about spirit dress
We like to call our style Modern Folk — a celebration of sewing traditions, heritage textiles, and the art of dressing with meaning. At Spirit Dress, we draw inspiration from around the globe, honoring bold floral embroidery traditions from Central America to Eastern Europe. Think of it as a modern twist on the smocking of the Deep South (once reserved for children) and the delicate ruffles of French peasant dress. Our pieces nod to the classic bishop silhouette, reimagined through a distinctly Southern lens — where dressing up is both a ritual and a joy.
We work exclusively in 100% cotton, favoring heirloom textiles like gingham, seersucker, and ticking stripe. These are the fabrics of everyday American history — humble, hardy, and timeless. But we don’t stop at nostalgia. At Spirit Dress, we stitch in a modern spirit: playful, polished, and just a little bit rebellious. Looking for a deep V-cut? We’ve got you covered. Or rather… not so covered. Wink.
And yes — around here, we do dress up for college football. In the South, game day is a runway, and our girls show up in school colors, full skirts, ruffled collars, and cowboy boots. Hoodies and T-shirts? Bless your heart. Dressing to the nines isn’t optional — it’s tradition.
But don’t think we stop there. Spirit Dress is no longer just a gameday brand. We offer year-round seasonal collections and specialty pieces for all your favorite American holidays — from Valentine’s Day to Easter, St. Patrick’s Day to the Fourth of July, and yes ma’am, Christmas too. Whether you're tailgating, toasting, or trimming the tree, Spirit Dress has you looking festive and fabulous every step of the way.
HOOK 'EM, Y'ALL!
We’re proud as punch to announce that Spirit Dress has been named a 2025 Longhorn 100 honoree — recognizing the fastest-growing alumni-owned businesses in the world. Founded by a proud University of Texas grad, Spirit Dress is proof that you can build a business with heart, heritage, and a whole lot of ruffles.
The final rankings will be revealed at the big ceremony on May 2nd. See you there?
Learn more about the Longhorn 100 awards by clicking the link below. 🤘
TEAM SPIRIT DRESS
Mercer Black
The Spirit Dress story is the classic tale of a "side gig" gone wild. When Mercer started the company in 2016, she was just trying to earn little extra money while in grad school FINALLY pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming a children's writer. The plan was to make one batch of dresses for Longhorn fans and be done with it - hence the name Spirit Dress. But demand pushed her to add more schools and more options, and now, almost nine years later, Spirit Dress has sold over 40,000 dresses and blouses. The name remains, however - an homage to that first spirit dress that started it all.
In addition to being a graduate of the University of Texas where she studied Political Communications, Mercer has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. In her almost non-existent "spare time", she writes fantasy novels for young people.
"Never quit dreaming. Never quit exploring. Never quit." These are the words she lives by as a woman and a mother, and she brings that same curiosity, courage, and commitment to her work at Spirit Dress every day.
TARYN CUSMANO
Taryn joined in the Spirit Dress team in the summer of 2024 and quickly transformed the company by saving Mercer from the day-to-day management and operations gerbil wheel.
"Prior to Taryn coming on, I was working sixty to eighty hours a week, easily," Mercer remembers. "She not only took some of that off my plate, she did it with such enthusiasm and passion that it made me excited about the work again. Spirit Dress is a better company today because of this amazing woman and I'm so proud to call her my employee and my friend."
Taryn has a keen sense of detail and natural business acumen that make her perfect for her roles in inventory management and order fulfillment, but her impact will soon be expanding as she takes on customer support, as well. She's also working on a line of her own on which Mercer will be partnering. Stay tuned as we reveal more details later in 2025! In the meanwhile, expect to see way more of Taryn, aka "Mercer's angel".