If birds of a feather flock together, be prepared to spread your wings and fly — because with Dallas style influencers Sarah and Natalie Knowlton of We The Birds, this dynamically chic duo is definitely on the rise and soaring at heights beyond imagination. Recently recognized as one of Dallas’ Most Stylish, the sisterly pair channel effortless cool with cinematic charisma to offer the ultimate addiction.
“90’s grunge meets Japanese anime” serves Sarah’s style #inspo (bottom left), while Natalie (bottom right) opts for the monochromatic minimalist. Polar opposites, the two siblings match perfectly, serving up daily sweetness for a social media obsession that can not be denied.
Definitively the “cool kids”, “the birds” coast well beyond blogging. Their empire reigns over fashion, beauty and lifestyle, making their entire act of living a work of art.
Adding yet another notch to their hip factor, the twosome are also notorious for dishing the ultimate in #foodie bliss. A delightful death by macaron as we would call it, “the birds” have capitalized on the popular French confection, making their ever-evolving platform just a little sweeter.
We now fly high to catch up to “the birds” to scoop all things style, travel, macarons, and of course inspiration. Read on for entrance to the cool club — and yes, you can sit with us.
Inspire N Style: (calming down ultimate fan girl antics) Ok, so we have to ask and we know you’ve probably been asked this a million times. What does “We The Birds” mean?
Sarah: “We do but answering this question is important because it explains a lot about us! We had a transient upbringing (moving and living around the world). At some point along the way, we started to call ourselves ‘the birds’ because we were always ‘in flight.’ So WE THE BIRDS is a nod to our transient upbringing and also a reference to the notion that ‘birds of a feather flock together.’
That is great! So we were spot on in our intro of you guys it seems. You collectively were recently named one of Dallas’ Most Stylish. Big congrats! What influences your personal style?
Sarah: Kate Moss has always been my style icon (mostly because she just doesn’t GAF). I like to keep one eye on the runway shows to see what will be trending for the season. But ultimately I just end up wearing what I like (whether it’s trending or not). This may be my jaded retail mindset, but fashion trends are just recycled themes and everything comes back around. For me, personal style is about having the confidence to wear whatever you want.
Natalie: Sarah has always encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone, which I love and am so grateful for! She affirms my style but knows my limitations and helps me have the confidence to take my looks to the next level. Instagram definitely provides visual inspiration for my personal style. I am constantly discovering new brands or trends thanks to influencers and save a ton of looks to revisit when style inspiration is lacking.
Besides stalking you for our daily fashion fix (raises hands guiltily), we also obsessively gawk when you guys post about your travels. What are some of your favorite places that you have traveled and why?
Sarah: This is such a hard question to answer — we love experiencing different parts of the world and expanding our horizons. But the easy answer would be: Singapore. Singapore will always hold a special place in our hearts because we lived there during our formative years (our high school years). It’s an incredibly safe, bustling city on an island. Being teenagers there, we were given a lot of freedom and opportunity. We were also able to travel all over Southeast Asia while we lived there. We just have the fondest memories from our time in Singapore.
Natalie: Cambodia. I’ve visited countless times and spent several months living in Phnom Penh during college. The second I step foot in Cambodia, an overwhelming sense of peace overcomes me. All the clutter, stress, and opulence of my life in the U.S. seems to dissipate and all I want to do is be in the moment, love others, and live simply. The people in Cambodia exude happiness in the purest form and while the country is still recovering from an unforgettable genocide, the people are actively rebuilding their nation. I definitely left a piece of my heart there, which is why I will forever be called back to visit the country and people.
So not only do you blog, but you also macaron. Yes, we made that a verb! How did your love for macarons and fashion become the perfect marriage?
Natalie: Organically! We truly did not set out to establish ourselves as fashion bloggers who also make French macarons. It just kind of happened. Sarah’s professional background is in fashion & design – having worked for Neiman Marcus corporate office for the better part of her career. My professional background is in international business & finance – while always having a hand in culinary hobbies. So my knack for French macaron making stuck, and when demand grew for my culinary confections, we married the business with the fashion blog. We like to think fashion and bespoke macarons have a way of complimenting and enhancing one another.
We totally agree. Having tasted your macarons, we definitely know that you guys are on to something! But let’s be honest here. All throughout social media are bloggers posting pictures with macarons, making it seemingly a “trend.” Is the macaron obsession a fad or here to stay?
Natalie: I don’t think the macaron is a fad or trend at all. The beauty of the macaron is that the flavor profile and designs can evolve with the times and changing food trends. Unicorn macarons — probably a trend we won’t see for much longer [but] it’s like in any industry, you have to evolve and respond to demand to stay current. We treat macarons as our canvas and each order as a new creation. In our opinion, there will always be a market for macarons. They are the perfect treat for events, parties and gift giving because they are bite size, customizable, naturally gluten-free, and just around 50 calories a piece.
Just how popular are your macarons in Dallas and what are the top requested flavors?
Natalie: We currently max out at 500 macarons per week. [Popular Flavors]: Lavender Honey, Dark Chocolate Sea Salt, Raspberry Rose, Mimosa…I could go on forever. Everything we make is bespoke and handcrafted to order, including flavors! We are always coming up with new flavors and testing customers’ requests.
And a little birdie (pun intended) told us that you do vegan macarons as well. Who knew there was such a thing? How can vegans partake in the yummy goodness too? What are the key ingredients?
Natalie: We were hit with a vegan order right off the bat when we started our business! We were skeptical at first, because egg whites are fundamental to macaron making, but we did successfully find a substitute! Though technically difficult to master, macarons have only a few ingredients: almond flour, egg whites, confectioner’s sugar, granulated sugar + buttercream or ganache filling. For vegan macarons, we substitute aquafaba (reduced chickpea liquid) for the egg whites, and swap in vegan butter and nut-based milks to make our fillings. Vegan macaron requests can be placed on our website at any time with two weeks’ notice.
With your blogging and social media, we’re not even sure when you guys get sleep. What can we look forward to from We The Birds in the future?
Sarah: More inspiring editorial content (hopefully on a monthly basis) and videos!
Natalie: What Sarah said! More inspiring fashion content, style tips, authentic beauty reviews and videos, plus – we will be offering more Baker’s Selection macaron boxes inspired by our editorial themes or seasonal trends.
For more on the lastest with We The Birds, be sure to follow and subscribe to their new YouTube channel or by visiting their blog. For macaron orders and requests, be sure to visit www.wethebirdsmacarons.com. All photos used courtesy of: We The Birds, with credit to Carlos Zuniga.
