Built by Wendy is a NYC- based line of women’s and men’s clothing and accessories.

The company was founded in 1991 by Wendy Mullin.
 
Growing up in suburban Chicago, Wendy learned to sew from her mom and grandma.  Later at the University of Kansas she studied by day and sewed by night, selling her handmade clothes to record stores in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Kansas City.  She supported herself by doing sewing alterations and working various jobs.
 
In 1992 she moved to New York where she opened little boutiques in the back of record stores where she worked. In addition she did costume design, styled music videos, and did freelance design.
  
After gaining some attention due to the popularity of her guitar straps, she began wholesaling her clothing collection worldwide and finally moved out of working in her apartment.
 
In 1998 Wendy opened her first flagship retail store on Centre Market Place in the Little Italy neighborhood of New York City. Shortly after that, she launched her online shop and in 2005 her second retail store opened in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.
 
In addition to designing her collections each season and running her business, Wendy was the creative director for a specialty denim collection for Wrangler Jeans, wrote her own series of instructional sewing books called Sew U, designed a line of home sewing patterns for Simplicity Pattern Co. called Built by YOU, and has worked on various collaborations.


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