Q&A | Wendy Mullin

Photo of Wendy Mullin by Melissa Hom.

I have to start out by saying that Wendy Mullin is a bad ass. She freelance designed for Kim Gordon’s X-Girl collection, which was quite possibly the moment in 1990s tomboy fashion. In 1995 she began wholesaling her own collections after starting out selling handmade guitar straps and clothing in the back of record stores in Chicago (how hardcore is that!?). As if that wasn't enough, she was a founding designer in the Steven Alan showroom. For well over a decade now, she has been turning out season after season of Built by Wendy collections, each one topping the next. Her line has retained a serious cult following—and might I add—only the coolest of celebrity clients.

Images from Built By Wendy's Spring 2011 look book.

If not in New York, I would live in...the Côte d'Azur.

My dream holiday would be to...go on a safari.

My current obsessions are...Phyllis Galembo photographs, eating the chicken parm roll at Torrisi, listening to Toots and the Maytals, wearing vintage Le Coq Sportif and shopping at Aero.

I channel my childhood self when I...eat grilled cheese and tomato soup.

The fictional character I most relate to is...Pippi Longstocking.

If I had to be outdoors all day I would...go sailing.

My favorite quality in a man is...humor.

My favorite quality in a woman is...straightforwardness.

My cocktail of choice is...a Dark and Stormy.

My guilty pleasure is...watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (so trashy sorry!).

My friends and I like to...play poker.

If I could go back in time for one decade it would be...the 1770s, I'm really into American History right now.

As a teenager I was totally into...hardcore music.

I tend to splurge on...house rentals and vintage japanese indigo textiles.

I like what I like no matter if it's high brow or low brow...and that is what makes me have Tomboy Style.