A couple of years ago when Austin Neely and Christian Lorenzo were students at Homewood Flossmoor High School, the pair dreamed about owning their own clothing company.
The upstarts didn't have to wait long to make it happen. They launched Plastic Party Clothing two years ago, and the brand is making its mark among the young party set they cater to. Note the models holding red plastic cups and Pabst Blue Ribbon cans in the company's look book.
"We used to be into the pop rock scene and bands, but now we're into being a lifestyle brand," Neely said. "We believe in being a free individual and having a sense of being in style. Instead of spending a bunch of money it's about living rich and being a good person at heart."
The clothing line trends toward basic street wear such as hoodies, girls booty shorts, sunglasses and crew cut sweatshirts.
The pieces can be found at Black Market Caviar boutique (1945 W Chicago Ave.), but many of their sales are done online, with customers as far away as the UK and Australia.
"We started out using MySpace to promote ourselves but these days we're into Facebook and Twitter," Neely said. "It's great to be able get feedback on the brand and let people know what we're doing."
So how hard is it to be taken seriously in the business world when you're barely old enough to legally drink?
"We've never let our age hold us back. We just make sure our professional agenda is straight and the rest takes care of itself," Neely said.
The pair would eventually like to open their own store in Chicago and LA.
Plastic Party Clothing will be showcasing their winter line at the @superfun party Wednesday at JBar.
