Fox and Shrew was a company that provided hand-made, vintage-inspired dresses and skirts — with pockets — using eco-friendly and ethical labor practices. For owner Jocelyn Redfern, the goal of Fox and Shrew was to make inclusive, ethical clothing for the modern consumer. Following Redfern’s untimely death from cancer in 2024, her friends and family are working to find homes for the company’s remaining inventory. Fox and Shrew will be hosting a pop-up shop at the Ivywild School on Nov. 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All products will be discounted up to 20%.
“This is a great way to honor her legacy,” said Becca Sickbert, Fox and Shrew’s interim marketing director. “Jocelyn poured her heart and soul into this business — the patterns, the fabrics, the hand-made quality of each item that she personally handled and inspected. She brought so much joy to so many people’s lives, and she is dearly missed.”
Instead of mass-produced dresses from factories, Redfern developed a network of skilled seamstresses who create dresses based on Fox and Shrew’s proprietary designs. “It took about a year to write the book, and a year to get the patterns done,” Redfern said in 2022. “They were all 1950s and 1960s patterns we resized for the modern era. They’re straight vintage ripoffs. We did very simple stuff.”
Listen to Redfern discuss Fox and Shrew during a 2023 podcast appearance.
To combat that, Fox and Shrew’s products are made with locally sourced, vintage fabric. “Since we’re using deadstock all of our fabric is riotous, so we didn’t want to pick dress patterns that had a whole lot of nonsense going on because the nonsense is there in the fabric. We picked the simplest, cleanest pattern,” explained Redfern. “The cotton is all deadstock and it is all sourced from women around the country. I try to stay local with estate sales and whatnot, but we do buy off of Etsy and Ebay from women-owned businesses. That’s where we get a lot of our fabric. We stick with high-thread count cotton, it’s very sturdy, so it lasts a really long time. We line everything in silk, that’s also the sturdiest material. Silk is a lot more eco-friendly than polyester. In terms of sustainability, silk has been sustainable for a very long time. We wanted to stay away from any polyester. Shedding microplastics is not great.”
Fox and Shrew’s dresses are also built to last, as opposed to fast fashion products that are only designed to last a season or two. “We wanted these things to last as long as possible, so the zipper is semi-exposed, so there isn’t any catching up with the fabric,” Redfern said. “We use metal zippers that are a size five, they’re actually larger than regular zippers. The zipper and the hem are two of the places that fail first. That’s why we have all our seams reinforced.”
The end result is iconic, environmentally-friendly fashion. “Because every dress is individually made, we’re able to really maximize our use of the fabric and minimize any kind of waste,” said Redfern. “Because nothing is machine cut, everything is cut out by hand, we’re able to use leftovers to make skirts, leftovers to make a bodice, leftover silk to make pockets. We really don’t waste any materials. We have a no-waste chain. We don’t have any single-use plastics. All of our packing comes from EcoEnclose, which is another Colorado company that does compostable, recyclable packing. We’re able to keep it so that everything that is happening is happening here or along the Front Range.”
With Redfern’s death, Fox and Shrew’s remaining inventory needs to find new homes. Sickbert and her team are looking to connect with consumers, boutique and shop owners, and fashion influencers to share Jocelyn’s story and love for fashion. Visit foxandshrew.com to see the remaining inventory. Fox and Shrew will be holding an exclusive pop-up event at the Ivywild School on Nov. 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., all remaining inventory will be available for purchase with generous discounts available.
