Staci Caillé

So nice to meet you! First off, what’s your name? Tell our readers a bit about yourself—where you’re from originally and where you live now.

We’re Staci Caillé, a Bloomington, Minnesota, native, and my husband Eric, originally from France, and together we’re the duo behind Reckless Swagger in downtown St. Paul. We share a love of music, art, independent business and fashion with a punk edge. Reckless Swagger is where all of those influences come together, creating a place for people who want to find something unique and own it.

Tell us one thing you love about where you live now.

Coming from the burbs, spending a lot of my youth in Minneapolis and going to college in Montreal, we’ve fallen pretty hard for the energy and community of St. Paul.

We’re drawn to independent restaurants, venues, artists, musicians and people building something of their own. Many of our friends are musicians and artists, so supporting people who are pursuing their passions is personal.

That’s exactly what Reckless Swagger is about: individuality, creativity and having the courage to put yourself out into the world. Punk anarchy spirit~

Tell us a little more about what your company does and how it started. How does it help your customers?

Reckless Swagger is a shared vision. We’ve always been drawn to independence and anarchy mixed with edgy, unusual fashion, of course, hugely influenced by the music scene. How do you get that feeling back, that moment in a John Hughes movie when you were 15 and the world was forever in front of you?

Eric and I are not afraid to try anything. Most people are creatures of comfort; we’re the exact opposite. When it gets too comfortable, it’s too boring, too predictable. What the hell is the point of that? When I was younger, I would rip, shred and pin anything I could get my hands on. I cut my own hair and started really styling things in a way that was completely unlike anyone else. While my friends were at football games, I was downtown clubbing with a much older crowd and hanging with the foreign exchange students, really expanding my horizons. When Eric and I met, it was a natural force. We both love the idea of pushing boundaries.

Our goal has never been to simply fill closets or chase fast-fashion trends. We want to help people find that piece that becomes their personal statement and brings back “that moment”…

If someone wants to start a business, what advice would you give them?

Have a vision, but give yourself permission to figure some of it out as you go. If you wait until everything is perfect, you won’t ever start.

Know what makes you different. Then own it.

For us, that means individuality, creativity, music, fashion and creating something that makes people feel unmistakably like themselves. We also invest in supporting the other people who are taking a chance on their passions.

What is one piece of feedback from a happy customer or client that you won't forget?

I would have to say it’s a compilation of texts and emails from customers who cannot convey how much the store means to them, and especially those who come in person, those who make a trek from out of state to come shop. “Why aren’t you in LA / NYC / London?” That’s a huge compliment, for places I would expect to have something like this. We are hitting a mark that resonates.

Where do you see your company in the future?

Expanding our own clothing and accessories line gives us the opportunity to bring even more of our personality into the brand: edgy, artistic, music-influenced, a little unexpected and never mass-market.

The dream is to grow Reckless Swagger without taking off the edges that make it just that: Reckless Swagger. I want people to recognize our pieces and think, that has attitude, that has personality, and I need it!

What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

More of a misunderstanding. It takes time, effort and vision to create one-of-one pieces. People are ready to invest in something no one else has. And I also think people sometimes mistake imperfection for a flaw, when it can actually be what gives a piece its soul.

You have to feel the garment, see what it could become: painted, pierced, shredded, torn, pinned, patched and punkified. Not perfection.

What has been one of your biggest struggles building your business, and how did you deal with it?

The biggest struggle has been getting our people to find us. We put so much of ourselves into physically transforming the space and creating the Reckless Swagger experience, but we quickly learned that we couldn’t depend on street traffic.

We have a very specific appeal, so building a following has meant investing a tremendous amount of time, energy and money into social media, word of mouth and trying just about anything to introduce people to the brand.

Who was your favorite music artist and athlete growing up?

I loved football with my Grandpa as a youngster, back in the days of Bud Grant and Fran Tarkenton, and while I still love football and F1 racing, I’d probably disappoint people with the athlete question, because my athletes were really musicians. Music has always been king for me and Eric both.

Growing up around Minneapolis, I loved bands like Hüsker Dü, Urban Guerrillas, the Ciphers and The Wallets, and then there was this whole larger world of the Sex Pistols, Joy Division/New Order, Bauhaus, The Damned, The Specials and countless punk, new wave and surf punk bands, like current friends The Black Widows, and Greg Norton of Hüsker Dü with his new band UltraBomb, plus New Romantics like Adam & the Ants and post-punk artists.

Those musicians weren’t, and aren’t, just making music. They’re creating an identity, visually and sonically, and showing that it was okay not to look or sound like everyone else. That absolutely shaped my sense of style and eventually found its way into Reckless Swagger.

Any shoutouts you want to make?

This one is my favorite question:

First is Eric, my husband and partner in crime for nearly four decades. He’s behind the reels, manages our website and has put in more hours than I could ever count helping make this crazy dream of mine real. Reckless Swagger might have started as a vision, but Eric has been beside me helping build the reality.

Our friend Brian was also there helping us physically transform the space. He understood what we were trying to create and could see the vision along with us. I just wish he could see what that space has become.

And then there’s my late mom, Pat Riley. She worked on the window displays at Dayton’s in downtown Minneapolis and dressed models for runway shows. Looking back, I realize how much of her love for fashion, style, décor and presentation became part of me. She planted those seeds a long time ago, and in many ways Reckless Swagger is part of what grew from them. Even if you just drive by, you will see a part of her, as I insisted on having a prominent and ever-evolving window showcase.

Where can our readers learn more about you and your company?

Find us on Instagram at reckless_swagger_shop and on TikTok, visit our website (www.reckless-swagger.com), and follow along to see everything happening at Reckless Swagger 24/7. But if you can, come experience the shop in person in downtown St. Paul. Sometimes you have to see, touch and try on that one-of-one piece to understand what makes RS special. We sponsor local events and crawls and are hoping to expand in the future to open mic nights and collaborations, and of course we’re available by appointment too.

Come say hey. We’re there most Saturdays.

Xoxo, Stay Reckless