When her small child with an exploding bottle of ketchup came into contact with her designer outfit while on a beach holiday, Lisa Strandberg knew she had to get real. So the former Ford model turned booking agent and her sister Kaitie Sjostedt, an FIT alum who has worked for Herschel Supply Co. and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, founded The Shore Line, a direct-to-consumer, women’s resortwear collection in 2021.
“We knew women needed a mix-and-match wardrobe for vacations that’s timeless and easy to pack and doesn’t require dry cleaning,” said Strandberg, on Zoom with Sjostedt from their respective homes in Austin, Texas, and Naples, Florida. “When pieces sold out, especially when a fan of the brand like Jennifer Fisher posts them on Instagram, we knew we struck a nerve.”
Much like Donna Karan’s signature seven easy pieces, The Shore Line offers seven styles including a maxi dress, tank, shorts and roomy pants in sizes 0-3 that retail from $90 to $187. The palette and classic prints (stripes, palms) stick to black and white with a seasonal pop of color, such as the current hot pink. Small-batch runs are produced in Houston from materials like Italian linen and soft, domestically dyed rayon.
“As women, we have an intrinsic understanding of what women want,” said Sjostedt, who prefers d-to-c for its real-time data and customer feedback, which the sisters use to evolve looks and increase production based on sales and requests — their rate of return business is 28 percent. “We all have closets full of clothes and end up reaching for the same pieces over and over.”
