When Jan Huff was diagnosed with prediabetes, she challenged herself to lower her sugar and cholesterol levels. She has created her own fitness program with a nutrition plan and recipes. After losing 42 pounds, she was ready to share it on her website. There was only one problem.
Huff had nothing to wear for her videos – or at least nothing to go with it. So she took matters into her own hands.
She created a line of workout clothing and added fitness fashion to her website.
She is one of the few Houstonians who found a way to combine fitness with fashion. Breaking a sweat is not at odds with staying true to style.
“My main job is to give people something to wear so they can go out, get some fresh air, do sports and get more exercise,” says Huff.
She had a secret weapon. During the pandemic, the Meyerland resident went for a socially distant walk at the Willow Water Hole with her friend Laurie Husmann, the owner of Spirit Valley Manufacturing.
“She’s a professional seamstress,” says Huff. “And when COVID hit, she lost customers.”
Many of Husmann’s customers were professional dancers and no longer needed costumes when the stages were closed.
“As I listened to her, I thought, ‘Why don’t we think about how we could work together?'” Says Huff.
With everyone working – and exercising – from home, they decided to come up with items that would work for both of them.
“I wanted to do something nice for a Zoom call,” says Huff.
They use a soft mix of bamboo that is made in the USA. After some trial and error, Huff created two tops. Then she added leggings and a longer, crew-neck t-shirt for women, and a t-shirt for men.
The concept works, says Huff. She often combines the tops from her line with suit trousers for a meeting. When it’s time to workout, she puts on her leggings and off you go.
“It’s literally made here in Houston,” she says. “And that’s important to me.”
The collection is available on their Save Your Own Life site at syolife.com/store.
Activewear pioneer
Before companies like Fabletics made “athleisure” a trend, Houston had its own mecca for fashionable workout outfits.
Valerie Horwitz founded Mighty Aphrodity 15 years ago.
“It really ended up in my lap somehow,” she says. “It was a coincidence. It just happened.”
She made a career as art director for fashion, worked for large retail companies and produced catalogs. Her experiences in management, marketing, product discovery and personal shopping came together when a friend who owned a gym asked Horwitz if she wanted to open a store there. At the time, it was a challenge to find sportswear.
“There was only one shop in town and it went out of business,” she says.
Horwitz carved about 500 square meters in the gym. She stocked the store with hard-to-find fitness wear. As sportswear grew in popularity, she looked for exclusive options.
“I try to find lines that people don’t see often here,” says Horwitz.
Mighty Aphrodity has been in its current location near the Galleria for two years.
The shop offers a wide variety of styles and sizes. Horwitz enjoys finding exactly the right thing for her customers.
“I want everyone to feel good and love what they’ve bought,” she says.
As a boutique, Mighty Aphrodity keeps limited supplies to ensure shoppers aren’t in a spinning class and look up to see someone wearing the same.
She also stocks accessories, shoes, bags and gifts.
“Here everything fits the topic of workout or athleisure,” says Horwitz. “I don’t bring jeans or normal clothes. It would be a disproportion. “
The store is located at 3005 W. Loop South; machtyaphrodity.com.
When the shirt stinks. . .
It all started for Megan Eddings with a couple of smelly shirts that her husband tossed in the laundry.
“The smell of those stinky workout clothes drove me crazy,” she says.
At that time Eddings was working in medical sales. Her background was in chemistry.
“I thought I was going to devote my life to science,” she says.
Instead, Eddings used science to combat the stink of sportswear.
“I put on my science hat and started experimenting,” she says.
First she asked why our clothes smell at all? She bought loads of fitness clothing and wondered what materials, styles, cuts and fits the big brands had.
“Most of our training clothes are made from 100 percent polyester,” she says. “The problem is that it traps bacteria.”
This leads to an odor that doesn’t always come out when washing.
She wanted to find sportswear made from natural fibers that was also ethically produced. “There was literally nothing, so I decided to make something up,” she says.
Eddings founded Accel Lifestyle in August 2019 with her trademark Prema-Stoff.
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, she switched gears and started using her fabric to make face masks.
“You have to go where you need to,” says Eddings. “We turned around so quickly. The city was closed and a few days later we found a pattern for masks. “
Now she is working on designs for isolation gowns, a garment that medical professionals wear to create an extra barrier between themselves and the patient.
“I love fashion, science, people and the community,” says Eddings.
The Eddings brand is available at accellifestyle.com.
Motivation for everyone
The pandemic gloom and doom caused Dawn Callahan to step out of her funk and start her own active online leisure store, Bags + Some.
Callahan didn’t recognize the signs of depression at first. “That surprised me,” she says.
After seeing a therapist, Callahan devised a plan.
“I like to have a busy schedule,” she says. “And I thought this might be a good time to start a new business.”
Immersion in a new business might be the stimulation she needed. “I did a lot of research,” she says. “It was completely new. I started my business in six weeks. It was like my therapy program. I wanted to achieve something. “
Their t-shirts, tanks, sweatshirts, hoodies and bags carry motivational slogans. The first to hit the market in April was Resilient AF, a nod to Houstonians who are facing this opportunity again and again through COVID-19, hurricanes, and the winter storm.
“There is no other place like Houston,” she says. “We come together like nowhere else.”
Her next shirt was “Karma”, then “Count Your Wins”. Then she created “No Limits” and “Pivot and Pray”. A shirt simply has the word “Try” on it.
“Trying out is a lot,” says Callahan. “It’s hard. It’s massive.”
She hopes wearing the slogans will help the customers lighten the mood. She hopes to bring a smile to the shoppers who browse her website.
“All of these messages were important to me,” she says.
“And it’s something that can encourage conversation and thinking.”
The online launch of the store also resulted in the creation of a virtual self-help group for entrepreneurs. Callahan received many questions about what she was doing and decided to create a way to share what she had learned.
“I love it, and the thing is, anyone can do it,” she says. “It’s just a learning curve.”
Sometimes when Callahan wears one of her shirts around town, like the one that says “Above Average,” she’ll notice a passer-by lights up at the news.
“I think it’s everyone’s responsibility to spread love and hope,” she says.
To shop, visit bagsplussome.com.
