Save Hautebutch
Donation protected
I am my brand and we are both marginalized.
The idea for my company, Hautebutch, was born in 2010 out of my personal frustration with shopping in the men’s department of major department stores in an effort to reflect my sense of style and my size. The clothes never fit well nor did they quite capture the look I was after. I recognized that this was not just my issue; that many women and transmen sought clothing that would fit their bodies and their style.
Like many others I found it uncomfortable to shop in these departments and God forbid, ask for help. Clothes speak before we ever utter a single word and my clothes were downright oppressive.There were just no stores for androgynous tomboys or queer style seekers.
I am the product of entrepreneurial grandparents who owned several small businesses employing many black families in our neighborhood, My own drive to create that which does not exist can be directly attributed to my grandfather “Papa” who, among other enterprises, created the first Black owned cab company in Houston Texas.
On Juneteenth 2012, I stopped flipping houses and started Hautebutch with no money and no experience. My wife was not a happy woman :) (although she later came onboard).
We are changing the fashion landscape by shipping our ethical clothing and accessories worldwide and carving out a space for inclusion and visibility for the queer community.
Our great efforts have not gone unnoticed, we were “mentioned” in the N.Y. Times and have had other great articles written about Hautebutch. We have received feedback that we had “too many Black models”; we were a “gangster brand” and that while our clothing was “great in quality it was priced too high for regular folks” or “not sure we’re actually open”. We were disheartened when the few similar white owned companies received large amounts of investment monies denied to us. We are grass-roots and people powered!
More recently and like most other small businesses, we were hit hard by COVID-19, sales ground to a halt and we did NOT receive PPP.
We have applied for various grants but they are not guaranteed. It has been devastating for a company already hobbled by the realities of systemic injustice and racial bias.
We have not let that stop us and while we remain inspired, we need inventory and money to continue operating. Our reserves are dwindling and we fear our momentum faltering. We are using our voices to ask for your help.
During this intense moment of possibility everyone is rethinking where they are putting their dollars, re-imagining how personal economics is absolutely an essential component of fighting for justice and against anti-Blackness.
We need your support right now, today! Please help to ADVANCE THE AGENDA of this incredible queer black owned company. We would be ever so grateful to you and we know that our community will be too.
Thank you for reading and watching!
xxx ,
Karen & the Hautebutch Crew
Video Credit: Grace Villafuerte
Visit HAUTEBUTCH
The idea for my company, Hautebutch, was born in 2010 out of my personal frustration with shopping in the men’s department of major department stores in an effort to reflect my sense of style and my size. The clothes never fit well nor did they quite capture the look I was after. I recognized that this was not just my issue; that many women and transmen sought clothing that would fit their bodies and their style.
Like many others I found it uncomfortable to shop in these departments and God forbid, ask for help. Clothes speak before we ever utter a single word and my clothes were downright oppressive.There were just no stores for androgynous tomboys or queer style seekers.
I am the product of entrepreneurial grandparents who owned several small businesses employing many black families in our neighborhood, My own drive to create that which does not exist can be directly attributed to my grandfather “Papa” who, among other enterprises, created the first Black owned cab company in Houston Texas.
On Juneteenth 2012, I stopped flipping houses and started Hautebutch with no money and no experience. My wife was not a happy woman :) (although she later came onboard).
We are changing the fashion landscape by shipping our ethical clothing and accessories worldwide and carving out a space for inclusion and visibility for the queer community.
Our great efforts have not gone unnoticed, we were “mentioned” in the N.Y. Times and have had other great articles written about Hautebutch. We have received feedback that we had “too many Black models”; we were a “gangster brand” and that while our clothing was “great in quality it was priced too high for regular folks” or “not sure we’re actually open”. We were disheartened when the few similar white owned companies received large amounts of investment monies denied to us. We are grass-roots and people powered!
More recently and like most other small businesses, we were hit hard by COVID-19, sales ground to a halt and we did NOT receive PPP.
We have applied for various grants but they are not guaranteed. It has been devastating for a company already hobbled by the realities of systemic injustice and racial bias.
We have not let that stop us and while we remain inspired, we need inventory and money to continue operating. Our reserves are dwindling and we fear our momentum faltering. We are using our voices to ask for your help.
During this intense moment of possibility everyone is rethinking where they are putting their dollars, re-imagining how personal economics is absolutely an essential component of fighting for justice and against anti-Blackness.
We need your support right now, today! Please help to ADVANCE THE AGENDA of this incredible queer black owned company. We would be ever so grateful to you and we know that our community will be too.
Thank you for reading and watching!
xxx ,
Karen & the Hautebutch Crew
Video Credit: Grace Villafuerte
Visit HAUTEBUTCH
Fundraising team (3)
Karen Roberts
Organizer
Santa Rosa, CA
D E Sheppard
Team member
Heather Ridgill
Team member
