Honey's Apparel is Reviving Y2K Fashion with Inclusivity at the Forefront
From velour tracksuits to mini skirts, tiny purses, and super low-rise jeans, Y2K fashion is back! But this time, we’re making room for inclusivity with the Black woman-owned brand, Honey’s Apparel. Inspired by the nostalgic feel of the early 2000s combined with a commitment to making everyone feel beautiful, Brooklyn native, Hunesher took the initiative to create Honey’s Apparel, a clothing brand tailored to those who love all things Y2K fashion. That isn’t the only thing that makes Honey’s Apparel stand out; it also offers a variety of velour tracksuits ranging from size XXS to 5XL, giving everyone the chance to feel represented.
FOCUS Mag caught up with the Founder and CEO of Honey’s Apparel to discuss her inspiration behind the brand, her journey to becoming who she is and what makes Honey’s Apparel special:
FOCUS Magazine: What was the inspiration behind Honey’s Apparel?
Hunesher: So, I bought from another brand a few years ago, and the quality was terrible, so that really jumpstarted me, but before that, I was stealing a lot of my mom’s clothes out of her closet ..she had some velour tracksuits that someone gave her for Christmas years ago, and she never touched them, so I took them. I still have those tracksuits those really inspired a lot of my collection especially my Kim Tracksuit.. that collection was inspired by my mom.
FM: What’s the creative process like for you, and how do you develop the ideas for your pieces?
H: I watch early 2000’s movies to keep me inspired when I have time. When I was in middle school, I wanted to be a fashion journalist, so I still have this book with a bunch of tips. Inside that book, I left notes that I wrote in middle school, and I look back at that. I also go on Tumblr for inspiration. Now that I work a lot, I get a lot of ideas from my everyday life while I’m doing simple things like packaging an order. I even had a dream about my first-ever logo, even though I revamped it to be even better now. I would also say The Parkers was another inspiration for the Kim Tracksuit.
FM: Your brand is one of the few that include sizes up to 5XL. I love that so much. What made you decide to do that, and why do you think representation like this is important?
H: Honestly, I just feel like it’s common sense because there are not just sizes XS or XL, or people who wear XS to L. I do have plus size friends, and my sister when she was plus-sized – I watched them struggle to buy clothes, and it just makes sense like why not have clothes for people who can wear them.. why exclude a large chunk of people that just doesn’t make sense to me. I also think it would be very lazy for me not to expand my sizes as a business owner who has the resources , and I think that it’s also very important to have these sizes because they’re people too. I dont want to be the reason why someone feels shitty because they can’t get a cute outfit they saw. When I was buying velour tracksuits for myself, their sizes were all over the place, and I couldn’t quite fit it; and the size over didn’t make sense and I couldn’t mix and match sizes because my top and bottom are not the same sizes as well, that’s also another reason.
FM: I agree 100%; there’s no excuse why most brands still aren’t offering enough sizing options for customers. That actually leads me to my next question, what’s one of your favorite parts of owning a brand like Honey’s Apparel?
H: Seeing my customers in my clothes! … when they tell me, ‘oh my god, this makes me feel so good,’ and I’m just like yeah, that’s the point, I did my job. Some customers, they’ll come to my post because it’s usually mostly me making my content, and they’ll be like, ‘oh, they dont have my size,’ and then they’ll come back to the comments and say, ‘oh wait, they do have my size’ so, just seeing their reaction that I have the space for them that’s like the best part. Also, the experiences that my customers go through with my tracksuits, like, I’ve had customers who were pregnant, and customers who were on their weight loss journey with my tracksuit, and I’m like that’s really crazy to me, and it makes me feel so connected to them.
Hunesher joined by models in her velour tracksuits | Via Honey Sure on Facebook
FM: That’s so cute! What’s one of the most challenging parts of owning your own business? How do you keep yourself organized through it all?
