35. Abigail Lee: Buffalo, Building the By Abigail Lee Brand and the Bills

We sit down with Abigail Lee to trace her rise from reworking thrifted Bills gear to landing a 70-store wholesale deal, and we unpack how Buffalo’s culture, women fans, and smart social media turned a local idea into a regional brand. Stadium nostalgia, fashion that keeps you warm, and a candid look at scaling without losing soul.

• Buffalo game day as identity and community 
• From bleach-and-dye to first sellouts 
• Social media as the growth engine 
• TOPS partnership and wholesale logistics 
• Manufacturing lessons and QC at scale 
• Women redefining NFL fandom and style 
• Unisex designs and inclusive sizing 
• New stadium hopes and team store goals 
• Bills playoff outlook and rituals

Find Abigail on TikTok, Instagram, on her website, or in Tops Markets.

Head to CusoCuts.com/the game or use code the game for 10% off

Transcript

Opening Banter And Buffalo Vibes

SPEAKER_03 0:04

You a baby, baby. You better only spelling it, you better on it.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

The game's on the game is the game is on. Games on the games on games on games on games.

Meet Abigail Lee And Her Brand

SPEAKER_00 0:22

I'm Victoria. The game's on. Today I am so excited to be bringing you a conversation with Abigail Lee, the queen of Buffalo Bills apparel. Abigail is a business owner of the clothing brand by Abigail Lee, a creator and a social media personality sharing all things, Bills, and Buffalo. She recently signed a deal with Tops Market and is now available in over 70 stores in New York, plus continues to have limited edition drops of By Abigail Lee items. Abigail tells us some hints on what's coming next for her company, how it got started, and what it has looked like along the way as she's grown over the last few years. Without further ado, let's get into the interview with Abigail Lee.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Abigail Lee, welcome to the game. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. I'm so excited to have you because we met in Buffalo when you gave us tickets to that incredible tailgate, which had every kind of wing ever. The food was, I was like a tailgate food. Like, how good can this be? And then we were there and we're like, this is incredible. So good. So thank you. And it was so nice to meet you there.

SPEAKER_02 1:33

So much fun. Yeah, that was the game day Buffalo Tailgate. They have them in a bunch of other like NFL cities, but specifically in Buffalo, they do it like the biggest and the best there. So I'm so glad you were able to come to that one because they go absolutely all out.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Well, all of Buffalo is, I would say, like one of the best fan game day experiences out of the entire NFL. And like even sports, like Buffalo goes like Buffalo and the Bills are synonymous to me now. There's like, I asked one woman, I was like, hey, I'm looking for what was I looking for? I don't know. I was looking for something that I couldn't find. And I was like, hey, I'm looking for a Bills this. And she's like, I don't know. I don't watch the Bills. And I was like, how do you live here and not watch the bill? Like, you can't even go into Wegmans.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

No, literally, you can't go anywhere. It always kind of blows my mind. I mean, obviously, I'm so like, this is my the Buffalo Bills is like my entire personality. I was on, I was interviewed last night by Channel Four, and they were like talking about memorabilia. And I was like, oh, I was like, yeah, this is my life. Like I define as like the Buffalo Bills. You know what I mean? So when I meet people, or if I say, like, I'm like, oh my gosh, like nice seeing you go bills, or like just a random person. I I don't say goodbye anymore. I I say go bills. Like I don't know what goodbye means anymore. It's so weird. And if they don't say it back, I'm like, are you okay?

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Is there something like I thought we were cool, but now we're not.

SPEAKER_02 3:04

Yeah. I like give them a little and then I just walk away. So it's yeah, but it's it is kind of crazy. It is like the, it's just like the heartbeat of our city. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 3:13

Yeah. It really, it really is. And it makes it so fun as a fan. I mean, I came in and wore Buffalo clothes instead of the opposing team. So I also felt like I got like a front row seat and came with like a Bills fan, which if anybody goes to that stadium, I recommend you do it that way just because it's so much more fun to just like truly be a

Why Buffalo’s Game Day Culture Hits Different

SPEAKER_01 3:36

part of it. Okay, have you been in Buffalo forever? Tell us about your like Buffalo story.

SPEAKER_02 3:43

Yeah, so I've born and raised in Buffalo, a little town up in the Northtown called Lewiston. Been here my whole life. I moved away to Charlotte, North Carolina for about three years. And then I was like, you know what? I need to, I need to get home. I was like, this is, I was still, I was starting my business. It was a couple years in, and I was like, if I wanna do this right, I gotta be, I gotta be where this is all happening. So I moved back home in 2022 and I've been back here ever since. Yeah, there's I it's weird because there's just there is no place like Buffalo, and I've been to so many other cities, and it's just different here. You know what I mean? I mean, you obviously experienced it when you came to the just to the tailgate. And I know you were going around, going to like small businesses, just experiencing everything that Buffalo

Growing Up Local And Choosing To Come Home

SPEAKER_02 4:33

has. It is, it's just, it's unlike anywhere else.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

