We had the good fortune of connecting with Grace Slansky and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Grace, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In my experience, groups of friends often keep a running list of something funny or heinous someone has said. You often hear “We should start a podcast” or “I’d wear that on a t-shirt,” and with So Rude we just took it one step further and started to quite literally produce those shirts!

My friends August, Lauren, and I brought So Rude into existence first and foremost as a way to pad our closets and create apparel we thought was so funny or strange it had to exist.

So Rude is not everybody’s cup of tea, but it’s so rewarding to click with the right audience! All three of us have a background as dancers and/or bartenders, so we have spent a fair bit of time in nightlife and always seem to find the delightfully weird people who really resonate with our brand!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
It feels cliche, but So Rude is really a labor of love. We started it because we genuinely wanted to wear these strange, unsettling, wonderful clothes. We wanted to create shirts, tanks, and hats that make people double-take, giggle, blush, etc. They make the mundane errands endlessly more fun.

As a dancer and former bartender myself, with my two business partners who are also nightlife veterans, the concept was to make apparel that evokes the feeling of being showered in compliments by strangers in a club bathroom. It’s light-hearted, it’s fun, it’s provocative, and, hopefully, it’s funny. One of the most fun parts has been taking that initial concept and running with it, turning it into a social media series of people taking daily shots in the bathroom, whether that be tequila shots in a nightclub, a wellness shot in the afternoon, or pre-workout at home before going to the gym!

The market is certainly saturated, and one of the biggest challenges has been finding our audience, but we’re steadily building a community that responds well to our brand of humor and the quality of the group is everything! Experimenting with social media trends, creating a clear brand voice, and tapping into my experience and fan base as a dancer have all been very helpful in creating that momentum, and it’s so exciting to see it pay off!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oooh! Love this! Okay so:

I’m a big coffee and WFH girl, so I would definitely make a stop at Village Well! Great coffee, an independent book store, and a super cute place to bring your laptop (no gatekeeping here!)

One of my favorite things to do is to bring people to the Santa Monica Trapeze School to take a flying trapeze class on the Santa Monica Pier! I grew up doing/teaching flying trapeze and it really is the most phenomenal view, plus you can’t beat the adrenaline! The staff is all lovely and so supportive. Highly recommend.

From there, you’re hungry and you need protein, so I like to pop up to Kazu Nori and do some quick handrolls!

Then in the evening, I like to stop by Harvelle’s. They always have incredible shows, the perfect dive bar vibe, and some of my favorite people in the city.

A big part of showing my friends around is definitely food, so I would have to throw in a FIG @ 5 happy hour, La Puglia for some of the best Italian food and maybe even some jazz, and a Tacos Por Favor burrito! Beverage-wise, it’s a bit pricey but the Dante clarified Porn Star Martini is a must-drink.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My So Rude partners August Lack and Lauren Plumley deserve a shoutout, as does the business itself! sorudeapparel.com is new and exciting and finding its footing, and, at the risk of self-promoting, I hope we find our audience here with Shoutout!

Also, my mother Liz Dubelman, who recently had her own Shoutout feature. You should absolutely check that out, she’s a book marketing genius.

Website: https://www.sorudeapparel.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sorude_apparel/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-slansky-55276a146/

Other: I would love to include my personal instagram and performance instagram as well!

Personal: https://www.instagram.com/graceslansky/
Performance: https://www.instagram.com/ruby_darlington_x/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.