Hi everyone! How are you? How are we coping in this heat?? ☀️ I’m not sure if I’ll be glad to see the back of it to be honest after hoping for sunny days for so long (I was fanning my dog nina the other day and accidentally slapped her in the face 😅🤣). One thing I do love tho is seeing representation via clothing on the FRONT not the back, of t-shirts (anybody else? No? Just me? Okay, I’ll hop off my soap box 🤣). In honour of pride month and wanting to acknowledge that pride lasts longer than a month, I wanted to share this blog post today, advocating that you can shop with pride with knowledge that brands are giving back! Not all are so today I wanted to highlight a colourful list of those that intend to do so 🌈.
It’s important to never shy away from the fact that discrimination is still alive and kicking in this big old world, no matter how far we have come. I believe that people should be free to be who they are and not face judgment for simply living. Love is love and it’s also okay to not feel love at all romantically and to just be.
Hold on, I’mma google how many people there are in the world….⌨️….8.3 billion people. My GOSH. Okay, so there are around 8.3 billion people in the world and I am still in shock about that (numbers were never my forte 🤣). All these lives (..life’s?) and many people get hated on, laughed at, killed for not conforming to what society expects of them. Well what if society or the majority of society drove away the notion that this hatred is okay? What if, individuality was seen as the norm and everyone just minded their own business? I don’t believe that small-minded people can be bothered to try and live their own lives (lifes? Come on, someone help me out with my spelling here 🙏😂) so when they see someone being unashamedly themselves? Well it brings out the green eyed monster, who thinks that what a person is wrong when in reality, they just wish they could live as openly.
I don’t know, maybe it’s not that simple. My mind just wanders into trying to make sense of things but maybe that’s just it. There is no sense in it.
Many brands support the LGBTQIA+ community yet not all actually make a donation to any charities concerning them and the future that could be better. Also, money isn’t everything, many actively make differences in other ways. Are we ready to take a peek at some clothing brands that are not just for show? Brands that are making a real impact this pride month? Because a step forward is a step in the right direction. Many of these brands, I had not heard of before. Lets check them out (ps, I’m not trying to say that brands absolutely NEED to donate as representation is still representation at the end of the day!), starting with:
Shoutout
Shoutout work with students all over Ireland in an effort to tackle LGBTQ+ bullying. They have been the ripple in a wave that changes the country from the ground up and have so far spoken to over 74,100 students (which gets my math-brain going again 🤣). Homophobic and transphobic bullying are real things that occur every single day and to see a brand speaking out about that and actually doing something is highly powerful.
The first thing that comes to mind when I look at the Shoutout website is COLOUR 🌈. Their clothing is like a ray of sunshine and each item speaks out and has something to say/meaning behind it. This is an Irish brand and I particularly like The Love Yourself Tour tshirt which showcases Irish musicians who have come together in support of trans and non-binary communities. It was designed by Irish trans artist @callumcoad and is super stylish. What I think I will get though? Well thats the Written in the Stars line of t-shirts 😍 I love the concept of them being about what makes us who we are and I can’t wait to support! 🫶🏽 If you’d like to check out Shoutout, then click here!
Levi’s
I’m gonna go out on a whim and assume you’ve heard of Levi’s before? Well, they are donating $100,000 as part of their annual commitment to Outright International. A global organisation working to advance human rights for LGBTQ+ people all over the world. Their 2026 Pride collection draws inspo from queer biker clubs who are often overlooked with quality, statement pieces.
I for one want to welcome their Pride Community Tee into my collection. The thing about all of these stores mentioned in this post is that they’re timeless and this top is perfect for the capsule wardrobe that I’m trying to create 😘 yeah I know you’re meant to use what you’ve already got with a capsule wardrobe but when you see something like this, you get visions of what could be so don’t mind me while I head back to the website 🤣. You can too by clicking here.