Yeah, yeah, I love it. I it's so fun too to grow up with the bills being so a part of your life. And then I feel like leaving anytime you move, you like get there and you're like, okay, like I need to make friends and I need to like assimilate. And I've learned these sports team teams. And like Buffalo seems like a pretty hard place to leave and like go assimilate in somewhere else.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Yeah, I I remember getting to Charlotte and I still always gravitated towards Bills fans and like going to like I would be out and about and I'd have my Bills hat on. And then like all my friends down there were people who were transfers from Syracuse and Rochester and you know, in Hamburg. So even moving away, I still, I still found my group of people and it was all Buffalo people still. So I was like, I really didn't, I really didn't move for a reason, you know, like maybe better weather, but like I love the snow. Like it's I don't know if you can see there's it is just like a foot of snow outside. Like, I want to be in the snow. Like that's that's it's the best.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

Yeah. People were like on TikTok, they're like, come to a snow game. And I was like, you guys, I am from San Diego. Yeah, I cannot, I will not make it, and I cannot spend $600 on heated best, heated pants, feet warmer, boots. I didn't even own, like, I lost my long coat. So I came to Buffalo and went shopping at like, where did I go? Like TJ Maxx in Buffalo because I didn't have a coat. So I was like, I'm not gonna make it to a I should have just shopped on your site, honestly, and gotten like a snow suit if I was gonna come, but I was like, no, I'm coming early December. And I came to like that game. It was yeah, the the Bills Jeeps, it was so nice out. It actually was. It was, I forget, I'm trying to remember what I was wearing that day. All black. You looked fabulous.

SPEAKER_02 6:41

Oh, okay. I yeah. You were in like black leather, yes, yes, because it was like it was like really nice out, and usually, like by

Weather, Tailgates, And Snow-Game Style

SPEAKER_02 6:50

that time, like I'm like, I need my snowsuit or a fur coat. But I'm actually glad that you came for that game because honestly, the last two games, the Eagles game, I have never experienced a game like that. First of all, it sucked because we did lose the rain. I was dripping. I don't know if you saw, I put up a video on TikTok and I squeezed my beanie and it was just so much rain. I and then I'm still sick from that game. It was so, it was miserable. And I was, but you know what? It was kind of funny because obviously we're not going to. That was our last game at that, at that stadium. I was like, I came home and I remember looking at my boyfriend. I was like, you know, if we ever have to go to a game like that, I'm gonna spend the extra money and I'm gonna go sit in the club because I'm so sick, I'm so drenched. And then I was like, oh my gosh, I'm never gonna have, I'm never gonna be able to like experience something like that again. Because in the new stadium, I went a little luxe and now I have the club seats there. So then I got really emotional after that game and I was like, wait, I'll do it one more time. I'll do it one more time because I'm I'm never gonna be able to, you know, if it starts downpouring, I'm not half of the stadium's covered. I'm row 14, so I'm not covered, but I'm in like the fancy charge bar. And I, it's gonna, it's gonna just be so different. I know I obviously want to talk about the new stadium, but the Eagles game was definitely it was miserable, but I almost want to do it again because I want to go through the misery one more time. And then with this last Jets game with the snow and it was super cold, it was just, I don't know, it just it was nostalgic. I'm so glad that the weather was how it was this last week. And especially in my snowsuit, I was, I was like, or I had my fur coat on, but my girlfriend had her snowsuit on and a fur coat. We were toasty, we were happy, we were crying and our tears were freezing, but it was fine. We were good.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

You were good, you were good, you were you

Farewell To The Old Stadium And Emotions

SPEAKER_01 8:52

were prepared. Okay, let's talk. Obviously, the old stadium, new stadium is one of the hottest topics in Buffalo. So the old stadium's been around since 1973. Yeah. And okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

Oh my gosh, it was such it was the craziest weekend ever. And I was so emotional the couple days before. I kept crying. And I was like, It's like you're PMSing, but it's like about the stadium. No, literally, and then and then I did PMS. It happened yesterday, and I was like, wait, this is why I was so emotional. On top of everything, I was like, no, I was like, this was all, it was all in the cards at the same time. Yeah, crazy, crazy last game. I have never, I only cried seven times. It was it was unbelievable the feeling and the emotion that was in that stadium on Sunday night.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Yeah. Yeah, I can only imagine because Bill's mafia goes so hard already. And I mean, when I was there, my friend Jojo, we were with her family friends who I was sitting next to a woman and her husband has worked in the stadium, I'm pretty sure, since day one of that stadium, day one, and so does her son. And they had had season tickets in the entire time. And she was talking about like the amount of women that now come to the games, that when she started, she's been a fan her entire life since she was young. And now she's like, there was no women, like I couldn't get any of my women friends to come to the NFL games, and now there are more women here, and we were having that conversation, which was really beautiful and impactful, and especially like we were talking about what I do, and it's so emotional. Like, how can you not cry over it? Yeah, and it was cool.

SPEAKER_02 10:46

You know what? I I think it's kind of it was not funny, but I kind of like chuckled a little bit as we were. I've been watching like videos back of, you know, obviously we're girls, we can be emotional. Yeah, but the men that were tearing up and crying, I literally was like, Oh, you guys won't cry when you get a divorce, but you're gonna cry when our state leaves. I was like, okay, all right. But it was, I mean, I I I was still there balling my eyes out. Obviously, there's I've only been a seasoned ticket holder for the last two years, but I've grown up in that stadium.

