Once upon a time, our founder and original Surly Girl, Alison, had what most people would refer to as a "real" job. The problem with this is that you have to take orders from someone else. And, that someone else is often an idiot.

In Alison's case, when she wasn't chained to her desk, she was sleeping underneath it on an air mattress. (No joke.) Yet she survived working on Wall Street in her 20's. Okay, the vodka may have helped. The point is, she worked for a lot of screamers. Unfortunately, the surliness she displayed when standing up for herself did not always go over well.

And so on she went in pursuit of a career that would embrace her inner surliness. Where she could be her own boss, create a corporate environment her way... and justify the cost of her Ivy League degree to her parents! Hence Surly Girl Studios (and a hot pink briefcase that sparkles) was born in 2002.

Very quickly, our Surly accessories showed up on movie premiere and award show red carpets: the Emmy's, the Grammy's, the SAG's, the Golden Globes and the MTV Video Music Awards!  In demand by A-list stylists, Surly Girl handbags have appeared on hot shows like "Desperate Housewives," "Melrose Place," and "Gossip Girl" and are constantly photographed by the paparazzi on Surly Girls ranging from Britney Spears and the Hiltons to Courteney Cox and both Evas - Mendes and Longoria. 

By 2005, demand drove Alison and her partner, fellow Brown alum Tim, to open their first boutique on infamous Robertson Blvd, across from The Ivy! In 2010, we remain one of the last independent stores on "the Blvd" and one of the only family-owned brands still proudly made in Los Angeles.  Visit us the next time you are in Hollywood, and get Surly!!!