For women who fish, the options for apparel have historically been… not great. As an angler myself, I can confirm this: My first fishing shirt was this ugly, baggy, blue thing that looked like an oversized men’s button-down despite being labeled for women. Other gear I’ve tested relies heavily on stereotypical “girly” designs, with tighter fabric and shorter hemlines in shades of pink and purple. Up until last year, I fished in a pair of men’s waders because I just couldn’t find a pair that fit me properly in the hips and waist.
Tired of not having the proper gear on the water, the ladies behind Soča have set out to create women’s fishing apparel that’s actually fashionable and functional. Founded by four lifelong friends from Texas, Soča’s goal is to get more women to the river (or ocean, or lake!) in clothes that make them feel good, without sacrificing performance. With three core products (a sun hoodie, a button-down, and an insulated jacket) all sewn in the U.S., women don’t have to choose between style and substance—they can have both.
I sat down with Ellie Pitney and Franny Ryburn, two of the four co-founders behind the brand, to get their story.
Walk me through how the four of you came up with the idea for Sčca.
Ellie: About 10 years ago, we wanted to get back together and do something. I guided for a hot minute after college, and I just continued to fish in beautiful places. And one of us in the group was like, “We should do a fishing trip since you’re going to all these beautiful places.”
Our first trip was to the Soča River in Slovenia (hence the brand’s name), and we had a blast. We kept these trips going and just quickly realized that there isn’t much clothing for women who fish on the market. I even remember packing for that first trip and Franny asking like, “What do I wear?” Not everyone wants to look like a sack of potatoes while they fish. So, after a few years, we just realized there was a niche in the market for better women’s apparel.
Franny: We really wanted something elevated—something that I would wear on the river, but then also something I could wear to grab a beer in later. In the beginning, I felt so uncomfortable and so out of my element in the gear that I was wearing.. But why should my clothes prevent me from fly fishing? I quickly learned it didn’t have to be that way.
How did you land on the three pieces you started with, opposed to, say, waders or bibs?
Ellie: Well, brands like Orvis, Patagonia, Miss Mayfly all make size-inclusive waders that really fill the gap of “hard goods”, but we felt the biggest gap was in soft goods like apparel. The three pieces we’re starting with may look plain at first glance, but they’re really thoughtful. For example, the button-up shirt is designed off a blouse, with feminine details in the cut, trim, and the cuffs. There are tons of other button-downs up there, but ours is really tailored for women.
Franny: And it can be worn as a blouse. I’ve worn mine to the rodeo with blue jeans and cowboy boots down in Fort Worth and felt cute. But it’s technical too—it doesn’t show my sweat at all, which is a perk whether you’re fishing or out to dinner.
Ellie: Yeah, it’s thoughtful and technical. And it’s versatile, which I think is important. As much as I’d love to be on the water 365 days a year, I’m not. You can garden in these pieces, pick the kids from school up in them, play pickleball in them—they’re multi-purpose.
What happened after the four of you decided to run with this idea? Do any of you have a background in fashion or gear design? How did you go from concept to product?
Franny: None of us had a background in fashion. Fashion is something I’ve always been interested in, but I was an event planner for 20 years.
Ellie: I’m an environmental engineer, and Taylor (our CFO) has a background in accounting while Hannah, who handles our shipping and operations, worked as a buyer for a store in Michigan. Our backgrounds translated naturally into these roles though. Hannah handles shipping and operations, Franny handles PR and marketing, while I act as CEO.
Franny: Now, Hannah and I split the design element—she handles shipping while I handle fabric sourcing. But the learning curve has been hard. It takes far more time than we ever expected, especially navigating sourcing, production, and all the details that come with building a product from scratch.
It sounds super complicated and demanding—what types of challenges have you faced?
Ellie: There’s the challenge of building a brand in a pretty male-dominated industry and finding the confidence to go up against established outdoor names. On a practical level, sizing has been a huge one—designing for a range of women’s bodies while operating as a small brand is complicated and expensive. We get a lot of feedback on the cost of our products, but we’re not marking them up—we’re honestly just covering costs. Our fabric is imported from Italy and Japan, and then everything is made in the United States. Our prices just reflect the quality.
There’s been a ton of learning and mistakes, but learning is the best thing you can do. You have to make mistakes to fix them, right? It’s just data.
And honestly, figuring out how to fund growth without taking on major debt has been part of the challenge, too.
How do customers like Soča?
Franny: The feedback has been so cool, from men and women—we’ve been so warmly received and supported, even by some of the bigger brands. We’ve heard from women who feel like they finally found fishing apparel that doesn’t force them to choose between function and style, which has been incredibly validating. And since it is pretty minimalist, even a lot of men love our stuff, especially the hats.
Ellie: We’ve gotten a lot of encouraging feedback at festivals and events, especially from women who come up and say, “Thank you, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for.” And a lot of the feedback we get is about what people want next—especially shorts and pants. We hear all the time, “When are you making bottoms?” which feels like a really exciting vote of confidence.”
Looking forward, what are you and your co-founders most excited for?
Ellie: A big part of this whole thing is making it more meaningful than just slinging gear, even if it’s in small ways. We plan on teaming up with some organizations like Trout Unlimited and Casting for a Cure at some events this summer, which we’re super excited for.
Franny: There are so many great organizations out there doing the work, so just teaming up with them to give back is huge.
Ellie: And then tapping into what women really want. We want to be that brand for people. We’re excited to create a space for women while making the sport less intimidating and more accessible for everyone.