Women Rising In NFL Fandom

SPEAKER_02 11:19

My father is the one who instilled just the love of the Buffalo Bills in me. He went to 80 straight games in uh in the 90s all throughout the Super Bowl. So he is, he's kind of where I get my love for like love for it. And it's just kind of fun because I love being able to tell other, like, you know, tell other women about football. And especially too, when I started really started going to the games in like 2017, honestly, my dad wouldn't let me go to the games before I was like 23 because he knew how crazy it got. You know, like when we were going through the drought, it was just, I mean, it was just these men getting crazy, just drunk and like like my dad was going to the games he knew, and he didn't want his pretty 20-year-old daughter going to the game with her little girlfriend. Oh, hoity toity. So I think in the last couple of years, it really has changed that like I could go to a game now and feel totally fine because there is so many more women now, which is so it's so cool. Like, that's how it should be, you know?

SPEAKER_01 12:28

It is how I was in the bathroom. I went to the Rams Cardinals game by myself. Because I was like, this is probably gonna be the last game that I'm at this season. And so I was like, I'm just gonna go. And I didn't have anybody to go with. So I went and I was in the bathroom. And this girl was like, Does the beanie look okay? Does it not look okay? And she's like asking her friend, she's like, Be uh, why aren't you being honest with me? And so then I walked up, I was like, actually, the beanie looks really cute, just so you know.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

I love it. And isn't that so fun how like it can be even in the I feel like in the last two years, the the being able to go to a football game now can be like a fashion statement. And you can still look just you can be dressed to the nines, but still be cheering on your football team, fashion and football together, fashion, femininity, and football all together is like that. Is my M. So it's just so fun, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Yeah, it's kind of crazy how high profile the NFL is and how it's taken this long for it to be media-centric in the way that it is, like the lifestyle, the social side. Like, I can't believe how popular, but I guess it's because it's all men. So now that you know, it's like women can like sports and know sports and talk about sports. Um speaking of fashion, let's talk about your company. The whole way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:55

Literally my whole, my whole definition of my being. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Yeah, exactly who you are and nothing else. Um tell us how you got started.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

Yeah, so I back in 2017, I

The Origins: Bleach, Thrift, And First Sellouts

SPEAKER_02 14:10

started bleaching and tie-dying super old Buffalo Bills pieces. Like my, it was actually so funny. I was thinking about this the other day because I saw a really old photo of my grandmother and my grandfather with my mom and dad at a Bills game in like the 80s. And my grandmother, bless her soul, she used to go out and when I started this, would go to like Goodwill and Salvation Army and go and try to buy Buffalo Bills pieces for me. So I did a, I did an art show in my like hometown, bleached and tie-dyed, bunch of Bills clothes. And we had just, we had just gotten Josh. We were just about to get Josh. And I went and I was like, we'll see how this stuff goes. Like, let's see. All my pieces, all my Buffalo Bills, like reworked pieces sold out on the first day. And I was like, okay, there might be something here. So stayed up all night, went out to all the all the thrift stores, got all the stuff, bleached and tie-dyed these pieces, took them back the next day, and they all sold again. And I was like, okay, let's see how this goes. For so for a couple of years, I was just bleaching and tie-dyeing them, started my own Instagrams, jumped on, did my story sales and all that kind of stuff. And then in 2020, I was down in Charlotte, lost my social media marketing job due to COVID. And I was bleaching and tie-dyeing, just matching sets in my apartment. And I'd post like five or ten of them, immediately they would sell. And I was like, okay, no one else is doing this. Let me let me do this full time, let me see if I can make enough money to support myself and just try it. It starts going really good. COVID starts starting to blow up, posting on social media all the time, just my day-to-day, working the working the clothes, you know, like just jumping on being my like true authentic self, just wanting to connect. Because I was down in Charlotte, it's during COVID. I just wanted to still connect with people in Buffalo because I was missing home. And we're all stuck inside. So just jumping on, my social media starts growing. I move back home in 2022. I get a warehouse. And ever since then, it's just been unlike anything I could have ever imagined. Socials have blown up. I just got recently this last year, I have a deal with our topps-friendly markets. It's our local supermarket, but they're also in Pennsylvania. They're all over New York. So we are now in over 70 tops locations wholesaling, which has been something I could have never imagined. Like I was bleaching pieces one by one in my backyard nine years ago. And now I get to walk into the grocery store that I've shopped at since I've been a little girl, and my face is there, and I'm like, I'm like, okay, this is this is really, really cool. So it's just been, it's just been like the wildest ride. Obviously, it's been nine years. So this year has kind of been like the blow-up year, and it's been amazing.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

Yeah. I mean, congratulations

Social Media Growth And Moving To Wholesale

SPEAKER_01 17:13

with everything that you've done and built. It's so, it's wild just to hear founder stories that are like, I was just tie-dyeing stuff because I thought it would be fun and I wanted to do something creative and go to a market. To now you are like the it girl in fashion in Buffalo, and you are like the personality of the city. And the girls love you and love what you do. When I posted on TikTok saying, hey, I'm coming to Buffalo, what do I do? I mean, I think you got tagged like 600 times. And Buffalo's not that big.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

I love my girls. I love my girls. And that's like, I always say, too, if I did what I did in any other city, I just I think yeah, it might be successful. It would not be what it is if it wasn't for being in Buffalo and having the community that I have and what my by Abigail Lee community is unlike any other thing I could have ever hoped and imagined that I could have because it's my people who stand behind me. That's why I'm able to do what I do.

