About Clotheshorse
Clotheshorse is a newsletter written for the folks for whom fashion is both business and pleasure, by me: journalist Maura Brannigan.
When I started my first big-girl magazine job at Marie Claire, I was excited by how much of the team was just like me. We were fashion bookworms who were, by and large, enchanted to be one small part of this bizarre, flawed, emotional circus of a business. Every job I had thereafter was a lot like that: a ragtag group of mostly young women who were using our love of this world to tell stories we thought mattered.
Suffice it to say, fashion journalism has changed a lot since then. But that doesn’t mean the interest in the inside-baseball-esque workings of fashion has drifted. In fact, I happen to believe it’s more interesting than ever. That’s what I want to write about here.
Paid subscribers can expect a post or two by me each week, including reporting, Q&As, shoppable stuff, and more.
And what is a “clotheshorse”?
Officially, a “clotheshorse” is a frame, typically made of wood or metal, used for hanging clothes to dry indoors. It often features multiple bars or racks where wet clothes can be spread out to air-dry. My mom taught us to air-dry almost everything when we were kids, which taught me a lot about how to take proper care of your garments. Understanding fabrics and tending to clothing like that is a bit of a lost art (but an integral part of fashion!), and the industry would look very different (and perhaps, far less grim) today if that wasn’t the case.
Then there’s the more colloquial use: A “clotheshorse” can also refer to someone who is very concerned with wearing fashionable clothes. You can be obsessed with fashion, but not be a “clotheshorse” and also vice versa. I love that.
Who am I?
I'm a writer, editor, and strategist who has worked in the fashion industry for more than a decade. I've held roles at print magazines, in digital, with brands, and for a few brief months, at a company whose collapse was featured in a miniseries on Apple TV. My writing can be found in publications like Vogue, Vogue Business, BoF, and more.
You may recognize my byline from the five or so years I worked as a writer and editor at Fashionista in the mid- to late-aughts (and then again as editor-at-large for the last few years). It was a wonderful and wild time to work on the internet: the dawn of drop culture, legitimized digital journalism, fashion’s reckoning with its role in the climate crisis. I wrote constantly, traveled the planet on reporting trips and for international fashion weeks, and went to things like the Met Gala, where Kate Moss once asked me if I had a cigarette. (I didn’t.)
Today, I’m a freelance writer and work as the founding head of content at boutique communications agency JBC, where I consult startups and uniquely competitive brands on their creative storytelling. I also take on select consulting projects.
What do I get if I’m a paid subscriber?
As a journalist, I’ve been raised on how to understand and connect with my audience and curate what it is they want to consume. I also understand the responsibilities that arise when there is a direct financial relationship between editor and reader. By committing $5 a month or $50 a year, you’re investing in my time, experience, and unique POV, and that’s something I take very seriously. So thank you!
That said, here’s what you can expect:
You’ll get access to 7-8 newsletters and gain weekly access to a smorgasbord of things, like:
Features covering fashion, retail, beauty, and more
Trend forecasting and analysis
Interviews with interesting folks
Themed shopping round-ups via my column Tack Shop
What do I get if I’m a free subscriber?
You’ll receive one (or so) full newsletters a month, as well as peeks of other content that go out to paid subscribers.
Who did your logo?
The lovely Becca Leisen drew the horse; you should follow her on TikTok! My very talented art director brother Cooper Brannigan did the logo design.
What else?
Clotheshorse may occasionally include affiliate links if I’m recommending a product I love, but I’ll never promote anything I don’t use and/or enjoy myself!
Each quarter I choose an organization to donate a portion of paid subscriber proceeds to.
Thank you for being here!
xx,
Maura
For partnership inquiries, reach out to clotheshorse@maurabrannigan.co.
