The Curator of the ‘Brooklyn Look’
“‘It’s gold lamé, but it’s cut into a classic shirtdress,” she added by example. “You’re still wearing gold lamé while you’re taking your kid around on his scooter, but you can roll up the sleeves and the hem isn’t too short. It’s not precious. She really nailed that.’”
“Mankins could still envision a unique and vibrant enclave. As the owner of Bird—a constellation of indie fashion boutiques in Brooklyn—she has a talent for artfully mixing color-filled spaces and looks (cue her Instagram series #MyPrintedLife).”
- Domino, Summer 2020
“Simply put, Mankins is the mastermind behind Bird, the Brooklyn boutique, that, no matter how many others pop up in its wake, will always be the one where we know we can find the perfect Rachel Comey shoes, APC dresses and Frame Denim jeans. When it comes to shopping, it’s the epitome of a go-to, not because you always walk away with the piece you expect to—because you don’t.”
— Coveteur
No longer merely hip, the once-insular borough now draws discerning tourists, including Manhattanites. Four savvy locals (including Bird’s own Jennifer Mankins) share their favorite places to dine, shop and stroll.
— The Wall Street Journal, May 4, 2017
“Practical is a word that people in fashion hate. But one thing I’ve always incorporated into my idea of fashion is that it has to perform. It has to work.”
- The New York Times, August 9, 2016
“To my painter’s chagrin, I chose a different color for every door,” says Mankins, laughing. When she contacted Heath Ceramics in San Francisco to order custom oversize tiles, the owners suggested using reclaimed ceramic kiln shelves, which had developed a rich, patinaed surface. “Each one is singular,” says Mankins. “They represent what I think about fashion—it should be individual, organic, and all about the person wearing the piece.”
— Domino, May 25, 2017
“Bird was credited with creating a “Brooklyn Look” of the aughts — which then expanded beyond Brooklyn, influencing style in cities like Portland and Austin. The aesthetic was relaxed but “interesting,"…Bird women did not go to a meatpacking district club to be seen. They went to the farmer’s market — or years later a women-only co-working space. The Swedish clogs and printed smocks they wore while commuting were just an extension of Ms. Mankins’ main fashion prerequisite: wearability.”
— The New York Times, January 14, 2021
“She describes the look as “sort of twofold. It's a really joyful and fun approach to fashion—it's long gone, the stereotype of New Yorkers wearing all black, but we were the opposite of that: color and prints and textures and patterns and beautiful fabrics, and interesting details.” The other part of the equation was intelligence. Bird, she says, offered ‘thoughtful clothes for thinking people.’”
— Elle, January 15, 2021
“…But the loss of Bird is a blow specifically for Brooklyn’s high-waisted-flare-jeans-wearing creative class…it was one of the few places — if not the only place — in the borough where you could find small, independent designers like Rachel Comey, international brands like A.P.C. and Isabel Marant, and more high-fashion names like Dries Van Noten.”
— The Cut, January 11, 2021
“New York’s love affair with Los Angeles is hardly new news, but Brooklyn’s been a slower burn. Helping to fan those flames is Jen Mankins, owner of cult retailer Bird, who has tapped into the borough’s quirkier elements and capitalized on trends and gentrification as they’ve happened. Now Mankins is hoping to translate her curatorial approach (think: Acne Studios, Amo, Ulla Johnson, Rachel Comey, and others) and the interplay of color, print, and texture for which she’s known into Bird’s fifth brick-and-mortar, this one located in L.A.’s Culver City.”
- Vogue, March 22, 2017
“Jen Mankins became an influencer of style and taste with her free-spirited Brooklyn boutique, Bird. The clothing store was a fashion incubator for fledgling brands such as Rag & Bone and Isabel Marant, which today are juggernauts.”
- The New York Times, January 24, 2020