The Trans-Owned Gift Guide: HUNKY Gift Boxes and 9 Brands We'd Buy From
The trans-owned gift guide
Every December a hundred "shop LGBTQ-owned" lists go up, and most of them are the same twelve candle companies. This one is narrower on purpose: brands owned and run by trans and non-binary people, making things we actually use. A couple are ours. The rest are shops we'd send our own money to, and have.
Buying from a trans-owned business is a small, concrete thing you can do in a year when a lot feels out of reach. It keeps the lights on for people who built what they needed because nobody else would.
Ours: HUNKY and Cake Bandit
Transguy Supply is trans-owned and run out of Brooklyn, and so are the two brands we make in-house.
- HUNKY Starter Pack, $68: T-Zone Face Wash, T-Zone Moisturizer and Stealth Zinc Gel, boxed. Skincare for skin that's reacting to hormones, any hormones, or just to being a face in winter.
- HUNKY Mane Character Set, $46: keratin volume shampoo and conditioner for thinning or flat hair. Full-size, boxed.
- Cake Bandit: packing underwear, harnesses and swim with the pouch built in, designed by us in NYC. The Monochrome Harness is $20 and fits under anything.
Everything from us ships in plain packaging. The rest of the TGS gift guide is here if you want the full list.
For Them
Binders, boxers and underwear from a trans-owned company in New York; they also run Autostraddle these days. Their binders are the ones we hear about most from people who've tried everything, and the trad boxers make an easy gift for someone you don't want to measure. forthem.com
Both&
Founded by Finnegan Shepard after top surgery, when "trans swimwear" returned nothing. Both& cuts tees, pants and hoodies for trans masc and non-binary proportions: broader shoulders, shorter hems, a rise that doesn't assume. A good pick for the friend whose clothes never quite sit right. bothandapparel.com
Stealth Bros & Co.
Braxton Fleming started Stealth Bros to fund his own top surgery and kept going. Their dopp kits and travel cases are built to hold HRT supplies discreetly and look like something you'd want on a bathroom shelf anyway. If the person you're shopping for injects, this is the gift that says you noticed. stealthbrosco.com
FLAVNT Streetwear
Austin, Texas. Twins Chris and Courtney Rhodes have been making statement tees and sweats since 2014, and part of every sale goes to trans people paying for surgery. They've spent the past year fighting the FDA over the right to sell their binders as clothing, which is one more reason to buy a hoodie. flavnt.com
Mars Wright
LA artist and designer whose murals and clothing are part of the city's queer landscape. Prints, tees and hats that say "Trans Joy Is Resistance" without being subtle about it. For the person whose apartment walls are mostly bare. marswright.com
Ash & Chess
A queer and trans couple in Kingston, NY making cards, prints, stickers and patches in loud retro color. The stocking-stuffer brand of this list: a pack of their cards covers every queer birthday on your calendar next year. ashandchess.com
Sharpe Suiting
Trans-founded, Los Angeles. Custom suiting for every body, with measurements that start from the person and not from a men's or women's block. A gift card here is the push toward the suit someone has been talking about for three years. sharpesuiting.com
TransFigure Print Co.
A trans-owned screen-printing shop with soft tees and sharp lines. Their shirts show up on half the people we know at Pride, and they hold up in the wash. transfigureprintco.com
Queer Brewing
For the UK side of your list: the first queer- and trans-owned brewery in Britain, founded in 2019 by Lily Waite. Good beer, good labels, and a percentage of sales goes to LGBTQ+ charities. queerbrewing.com
One more thing
If you run a trans-owned brand and you're not on this list, tell us. We update it every year, and we'd rather it be long. Email hello@transguysupply.com with what you make.
And if you'd rather not guess at all: a Transguy Supply gift card works for everything above that's ours.