Free People

I’m going to tell you a little story about a favorite brand of mine called Free People. You may have heard of Urban Outfitters, but did you realize that Urban Outfitters was originally named Free People?

Back in the 1970’s, a young man named Dick Hayne planted a seed in the maze of streets and trees that make up West Philadelphia Pennsylvania, he opened a store and called it Free People. Free People nurtured the young people who lived there and shopped there, who looked for a little of their own freedom in the clothes they wore.

As Dick’s store grew from one to two the name was changed from Free People to Urban Outfitters. In time, his wife Meg came on to tend Urbans private label division. In 2001, they decided to bring back the Free People label as a more mature, contemporary brand. This allowed twenty-something women to appreciate the line of clothing that catered to their intelligence, creativity and individuality.

In their own words:
“And that’s just who we wanted to reach, a 26-year-old girl, smart, creative, confident and comfortable in all aspects of her being, free and adventurous, sweet to tough to tomboy to romantic. A girl who likes to keep busy and push life to its limits, with traveling and hanging out and everything in between.”