A California-based fashion line geared towards butch women and trans men will be in Houston this weekend with two fashion shows and a pop-up shop as part of a nation-wide pop-up tour. 

HauteButch Handsome Tour 

Pop-Up Shop at Hilton Houston Westchase
May 8 4-7; May 9 11-6
9999 Westheimer Rd.

Fashion Show at Pearl Bar
May 8, 9 p.m.
4216 Washington Ave. 

Fashion Show at Club OZ
May 9, 8 p.m.-1 a.m.
5322 Glenmont Dr. 

hautebutch.com 

HauteButch was founded in 2012 by Karen Roberts, a butch woman who wanted to dress with a masculine aesthetic, but who found it difficult to wear men's clothing not cut for a woman's body. Roberts saw a need for non-frumpy, well-fitting dapper clothing made for women, trans men and androgynous dressers. So she started making her own, according to Danette Sheppard-Vaughn, HauteButch operations manager and Roberts' business partner.

HauteButch carries everything from snapback hats to jackets, shirts, suspenders and other accessories, and the company is planning to add a line of pants soon. Almost everything is designed by Roberts, who is based in Santa Rosa, California. Many of the company's products are also produced in a factory in San Francisco.

Most of the company's sales are online—they have customers beyond the United States in places like Europe and Asia—and Sheppard-Vaughn said they hope to one day be an internationally-recognized brand, the go-to destination for butch fashion.

As part of the brand's #HandsomeTour (yes, every tour has a hashtag now), HauteButch will be selling its wares at a pop-up shop inside the Hilton Houston Westchase on Friday and Saturday. Friday night the company will present a fashion show at Pearl Bar on Washington Ave, with a second fashion show at Club OZ on Saturday night.

HauteButch's pop-up tour also includes stops in Oakland, for Queer Fashion Week, and other areas of the South, such as Atlanta. Sheppard-Vaughn said the company often gets an amazing reception in the South.

“Butch women and trans men have always had to get ill-fitting clothing,” she said. “This has been desperately needed, and in all these years we can't believe someone hasn't thought of this before.”