Exclusive Preview: Surrender Dorothy for the Besties Issue

Words: Jenn Lehwald | Photography: Alexis Kleshik | Makeup: Ashley Valle

Make it stand out

Surrender Dorothy's aesthetic is deeply tied to New York - though maybe not in the way most people think. For Leah Hennessey, one of the store’s three co-owners, New York style is less about trends and more about endurance. She talks about reading an article in a French magazine in her teens about ‘How to be a femme fatale’: in summer, wear a giant fur coat; in winter, go out in a slip. "That's New York to me," she says. Ruby McCollister, her co-owner, agrees. The city, McCollister says, is defined by extremes. "It's about how to go from Arctic explorer to basically naked. If you just give in to the absurdity of the weather and the discomfort of actually living here, that's when you start to understand New York style."

Their approach to their store reflects the same willingness to embrace contradiction. Although Surrender Dorothy presents as a cohesive, singular world, the work behind it is divided between the trio's different strengths. Arabella Aldrich, the third member, sources most of the clothing and accessories, while McCollister has become what her friends call "the “perfume genius" of Surrender Dorothy. Hennessey, meanwhile, is most involved in shaping the atmosphere around it: branding, design, photography, social media and events. The arrangement feels less like a traditional business structure and more like an extension of the creative relationship between the three that had already existed for years.

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