Diana Kane - september 9, 2019

229-B 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215 | dianakane.com | @dianakane

Since 2005, Diana Kane’s eponymous boutique has been a Brooklyn staple. Upon walking in, it’s easy to see why. The store has such a warm vibe and is stocked with well-made essentials + uniquely beautiful things.  It’s also home to Diana’s renowned #feministgold t-shirts, which proudly support equality and women’s rights.

I was really excited to do this interview with Diana because she is an inspiration to me in so many ways. In addition to questions about the shop, I got to ask her a few things that have really been on my mind. Check out our Q & A below, and I highly recommend stopping by Diana Kane when in Park Slope!

RN: How would you describe Diana Kane to someone that’s never been there before?

DK: Diana Kane is a long established shop in Park Slope Brooklyn. It’s an old school boutique with an individual point of view: fresh clothing and accessory collections, sustainable designers, handmade jewelry. It’s curated and edited with intention and has a feminist agenda.

RN: What is most important to you when shopping for the store? What stands out the most?

DK: Quality and story stand out most when I’m shopping for new collections. The quality of design, material, and craftsmanship come first, and then the story of the collection: who is creating it, where is it manufactured, why does it exist.

I’m interested in amplifying and bringing to market pieces that serve a purpose, fill a niche, and are adding more to the world than they subtract in resources.. does that make sense? I want to promote people and objects that genuinely make the world a better place and use our resources consciously and responsibly.

RN: What are your summer bag essentials?

DK: Water bottle, sunscreen and a hat! I’m starting to think I should carry a fan too, NYC swelters in the summer. As far as the type of bag, I like a lightweight tote in leather or a colorful durable canvas or straw that can fit all this, and then I always like to have a smaller bag for going out that just fits the essentials: cards, phone, a little cash and lipstick of some kind. I ADORE your Edie bag in this category. It’s perfect.

RN: Diana Kane has been in Park Slope, Brooklyn since 2002. What do you like most about having a boutique there? 

DK: I feel very fortunate to have landed in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and have been honored to be part of this community for so long. Our neighborhood is full of inquisitive, engaged people who are genuinely interested in the larger world while also being invested in their immediate community. We know each other here, and take care of one another.

Having been on Fifth Avenue for over seventeen years now, I’ve had the privilege to know my customers through so many life changes, both theirs and my own: marriages, and babies, career highs and lows, kids leaving home, and the more challenging or difficult changes too: separation and death.

It’s an honor to walk those roads with your customers and neighbors and be part of the fabric of this community.

RN: The Feminist Gold t-shirts you’ve created have become an important part of your brand/ store/ philosophy.  What initially inspired you to make them? 

DK: You know, I’ve answered this question a lot, but I think my answer has evolved. I think part of the equation is really the rise of social media. I lived in my happy liberal Park Slope bubble for a long time before I felt the need to label myself (in gold! across my chest! literally!) as a feminist.

I was active in my kids’ schools, but I wasn’t particularly engaged beyond it. I work for myself, so wasn’t experiencing workplace sexism. But I got more and more upset and aggravated by reading online about the crimes and unfairness perpetrated against women solely based on their sex. Problems that I thought we’d mostly addressed clearly hadn’t been handled.

As the election of 2016 loomed, all those inequities came into glaring clarity and I wanted to declare myself a feminist and discuss feminism, and what it really means: which is simply that women are humans and should have all the autonomous rights, and opportunities, and equal remuneration for their work, as men, and those values need to be upheld legally.

RN: What does the word feminist mean to you?

DK: So much of this is about representation. When we only see one woman or one person of color amongst a sea of white men, that woman must represent ALL women, and can’t just express her individual self. We need to see true diversity in big numbers in order to allow everyone the freedom of just being themselves and not bearing the weight and responsibility to stand for everyone who identifies as that person’s gender or race.

Being a Feminist to me means seeing true equality in representation so that kids growing up today know they have full access to the complete spectrum of experiences and jobs, unlimited by their gender, race, sexual identity, or ethnicity.

RN: Who is the most influential/ exciting/ inspiring person to wear a Feminist Gold Tee?

DK: There are so many!

EVERYONE who wears the shirt makes my heart sing, and witnessing the diversity of its appeal has been the best part.

That said: Samantha Bee, Sissy Spacek, Sally Kohn, artist Zoe Buckman, Lizz Winstead, Amy Schumer, Connie Britton, Martha Plimpton, Sophia Lillis, Monique Coleman, Lindy West, Jules Spector, Susan MacPherson, Cynthia Nixon, and so many more!

I think Gloria Steinem has been given about six 😉

RN: How has the experience of making the Feminist Gold T-shirts changed you personally and/or professionally?

DK: Since making the shirt and putting it out there, I’m less afraid to share my true feelings and positions and don’t have as much attention on preserving some separate Brand; there’s been a meshing of individual and brand and it has enhanced my experiences of my customers similarly: we are people now, not “customer” and “shop keeper.”

The personal really is political, and the political is personal, really. Categorization and labeling get in the way.

RN: What would you say to someone that wants to get involved with issues they care about/ in activism, but doesn’t know how to start?

DK: Someone told me once that your activism will change you more than you will change the world. I don’t know that this is true, but I appreciated the perspective nonetheless. Engage by doing the things you love in the service of what you feel needs changing or help. If you’re doing what you love to do and giving that energy to a cause you are passionate about, you can’t lose.

Start by thinking about what you love to do and then what you want to change. Then take a look around at who’s already involved in those causes, and offer your skills or time.