Photograph by Ben Rollins
Vanessa Toro launched her clothing brand, Rabble & Rouse, in 2015 with the tagline “Give all the damns.” Her T-shirts make bold statements with phrases like “Be vigilant, not afraid” and “All we have is each other.” Toro herself is regularly stopped on the street for her jet-black pixie cut, signature red lip, and flair for pairing colors and prints. “Even when I try to blend in, it doesn’t work,” she says. “So I just own the fact that I have a look.”
Hails from
Providence, Rhode Island
Neighborhood
Virginia-Highland
Local haunts
Staplehouse is definitely my favorite restaurant. For drinks, [I love] 8Arm, Kimball House, and my iced Mexican hot chocolate at LottaFrutta.
Shop around
I go thrifting OTP. The Goodwill in Roswell has been good to me. There is a little boutique in my neighborhood called Bridge Boutique where the owner always knows what looks good on me.
Face first
I have a routine, but it’s very simple: tinted moisturizer, mascara, and a red lip. I am all about a red lip. I feel naked without one.
Signature style
Audrey Hepburn meets The Nanny’s Fran Drescher
Outfit inspiration
It’s definitely based on that day’s mood. I attempt to articulate something; it’s not uncommon in the dead of winter that I wear a lot of yellow because I don’t want to get the winter blues.
Recent purchase
A collar pin I got from Sad Truth Supply. It has little art deco hands with heart tattoos on them. There’s something macabre and Gothic about it, but at the same time precious and delicate.
Photograph by Ben Rollins
Good vibes
Rabble & Rouse donates a portion of their profits to a rotating list of Atlanta community organizations. rabbleandrouse.com
This article originally appeared in our November 2017 issue.
