But you still need to activate your account.
Go ahead, throw like a girl. Kick and ride and ski like a girl. And if the boys have something to say about it, they can talk to Paula Leavitt and Andrea Pape, founders of Be A Girl Today.
Their line of sporty, fitted T-shirts and sassy bumper stickers make it clear that playing like a girl is something to celebrate.
“The only people who might not get it are men who might be like, ‘What does that mean?'” Pape said, laughing, during a recent interview at a Kennebunk cafe. “We say, ‘Follow me and I’ll show you.'”
Though Pape lives in Falmouth and Leavitt calls Kennebunk home, the sisters have strong ties to eastern Maine: their parents now live in Franklin, and the late Bud Leavitt, the longtime Bangor Daily News sports editor and outdoors writer, was their uncle. The business is a family endeavor in every sense: They’ve recruited young female family members to serve as advisers and ambassadors for the company.
During the clan’s annual party three summers ago, the women and girls – ages 6 and up – got together for a “board meeting” to brainstorm. Mothers and daughters, aunts and nieces shared their opinions about everything from the cut of the shirts to the sayings on the bumper stickers.
“We’re very picky about our T-shirts now,” Pape said. “That’s where the girls come in.”
Clearly, “the girls” are doing their job. The T-shirts are stylish and form-fitting, but the imagery is decidedly athletic, thanks to graphic designer Ken Murphy of Portland. Leavitt met Murphy through her accounting job at Fore Street and Street & Co. restaurants.
“He gets it,” Pape said. “He knew we wanted a strong female figure. Nothing girly.”
That’s what Leavitt had in mind when she came up with the concept for Be A Girl Today – graphics and a slogan that would become iconic, like the ubiquitous Life Is Good products.
“One saying can go so far,” she said.
If sales are any indication, “like a girl” resonates with the gals – and guys – who buy the products. At the end of last season, Leavitt and Pape brought a bunch of “ski like a girl” bumper stickers to Java Joe’s at Sugarloaf to see if they would sell. Soon, all of Pape’s daughter’s friends – including the boys – were sporting them on their helmets. And they weren’t the only ones. The stickers sold out.
At The Closet, a high-end boutique in Kennebunk that carries designer denim, dresses and handbags, owner Tracy Porell introduced the ski and snowboard line last winter. She only ordered a handful of shirts, and she has since branched out into tennis, horseback riding and soccer. The price point of $22 retail, and the fact that the shirts were designed locally, appealed to Porell. And young women love them, especially the equestrians.
“Anybody who comes in here who has a horse has gone straight for them,” Porell said.
The whole line started with “ride like a girl.” Leavitt has been riding horses her entire life, and when she says equestrian types will buy anything with a horse on it, she’s only half-joking. When she brings her wares to horse shows “the response is always good, anytime.”
Susan Bowman, who owns Katahdin Trail Saddlery in Newport, met Leavitt at an equestrian trade show in Augusta. She now carries the horse-related products in her store, and while the jumping-horse motif outsells the Western and dressage designs, the shirts and stickers always make customers smile.
“People like the saying,” Bowman said.
In the coming months, there will be more to love about Be A Girl Today. The company has teamed up with Flyte, a Portland-based new media firm, to revamp BeAGirlToday.com. In addition to an online store, the site will feature a blog, as well as contests for the best new design idea. Pape’s daughters Katie, 16, and Elizabeth, 14, likely will provide content.
A new line of children’s T-shirts recently hit stores in southern Maine, and additional sports are constantly under consideration. Pape’s female friends who play ice hockey have been lobbying for a shirt of their own, and there’s been talk of golf, as well – “drive like a girl” has a nice ring to it.
With a panel of seasoned experts – girls and women who love all things athletic – behind them, they can’t go wrong.
“We all ski or board, kayak, Rollerblade, ice skate, hike and play soccer,” Pape said. “I golf and play tennis. It’s endless, the opportunities.”
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