Ana Bogusky (AKA Mrs. American Made) sporting the Clutch NY Pencil Bag

This week Clutch Bags NY was lucky enough to spend some time talking with Ana Bogusky. Some of you might know her as Mrs. American Made.  For years now, she has invested in buying clothes that are only made in the USA. So keep reading to find out how and why she joined this movement!

Why are “Made in USA” brands so important to you? In 2006, our family moved from Miami, Florida, to Boulder, Colorado, and our lives changed in many ways. We started becoming more aware of the environment, we started eating more carefully, we started caring about sustainability. So I began reading labels on food packaging and joined a CSA and bought more local. As a natural progression “Made in USA” became important to me. Locally grown. Made in America. Those are the brands that guarantee the things we buy are made to the standards in the safe and clean manufacturing that we believe in. So now I am reading labels on my clothes and so many pieces are made in China, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Turkey, etc. Today, only 2% of the clothing sold here is made here. In 1960, 95% of clothing sold in the United States was made in the United States. And it turns out that if consumers spent just an extra 1% on U.S. goods, it would create 200,000 jobs. It seems like a simple choice to me now.       

How did you and your husband get inspired to only wear clothing made in the USA? My husband is a marketing guy and what people call an “early adopter,” and for years he had been trying to explain to me how important made in USA really is. I am more a part of the majority and all of his talk fell on deaf ears until one day I went through my closet. I looked at each and every piece of clothing I owned and where it was made, and I realized I was a statistic – I fit right into the mold and only 2% of the things in my closet were made here. I felt that did not represent my values so I began looking for more clothing made domestically. I could not find many resources so I decided to become a resource, find and wear American-made apparel, and show other women that it could be done. So I started my blog. Besides only wearing American-made clothing, how else do you support “Made in USA”? Well, we always look for made in USA, no matter what we buy. When it came time to replace our microwave last year, my husband searched high and low and finally found one made here. That is one example. We search for an American-made option first. Even our family vacation last year was “made in USA” – we rented an RV and traveled through ten beautiful states for 32 days. So there is another example. Our aim is to keep dollars here in order to revitalize the American economy. What inspires you/gives you hope? My children inspire me on a constant basis. And I know their future depends on our collective decisions. What is your favorite American-made brand and why? I don’t think I can pick just one – there are so many great brands trying to make it here that I love them all for that effort. But I can tell you the first one I fell in love with and that is Nanette Lepore. I am still a big fan, but I am very excited to find new small brands every day dedicated to made in USA. You have moved around a bit, how does each place affect your style? Overall, I still tend to gravitate towards a mix of classic and conservative style-wise, with some girly touches and pops of color here and there. And, yes, in 2006, we moved from a very warm and humid climate in South Florida to a much cooler drier Colorado experiencing all four seasons. So my wardrobe took some adjusting. I would say the two biggest changes were in colors and in layers. While in Florida I wore brighter, more colorful clothing. Here in Colorado, my clothing tends to include more blues, browns, and blacks. And in Florida, I usually wore open-toed shoes while in Colorado that is a Spring/Summer only thing. Actually, we wear boots year-long here so my boot collection quickly went from 0 to 10 pairs. So maybe the style is similar, but the average daily look now usually includes boots or a jacket – or both. If you could give one piece of advice to women about their careers, what would it be?I would say do what you love. Life is too short not to. How do you like the Clutch Bags NY Pencil Bag? I actually love my Clutch NY Pencil Bag. It arrived in the mail last week and I have been using it every day since. I had a light blue all-leather wristlet for many years, maybe ten? And while it served me well, it was starting to show too much wear. And my cell phone did not fit in it so I always had two things to grab. This little bag has replaced the wristlet, fits everything plus the phone! Voilà. What do you do to relax? My favorite thing to do to relax is to take a long hot bath. What is your motto? I’m not sure I have a motto, but when I asked my son he suggested, ”Buy the change you want to see in the world.”

About: Nandhi is our Clutch NY blogger at large who spends her days observing and her nights reporting.  Imported to NYC from Mozambique, via McGill University, Nandhi dreams someday of becoming a screenwriter.  For the moment, she is keeping the Clutch Bags NY audience up to date with what’s up today in fashion, trends, news and inspiration.