Meet Kara Hlookoff | Owner & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kara Hlookoff and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kara, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
That you need to wear certain clothing or dress a certain way based on your “body type”.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
INDI + LOU is a contemporary women’s clothing boutique based in a small mountain town in BC, Canada.

We originally opened as an e-commerce business only but are slowly growing into a combination of both online and brick & mortar sales. We carry clothing and accessories for the modern day, empowered woman who wants to stop caring about the societal norms of clothing/styling and start wearing whatever the h*ll she wants.

I’m the classic story of someone being in a career that I was miserable in and thinking I had to stay for the “pension + benefits”. I started this business during my second maternity leave with absolutely ZERO background knowledge surrounding business, e-commerce, entrepreneurial life, etc. (my degrees are in both Kinesiology and Education), and ended up making it my full time gig after I returned to my job as a teacher and was miserable for every second of it. Yes, scary to leave the salary job, but have I looked back for one second? NOPE.

I want to share with other women that nothing should be stopping you from setting a goal, dreaming a dream, and GOING FOR IT. All of the “but”s are simply you being your worst enemy. There will always be bridges to cross (I’ve come across many), but there’s also almost always a solution.

I also want to share that the only person you should listen to when it comes to dressing yourself is YOU. We’re constantly told that we shouldn’t wear something based on our age, our body type, etc. but I couldn’t disagree more. Yes, there are certain things to look for in terms of fit, material, structure, etc. and having that knowledge is always helpful. But, I think the best thing you could do when styling yourself is listen to your INTUITION – that instant gut feeling – when you first see yourself in the mirror. How do you feel? Do you love what you’re seeing? THEN GO FOR IT. It’s when our mind starts the debate – “I can’t wear that” or “I don’t have the body for that” – that we let go of pieces that we truly felt our best in and that we’ll end up looking our best in, too. You’ll never look better than when you feel the most CONFIDENT, and that will only come when you trust your intuition.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had a friend coming to town for a weekend and she had never been before, I would take her to my fave places around the small town I work in (Castlegar, BC, Canada) and the small town I live closest to (Nelson, BC Canada).

We would 100% be going to my fave restaurants for every meal:
– Frog Peak for breakfast/brunch (located in Crescent Valley)
– Beauties or Cantina for lunch (located in Nelson)
– Marzano (Nelson) or Gabriellas (Rossland) for dinner

… and maybe a beer or two in between from Tailout (located in Castlegar) with some Thai Street Fries delivered down from the restaurant a top (Grand Buddha). We’d play board games there and hope to catch some live local music.

Can you tell I love the whole food/drinks/service industry?

I would also make SURE we got pedicures done side by side at the Aura Spa in Nelson as we’d be able to sip a cocktail from their menu.

For leisure, we would likely host a get together and invite all family and friends for a little backyard party. Typically, when that happens, lawn games are *competitively* played (think cornhole, bocce), a big bon fire starts, a bunch of guitars come out, and we have an incredibly fun time.

We’d likely do 9 holes at Little Bear Golf Course.

I would also take her somewhere in Castlegar along the Columbia River to appreciate how beautiful the space is that we live in. Likely we’d go down to Millenium Park after grabbing a coffee from Crumbs or Humble Bean (all in Castlegar) and gaze across the river while getting some peaceful moments to catch up.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This is such a great question and definitely has me thinking.

When it comes to how I started? There’s not really a person to shoutout. I started my business during my second mat leave as a way to help me through the mundane life of a stay at home mom with a baby (or at least that was my experience). INDI + LOU started as a passion project with not a lot of planning or intention.

However, it has evolved A LOT over time into more of a movement than just a store. The movement being to wear clothing that you FEEL confident in and to stop caring about others’ opinions, screw the status quo when it comes to styling, etc. And this ABSOLUTELY needs to acknowledge certain people.

A lot of my messages about confidence with clothing comes from my own personal growth journey of finding confidence and letting go of people pleasing. I can think of three huge people that helped me with this and those people are Rachel Hollis, Kathrin Zenkina, and Sarah Landry. All of these women are top of their game when it comes to helping women let go/work through their struggles with body image, confidence, manifestation, and self empowerment (all in very different ways).

Website: http://www.indiandlou.ca

Instagram: @indiandlou

Facebook: @indiandlou

Image Credits
Photography: Carmen Adams with FRESH Photography in Rossland, BC Creative Director + Stylist: Kara Hlookoff with INDI + LOU Boutique