Bloomers might be one of the most divisive trends of 2026: Either you love them or hate them, and I fall firmly in the former camp. So does Charlie Beads founder Charlie Hourston. Her namesake label is known for comfortable basics, playful accessories, and of course, bloomers. But even she didn’t jump on the bloomer bandwagon right away.
Hourston, who was inspired by her mother’s pajama brand and a deep-rooted passion for fashion and styling, launched Charlie Beads in 2020, at the start of the pandemic. What began as a solo project creating beaded jewelry for friends has since evolved into a three-person team and a thriving apparel business, featuring pieces crafted primarily from deadstock fabrics sourced in Los Angeles. With unwavering support from people in her community, including friends who help her with photo shoots and fans who attend every pop-up, Hourston continues to take Charlie Beads to the next level.
Ahead of the new CB Basics collection, which launched on May 5, we talked with Hourston about how she built Charlie Beads, what’s next for the brand, and her take on the bloomer trend.
Charlie Hourston: Yes. So, in early 2020, I was going through a pivotal moment in my career. I was 20, styling at Aritzia up in Canada, in-house. I had a boss there who pushed me to apply to Parsons, which I did, and I got in. At the same time, I was exploring myself and my creativity, and I did really enjoy styling and modeling. I then signed with my agency, LA Models. I’m a dual citizen, so I was like, “You know what?” I lived in LA from 16 to 18, moved back to Canada, and then decided it was time to come down here and really give it a shot. I was like, “I’m going to model and style.”
Throughout all these changes, I was inspired by another jewelry brand but could not afford what they were selling, and I was like, “I feel like I could make that.” So I went to my local bead store, bought some beads and spent, like, $60, and made a necklace for myself.
Then the lockdown happened. I was stuck in this sublet. My modeling shoots were canceled. I just didn’t really know what to do with myself, so I picked up the beads and started playing around with [them]. I started doing it for friends and selling on my Instagram story.
Then this person who was in my life at the time and was a branding expert, they were like, “You should just start a brand. You’re a magnetic person, people will follow it.” I didn’t think I could do that, but I thought about it more and more, and I was like, “You know what? It’s not like I have anything else to do. So if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”
CH: When I was 17, I had recently moved to LA with my mom because she started a pajama brand, and she and I would go downtown to source fabrics. We ran the company together, so I had a familiarity with how it’s done.
About three years into [Charlie Beads], I started making silver jewelry, and as I was doing it, I realized my heart wasn’t in it. Growing up with a mom who was in fashion—she was a stylist, a model, an art director, and then she became a designer—that was just what I know. So when it was time to do this rebrand, I told her I needed her help.
I wanted to make a tank top inspired by her old tank top. She’s just such a muse and inspiration for me.
CH: It’s been pretty insane. That was also my mom’s influence. When she started her pajama brand, she made this little top and little bloomer, and I was confused by it. I was 16, and I was just like, “What is this?”
When I did my rebrand and did my second drop of clothing, I had made the Heirloom Pant and the Heirloom Top, and then she gave me some of her old bloomers from 10 years ago. She was like, “This is your customer base. Just put these on your website and see how it goes.” I was still feeling the same way as I had the same associations with them as when I was younger; but [when] I put them on the model at the shoot, I was like, “Wait, those are cute. She was right!”
When I put them on the website, we had really limited inventory. People started messaging me right away, like, “They’re sold out!” I was like, “Wow!” I thought this was going to be a fun way to just get rid of that old inventory for [my mom].
Working with her is really fun and crazy because you never know what you’re gonna get. I asked her to make more white bloomers, and she went out and made gingham bloomers, plaid bloomers, striped bloomers. She was like, “Let me cook!” I think I must’ve been busy on set, so I couldn’t go source fabric with her, and she just went ahead and did it.
I was like, “Oh my gosh, this is too much, right?” But we did another bloomer shoot, and then they sold out, and then we did a pop-up and everyone came for these bloomers. So I was like, “Okay, I’m loving this.” I started sourcing the fabric myself, and I was like, “I’m going to put my own spin on this.” Ever since, it’s been this thing people love.
CH: We took a lot of leaps with bloomers the last two summers. Summer is our biggest season. And we were doing great, but then we kind of reflected on our color choices and how we were doing a lot for the customer and not really for us. January comes around and I’m [always] like, “Why are we having a slow month?” And my assistant Margot is like, “Because we make bloomers in December and January. What do you expect? This happens every year. You always say that.”
I check in with [my team, Margot and Jaden,] all the time, because I’m not doing the order fulfillment, and I often can’t fully absorb or pay attention to what is selling every week. I said last week, “Are you guys shipping out bloomers? Are people buying them? What colors? What are they taking and how’s it going?” [Margot] was like, “Yes, tons of bloomers. Don’t worry.” And I’m like, “Okay, good, good.”
I do get worried. I think when we’re seeing the same thing over and over, we just are like, “Oh my gosh, the shelves are full of inventory, but that’s because we just made more of them and people are excited.” So it’s just funny, and it’s interesting, because I think we do a lot of our business very brass-tacks and just through being cute on Instagram. A big goal for me is to actually buckle up and be more of a logistics person, really dive into being a business girl.
CH: Yeah, when I worked for my mom, that was her priority. The deadstock fabric, I didn’t know what that was, but I found out through her. Just seeing how much there is, I don’t really see a reason to have to buy new, other than the fact that it’s difficult to restock things.
The one real downside to doing deadstock fabric is that you can’t have a runner. You can’t make a thing and make it again and again and again. But the bloomer is great for that, because I can get a ton of bloomers out of the yardage. It’s tricky, but it’s also kept me inspired to create something new and just try other things, and be like, “Oh, maybe I take this fabric and make a cargo pant out of it?”
CH: Yes. I definitely feel like it’s worked out nicely that I do limited drops and I’m not designing a ton of new pieces all at once. When we do a new collection, we have, at most, eight new styles, and then we do different colors.
Jaden and Margot have gotten really good at fabric sourcing. Margot has always been an expert at fulfillment and organizing our inventory, and Jaden came on to do customer service. Having the three of us has really created this internal excitement and motivation to learn new things.
I don’t want to miss anything, but I also can’t cover all my bases. It has been really challenging to do everything, and having to let go, then also teach them what it is we’re trying to achieve. We all really are on the same page. That’s been such a blessing.
One thing that happened to me last year was I realized I am a manager, so I feel like I slowed down on trying to make more stuff and honed in more on helping us work better as a team. And what does that really look like? We need to have touch bases and one-on-one meetings, and just talk about growth and challenges that we’re facing, and communication.
CH: When we launched our Scout collection in December, we leaned into fun basics. [We made] tank tops with a raw hem, and there’s one signature, interesting stripe color that girls can wear, and it’s also recognizable. But [we’ve also] talked a lot about intimacy and intimates.
I think intimates are having a really, really big moment right now. What we came to realize through our discussions was that intimates are actually just the things that you feel comfortable in; I consider jeans intimates. I’m not planning on making jeans—I think there’s enough of that in the world—but [I’m excited to] just lean into basics, which I think I always felt scared of.
I think the fear comes from people saying, “Why did we need another white T-shirt and why does it cost so much money?” I’ve always tried to keep everything really accessible because my customer is my age and I know the kind of budget they’re on, so things are priced at a point where we’re not making a ton of money, but we’re happy to be bringing this to you and we’re excited to share in it with you.
