Here For You Clothing is a local mental health clothing brand that was founded in 2021. It was started by Ludlowe alumni Ellie Haney and her best friend and fellow Ludlowe alumni, Emma Kilbride.
Before creating Here For You, Ellie used tie dye as a creative outlet and a way to make some extra money during the COVID-19 Pandemic. She would tie dye clothes and sell them through her Instagram. That flourished into what is now known as Here For You Clothing. Ellie started this brand to bring more awareness to mental health and mental health issues. Ellie and Emma hope that their brand sends the message to customers that they are both “here for you”.
I recently spoke to Ellie and Emma to get more insight on their business and personal experiences. They both have and still do struggle with mental health issues and use their brand to help spread light and positivity around mental health. The brand’s message is to promote mental health awareness in the community.
The brand’s focus on mental health awareness was a direct result of Ellie’s own experiences and challenges. Throughout high school she said she “was just surviving and existing.” When she entered college she suddenly felt invincible and loved her newfound freedom. However, in the beginning of her college experience she had a bad reaction to drugs and alcohol that brought up all of her previous mental health issues. When this happened, she felt as though something had to be “wrong” with her. She shared that ”learning about mental health, that you have issues with mental health and not knowing anything about it is terrifying.” She worked through her mental health issues throughout college but never felt like she had someone or something to turn to for help.
After college she worked in a corporate job but ended up quitting, instead turning to tie dye as a creative outlet. Tie dyeing became a source of healing for Ellie which is when she decided to create pieces of clothing that would help spread awareness about mental health. Emma, like Ellie, also struggled with mental health consistently throughout her life but especially during her years in college. She shared that she had also started to deal with struggles very young and felt “weird and different” because of them. She felt like she was pretending to be someone she wasn’t. She came home from college junior year to focus on her mental health and said that doing that “saved me.”
Fast forward a few years to 2021 and as Ellie was shifting the focus of her creative outlet towards mental health awareness, her friend Emma decided to join the evolving project full time. They decided to use the slogan “here for you” since it was a saying that they had always repeated to each other. Once they had a slogan they began to work on the clothing. They started out with two basic color crewnecks with a rainbow embroidered “here for you” saying on the front. Emma shared how the saying has grown extensively. Now they have a huge range of items like sweatshirts, screen printed and embroidered, sweatpants, hats, t-shirts, key chains, and more. As well as product development the brand has grown in its meaning. Emma explained how “it’s really become so much more than just like a sweatshirt or sweatpants or a t-shirt, it’s become something that really helps people and people kind of gravitate towards others that are wearing that sweatshirt.” They hope when someone sees someone else wearing the hoodies they remember that there is light in the darkness. Ellie shared how she wants people to know her life is “embedded in the clothes.” She hopes that by sharing her story she is able to say things that others were afraid to and spread light on the topic of mental health while also trying to bring the stigma around it down.
Their business has continued to grow and flourish. They have recently opened up a Holiday Pop-up store at 1215 Post Road in the Brick Walk in Fairfield’s downtown area. Their hopes are that this can be a safe space for people. It has high ceilings with lots of natural light and they’ve tried to make it into a warm and inviting place. Along with all their clothes on display they have a little section of the store with tangible resources such as mental health books and coloring books for people to use. They are very excited to have a place that is their own and a “safe space for our brand.” They want people to be able to come in and use the available resources or write a little note and just generally enjoy the space.
As their brand continues to grow, their hopes are that it continues to further discussions surrounding mental health issues and lessen the stigma in not just the Fairfield community but throughout the whole world. They want to travel more and spread their message in communities, schools, and colleges all over. They hope their message becomes part of everyday life and continues to help people and give them purpose, the same way it gave them purpose.