SPEAKER_00 18:19

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:21

I love my I love girls and my guys too. But like it's obviously it's like the girls are the girls are my girls. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Yeah. I I actually really understand. Like, yeah, the girls. Okay. Tell me about the deal with TOPS. Did they come to you? Did you reach out to them? Like, walk me through from the initial conversation to signing the contracts and how that experience was.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Yeah. So I had a couple friends. So there was a buyer at TOPS who would post on social media, we're looking for some fun new pieces to put in the seasonal section in TOPS. And I had two or three of my friends say, like, Oh, I sent, I sent my your, you know, your page over to this girl. Her name's Jamie.

Inside The TOPS Deal And Scaling Up

SPEAKER_02 19:07

And I was like, oh, cool. I think like she's her and I have worked together in some way before, or she's bought pieces from me. So she contacts me and she's like, hey, a couple people mentioned you. Would you want to kind of talk about this? And I was like, Yeah, sure. Like, let's see. Maybe we can get like a piece or two in there. So we sit down, we have a whole meeting with like the head of heads of tops. We're in this meeting and I'm doing this pitch with it's me and my manager, Gary. He's he's awesome. And I'm like, I think this could be more than just a piece or two. Let's let's uh let's do like a whole collection. And they they loved it. She was like, let's do it. And we released in August. We started out with only like, I think maybe like 30 stores. And within a couple of days. Huge deal. Which was amazing. I was like, oh my gosh, how am I going to use 30 stories? I had to go and get another warehouse because I was like, where am I going to put all this stuff? Like, it's thousands of pieces. And I was like, okay, let me figure this out. And like, I've never done wholesale. So this was all so new to me. And yeah, I'm like, okay, let's do this. And in the first couple of days, I mean, thousands of pieces were selling. And I was like, oh my gosh, it's working. People are loving this. And I was like, let's keep going. Let's keep going. I'm like, yeah, let's do this. So it's been, I've never done, like I said, I've never done wholesaling a beast of its own. You know, me with my business. Oh my gosh, it is a completely separate entity than just having my online store, running it through my Shopify. You know, I'm in control of everything. Just every single store, you have to shift to every single place and the a different purchase order number with uh just like packing slips and invoices and making checking every single piece and tagging, hand tagging every single piece. And I mean, it's not just a couple hundred pieces, it's a couple thousand pieces. And it was such a great learning experience. And I'm so happy, I'm so thankful for TAPS because I can't wait to see what's going to be in store now because we've learned so much. And I people are like, How did you do this? And I was like, listen, I was running like a chicken with my head cut off all different ways. We did it. I don't know how we did it, but we did it. And that's what I always tell people like, well, how did you get started? Or how did you get into wholesaling? Listen, I had the opportunity and we just, we just, we just learned, you know, like there was nothing. I didn't have a playbook. I had nobody that I could even refer to. I didn't even, and this is something too, I always have people say, you need to find like a, but I do have some other women-owned businesses which are amazing in the Buffalo area that I was able to get some help from. So that was super important to me. But like I didn't have a template, I didn't have a spreadsheet, you know.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

It's not like your best friend is wholesaling and you're like, hey, this warehouse problem, what do I do? Yeah, you kind of figure it out. Yeah, just send it, see what, see what happens.

SPEAKER_02 22:17

Sent it. But it worked out, it was great. So now we're in, yeah, we're in almost over 70 tops locations, and we're just rolling with it, and we're gonna kind of keep growing and adapting, seeing what people want, trying to, and like I love tops too because my online store, I've always kind of had a niche of, you know, a younger generation. And now with tops, it's the working mom, you know, it's a working mom who loves football and wants to go in. She wants to get a piece for herself, she can get a piece for her husband, she can get a piece for her friends. But if she wants to get that, you know, she can do that now while going and getting her groceries done and still feel fabulous on a Sunday with her, you

Manufacturing Lessons And Costly Mistakes

SPEAKER_02 22:59

know, a blink sweatshirt or a fun tee and know that it was created by, you know, a local Buffalo girl.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Yeah. Yeah. What has been the biggest challenge switching to warehousing from just your online shop?

SPEAKER_02 23:17

Just the quantity of it. I've never been, I've always tried to keep by Abigail Lee, which I think the draw has been so great with, is just super exclusive. Like I want to have, you know, 50 to 100 pieces of something because every person that wears it, I want them to want to keep it and wear it with pride because this is only a one of 100 piece. Like I want it to, I want everyone to feel special when they're wearing these pieces. And then going into wholesaling, I'm not ordering a hundred, I'm ordering 5,000. And just the quantity of, I'm so OCD with just my name is on every piece. I want every piece to be. The brand is literally you. Yes. And I want every piece to be perfect for every person that's going, I'm gonna be grateful enough that they're gonna buy from me. So just quantity and just being able to keep my organization. I've always been so organized. And this year I was just like, like everything was all over the place. I just, my head was just like you said in the beginning of the interview, just running. I just it's always running. Like, I don't, my brain's just never shutting off now, which is which is good. I like to operate like that.

SPEAKER_01 24:29

Yeah. I didn't I've always wanted to like have my own business. And I think what people don't tell you about having your own business and having even just your name on everything that you're doing is like you actually don't shut off. Like we were in Hawaii, and I was like, Do you guys think about work when you're not like when you leave? Because when I had a corporate job, like I didn't think about work when I left. And now I think about this podcast and the show and where I want to go and what women I'm working with every second of every day. But I'm having the best time and it's so fun, but you really don't switch off.

