Entrepreneurs are driving a Celtics and Bruins fashion movement

When Lauma Cerlins began working at what’s now TD Garden 30-plus years ago, women’s clothing supporting professional sports teams was predominantly an afterthought. 

Retailers typically catered their products toward men, and creativity was sorely lacking. The main way women could rep their team was by donning a women’s version of the exact same style as the men’s version.

Then — at first gradually 20-plus years ago, and eventually exponentially in the past 10 to 15 years — women’s products started to enter the picture. Selections and sizes for fans of all ages emerged, as women gained another way to express themselves through their attire.

“People realized women don’t want to wear exactly what their husbands and boyfriends are wearing,” Cerlins said. “They want to wear different things. It started to change.”

Cerlins, now the director of retail for TD Garden’s ProShop powered by ‘47, saw an influx of female entrepreneurs and made it one of her professional missions to drive that trend forward. 

She’s helped bring two local businesses, BROdenim and Mel the Clothing, to the ProShop in recent years. Every year, women’s clothing becomes a greater percentage of the shop’s overall business, Cerlins said. 

“You have to offer something for everyone,” Cerlins said. “The women’s business, when I first started, it was nothing. Now it’s grown so much and offers a wide range for the wide range of fans we have.”

Another local business, Brave Daughters, has emerged as an in-arena option for fans separate from the ProShop. Fans at TD Garden have new ways to showcase their style that didn’t exist just a few years ago. None of these retailers are league licensed, so the offerings are limited to the local market and the Garden.

Laura Brodigan founded BROdenim, a company that customizes clothing tailored to buyers’ taste and style. Mel Stern launched Mel the Clothing, a sparkly outlet that allows fans to express and empower themselves. Erin Myles created Brave Daughters, a jewelry company that provides unique Celtics and Bruins charms for bracelets, among other offerings.

Each entrepreneur grew up in Massachusetts and lives in New England. As a separate but intertwined trio, they’re helping to shape the sports fashion industry one innovative design at a time. Women’s History Month offers a window for each to build upon momentum they’ve gained in the past few years.

Melissa Jacobs, SHOPBOS retail manager, is grateful that she’s encouraged to support women-owned-and-operated businesses at her place of work. She credited the NBA and NHL for promoting a local license program, which allows the Garden to bring in local, unlicensed vendors who mean something in the local market. 

“I think it’s been more generally understood how many female sports fans there are,” Jacobs said. “If there are items and opportunities for them to purchase women’s styles, they will. They’re looking to support their teams both at the game and in their daily life.”

Here’s a closer look at the three thriving entrepreneurs:

Laura Brodigan, BROdenim

A little over seven years ago, Brodigan was working full time in finance when she started making jackets for friends in her North End apartment. 

Brodigan, a Lynnfield native who graduated from Boston College, broadened her skill set at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and is currently pursuing her Master of Business Administration from Babson College, quickly began to garner more and more requests.

As she collaborated with female entrepreneurs, and created patches to represent who they are, she noticed a theme unfold organically.

“I realized sports were a huge part of people’s identity,” Brodigan said. “I thought there was a huge gap in female game-day fashion. I started creating jackets that were for sports teams and for cities.”

She built connections from there and worked her way up to design items for families of professional athletes. BROdenim opened a store in Nantucket, two in Martha’s Vineyard, one on the Cape, and one in the Hamptons. 

Brodigan spread the word through pop-ups in North Station for Celtics playoff games, then Cerlins connected with her at an event and they stayed in touch. 

“I said, ‘Hey, I want to put your product in our store,’” Cerlins said. “‘Not just players’ wives, but I think all our fans are going to really want it.”’

Together, they spearheaded an event that allowed fans to come in and design their own hoodie. It was a hit, which led to an order for the store. When those sold out, they knew for sure they had something special. 

Having the opportunity to use the actual team logos has given BROdenim newfound creative freedom.

Sometimes, Brodigan finds herself in the shop and witnesses fans buy her products. As a local entrepreneur, seeing Boston sports fans express themselves through their clothing is a dream come true. 

“Growing up in Boston and going to Celtics and Bruins games as a kid, and going in there now and seeing my stuff, it’s amazing,” Brodigan said. “It’s really special for me.”

Mel Stern, Mel the Clothing

Stern started as a creative writer, but she always gravitated toward fashion and loved Boston sports. 

She thought maybe she’d own a boutique and aggregate other designers, but when a piece she made at a Nantucket event garnered interest, she realized she might be onto something.

Stern, who was born in Boston, grew up in Barnstable, and graduated from Emerson College, always had trouble finding creative items to wear to sporting events. She designed a Red Sox-inspired sequin shirt, then connected with an influencer and made a Patriots Super Bowl shirt that sold out. 

“I realized there really was a void for women in the market of unique pieces to wear to games,” Stern said. “So I started expanding out from there and doing other Boston teams.”

She designed clothing for Mac Jones’s girlfriend, Sophie Scott, plus Tom Brady’s family. Through gay pride events, features in local magazines, and word of mouth, her brand slowly but surely began to spread.

A mutual contact introduced Stern to Jacobs and Cerlins in the fall. Glittery clutches provided a different look the shop hadn’t seen before, and they’ve since sold out.

“If someone now in the Boston area is looking for something sparkly, it’s nice that a lot of people might think of me,” Stern said. 

Sometimes, Stern has to pinch herself when she thinks about how far the business has come. What started as a pipe dream has turned into a reality and an inspiration for others.

“The ProShop has been a total dream come true,” Stern said. “Something I would have said six years ago, that would have been a dream of mine, to be in the Boston ProShop.”

Erin Myles, Brave Daughters

Myles, a North Attleborough native and UMass Dartmouth graduate, specialized in jewelry design and other adjacent work before founding Brave Daughters in 2018. 

A friend suggested she give permanent jewelry a try, and it snowballed from there. That led to a pop-up in the Seaport, which yielded a store in the Seaport, and eventually turned the operation into a full-time business in 2022. 

“I think it’s very personal,” Myles said. “I don’t think there’s anything similar that’s being offered. I think the aspect of being able to customize and personalize your own jewelry really resonated with a lot of fans.”

Many customers return multiple times, so Myles and Co. have a chance to watch both the jewelry and the customers grow and evolve over the years. Generational pieces connect kids, parents, and grandparents. One group of women comes into the Providence store every year to get matching items. 

Jacobs discovered Brave Daughters through a coworker and brought the organization to the Garden. Customers can purchase products at the Garden, then go into the Brave Daughters store to add them to their charm bracelet.

“The partnership with TD has been really cool, because it’s led to a lot of other conversations for brand partnerships with us,” Myles said. “It’s been really fun meeting people at TD Garden that we wouldn’t necessarily have crossed paths with.”