For nearly 40 years, Nancy McFarland has curated the style of Manhattan Beach. Her retail empire, which began with a single store in 1988, has expanded and evolved.
With a natural eye for fashion and a deep love for community, Nancy’s presence in the South Bay has been nothing short of transformative. And now, with her son Roy stepping into the family business to launch Wright’s Men, the story goes on.
Nancy’s journey into fashion was unconventional. She grew up in the rugged beauty of Fish Camp, a remote town of just 35 people bordering Yosemite National Park. Her father, an engineer, suffered a life-altering heart attack at just 35 years old—prompting the family to leave their urban life behind in search of a healthier, slower-paced existence.
They found it managing Yosemite Mountain Ranch, a sprawling 2,500-acre property owned by a collection of wealthy families. Winters were harsh—so much so that school buses couldn’t reach them, leading to large gaps in Nancy’s early education. “From kindergarten to third grade, I barely went to school,” she recalls.
Despite the isolation, or perhaps because of it, Nancy developed an innate appreciation for visual aesthetics. She spent her childhood hiking untouched land, discovering relics of the past: piles of obsidian, grinding stones left by Indigenous people, remnants of abandoned structures.
By seventh grade, her family transitioned back to city life, landing in the Hollywood Riviera neighborhood. Her mother, a former bank teller, eventually was handling Bank of America’s major loans for all of Southern California. “She walked to work every day. She had no car,” Nancy remembers. “She worked her way up, and I always admired that.”
Nancy grew up hustling and juggling several different jobs, and it wasn’t long before she found herself drawn to another kind of work—one that would blend her love for art, style and community. Nancy’s entry into retail began humbly.
As a teenager, she worked at the San Francisco Cookie Company inside Old Town Mall. The job gave her a firsthand taste of the joy of fashion. She used her paycheck to buy jeans, amassing a collection of Jordache, Dittos and other coveted brands. “I think that’s where I first realized how much fun clothes could be,” she says.
“I love visuals. I’ve always needed to see and discover.”
Her career in retail took a leap when she joined Arena, a competitive swimwear company, as a sales rep. Her natural charisma and deep appreciation for fabric and fit made her an instant success. But it wasn’t until she met Dana—her husband and lifelong business partner—that the wheels of her own retail empire began to turn.
Dana was a Manhattan Beach local, a former professional volleyball player and, for a time, an international model. His good looks and quiet confidence caught the attention of a major agency, leading to a whirlwind career that took him from New York to Milan and Paris. His first print job was for none other than Hugo Boss.
During his time in Europe, after months of long-distance phone calls and missed visits, Dana asked Nancy to visit him in Paris. She eagerly accepted. There, under the Eiffel Tower, Dana got down on one knee. “We were just kids—22, 23—but it felt right,” Nancy says. Their engagement marked the start of a lifelong partnership—not just in love but in business.
The model life wasn’t “it” for Dana, but he loved to travel and his international campaigns allowed him to save a small nest egg. When he returned stateside, the couple recognized a gap in Manhattan Beach’s retail scene. There was nowhere for young professionals to shop for stylish, curated clothing.
In 1988, with $24,000, they opened their first store and named it Wright’s. The name wasn’t just plucked from the air—it was a nod to Dana’s great-grandfather, Charles Wright, who owned Wright’s Trading Post in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the early 1900s. Charles was more than just a businessman; he was an advocate for Native American rights, often traveling to Washington, D.C., to fight for Indigenous land ownership.
The totem pole that now stands proudly in Wright’s store once stood in front of Charles Wright’s trading post. “It was just sitting in Dana’s parents’ backyard, getting sun-bleached,” Nancy laughs. “So we put it in the store, and somehow it just fit. And I feel like that totem pole has watched over us and made sure we were OK.”
Nancy and Dana did it all themselves: painted the space and built all the fixtures, even the wooden mannequins you see in the windows today. They were committed to making the business successful, often working seven days a week for the first 10 years. Wright’s quickly became a Manhattan Beach institution, offering an elevated shopping experience that was missing from the town.
Nancy’s keen eye for fashion—born from years of thrifting, swapping and styling—brought the perfect mix of high-end and everyday pieces. “I love visuals. I’ve always needed to see and discover,” she says.
The success of Wright’s led to a wave of expansions. There was Wright’s Wild Things, where Nancy introduced high-end denim when brands like Diesel and Replay were making their mark. Then came Baby Wright’s, a haven for stylish kidswear. And, of course, the beloved Beehive, which catered to tweens and young adults—a store that felt like a rite of passage for many girls growing up in Manhattan Beach.
“It was so fun to create something new every time,” Nancy says. “It was about more than selling clothes; it was about bringing something special to this town.”
Despite growing up surrounded by fashion, Nancy and Dana’s children didn’t show much interest in the family business … until Roy. A volleyball player at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Roy’s career took an unexpected turn when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down his final season.
“Roy came home and said, ‘What if we got you guys online?’” Nancy recalls. “I had no idea how to do that.”
With no prior e-commerce experience, Roy taught himself Shopify, gathered a small team and launched an online presence for Wright’s from their garage. They shot thousands of product images, built a website and within weeks had an operational online store. “It wasn’t about thriving; it was about surviving,” Nancy says. “We didn’t cancel a single vendor order. We paid our staff and our rent and kept going.”
The experience ignited something in Roy. He started accompanying Nancy to buying meetings, learning fabrics, meeting designers and absorbing the intricacies of the business.
By the time a retail space opened in Metlox shopping plaza, Roy was ready to take the next step: launching Wright’s Men. The men’s shop, which he spearheaded independently, is a testament to the McFarland family’s philosophy of blending modern style with heritage, quality and a sense of community.
Nancy McFarland has spent more than three decades dressing the people of Manhattan Beach—mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, families across generations. She’s built more than a business; she’s built a home, gathering space and cornerstone.
Even as stores come and go—like the recent closing of Beehive due to some building issues—Nancy’s presence remains constant. “Manhattan Beach has been so good to us,” she says. “We’ve grown up with the town, and the town has grown up with us. It’s been a wild ride, but it’s been the best.”
