At 15, Annah-Clare MacLean already knows something many fashion designers with decades of experience never learn. When it comes to marketing her own clothing line, if she isn’t willing to wear it, she isn’t willing to sell it. “I didn’t want to start off with a bad reputation,” she says.

It’s a philosophy that has guided every decision behind Sydney, Cape Breton-based LEGIT Western Wear since MacLean launched the company in September 2024. “I’ve always grown up around horses,” she says. “I’ve always worn western clothes. But the year before, I was with my family on a trip to the Calgary Stampede and I realized that what I wore wasn’t just something some people wear. It was the whole entire lifestyle there.”

That got her thinking. Back home, she realized that while Atlantic Canada had a thriving horse community, riders had relatively few local options for the kind of durable western apparel they wanted. “When I was feeling the need for some good, durable clothing that would hold up and look nice, I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling that,” she says. “Horse people are a different breed. Once you find something that you really like, you don’t care about the money.”

To be sure, her apparel isn’t cheap. Signature hoodies sell for about $100, while Canadian-made T-shirts range from $40 to $45. The line also includes tank tops, caps, rodeo shirts and custom cowboy hats, which MacLean burns freehand and finishes with ribbons and other details to suit each customer. Quality, she says, has never been negotiable. “It’s not about buying a $100 hoodie that’s going to last a month. It’s about one that’s going to last you years.”

Indeed, long before the first products reached a single customer, she and her mother, Noelle—who also serves as her business mentor—spent months researching suppliers, ordering samples, testing fabrics and sending products back.

Today, nothing leaves LEGIT Western Wear without Annah-Clare’s approval. “Nothing gets done without her final say,” says Noelle, whose marketing research and analytics firm also provides the graphic design expertise. “If it’s not coming directly from her, it is guided and directed by her. She plays a big role in the sales… a huge role in the product development, like 100 per cent. She does all the custom work.”

The business is now preparing to expand with a mobile retail trailer and a redesigned e-commerce website, opening new markets beyond Cape Breton. New products are also in development as Annah-Clare works to broaden the brand without compromising the standards that ground it.

Of course, every new product must still pass the same test: would she wear it?

“She’s the model in most of the photos,” Noelle says of her daughter’s prominence in the company’s advertising and promotional materials.

At 15, Annah-Clare MacLean has already decided that some things aren’t negotiable.

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