JORDAN BAKER is the brainchild of two long-time friends, Jane Moffat and Amanda Perkins, who each have a passion for the U.S. shopping experience. Both regular travellers to the U.S., they would lament the lack of availability of their favourite brands, and the difference in the retail experience as a whole. There are many retailers in Australia stocking U.S. brands, but they both felt that the modern American aesthetic, encompassing clean lines with a twist (and a pop of colour), was not represented by a singular retail outlet in Australia. 

So they began reaching out to their favourite brands of many years, starting with Kule and Parker Thatch, and the concept grew from there.

"Our vision is very straightforward. We buy what we like”, says Jane. “We always joke that if something doesn’t sell it will be fine in our own wardrobes”. And this basic approach has so far served them well. “We don’t over-think it”, concurs Amanda. “If we feel there is something lacking in Australia there must be something to it, we are both very seasoned shoppers!”

From an initial 4-5 Jordan Baker now boasts more than 30 U.S. brands, many of which are not elsewhere in Australia. Those that are already sold in Australia are not presented in the same manner, back-to-back with other U.S. brands they sit well with.

“We want people to feel like they are walking into a boutique in East Hampton, Santa Monica or Aspen. We try to maintain the “resort” feel in terms of gifts and luxury fashion, and don’t want to stock anything that is already well presented in the thriving Australian retail scene.” 

As for the name? Jordan Baker is the oft-neglected character in The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan’s friend who comes to stay for the summer. Gatsby is the ultimate tale of decadence and drama in Long Island and New York in the 1920s, but while Daisy flits about ruining the lives of those around her, in Jordan there is more strength, most notable in her wry comments. She’s a single woman - a professional golfer - and she doesn’t look to a man for her own self worth. She’s a self-made girl who fits with the current vernacular of feminism “as it stands”. "She was a perfect fit as soon as we toyed with her name."