Welcome to underDARE!

the Twin Cities first in-person shopping experience exclusively for gender-affirming undergarments

March, 2024
Minneapolis, MNunderDARE offers a physical location for LGBTQ+ folks to shop for gender-affirming and other community specific garments they would otherwise have to find online. With multiple brands and inclusive sizing, underDARE offers a comfortable, safe, nurturing, appointment only setting for people to touch, try on, and purchase affirming undergarments.

About

Founder Marcy Darling explains her motivation for the shop’s launch: “Our youngest child came out as trans-masculine four years ago, at age 11. As he physically matured, he needed compression tanks and traditional chest binders.” She added, “We quickly found out that, even here in our trans-refuge state, the only way to shop for these items is online—without being able to feel them or try them on for size, which can be a very frustrating experience.”Together, Marcy and son realized they could be the answer to this frustration. Marcy runs a one-chair salon/gift shop in south Minneapolis, and they knew the lower level would be the perfect spot for the trans+ community, of all ages and sizes, to shop safely and privately for gender-affirming garments.Young Master Darling explains, “When my mom said that we could start a store for trans people to shop in person and try on things before buying them, I thought that was pretty cool because it’s been really hard trying to get the binders and and things I want to try.” Marcy emphasized, “We hope that everyone who cares about the trans+ community will spread the word about this critical missing piece in our otherwise welcoming state.”

Community

Above all, underDARE values community and community building. Starting with a small collection of pre-owned garments and plan to eventually to offer a sliding scale for folks with low- or no- incomes, a “team of collaborators” already have ideas about events and other collaborations. It’s not just underwear.#ittakesavillage to make great things happen. underDARE has provided the space and the drive to succeed, but they need community involvement as well; From financial or product donations, volunteering, sharing the project, to connecting them with organizations/programs that you think might help underDARE succeed. The hope is for underDARE to become strong enough to have built a solid social enterprise, so that they can give back to the LGBTQ+ community even more.Big plans take big dollars. underDARE has a crowdfunding campaign that has already assisted with the build-out of the lower level into a gorgeous, albeit small, retail space with a bare bones inventory. If you have the means donate, help with funding would be graciously accepted.*unfortunately we cannot offer a tax deductable receipt

IN STORE BRANDS

Contact

Have a product or brand suggestion? Want to donate your gently used garments? Do you have a resource fair you'd like us to attend? You can ask any question here! I'll try to respond within 48 hours.
xo,
marcy

RESOURCES

BINDING

Binding 101
Free Guide to Pain-Free Binding
How to use a Binder Safely
Chest Binding Tips and Tricks

TUCKING

Tucking 101
How Does Tucking Work and Is It Safe?
All The Questions You Had About Tucking, But Were Afraid To Ask

MORE RESOURCES

Trans Dating Guide
Top Surgery Recovery Program
Out App Trans Resource Guide
Point of Pride Resource Guide
Gender Creative Kids Resource Guide
Trans Swimming Guide
Transgender Advocacy Resources
Transgender Map- Includes USA, Canada and International
Guide for Parents

2022 U.S. TRANS SURVEY EARLY INSIGHTS

Early Insights: A Report of the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey

SCHEDULE NOW

*For safety reasons, I turned off our address on the online booking site, so our scheduling site thinks underDARE is a mobile business, but, alas, we're not. We aren't providing our exact address until the appointment confirmation email 2 days before your appointment.Please don't forget to add your pronouns when prompted--we want to know how to properly address you when you arrive!It may take a moment for the scheduler to load.
Thank you for your patience!
Text 612-666-5976 with any questions.