
Julie O’Rourke, the designer of kids’ line Rudy Jude, lives in midcoast Maine with her partner Anthony and their son Diogo — plus, a baby due in October. “I love living in Maine,” she says, “But has its ups and downs, like anywhere else. The winters are really hard. By the end, you’re like, what are we doing here?! Then summer comes and there’s so much to do and eat. It’s kind of masochistic, but I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” Here, Julie shares six outfits she wore in a week…
Cardigan: Lauren Manoogian, similar. Swim top: Nu Swim. Overalls: Beaton Linen.
“These overalls are by Katie Beaton, who also has a kids’ line. I like when kids’ lines make women’s clothes. Little kids don’t have a shape — you’re making something for a potato, basically. So, when you scale those up to women’s sizes, the shapes become more amorphous things. I kept wearing these overalls and talking non-stop about how comfortable they were, and Anthony was finally like, okay, I get it.”
Dress: Town Clothes. Hat: Blluemade. Backpack: Lotuff. Sandals: Valia Gabriel.
“I wear baseball caps a lot. The bigger the brim, the better. Plus, a hat makes an outfit, even a dress, feel rough and tumble.”
Rings: Ursa Major, band and stone.
“My almost-three-year-old son Diogo thinks it’s a girl. There’s an old wives tale, where you put a ring on a string and dangle it over your belly. If it swings in circles, you’re having a girl; if it swings side to side, you’re having a boy. Maybe we’ll do that tonight.”
Jumpsuit: Rachel Comey. Sandals: Beatrice Valenzuela. Tote bag: Palorosa Project.
“Last fall, I had a ‘missed miscarriage.’ My body didn’t know that I had miscarried, so I basically continued to carry a water sac. I thought I had the miscarriage in October but didn’t end up actually miscarrying until January. We had a crazy snowstorm here and I started having really bad cramping. I was like, it feels like labor, what is happening? I went to the ER and they were like, you’re having bad period cramps. I was like, I’m pretty sure that’s not what this is. But we went home. Then I miscarried the next day. It was such a hard experience with deep disappointment and grief. Being open about it helped. So many women came out and said that it had happened to them, too.”
Shirt: Black Crane. V-neck dress: Everlane. Tee: Rudy Jude. Purse: Lotuff. Sandals: Beatrice Valenzuela.
“Tonight I was at a Memorial Day BBQ, and a woman in white pants came up to me; she was covered in bbq sauce and was like, how do you do it? I’m not a clean person, but I just paint over any stains. I use textile paint or even wall paint. It looks like you’re a cool monochrome painter. I got the idea from my friend Amy, whose mom would sew buttons over the stains she got. It was hysterical to think of this adult woman with random buttons all over her clothes.”
Jacket: similar. Top: Rachel Comey. Pants: Rudy Jude. Sunglasses: Le Specs.
“These pants have big pockets, which are the best. They’re always filled with debit cards, my cell phone and cash. These sandals are incredibly comfy, too. I wear through shoes so quickly, but these hold up really well.”
“When we took this photo, Anthony had just gotten a hair cut and came to meet us. He’d had long hair our whole relationship, but he recently decided to cut it all off. I was like, is this the beginning of the end?! Luckily, it was fine. I remember when I was 15, my dad, who’d had facial hair all my life, shaved his mustache. For a week, I couldn’t look at him; I was so traumatized.”
Dress: Ilana Kohn.
“As a small designer, I try to buy and make eco-conscious brands. I shop only twice a year, borrow clothes (like the jumpsuit) and watch for sales. Still, I know it’s not financially accessible for everyone. I listen to the podcast How I Built This, which is about people who are creating something new. It’s good to push yourself to do something different, even if it’s harder. Natural dying is really difficult, for example — it’s tough to nail down colors and make sure they’re washfast and don’t fade in the sun. It’s scary to put all your eggs in a basket that no one else has tried, but it’s something I’m really passionate about.”
Thank you so much, Julie!
P.S. More lovely women share their go-to outfits, and here’s Julie’s beauty uniform.
(Photos by Greta Rybus for Cup of Jo. Indoor photos taken at Judith.)