When Great Minds Get Together For Fashion

THE UPLAND BESPOKE™️ DEBUTS “KALETA FOR UPLAND BESPOKE™️”

A BACKGROUND BY NATALIA GONZALEZ

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Looking back at my childhood some of my favorite playdates involved getting together with a girlfriend and doing something artistic together. We would collaborate on designs with any number of mediums: chalk on the drive way, colored pencils on paper, modeling clay, beading, you name it, we did it. The idea of designing clothes was always a fantasy of “what I want to do when I grow up” proportions, but there was no YouTube back then and nobody in my family sewed.

Upland BespokeTM was created by Kathryn Beach in 2017. Through the years she has grown the collection of custom and monogramed shooting vests. This year, along with Kaleta Blaffer Johnson, Upland BespokeTM delivers to us the Kaleta Capsule Collection. Available to order mid September, the Kaleta Collection stands to be one of the first of its kind.

Kathryn and Kaleta are related by the marriage of a cousin, and so did not grow up sharing their childhood artistic vision. However, this did not deter them from using their creative and fashion forward minds to work together for the benefit of us lady shooters as adults.

As soon as Kaleta moved to Dallas, their shared love of family, fashion and shooting activities brought them closer together and that friendship has inspired the aesthetic from this collection. Let’s take a look!

With its rich colors and sturdy field-proven fabrics, the Kaleta Capsule Collection promises to bring a chic new look to outdoor fashion. The ladies imagined a lady shooter that can go from a business meeting in town to her local gun club to shoot a round of clays all in the same outfit. Or, go from the clays course to the village for lunch with friends, depending on her lifestyle.

The inspiration for this collaboration came from Kaleta’s experience going on old-fashioned horseback quail hunts with her family on their rural Alabama ranch. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t even know that was a thing. It’s going on my bucket list.

Every year they get together at Thanksgiving to enjoy the beautiful countryside and age-old traditions of her family. Up until a few years ago when Kathryn launched Upland BespokeTM , Kaleta had a very limited choice of chic hunting clothes built in which to ride and shoot.

“Before Upland BespokeTM I usually wore a generic camouflage shirt, hunting pants, nothing very chic. It was always challenging to try to juggle all the shotgun shells, earplugs, glasses, and gear while also managing a shotgun and riding a horse,” Kaleta says.

Kathryn’s vest has huge pockets to manage all of Kaleta’s gear. Armed with her Beretta Silver Pigeon shotgun, Kaleta now has the look she’s always wanted.

Though Kaleta’s experience was only a consumer’s viewpoint on fashion thus far, she can now add successful collaborator to her impressive resume. As an entrepreneur and owner of a political fundraising and campaign consulting firm, Fortuna Consulting, Kaleta is an example of a true Texas woman. When a love of guns and a passion for fashion merge, incredible things happen.

I am personally looking forward to seeing these fashions on lady shooters all over the country as well as keeping my vision board updated. Maybe one day someone will ask me to collaborate on a collection… a girl can always dream. Be sure to check out a detailed review in the next issue of Lady Shooter Lifestyles by Andrea Bogard on Upland Bespoke’s amazing new vests. n