SPEAKER_02 25:08

I know you don't switch off because it's it's it's you. It's your it's you know, it's your it's everything that everything that you're working so hard to accomplish and what you what the goals that you have set for yourself, it's it's you and you're in you're in charge of what's gonna happen, you know? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

So is your and this might be like a niche fashion question, but is your wholesale manufacturer the same manufacturer as who you were using for your one-to-one drops?

SPEAKER_02 25:38

So it's a little, I have a couple different ones. I get some things from overseas, I get a lot

Sponsor Message: Cuso Cuts

SPEAKER_02 25:44

of stuff made in in the US. I have like probably 30 different manufacturers that I work all different through. And in the beginning, I was like for the first six years, I was making every single piece by hand. So I would just order a blank sweatshirt and then I would be doing every single thing to it. So I think that's really helped with my growth in the last two years because I had no idea about manufacturing and where to go and get special pieces made. If I wanted a snowsuit made or a bomber or a specific just gloves, and I wanted to create them from the ground up. So that's been also a huge learning experience for me, figuring out like the trial and error of manufacturing. Oh my gosh, if if I would tell you the stories that I have about ordering from this one person being like, all right, send me 50 of this, okay, a couple thousand dollars. And I get them and they're kid sizes. And I'm like, wait, I just spent five thousand dollars and I can't even get the size small up on my leg. And I'm like, what did I just do? And I did that last year. I did that so many times. But it was great because I think that at that time it was bleached by Abigail Lee. My customers and my followers were so supportive of me, being like, well, just you know, we'll we'll still buy it. We'll still buy it. We'll just do do another round of it, fix the sizes. We love that. So it's been really cool, but it's been, I've had to learn and it's been so much trial and error.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

I want to thank our sponsor at Cuso Cuts. It feels very relevant to the Abigail Lee episode to do this

Turning Fails Into Sellouts With Community

SPEAKER_01 27:32

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SPEAKER_02 28:58

I I actually so last year I ordered in bibs and these Sherpa jackets and like probably like a $20,000 order. And I bring all the samples to my Christmas Eve family party. And I'm like, all right, guys, I got these in. Will you guys just and I, you know, I got my girls, my guys, my shorter people, my brother who's six, four. I was like, can everybody try these on and just like see how they are? And when I tell you, I left our Christmas Eve dinner crying because everyone was like, these are not gonna sell, Abigail. What did you do? These sizes are terrible. And I literally went home and I was like, oh my gosh, I just I ruined it. And I remember jumping on my story and I was like, listen, guys, I tried it. It didn't work. If you guys want to come and try the stuff on, I'm gonna sell it a discount, discounted price. It all sold in a day. And I was like, okay, there's something that it has to be Buffalo to still the Buffalo magic. Yeah, I was like, thank you guys. It was it was the crazy, that was like my last year craziest story. And I I didn't and it, but it worked out. But I always say family also being like, This is trash. Literally, like, this is Abigail. What did you do? And I was like, I messed up. I don't know what I'm gonna. I what did I do? I just I ruined my whole entire job. And then it was still, but I owe that to Buffalo and my girls, my Buffalo girls were like, Well, I'm short and I have like a bigger waist than this. Uh, that'll fit me. And I was like, okay, and they still wear the pieces to the day. So I mean, also, if it's cute, it's cute, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:33

Yeah, like and I'll squeeze anyway, you know? Yeah, like in a snow pant, like nobody's wearing a snow pant for glute contour, nobody is wearing a snow pant to snatch their waist, they're wearing a snow pant to look as cute as they possibly can while being warm. So it's like kind of serendipitous that if it was like snowsuits,

Advice For Women Entering Sports Fashion

SPEAKER_01 30:54

that's the one that didn't have a perfectly tailored waist to the average body because you're still, even if you're in the hottest snowsuit ever, it's still a snowsuit. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 31:05

You know, like it's the ideal situation. And then now this year we have our snowsuits. I probably saw probably 300 people at the game, and we have waistbands now on them too.

SPEAKER_01 31:16

And all my costs, speaking of snatching waist, yeah. You actually did make a snowsuit that snatches your waist.

SPEAKER_02 31:22

So the girlies look good. They're they don't look like I tell everyone, they look like hot marshmallows.

unknown 31:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:30

Honestly, ideal. Go for it. When I'm in three feet of snow and my team is fighting to the death, I want to be warm and look hot. I want to be a hot marshmallow. It's the only goal.

SPEAKER_02 31:45

I love it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

So, but yeah, wait, I want to get one for when I go snowboarding this year.

SPEAKER_02 31:50

Oh my gosh, you should. They're so fun. I'm actually, I'm actually almost completely sold out of them. I'm gonna order, I think I'm gonna order more just because people want them for even like, yeah, end of January, Mark, like February, March. We still gotta ski. We can still wrap our Buffalo Pride, you know? Yeah, I feel like Buffalo Pride never stops.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

Never stops. Yeah. Wait, that'd be so I'm planning a couple snowboarding trips right now.

SPEAKER_03 32:15

So maybe I'll have to gotta do it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:22

Honestly, if I wear that on the mountain, I'm gonna get the most epic photos I've ever taken.

