On Trend – Our Way

Milwaukee’s style is all about pride.

When I drove past Unfinished Legacy’s store on its opening day, I squealed with excitement to my partner on speakerphone – that’s how thrilled I was that the streetwear brand had chosen the Historic Third Ward for its flagship store. And when I saw Ebb & Flow Design Co.’s colorful home accessories appear on my Instagram feed for the first time, I saved, liked, shared it with my friends and emailed it to myself so I would remember to get a story about it up on milwaukeemag.com immediately.

Seeing new stores like these popping up, I feel a sense of pride that all this is happening right here, right now, in our city.

It’s the same feeling I get when I see someone walk past me at the Public Market or the Art Museum in a unique outfit – I can’t help but think how cool it is to live here among such beautiful people with such great style. Milwaukeeans are uplifters, proudly taking risks and putting themselves out there.

As a creative city with industrial roots, the Milwaukee aesthetic is fashion-forward but also practical. We want our homes to be on trend, but we also factor our families, our pets and our work into the design. We have incredible style, from casual to business, vintage to streetwear, but comfort always enters into the equation. And most of all, we love the items that we source locally just a little bit extra.

So, what is the Milwaukee aesthetic? I think it’s about allowing this quirky city to infiltrate our lives and influence our choices, and wearing that with pride.

It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!

Vote here!

Brianna’s Shops to Watch…

1. Critter Vintage

2625 S. GREELY ST.

Pop-up queen MaKenzie Huchthausen, founder of 414Flea, opened a brick-and-mortar showroom for her store in July. You’ll find unique vintage clothes, from quirky T-shirts to silky dresses. Shop online on Depop (depop.com/crittervintage), or in person at the Hide House space. Check Instagram (@crittervintage) for hours.

2. Ebb & Flow Design Co.

906 E. CENTER ST.

Owner Claire Osterman believes more is more. Her new Riverwest store and design company is filled with bright, fun and whimsical pieces for your home, from colorful tableware to eye-catching throw pillows and blankets.

3. Amara Studios

2625 S. GREELY ST., SUITE 100

Sustainable, secondhand fashion can be stylish, too. Madelyne Strunsee and Sheila Teruty proved it in June with the timeless dresses, jeans, shoes, tops and more in their beautiful Cream City brick space in the Hide House.

4. Unfinished Legacy

201 N. WATER ST.

Founder Brema Brema’s streetwear brand – well-known for its collaboration with the Bucks and a successful pop-up run last year – is here to stay with a flagship store that opened this summer. Beyond selling T-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts and more, they’re doing live screen printing every Saturday.

Editors’ Picks

Empresaria Cosmetics

Wanting to create a more unique and sustainable option for makeup brushes, Izabelle Villafuerte started Empresaria Cosmetics in 2020. The original makeup brushes are made from recycled wood and resemble baleros, the traditional Mexican toy. Since then, the company has blown up on TikTok, gaining nearly 95,000 followers and over 4 million likes, and now offers smaller brushes that look like the popular Japanese snack Pocky, heart-shaped mirrors and more.

Paloma Wilder BOND Bracelets

These bracelets aren’t going anywhere. Literally. They’re welded on by one little spark so you can have your bling forever – or at least as long as you want. Paloma Wilder offers her beloved pop-ups all around the city, and she opened a studio on the East Side (2105 N. Prospect Ave.) this January.