Bombas
Next up is Bombas! You know I couldn’t go without mentioning a different item of clothing! (You gotta switch things up in life to keep it interesting ✌️). Bombas do way more than socks with tops, slippers/shoes and underwear but I truly just can’t get past their socks! 🤩
I’m a half calf kinda gal and their Pride pair are super cute! Can’t not mention their Garden Party collection too, I adore the brown pair 🥰. I’ve never gone out of my way to order socks before, I normally just get them from Penneys and they last ages (another place that made the least and we’ll talk about shortly!) but looking at the Bombas website, I don’t know, I kinda wanna treat myself and my sister, who loves pulling up her socks over her leggings, to a couple of sets! When I come back with a haul, you heard it here first 🫠. Check out Bombas by hitting on the colourful text!
Stonewall
Stonewall do rainbow shoelaces and that’s all we need to know 👀🤣 even better? In their own words, every pair helps support Stonewall’s work campaigning for equality, inclusion, and acceptance for LGBTQ+ people across the UK and beyond. It’s a win/win situation if you ask me!…what, no one did?…🥲 I will die on a hill for these laces and that sounds bad because it’s about more than laces but let me do it for both because being an ally is more than a fashion statement, it affects lives…lifes, okay someone please help me and bring a dictionary 🏳️🌈.
Stonewall also have a wide variety of signature pieces that speak volumes pertaining to what is important in life: Love! 💛 (I think there should be a rainbow heart emoji!). If you wanna take a sneak peek at their stuff, head on over to their website!
Penneys/Primark
I’ll admit I was unsure about sharing Penneys as they are fast fashion but they stand for so much more. Penneys/Primark have made a €280,000 commitment to LGBTQIA+ charities and Pride events across Europe and the US. They are now in their ninth year of supporting Pride initiatives and have to date donated €1.75 million to LGBTQIA+ charities and community organisations worldwide. I’d love to learn more about fast fashion and how is best to tackle this because maybe 2 or 3 times a year, I do go to Penneys. They’re affordable and the quality is there depending on what you pick out. It’s a tricky situation but what they’re doing should not be diminished by that because they are truly making a difference in world with regards to the LGBTQ+ community.
In Ireland, Penneys is donating €75,000 to Belong To LGBTQ+ Youth Ireland, a national organisation empowering young people through youth work, education, changing attitudes and research. The donation will help to fund the LGBTQ+ Quality Mark, a programme that helps to promote wellbeing and inclusion of LGBTQ+ young people in secondary schools and Youthreach centres across Ireland. Penneys (in Ireland anyway) do not allow you to purchase online, I’ve always thought this was because they knew that wouldn’t stop people from going in-person to their stores and making a purchase but they do have a website that showcases their products. At the top of the page linked here is their Pride collection (it’s mixed in with other bits and pieces).
MoonAndBearCo
Last but by no means least is an etsy shop I found based in the UK! 100% of profit from their “Read Sapphic Books” charity tshirts go to Mermaids, a charity that supports trans, non-binary and gender diverse people in the United Kingdom (Mermaids also have their own merchandise worth checking out too!). This small business, MoonAndBearCo, caught my attention immediately, admittedly so because I’m a bookish person and I love books that represent real life. I want to support trans authors so one day you will see this tshirt in a haul post, mark my words! ☺️ If you wanna have a look at MoonAndBearCo then click on their name!
We’ve reached that time of the post! 👏 How are you feeling? I feel excited at all these possibilities to make a difference and be supportive, even in small ways. I want to show up 🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽.
Did you see anything today that takes your fancy? Have I spent your savings? You’re bloody welcome! I know I’m gonna spend mine 😅🤣. Let me know about any other clothing brands that are making a difference (preferably small businesses! – I mostly failed in that area 🙄). Drop em’ in the comments below, no links tho, just names and I can’t wait to take a sneak myself! Ps, main image credit goes to Georgios Kournoutis! It’s a super cool photograph 🙌 and the rest of the photos used throughout these posts are from the businesses themselves.
I’ve gotta go now but I hope you enjoyed today’s post and it encourages you to make a difference with where you go next to treat yourself and help others! 🏳️🌈 This won’t end here, I pledge (that sounds posh m’kay 🤣) to continue to learn and try to be and do better. Much love to you all! Until next time, take care, stay safe & buh-bye 👋💕x
Elsie LMC 