SPEAKER_02 32:28

Yeah, they're and they're warm, so you'll be good.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

And you can put them over snowboots, yeah. Heck yeah. Honestly, anything I made in Buffalo, I trust to keep me warm. So heck yeah. I love it. Okay. Do you have any advice for girls who are breaking into the fashion or clothing merch industry? And that can be general or football specific because women in sports is blowing up so much.

SPEAKER_02 33:00

Yeah. My biggest advice to anybody would be so obviously I started this nine years ago and I'm I'm so thankful that I started this when I did because this is it's perfect timing now. Like I have my following and I'm hoping I just want to keep it growing and growing. And I do have some surprises coming about going into some other teams, which I'm really, really excited about. That'll hopefully be happening in the next month. But I will put on one yeah, I have some one of our best-selling pieces might be coming for some other teams, so which I'm really excited about. But I would always tell other girls, and I've had so many people reach out to me, be yourself, be as authentic as you can, post on social media. I used to post, I post probably half as much as I used to when I was growing and I was in my growth phase of just keeping my followers connected with me. I would share it all, let them know, you know, share, share every single thing. You working your day-to-day life. That's because I I have probably a couple,

Unisex Design And Styling For Everyone

SPEAKER_02 34:11

probably like 20 to 30,000 people who are my OG people that will all will stick with me until I until I do this no matter what. And because I have those people, they're always they engage with me, they post, they still buy myself. I have one woman who has bought every single piece I think I've ever made, ever. Love her. Her name's Jennifer. She is an angel. But she's a queen and she's followed me for you know years and years and years. So I always tell people get you have to get your niche people, the people that are gonna stand behind you, that are going to they, I mean, these people know me. And like I used to post everything. I'm a little bit more, I'm a little bit more to myself now, but I used to let I used to let the people know, but they felt connected to me, and connection is what we're all looking for, especially with social media. So that's that's my advice to people is that it's it's gotta, it's all about the social media, and that's that's one of the reasons why I'm finally able to get to the point where I'm at now is because I have those that group of just men and women from years and years ago that feel like they know me and feel like they're my friend, and I want them to feel like that. So that would be my that would be my advice to anybody starting out. Just post it all. Who cares? You know?

SPEAKER_01 35:38

Yeah, who cares? Like it's not that serious. Social media, it's allowed to be fun. You're allowed to be yourself. You don't have to be perfectly curated unless you're a perfectly curated person, which those exist too. And yeah, I it's so exciting. One of my questions was gonna be are you expanding? So it's really exciting to hear that you are looking to expand. Yeah, we talked a lot about the girls, but you also have men's gear. How is it breaking kind of have you always done men's, or was there kind of like a point where you're like, hey, I am I'm not only for the girls, I'm for everyone, men and women. Yeah. What was that like?

SPEAKER_02 36:21

So I've always tried to really stick to like unisex pieces because I feel that most of the time when I started out, like most Bill's clothes were were men's stuff. So I would, you know, I would crap them, I would tie up the waist, I would bling, bling it out, make it feminine, make it girly. So I've always had half of my pieces, unless it says women's, are going to be a unisex style.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:47

And I try to use as many guys, like guy models as I can, but obviously, like I just have me, and it's usually just me in the warehouse. So like and I try to get like my boyfriend a model because he's so cute. And like my brother used to model for me like in the last year or two, and he's like like a job, like I feel like he looks like Josh Allen, he's like 6'4, and I'm like, he's like my little, he's my little honey. So I try to get the guys in my life to you know do some modeling for me, but it's so hard because people do think that it's all women's. And I mean, 85% of the pieces on my website guys can a hundred percent wear too. And I mean, they can wear the bling stuff if they want to wear a little bit of bling, they can they can make it.

SPEAKER_01 37:28

Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Okay, so you brought up your boyfriend.

Support Systems, Identity, And Balance

SPEAKER_01 37:33

Is he from Buffalo, Bills fan, all of that?

SPEAKER_02 37:38

Yeah, so he is born and raised in Buffalo. It's so funny because I always thought that I would end up with somebody, somebody who is like a crazy Bills fan. But I think it's great because he is he loves the football, he loves following it, but he could he's like, you want to bring someone else to the game with you? I can watch it at home. It's a perfect mix because I'm such a super fan. I feel like if it was two super fans together, it would be just like mayhem. He almost keeps me a little bit more grounded with the stuff, yeah. And yeah, he kind of brings me back to Abigail, you are a person outside of by Abigail and the football. I'm still a girl, I still like my other girly things, so it's funny because it's just it is a really nice, perfect mix. He loves it. He's he's gone to almost every game with me, other than like two. I'm like, you gotta do social media, baby. He's like, Yeah, I like knowing that he's the one behind the camera. Oh, yeah, he's he's 95% of the time it's him, but it's cool. I'm really glad that I've been able to find somebody who supports me so much and supports my dream, but can also keep me grounded. And it doesn't have to be it's 99% of the time football all the time, but that one other percent he keeps me a little more grounded of you know, let's go do something outside of the football. You know, you're still you're still Abigail, you still have other things that you love and other things you got to do. And I'm like, okay, honey.

