Hoboken Woman Provides Threads For Kids, Help For Pets

“You look around and Hoboken is all babies and dogs,” said Pamela Pinta, one of the co-founders of AnnieWear, an online children’s boutique that specializes in animal-themed items and donates some of their proceeds to animal rescue organizations.

Pinta, a Hobokenite for the past 17 years, founded AnnieWear with her cousin, Laurene Parlatore, of Annapolis, MD, after the birth of their nephew. Around the same time, Parlatore adopted a golden retriever named Annie, and the two women began to see a connection between children and animals.

Around October of last year the pair began selling t-shirts bearing a cartoon likeness of Annie and the words “Good Boy” and “Good Girl.” Before the online store launched, they sold the shirts and limited items to friends and family. Parlatore and Pinta put aside some of the proceeds to donate to local animal shelters, and very quickly they had collected $3,000 to donate.

“We knew that if we started doing well on day one in commitment to [the shelters], that the business would do well,” said Parlatore.

Their signature line expanded, also featuring t-shirts that say “My Kitty is Adopted,” or “My Doggie is Adopted.”

“We donate a higher portion of the proceeds from that shirt to rescues,” said Parlatore. “We’re also donating those shirts to rescues, to give to children when they adopt [a pet].”

Today, AnnieWear sells many outside lines, all small companies that Parlatore and Pinta have handpicked. They stock “Re-Snack It” reusable lunch totes from Live And Dream Green, a husband and wife operation from White Plains, NY. Some of their best sellers are animal hooded towels, made by Yikes Twins, out of Virginia. The towels come in infant and toddler sizes and feature lion, rabbit, unicorn heads, as well as others.

Inspired in part by her work with AnnieWear, Pinta also devotes her time to volunteering at Liberty Humane Society, in Jersey City. AnnieWear also donates a portion of their sales to LHS.

“None of the dogs from when I started [volunteering] two months ago are there anymore, they’ve all been adopted,” said Pinta.

AnnieWear will have a booth set up at LHS’s Bark In The Park event, to be held on October 16 at Church Square Park, and have created a new line of dog bandanas that said “Good Boy” and “Good Girl.” It’s an experiment in venturing into the world of animal fashion for the two women.

Also in the works are a new line of t-shirts inspired by their best selling design, a cartoon depiction of Annie and the word “woof” in seven different languages. The new t-shirt design will feature a drawing of Pinta’s cat Sasha, and will feature “meow” in six different languages.

Currently, the pair are on the lookout for local children’s designers around the Hoboken and New York area to feature in their store, and are researching more local rescue organizations to partner with.

“We hope to keep adding to the list of rescues that we can help,” said Parlatore. “It’s easy to find the bigger organizations, because they do a lot of marketing, but the smaller [organizations] really need the help.”

The AnnieWear online boutique may be the stepping-stone to Parlatore and Pinta’s bigger plans to unite children and animals in the home. They would like to start a program to educate families on animal adoption. 

“Part of our mission is to support families with children, to understand the commitment they are making when they adopt an animal,” said Parlatore. “We want to educate people on when the best time to adopt is, and how to properly train the animal, so that when the animal is placed, they stay in the home, and won’t go through that trauma again."