How Dairy Boy is slowly Replacing Brandy Melville and Building a Cult Empire in the Process & an exclusive BTS into the Dairy Boy NYC Pop-up

Photos Courtesy of @dairyboy / @paigelorenze

In the 2010s, Brandy Melville wasn’t just a brand—it was a cultural code. A uniform for the Tumblr generation and a visual language of the "cool girl," its soft crops and low-slung denim defined a decade of youth style. But the world has shifted. And so has the aesthetic currency of cool. Enter Dairy Boy, the brainchild of influencer Paige Lorenze, whose rise from creator to founder mirrors a new kind of fashion authority. With its farm-girl-meets-high-fashion vibe, curated storytelling, and a fanbase that worships its drops like modern-day merch, Dairy Boy is fast becoming the 2020s version of what Brandy Melville once was—but with a far more intentional identity.

The Brandy Melville Blueprint

At its peak, Brandy Melville dominated the closets of teens around the globe. Its one-size-fits-most tanks, slouchy sweaters, and tennis skirts weren’t just wardrobe staples—they were statements. The brand sold an aspirational lifestyle of California ease and effortless beauty, powered almost entirely by visual marketing. Think early Instagram feeds, Tumblr mood boards, and grainy disposable photos shared by influencers who felt more like "that girl at school" than models.

But exclusivity came at a cost. Brandy’s sizing (or lack thereof), hiring practices, and internal culture have faced repeated criticism and legal action. Its commitment to a very narrow beauty standard and documented workplace toxicity turned a once-loved brand into a cautionary tale about fashion’s dark underbelly. Still, the blueprint was undeniable: Build a vibe, create the illusion of effortlessness, and let the audience come to you.

The Rise of Dairy Boy

Dairy Boy is what happens when that blueprint gets a makeover. Founded by content creator Paige Lorenze in 2021, the brand embraces the same mood-based marketing as Brandy but through a different lens. Paige doesn’t just sell clothes; she sells a lifestyle of raw milk lattes, slow mornings, farmhouse aesthetics, and cozy rebellion against urban hustle culture.

The soon-to-launch line truly places an emphasis on “pieces that are timeless, versatile and seasonless.” Forget hot-right-now fads — for Lorenze, it’s about garments that can go the distance. “[Evergreen] is filled with items I know I’ll wear year after year, styled a hundred different ways,” she emphasized.

The clothes reflect that ethos. Vintage-style caps, thick-knit crews, nostalgic fonts, candles, and ceramics. It’s not about being sexy or polished—it’s about being grounded, authentic, and just unattainable enough to spark obsession. And it works. Drops sell out in minutes. Social media is flooded with unboxings. There’s a waiting list for restocks. It’s Brandy 2.0 with a rural soul.

"Dairy Boy Brings a Connecticut Farmhouse to Soho" NYC Pop-up photos by community, and the Dairy Boy team.

In August 2025, Dairy Boy brought its world offline and into real life with a pop-up that turned heads in downtown Manhattan. "Dairy Boy Brings a Connecticut Farmhouse to Soho" read the headlines, as Paige Lorenze opened her third New York City pop-up, transforming a corner of SoHo into a dreamy, New England-inspired space. Thousands of fans lined up for barn jackets, fleeces, and limited-edition pieces—further proving that Paige’s Gen-Z-friendly vision of Americana is not just viral, it’s cultural capital.

This fall, Lorenze is taking things a step further with the launch of the brand's first permanent collection, titled Evergreen.

“The collection is really a love letter to the women I grew up admiring in New England,” she added. “They were outdoorsy, confident and effortlessly stylish, throwing men’s sweaters over sundresses, pairing fleeces with denim skirts and wearing boots to dinner. That lived-in, unfussy style stuck with me and became the foundation for the Evergreen pieces.”

“From the design details to the way the collection is merchandised, everything is rooted in nostalgia and Americana,” Lorenze said of the pieces, which are bound to inspire you to blend comfort, style and authenticity in your fall and winter wardrobe.

The Dairy Boy founder, 27, is expanding her lifestyle and clothing line even further since its launch in 2021, introducing a first-of-its-kind collection to the company rooted in New England's charm and timeless style.