H: So, I just ordered a planner that’s supposed to help me, but the biggest challenge is organizing my thoughts because, before this, I would do everything last minute. I was a big procrastinator. When it comes to school, and when I started this business, I was like, I’m going to see where it takes me or whatever, because I knew it had potential, but I completely underestimated myself. It’s been a year, and I’ve exceeded my expectation.. I’m playing catch-up with myself, but I’m learning to organize myself and write down things, so that’s really the biggest challenge.. Just getting organized and organizing my thoughts, but whenever I come up with a perfect solution, I’ll let everyone know.
“ ..it would be very lazy for me not to expand my sizes as a business owner who has the resources, and I think that it’s also very important to have these sizes because they’re people too. I dont want to be the reason why someone feels sh*tty because they can’t get a cute outfit they saw.”
FM: You got this, don’t worry, you’re already in a good place. I’m really excited about the progress you’ll make. What keeps you inspired when you aren’t feeling your best? How do you stay connected to your creative side?
H: Honestly, my friends! I still struggle with coming to terms with my business. A lot of the time, I really don’t realize that my business is the sh*t, or at least at the height that my friends do. Sometimes they have to check me like ‘hellooo! you’re doing all these things!’ and also my Facebook Memories because sometimes I see that last year I posted about where I wanted to be, and now I’m here, so that really inspires me. The two people that I have on my team right now, they’re always rooting for me; they’re my cheerleaders and everything..they really inspire me more than they probably know. Also, seeing my nieces and nephews because I know once I’m set I can help them, and that inspires me. My goal this year is to have much more of a social life so I’ll see where that gets me, but creativity-wise, I have to keep a schedule. I try not to work on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and I try not to work past 5 pm if I’m being nice to myself. I notice that I’m not as creative if I work too much, and I can have creator’s block. I talk to myself a lot in the mirror; it helps a lot; even if you feel the absolute worst, you should say something good out of your mouth into the mirror.. you’re going to feel that sh*t, and that really brings you up. I feel like this is the year I’m finding myself, so I don’t have a definite answer. I’m halfway where I expect to be by the end of this year. I’m going with the flow of trying to actively do little things to change my life, so by the end of this year, I will be a whole different person.
FM: What would you say your favorite memory with your business has been?
H: When ColourPop Cosmetics featured me, that was so fun. That’s crazy because it was the first month of summer, and that was on my bucket list for the summer, so I just checked it off. The most recent photoshoot that I did was the first time everything when smoothly because photoshoots before.. well, at least group photoshoots before.. could’ve been way better. But my recent photoshop was my favorite memory. Getting my trademark finished, and I put it inside a cute little pink frame… it literally sealed the deal.
FM: Where do you see your brand in the next five years? Then in the next ten years?
H: Five years from now, I see my brand only releasing four times and then disappearing, so I can enjoy my life and doing occasional pop-up shops and stuff like that… everything will still be online, but I’ll have a big warehouse. Ten years from now, I’d love to have my time to myself and because there are other creative endeavors that I’d like to explore, but you know, ten years from now, I’ll obviously be making more money. Honey’s Apparel will be like another household name like Juicy Couture.
FM: What would you tell your younger self?
H: B*tch, you did it! You did it, and you’re managing your money right. I’ve always seen myself going into business. Even when I was younger, I used to have people pay me to do stuff for them. I was never doing anything for free.
FM: What advice would you give to other creatives who may want to pursue their passion but are nervous or don’t have the confidence yet?
H: Just go for it! I personally love helping people with their businesses, so they can send me an email as long as they actually take my advice and not waste my time. I’ve had people ask for advice in my DMs and stuff, and I just spill the tea. You have to believe in yourself, at least! Fake it until you make it because if people can see when you’re insecure about your business, and you’re not confident, who’s going to want to shop there? Also, If you’re a Black creator, please use comment filters for your business. When I first started my business, there were a ton of racist people in my comments harassing me.
“If there’s something that I want, I’ll make it happen. That’s something that I could definitely say. It goes hand in hand with my business as well because from the jump, I told people I was going to have sizes up to 3X, and I expanded that up to 5X, and even though my size charts were a little rough in the beginning it’s much more accurate now.” ”
