that she’ll want to go full-time on B.D.F.O. starting with her own brick-and-mortar in Austin, putting up pop-ups in cities all over the world, and hosting bi-annual fashion shows to celebrate their pieces and their customers. Soon, she’ll be carving her own spot in the fashion industry, providing clothing that’s been sorely lacking from the big brands of today.
“Thinking about what the brand will look like in 10 years feels so incredibly far away that it’s hard to think about,” but the goal for Ruby now will still be the same in the foreseeable future: to remind customers that they are worthy and that they are beautiful. That whenever they reach for B.D.F.O., “they will feel a surge of confidence and joy.”
Lemi is proud to be working with an up-and-coming brand like B.D.F.O., and we can’t wait to see Ruby succeed in assuring women that they are enough. Check out B.D.F.O. and their clothing line on Lemi today available on both iOS and Android!