On March 27, everyone who walked down State Street asked, “What’s this line for?” What students knew as Ondo had transformed into Dairy Boy’s first Study Break pop-up in Ann Arbor. Influencer turned entrepreneur Paige Lorenze drew in hundreds, if not thousands, of customers looking to live in her Dairy Boy world. Lorenze grew up skiing competitively in a small town in Connecticut as the daughter of professionals in the medical field, with no prior exposure to start-ups. She entered the public eye once she started posting her New York City life on Instagram in 2020, a journey that has led to nearly a million followers, a self-started business and unimaginable opportunities.
The public has started noticing the “influencer to entrepreneur” pipeline; everyone with a sizable following seems to have a business nowadays. Influencer or celebrity-led companies have gained the reputation of being inauthentic cash-grabs. Nonetheless, anyone who has followed Paige Lorenze’s journey understands Dairy Boy is different. After attending the 2025 Michigan Fashion Summit, where Lorenze gave a speech titled “The Business of Being You: Scaling Influence and Lifestyle into a Lasting Brand,” it became clear why. If there is one brand that is not just another influencer fad, it’s Dairy Boy.
But, this still leaves the question — what even is Dairy Boy anyway? According to Lorenze’s panel at MFMS, it all started with an Instagram account named Shop Lorenze (the first name that came to her mind) that served as the dump for whatever pictures she liked, including her “dream chicken coop.” Shortly after, the name emerged from one of her Instagram lives, where she spoke about her version of “hot girl summer” — dairy girl summer. Lorenze’s childhood in Connecticut led to her love of whole milk, which she quips as a taboo subject in our crazy oat milk-obsessed, calcium-deficient world. While she mentioned at the panel that she initially thought “Dairy Girl sounded too gimmicky,” Dairy Boy was the perfectly catchy and interesting two-word name that alluded to “tomboy.” The reason behind her brand’s name is a small insight into how genuine Dairy Boy is, a brand that wants “to break the mould of a lifestyle brand, creating a space to embrace nature, life’s simple pleasures, and a good foundation of never forgetting where you came from.”
At her core, Lorenze’s Instagram and YouTube background makes her a storyteller. As she pioneered her own business, she knew her brand would be a world of its own; a place where women can find their home. Throughout her panel at MFMS, she highlighted her search for an organic and natural presence, often asking herself — does this feel right? Would I use these products? Lorenze knew her brand wanted to speak to a target audience ignored until now — rural girls, or at least those looking to transport into that feeling. And Dairy Boy remains that way, bringing back the trucker hats, camo print and, as Lorenze jokingly remarks, forcing New York City executives to Connecticut, where she still lives and where her business is based.
By knowing her audience and tailoring to their needs, Lorenze has kept a cult following, selling out every drop since founding the brand in 2021. Inspired by her New England youth, throughout her panel, Lorenze stated that she wanted to “cultivate a culture” and create an ecosystem surpassing craze over a single product or the brand itself. Now, Dairy Boy has expanded into home goods and denim — things that are beyond the original idea of more simple clothing. Nevertheless, Dairy Boy still relies on product drops; you can’t find every item Lorenze and her team curate at all times on their websites. Despite noting at the MFMs how she wants to “please her customers” and “sell to as many people as possible,” she recognizes that a permanent inventory isn’t feasible as a startup. Lorenze emphasized that it is foundational for Dairy Boy to remain up to her standards and as open and transparent as possible, staying true to inclusive sizing and her genuine lifestyle.
Many, on both social media and campus, asked her why she chose Ann Arbor as the location for her first Study Break. In addition to her partnership with MFMS, Lorenze noted that she wanted to hit the college market hard, and the University of Michigan was the perfect place for that. The Dairy Boy persona she envisioned when creating her brand wasn’t that of a big city or even a coastal town — it was that of a girl from the Midwest. In another life, she said, she would’ve wanted to have that American college experience in a town like Ann Arbor and as part of a sorority, like those she visited upon arriving on campus. State Street, on a surprisingly hot Michigan spring day, was full of, as Lorenze observed, “sweet girls and dads and boyfriends” in line for her pop-up. Ondo looked unrecognizable as it turned into a mini Dairy Boy store, full of flowers Lorenze and her team set up. The hour-long line was worth it for fans, who dreamed of purchasing a limited edition U-M crewneck, the brand’s most iconic and sold-out piece, or one of the three signature drinks — matcha, iced coffee and chai. What started as the test for her college tour was more than successful, with the University surpassing her expectations.
As Dairy Boy grows exponentially, a desire for authenticity remains at the core of Lorenze’s business and content. She’s still very vocal about her involvement with all the items and content she puts out, attending every single pop-up and spending around five hours a week editing her weekly videos. Her brand also naturally follows her newest ventures, most notably her participation in the tennis world. Given her relationship with American tennis pro Tommy Paul, Lorenze has started introducing her fanbase to this untapped sports-fashion market. Appearing on Netflix’s “Break Point” and being named Chief Lifestyle Officer for the Miami Open, Lorenze’s transition into tennis content naturally influenced her lifestyle, content and Dairy Boy. Giving the MFMS audience a sneak peek into upcoming drops, she hinted at new items following the tennis schedule, further building her fashion-focus community in genuine ways.
“Everyone’s an influencer. Those around you influence you and you influence them,” Lorenze noted as she first introduced the term at MFMS. Returning to the original definition of the word, “someone who affects or changes the way that other people behave,” Lorenze has re-defined what it means to be an influencer and have an online community to many. Not only does she impact the lives of those who follow her on social media, but she’s also curated a brand based on her life, a business that follows her personal exploration. When prompted to give the crowd advice, she responded: Be willing to put in the work, create your luck and take advantage of opportunities. Dairy Boy is the product of that — Lorenze working day and night to create value for her fans, being the master of her luck by remaining genuine and by carefully taking advantage of the opportunities her career has presented. Dairy Boy has a long way to go as it follows Lorenze’s growth, proving its worth as not just another fast and easy influencer brand, but as a way of living that is here to stay.
Daily Arts Writer Lucia Larach can be reached at llarach@umich.edu.
