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In Cedar Hill, "Mindless Thoughts" Grows Its Brand

Amelia Dilworth | April 7th, 2022

In Cedar Hill,

Cedar Hill  |  Culture & Community  |  Fashion  |  Arts & Culture

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Drea Moss. Amelia Dilworth Photos.

“I’m gonna have to close my eyes when I walk in here,” a customer said, pulling herself away from racks of white and bright pink sweatshirts.

Vibrant hoodies lined the back wall of the store, opposite shelves of colorful sneakers. A decal of a character named “Heraldo” reappeared on the wall decor, on throw pillows, sewn onto hoodies, and oversized on a yellow accent wall.

It was a Tuesday, and the clothing store Mindless Thoughts had just dropped new designs. The space, which will celebrate two years in October, encapsulates designer Drea Moss’ dream of owning a brick-and-mortar store in her hometown—and giving back in the process. It is located at 1296 State St. in New Haven’s Cedar Hill neighborhood. 

“This is what I was made to do,” Moss said in a recent interview with the Arts Paper at the store. “I love interacting with people, I like redoing the store. I just love it. It’s definitely a dream come true.”

Moss, who is 32, grew up in New Haven’s Hill Neighborhood. As a kid, she loved drawing, but her primary passion was basketball. She played for James Hillhouse High School, and then at Virginia State University and later Gateway Community College. After breaking her ankle in 2010, she knew it was time to move on from basketball.

She drew her first logo in 2011, while she was a student at Virginia State. A friend’s clothing line had asked her for the logo, and it was such a success that they asked her to join their brand. “I’d never been in that business,” Moss said, “But I fell in love with it.” 

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The character "Heraldo" on a Mindless Thoughts hoodie. Moss tries to do new "drops" every two months.

By 2012, Moss told her family she had decided to start her own clothing line. She remembered sitting in the living room, throwing names around for a potential brand. It was her sister, Ciahna Battle, who dreamed up the name. “And I was like, ‘that’s the one,’” Moss said.

Although she has no formal training in art or fashion, Moss began Mindless Thoughts as an online store in 2012. From 2012 to 2020, Mindless Thoughts operated through car deliveries and the online storefront. Then in 2020, Moss saw a vacant storefront at 1296 State St., where a corner store had burned down. “I told my family I wanted this store and they were like, ‘alright, go get it,’” Moss said. She signed a deal the next day, and the shop was hers.   

Even the pandemic couldn’t slow down Mindless Thoughts. Thanks to family support and a passionate following, the brand has quickly become a local favorite in New Haven’s fashion scene. It has also attracted national customers and celebrity attention, including Soulja Boy, Young M.A, and Dave East. Photographs of rappers wearing the MTC brand are on display throughout the store. Moss said that the store “got like 500 followers in 10 minutes” after Young M.A. posted a photo.

She never imagined herself as a designer— but Moss and her brand are wildly successful. “The first hoodie I dropped sold out in like an hour,” Moss said. “Ever since then we’ve been putting out products, getting better, different products like shorts. We did every item you could think of.”

MTC-space

Now that Mindless Thoughts has a physical store, Moss tries to drop new designs every two months. She starts with a color scheme, or bases her collections off of the names that Battle suggests. Although Moss does all the designs herself, she described Mindless Thoughts as a “family thing:" Battle has experience working in retail, and is a strong supporter of her older sister’s vision. Moss’s mother, Lesley Moss, also helps with the brand.

“My love became her love,” Moss said of her younger sister. “She really loves this brand and she goes all out for it. She’s my ride or die.”

Moss extends that sense of family—of being part of something—to her customers as well. After purchasing 30 pieces, a customer can become a store “member,” with perks that include exclusive pieces and early access to the newest collections. Moss estimated that there are 21 current members, with 25 members after an initiation scheduled for June.

“If you ask anyone in the streets what’s the hottest clothing line in New Haven, they’re gonna say us,” Moss said. “But no cocky stuff. We work hard to get where we’re at. We’re very consistent.”

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She’s constantly coming up with new ideas. An upcoming “People’s Choice Contest” will allow customers to design an item using Mindless Thoughts logos. Moss plans to mass produce the winner’s design, and allow the winner to keep the profit. Through the website, the brand also has substantial out-of-state sales. Moss once saw someone wearing one of her hoodies while she was traveling in Maryland.

“I still catch chills seeing people in my clothing,” Moss said. “And I see it all the time. Like, all the time. It’s crazy.”

She also uses the brand to give back to the city that raised her. After a year, Mindless Thoughts donates any unsold clothing to a homeless shelter in Hamden. While Moss dreams of opening more stores in other states, she said that “my biggest goal with the brand is to open a homeless shelter” and start scholarships. “I just want to help people out,” she said.

Mindless Thoughts also hosts pop-up shops, featuring up-and-coming brands in New Haven in the store. Moss doesn’t collect any profit from the designers. While she prefers to do collaborations with out-of-state brands who “offer something different,” Moss described the city’s fashion scene as collaborative rather than competitive. She named designers Dead by 5am, Vives, and Kingston Studios in a recent interview at the store.

“If you’re my people I’m going to put you on, I’m going to help you,” Moss said. “I want Connecticut to shine, period.”

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On a recent Tuesday, customers shopped at Mindless Thoughts, eager to check out the brand’s newest collection. Kearra (she gave only her first name) came by when she saw the new drop on Facebook. “I like the colors,” she said. “It’s different– and I really like the different styles that they have.”

“The style is different,” added her friend, Kanesha. “It’s not like it messes up or damages. It really lasts.”

Mindless Thoughts Clothing is at 1296 State St. in New Haven's Cedar Hill neighborhood. Learn more at its Instagram or website