WARDROBE RESOLUTION: HEATHER BURCH & HER DAILY DOSE OF DDR

If your outfit makes a statement, it’s fair to say your wardrobe tells a story. Well, Heather Burch’s tells a fascinating one – of her and of DDR – and we’re hooked, tuning in to read a new page every single day.

We’re currently on page (read: day) 120-something of Heather’s 2024 commitment to wearing Double D Ranch every single day.

“Everybody’s New Year’s resolutions are sort of the same, you know?” Heather explained. “Lose weight, be nicer, blah blah blah. I thought, ‘I’m going to do 365 days of Double D Ranch!’ It just came to me, and I thought, surely that hasn’t been done before.”

Originality is kind of Heather’s M.O., to the point of some out-of-the-box antics.

“I just always like to do things that nobody else has done,” she laughed. “You saw the life-sized cutout I sent of myself to Fort Worth? I was like, ‘I can’t be there, but how can I get myself in some pictures? Ah-ha!’ So, I sent that.”

Believe it or not, Heather is a relative newbie to the brand; she was first introduced to Double D Ranch about five or six years ago.

“Well, I bought a piece a long time ago off of eBay – I tend to buy a lot of things off eBay – and I liked the shirt because it had a skull on it,” she said. “There was a gal who used to own Ace’s Arrow in Idaho, she’s since sold it, but she carried Double D Ranch for a while, so I started buying from her. That was five, maybe six years ago.”

Pretty miraculous to think that she’s already amassed a wardrobe of DDR diverse enough to don something different every day.

“I have not repeated anything yet,” she said. “The only thing I’ve had to reuse is some of the jeans, because I don’t have a lot of the Double D Ranch denim, but I have not repeated any tops yet or any dresses.”

And here’s where it gets really fun: a good majority of it is not off-the-rack. Heather estimates that 40-50% of her collection is at least throwback, if not actual vintage.

“It’s definitely the thrill of the hunt,” Heather said. “I love when I post something and a lot of the comments are ‘I haven’t seen that one before!’; I love the more rare pieces. I look for pieces that are unique or that I haven’t seen before, even if they’re not my size, I don’t care, I’ll buy them. Because I can have them taken in or whatever. There was one piece I bought recently off of Poshmark and I think it was a one-X, and I was like ‘I don’t even care, I’ll buy it because I haven’t ever seen it before and I can have it taken in!’”

As you might imagine, it’s pretty hard for her to declare a favorite of all time (that’s like choosing a favorite child, am I right?) but she has a couple favorite old school finds that come to mind.

“I really love this one vest,” she said “It’s black and almost looks like it has salt stitched to it. It says ‘DDRW’ on it, and it’s pretty old. I even had a couple gals comment on my picture and ask ‘What’s the W for?’ and I was like ‘Wear.’ That was back when it was still Double D Ranchwear.”

That’s right, one of Heather’s favorites is from back before we dropped the ‘wear’ and committed to branding ourselves as just DDR!  

“And I just recently acquired a jacket and I know there’s a picture of Audrey wearing it,” Heather added. “And it’s from 1995. That’s probably one of my favorites. And I haven’t even worn it yet, just ‘cause I don’t want anything to happen to it!”

Obviously, Heather’s closet is heavy on the Double D – including several pairs of boots, six hats, and three handbags! – but that’s not even where her it ends.

“Oh, I have several Double D Ranch pillows in my guest bedroom,” she added “And I have a blanket. In my cabin, I have two twin beds and they are all done up in Double D Ranch!”

What was it that made her develop this full-fledged 360-degree, 365-days-worth love for the brand? Well, unsurprisingly, the McMullen gals.

“When I went to my very first meetup, the girls – and that’s how I refer to them now, when I talk to my husband or my kids or my mom, I just address Margie and Audrey and Hedy and Cheryl as ‘the girls’,” she laughed “They were just so friendly and nice and welcoming, and honestly, you don’t get that anywhere else.”

That, and of course, it fits right in with Heather’s innate signature style of standing out.

“I do love that when I go out, I’m usually the only one that has it on,” She said. “At least in Idaho, because nobody sells Double D Ranch here. We have a big rodeo that we go to in August. I go every night, it’s a big deal. I love it, and I actually will seek out clothes that I know other people won’t wear or don’t have, simply because I don’t want someone else to be in the same outfit as me. I love that they’re unique.”