SPEAKER_01 39:16

You're like, you're right, you're right. Yeah, so sweet. And I think identity can get wrapped up so much in what we do, especially as women, or that people expect you to be all one thing or all something else, and being multifaceted, doesn't always like, I don't know, it doesn't always show as well or isn't always received as well as maybe we would want it to be. And so the fact that your boyfriend is like, hey, outside of this, you have so many other things and so many other good qualities, and like reminds you who you are. So then when rough work things do happen or kid sizes come in, or the manufacturer ends up being crappy or whatever. Oh yeah. You're like reminded, oh, there's all of these other things about me that aren't just Buffalo and by Abigail Lee.

SPEAKER_02 40:08

Yeah. So we'll we're gonna keep him.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

We're gonna keep him. Yeah. Do you think yeah? One of the questions, if you were single, I was gonna ask, like, would you ever date someone who isn't a Buffalo fan? Like, how does that rank on your list of like important things for for dating?

SPEAKER_02 40:24

No, I could never, I could never date. No, I could never date somebody. Like, I don't, I don't understand how there's I see girls who are Bills fans and then their boyfriends are Chiefs fans. What? Like how I just I you pick the Chiefs out of all of the men on hinge. You have to pick the Chiefs fan. I could never in a million years maybe like an they'd have to still be supportive of the of the Bills. Yeah, but if they like the Chiefs, immediate, like I don't even know what way to swipe because I've never been on a dating app. The one that's the wrong way, just swipe them the wrong way. Like, no, I could, I could never, never.

SPEAKER_00 41:08

You've never been on a dating app.

SPEAKER_02 41:10

I think I downloaded one for 10 minutes, maybe like three years ago. And I start, I literally was like, and I couldn't do it. And then I I deleted it and I was like, I'll meet somebody when it's time. I was like, I got time. Yeah, it was very, yeah. I was like, no, can't do this, especially in Buffalo too. Like Buffalo's so small. Yeah, no, we're good. We are we're a-oka over here now.

unknown 41:35

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:37

That's you don't meet that many people that haven't been on a dating app in 2025.

Hopes For The New Stadium And Team Store

SPEAKER_03 41:42

So 10 minutes, we're good.

SPEAKER_01 41:44

Yeah, 10 minutes was enough for you. Done. Yeah, yeah, never again. We'll keep the current boyfriend photographer. He'll he'll be riding high in the new in the new club seats. Yes. Love and life.

SPEAKER_02 41:58

He's excited. I was like, okay, so I pay our seat mortgage because it was like a mortgage. And I was like, you pay the house mortgage. And I was like, and it works out. And he's like, Yeah, that's fine. That's our two homes. And I'm like, okay, you take care of this home, I take care of that home. So we've got it all, we've got it all worked out.

SPEAKER_01 42:15

King. Are you kidding? Literally. Couple more questions.

SPEAKER_02 42:24

Let's switch over. Have you been to the new high mark? No, not yet. But I I'm going to try to see if I can get like a I would love, I would literally do anything for like a private, a private tour. I would die to get in there and see everything before the first game. So I'm going to I'm going to try as hard as I can because I think that would be really special. And like even just get to go see where my seat is before I would be, I would lose my mind. I would be on cloud nine.

SPEAKER_01 43:03

I mean, they have to have like a community day at the new stadium or like a like a wags tour. Like it would make sense for all of the families of the players to get to go tour the new stadium. And then since you have friends, like you just hop in.

SPEAKER_02 43:21

Yeah, I'll be like, I'm I I meet them the close.

SPEAKER_01 43:24

Can I just, you know, well, you'd be like, she doesn't have kids yet. So I'm gonna be her kid.

SPEAKER_02 43:30

Literally, I'll hold somebody's baby. Just let me let me go in with you.

SPEAKER_01 43:34

But it does make sense though, because you being like a Buffalo influencer, like obviously you're a business owner, but you're also huge on social media, yeah. They should want you there. Like you should be on the exclusive list of invites.

SPEAKER_02 43:46

Yeah, I'm I'm hoping that so it's so funny. It's I like the Sabres follow me on Instagram, and it's like my friend just like love the Sabres, and like they post me on their socials, and like I I played hockey growing up my entire life. So I love the sabers, and obviously we just had a really good like win streak, so that was super amazing, and I'm gonna be releasing more sabers gear soon. But I I want to get in the good graces of the bills because obviously that's like my whole, that's my whole thing. And they actually cross posted, they had a bill tonight at the Sabers Arena, and it was like the big names in Buffalo, and like just you know, influencers and like chefs and all that cool and all that cool stuff. And they invited me and I was like, I get to go, like this is so fun. So I went in and and they posted like a picture of me, and it was like the bills and the sabers, like shared it together, and I was like, this is the best day of my life. I felt so special. I had people sending me, Oh my gosh, you're on the Instagram. And I was like, I made it. I this is literally I could die happy now. It was big. It was the coolest, it was the coolest thing ever. That was probably one of my moments this year where I was like, okay, I was like, this is working. I was like, this is so stinging cool. And everyone was tagging me, Abigail, Abigail, look. And I was, it was, it was just special. So I'm hoping, yeah, I want to get in, I want to get in with the with uh everything with everyone. I'm hoping my biggest dream is to be able to have a piece in like the bill store one day. That would be that would be a huge, that would be a huge moment. So tops is first, and I want to get into the get into the bill store, maybe like a biobageli piece or like a little section one day that you can, you know, shop even at the new stadium. So we're gonna keep we'll we'll keep dreaming big over here.

