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Date: 6/29/2021
WESTERN MASS. – In celebration of Pride Month, Carrie Blair, West Springfield resident, launched a gender-neutral clothing line.
For a long time, Blair said she had the idea of creating clothes that bridged the gap between male and female. During quarantine, she claimed, “I had a lot of time on my hands and thought ‘why not?’” This led to the formation of Batik Clothing Co. – a strictly online store.
Blair said she started entirely from scratch, including the company name. Since November 2020, Blair has been working on this new project. She receives assistance from her partner as well as a business consultant.
On June 22, Blair released her first launch: gender-neutral socks. The socks come in five different styles and can fit any size foot. Sizes range from 6 to 12 feet – not the size of your shoe, but your actual foot.
Socks cost $14.99 a pair. In the future, Blair hopes to create more specialty socks for limited releases and holidays.
Batik Clothing Co. has been advertising their gender-neutral line through a press release, local news stations, and on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram, where they have developed a following.
Blair said people were able to preregister and receive notifications that the launch had happened.
In addition to the socks, Batik is currently working on a pair of bolero pants that are already designed. The pants are being manufactured in Hartford, CT.
“We merged pants we liked and what we didn’t like about them, and came up with our own unique pants,” said Blair. “They have secret pockets.”
The pants are offered in measurement size for everyone. “You don’t have to be a man or woman,” stated Blair.
The plan is for a fall launch – after Labor Day.
According to Blair, everything is in process, however shipping materials is slow because of the pandemic.
Batik will also be producing a gender-neutral wallet, lip balm, and thinking about smaller accessories to add as well.
“We are always looking to help people feel authentic and themselves,”?Batik said. “I felt there was a gap and people had to cross gender paths to wear certain clothes.”
She went on to say, “I’m very excited to bridge that gap.”
To ensure that everyone can feel confident and match the way they feel on the inside with how they look on the outside, Blair created the hashtag #BeBatik.
To learn more about Batik or to shop their newest line, visit batikclothingco.com.