Victorious Pirate
Mistress McCutchan
Victorious Pirate is the work of one-woman, Suzanne Stern. Based in New York City, she began reconstructing t-shirts with the secret motivation to avenge her sixteen year old self, who was too small to wear her boyfriends’ band tees and too lazy to sew things properly to withstand a wash cycle.
“Every girl knows that guy’s tees are less flattering than pajamas,” she tells us. “Babydoll/junior tees have become more popular in the past decade but they’re more expensive to make. Since they also don’t sell as well as guy’s tees, many bands, especially the underground and extreme ones, can’t afford to offer them.”
Suzanne decided to girl-up her gear, creating ‘ballerina tees’, hoodies, halters and corset-styled tops. She does not come from a fashion background, but has been making her own clothing creations for years. “I never took it seriously enough to attend fashion school. I learned everything I know about sewing from many hours of research and many more hours of trial and error.”
When repurposing tees on your own, without the know-how and equipment (a serger should be every girl’s friend), you run the risk of trashing a $20 tee. Suzanne can DIY-up band merchandise for anyone. “It can start with a too-large-tee in your closet or a new, licensed tee that you can provide. Size, style and colors are all completely customizable. Each piece is professionally crafted which means it won’t fall apart in the dryer. You can support your favorite band and finally look good doing it!”
She began the business five years ago in a very organic way. She had quit her last “real job” in 2003 and while rediscovering sewing, put up a few pieces for sale. The demand was there, so she continued with Victorious Pirate, and in 2005, the business became a full time venture.
The name came about as something that Suzanne felt fell right in line with the inherently rebellious nature of DIY – “attacking and plundering the tees, so to speak, to make the reconstructions.” Ironically, all the shirts used are licensed and purchased so there’s no actual ‘pirating’ going on.
A few months ago, I handed over an old Joy Division shirt from my high school days that I didn’t wear very often anymore because one, it was an XL, and I don’t wear oversized clothes anymore and two, it was white with fuchsia printing, and that kept it out of my regular wardrobe rotation. What I received back from Victorious Pirate was a fantastic hoodie, with black sleeves and a black hood. It has easily become a favourite, especially with all the layers I’ve been donning during this super snowy, Canadian winter. I can hardly believe that this old t-shirt has been so well-transformed and well made.
When Suzanne is not a sewing pirate, she rocks out with her band, Ruby Bullet. “We are a dark, melodic, progressive duo. The music is very eclectic but can be described as a heavy, raw, goth, and modern King Crimson with female vocals.”
Ruby Bullet is lead by Suzanne on guitar/bass/vocals and drummer Pete Vassil. They have been playing together in a myriad of incarnations and with various members for several years but are now consolidated to their core.
”When we play live we’ll usually hire players to fill out the sound, although we went through a period where I performed bass with synth foot pedals while playing guitar.”
They are currently recording a new album at the drummer’s own studio. Suzanne explains that “this is an amazing luxury because it cancels out two of the biggest enemies of independent, self-funded artists: time and money. Our previous album was recorded among a barrage of obstacles in three studios over two years because of time and budget constraints, which are reflected in the final product. We aim to have this new, full-length album completed by the spring.”
So what does the future hold for Victorious Pirate? “Finding the time to flesh out some new ideas.” The zippered hoodies are very popular as of late, although Suzanne was more focused on corsets and bondage-styled tops in the beginning.
”One thing that I want to do every year is alternative prom dresses. I’ve done some custom prom dresses in the past and I find it really fun to be able to offer something completely different for such a potentially bland event. And the 16 year old me would have loved to find something quirky and custom to wear to prom!”
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