SPEAKER_01 45:33

I think you can make it happen. I think with the momentum and who you are and how lovely you are and how much you've learned, like obviously you're business savvy, you wouldn't have made it here if you weren't. Obviously, you know what you're doing, your products are amazing. So I honestly don't see why you're not already in there. So I mean, I think that it's I mean, from my perspective, it's a completely realistic goal. And if you're like, yeah, I'm in the bills market, I'd be like, okay, yeah, of course you are.

SPEAKER_02 45:58

Yeah, people do actually, people do message me. It was so funny. I had like five people message me. I think two days ago, they're like, hey, is your stuff in the bill store? I'm hiding there now to go look for it. And I was like, oh my God. I was like, no, go to tops. You can go get stuff at Tops. But people are like, oh, why aren't you in the bill store? So it's kind of it's cool. We're gonna get there. We're gonna do it. Actually, that's what I'm gonna manifest this year.

SPEAKER_01 46:22

I'm gonna manifest it for you and all the girls listening, get her in the bill store, get her in the team store. Yeah, we're we're excited to watch it and we can't wait for the announcement. If you do go into the bill store, feel free to come back so that you can do extra promo for it. Yeah, we'll wear all the stuff. Yeah, we'll wear all the stuff. Yeah, you'll have to like send me some of it before so I can be like ripping it on too. So fun.

Bills Playoff Outlook And Rituals

SPEAKER_01 46:46

Okay, last thing before we go. Yeah, the Bills have a huge game this weekend. Yes, Jacksonville. I'm so excited. So Jacksonville has kind of surprised the entire NFL. Trevor Lawrence is everywhere and not only playing extremely well on the field, but also off of the field. He's getting a lot of press, a lot of praise, a lot of social media. Their defense has been pretty stinking good this season. So, what is your projection for the game? What are you thinking about?

SPEAKER_02 47:17

I so here's my I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go to the game. I think that we have to win. We have to win this game, but we have to win the rest. So I have very high hopes. But for me, after such an emotional Sunday game, if we're gonna lose it any time in the playoffs, I rather lose this first game because emotionally I can't take it. I think that we're going to pull through. I'm gonna be there. I'm gonna wear my lucky socks, I'm gonna wear my lucky underwear, I'm ready to go. I have very high hopes. I'm feeling like it's 50-50 right now. Yeah, it's gonna be a good game. But I'm excited for that. I want to see some really good playoff football. And I'm just happy I don't have to watch the damn Chiefs. Like, that's that's what I'm excited about. I said, you know what? Like, we're gonna go to the Super Bowl. We can do it 100%. This is our year to do it. But at the end of the day, I'm just happy I don't have to see the Chiefs. That is, I'm just I'm I'm on cloud nine, or I don't have to watch them watch any other cloud game. So we can do it. There's we can do it. I think in the after this, the emotions, what happened at high mark on Sunday, I think that the guys will have a different mindset now going into this next game. I think it's I think we're gonna be okay. So I'm I'm I'm so so ready for this.

SPEAKER_01 48:54

Yeah, I can't wait to watch it. It's gonna be a crazy game. I think the entire nation like wants to see the Bills do it. And I do kind of think it's this is the Bills' time to make it happen.

SPEAKER_02 49:06

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:07

You know, like the Chiefs aren't in it, who else isn't, isn't in it that they the Bengals aren't in it who have like taken down the Bills before. So I really feel like now's their time, and they know the community's behind them. Like the community is probably behind them now more than ever after Sunday. So we'll see what happens.

SPEAKER_02 49:25

It was so funny, even on my that video of me autographing or signing my seats. Yes, I love that. I have so many people like Chiefs fans, so weird, being like, We are rooting for you, you guys deserve this this year. And I'm like, I'm like, okay, Chiefs fans. So honestly, let's do it.

SPEAKER_01 49:46

Yeah, like if Chiefs Kingdom gets behind the bills, that probably would never happen, but like, let's go.

SPEAKER_02 49:52

Nothing is impossible. Nothing is possible. Nothing impossible.

SPEAKER_01 49:54

Yeah, I mean, Haley's a singer, Taylor's a singer. It's like do a song together. Oh, okay. Honestly, that would be crazy.

SPEAKER_02 50:06

Oh my gosh, it would be it would it would break start on fire.

SPEAKER_01 50:10

Yeah, it would combust. Oh my gosh. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show. I'm so excited we got to chat with you. Thanks for sharing your business and your life and what's going on over there in Buffalo. Where can everyone find you?

SPEAKER_02 50:26

Yeah,

Where To Find Abigail And Closing

SPEAKER_02 50:27

so online. We are at by Abigail Lee.com and then we are on Instagram, Twitter, which is X, TikTok. It's at Buy Abigail Lee. So if you're looking for just some fun, girly Bills content, looking for inspiration, if you follow other teams and are just looking for something fun, follow me. I love, I love my community. I'd love to say hi. And yeah, that's where that's all where all my stuff is. And at tops locations if you are in the Western New York or New York area.

SPEAKER_00 50:56

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the game. You can find us on social media at the game the podcast on Substack, where we have an all-girls group chat about the NFL, which you can chat with us for the playoffs. It's completely free at thegame the podcast.com. And you can find me on social media at Hey Victoria Henderson. Love you. Bye.

SPEAKER_03 51:23

You a patty, baby. You gotta own it on a scaling grace.

unknown 51:27

You better own it on.