On Sept. 4, Dairy Boy is dropping the AW25 Evergreen collection, the brand's first-ever "permanent" assortment of garments that will be shoppable for seasons to come, as opposed to previous collections that were available for a limited-time only.

Paige’s journey from influencer to founder also symbolises a generational shift. Unlike the Marsans of Brandy Melville, Paige is the face of her brand. Her community knows her, follows her routines, and buys in because they feel like they’re part of something real. That intimacy, paired with curation, is Dairy Boy’s true engine.

"Evergreen is our first permanent collection," Lorenze tells PEOPLE "Past drops have been limited and often sold out quickly, but this collection is here to stay. It’s designed with longevity in mind — pieces that will be relevant and wearable season after season, year after year."

Why Dairy Boy Is the New Cultural Symbol

Today’s "cool girl" drinks bone broth, edits reels on Final Cut, and dreams of land—not just followers. She doesn’t shop based on trends; she shops based on values, identity, and narrative. That’s why Dairy Boy is thriving. It exists in a world built by Paige, where rural isn’t backwards, it’s beautiful. Where being intentional is cooler than being elusive.

Social media plays a different role now, too. TikTok has made virality more democratic, and storytelling more essential. People don’t just want to see what you wear. They want to know why. That’s where Dairy Boy wins, turning content into connection, and products into artifacts of a shared identity.

Brandy vs. Dairy: A Tale of Two Eras

Element	Brandy Melville (2010s)	Dairy Boy (2020s)
Brand Origin	Founded by Italian businessmen with no direct creator connection	Founded and led by influencer Paige Lorenze, with transparent ownership and identity
Cultural Strategy	Emphasis on exclusivity, mystery, and inaccessibility; brand rarely spoke publicly	Built on accessibility, storytelling, and personal connection via Paige's lifestyle
Product Approach	One-size-fits-most fast fashion basics made in bulk	Small-batch, curated drops with deeper meaning and aesthetic intention
Visual Identity	California-cool minimalism: neutral tones, crop tops, Tumblr-esque filters	Rural-core meets nostalgic Americana: vintage fonts, barn jackets, slow-living colors
Marketing Channels	Instagram-focused; relied heavily on UGC and viral appeal from "Brandy Girls"	TikTok, Instagram, YouTube; Paige as a central figure, integrating storytelling
Audience Perception	Aspirational, exclusive, thin ideal-centric	Relatable, lifestyle-driven, creator-led cool with wellness and rural chic at the core
Business Transparency	Operated behind closed doors with opaque leadership and hiring practices	Public-facing founder, direct-to-consumer model, community-driven pop-ups and engagement
Controversy	Racial discrimination lawsuits, toxic workplace claims, and exclusionary beauty ideals	Clean reputation so far; built on authenticity and inclusivity without performativity
Cultural Impact	Defined a decade of girlhood but later became emblematic of exclusivity and harm	Represents a new form of influence: grounded, creator-built, and emotionally resonant

The Future of Influence-Led Fashion

Dairy Boy signals more than just a shift in aesthetics. It represents the rise of community-driven, lifestyle-first, creator-led fashion brands that reject the old rules. In a world where Brandy Melville built mystique by staying silent, Paige Lorenze builds loyalty by speaking up, showing up, and sharing the full picture.

"Dairy Boy has always been about more than clothes — it’s about a feeling and a lifestyle," she shares. "It’s one thing to see a collection online, but it’s another to step into the world, feel the fabrics and experience the atmosphere we’ve built."

But perhaps most notably, Dairy Boy is changing the way young people engage with fashion entirely. It challenges the urban-centric narrative of success and style, instead encouraging a return to slowness, tradition, and connection with land and self. It reshapes what it means to be aspirational—moving away from designer labels and unattainable luxury, toward handcrafted pieces, intentional living, and holistic well-being. In doing so, Dairy Boy isn’t just selling a wardrobe. It’s cultivating a movement: one where authenticity, rural beauty, and values-driven consumption lead the conversation.

Dairy Boy isn’t just clothing. It’s a cultural timestamp. A brand that defines what the 2020s "It Girl" wants to be: soft, strategic, self-aware, and completely in control.