• COURTESY OF THE NORMAL BRAND
• Whoever said "fashion" had to be fashion-y?

The Normal Brand, created by local businessman Jimmy Sansone, has been taking the country by storm since its creation in March 2015. Sansone was inspired by his in-the-middle lifestyle: his family lived in the city, but spent weekends enjoying the outdoors. He didn't need fancy duds, nor did he find the Nantucket-inspired preppy looks of J.Crew appealing. He just wanted clothing that was ... normal.

Frustrated by the lack of well-made, durable options catering to this lifestyle, Sansone set out to create a clothing line that redefines what it means to be normal, with henleys, flannels, long-sleeved T-shirts. The basics, but with good fabrics.

Roughly a year and a half later his business has taken off, to say the least. The Normal Brand (various retailers; thenormalbrand.com) raked in more than $500,000 in its first year. It's featured in stores from St. Louis to Atlanta to Dallas and now includes a successful college ambassador program. With men's and women's lines, accessories and even a few items for our canine counterparts, this clothing brand is showing that Midwestern fashion is just as versatile and desirable as our way of life.