Swoveralls Comfort Club · May 2026 · Volume 4, Issue 5

Why Your Inner Kid Knows More Than You Think

By Kyle Bergman, Founder of Swoveralls · May 2026

Hey friends,

May is the month where the weather finally matches the vibe and you stop pretending you need a jacket.

The sun is out.

The (swovie) shorts are on.

And I can officially walk down stairs correctly again after running the Boston Marathon!

This month I want to tell you about one amazing customer, and another one who turned into a team member! Not three.

We'll also talk about some research on why nostalgia is actually your brain doing something healthy, a nonprofit that's doing something beautiful and brave, and a quick recap on my Boston race.

Here's what we're covering:

• 🧠 The science of nostalgia
• 🏔️ John Mark Taylor
• 💜 Mary Elise
• 🌈 Organizations we love: Drag Story Hour
• 🏃 Boston Marathon recap

Let's go!

🧠 The Science of Nostalgia: Why Your Inner Kid Knows More Than You Think

I've been thinking about nostalgia a lot lately.

Probably because I run a brand that's kinda built on it. One of the reasons Swoveralls exist is simply because I missed wearing overalls as a kid. Most of our customers tell me some version of the same thing: putting on a pair of Swoveralls makes them feel younger. More playful. More like themselves.

I always assumed that was just a nice feeling. Turns out, science says it's something much bigger.

Constantine Sedikides, a psychologist at the University of Southampton, has spent over two decades studying nostalgia. His research, published across multiple studies in journals like Psychological Science and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, has found that nostalgia measurably reduces loneliness, increases feelings of social connectedness, boosts self-esteem, and buffers against anxiety.

Here's the part that got me: nostalgia isn't just a warm fuzzy. It's actually a psychological coping mechanism. When you feel lonely, disconnected, or stressed, your brain reaches for nostalgic memories, and those memories literally counteract the negative feelings. A 2008 study by Zhou, Sedikides, and Wildschut showed that loneliness triggers nostalgia, and that nostalgia in turn increases perceived social support, creating a cycle that helps restore connection.

A 2024 study by the same research group even found that nostalgia counteracts social anxiety and enhances interpersonal competence. People who nostalgized felt more capable of building and maintaining relationships.

So when one of our customers recently told me "I only wore overalls when I was a kid and I just feel younger wearing them," he wasn't just being sentimental. He was doing something his brain needed.

This month's comfort hack: let yourself be nostalgic. Put on the thing that reminds you of who you were before the world told you to grow up. Watch the show you loved at 12. Eat the cereal. Wear the overalls. Your brain is trying to help you feel connected. Let it.

⭐ Customer Spotlight: John Mark Taylor, The Man on the Mountain

I want to tell you about a conversation that changed my brain chemistry.

Swoveralls customer John Mark Taylor scheduled a call with me back on a Tuesday morning. Within the first few minutes, he said something I didn't expect: "I just want to tell you how much I think of your product, how much I pray for your success of your company."

Then he told me his story.

John lost his wife a few years ago. ("Time speeds up," he said.) He sold their home and moved into a mountain cabin. He told me, gently, that he doesn't eat as well as he did when she was with him. "So I'm a little more stout than I was when she was around."

He's still working. He's the food service director at a detention center, mentoring people who, as he put it, "have stepped off the beaten path and stepped in cow pasture patties." They're waiting for trial. Innocent until proven guilty. And John is there every day, showing up for them.

He found Swoveralls on Facebook because his belt was cutting into him at his desk. That's it. That's the whole origin story. A man whose body changed after loss, who needed something comfortable, and who found us.

"It's been a blessing," he said. And then he kept going.

He told me he wears black Swoveralls at work because that's what his company requires. But on his days off, he buys the fun ones. Dog print. Cloudberry Waffle. He told me he gets compliments constantly. He told me he'd never known how to size himself for overalls before, and that our team's recommendation fit perfectly the first time.

Then he said something that made me pause the call and just sit with it for a second: "I don't tell an artist how to paint, and you, sir, are definitely an artist."

Here's what got me most. When I offered John a set of custom referral business cards with a QR code, he immediately called it genius. Not because of the marketing mechanics. Because he understands something most people miss: "Word of mouth is the most powerful thing. When people are happy, they'll tell 10 other people."

John has run restaurants. He's mentored people in a detention center. He moved to a mountain cabin after losing his wife and kept showing up every day. And his instinct, unprompted, was to say: "I just want to be a bird dog to drive customers."

He wanted to help. That was the whole reason he scheduled the call.

Before we hung up, he asked me to pass along his "atta boys and atta girls" to our entire staff. "They're doing a great job," he said. And of course I 100% agree and let our amazing team know.

John, you're the kind of person who makes this whole thing worth it. Thank you for your kindness, your honesty, and for reminding me what this brand is actually about.

⭐ Customer and Team Spotlight: Mary Elise Chenoweth

Sometimes the best things happen when you're not looking for them.

Mary Elise (Elise to those who know her) started as a customer. Our earliest email exchanges were about store credit questions. Standard stuff. But even then, she was so bubbly and lovely to talk to that she stood out.

Then Elise became one of our Comfort Coach creators. Then she became the incredible moderator of the Swoveralls Comfort Club Facebook group. And then she did something that brought her contributions to a whole other level:

Elise suggested we partner with Drag Story Hour.

She didn't just mention it in passing. She introduced me directly to Jonathan, the CEO. She connected the dots between what Swoveralls stands for and what Drag Story Hour is building. And she was right. It was a perfect match.

If you love our Color Riot collection, if you love the partnership, if the Drag Story Hour section below resonates with you at all, you love Elise. Because it was all her.

There's a pattern in this newsletter that I keep coming back to: people who take initiative without being asked. John Mark wanted to be a "bird dog" for the brand. Elise went from customer to creator to moderator to the person who brokered one of our most meaningful partnerships. Nobody assigned these roles. They just showed up.

Elise, thank you for everything. It's a privilege to have you as part of our team. 💜

❤️ Organizations We Love: Drag Story Hour

So many good things come out of being pissed off. Or at least a little irritated.

I was annoyed that sweatpant overalls didn't exist, and here we are. Drag Story Hour was born from a similar energy: the belief that kids deserve to see people expressing themselves fully, joyfully, and without shame.

Drag Story Hour is a nonprofit that brings drag queens into libraries, schools, and community spaces to read stories to children. That's it. That's what it is. Drag queens reading books to kids. And there's something so pure about it.

We grow up and we become biased at best and bigoted at worst. Drag Story Hour reminds me that it doesn't have to be that way. Kids don't come into the world with those walls up. They just see a person in a sparkly outfit reading a great story.

Drag Story Hour is the nonprofit partner of our Color Riot Rainbow collection, which launched on May 12th and has been our best performing launch of the year (more on that below). Together, we've raised $4,355 of our $7,500 goal for them.

When people donate $150 or more, they get $150 in Swoveralls store credit. You can donate here

Learn more about Drag Story Hour at dragstoryhour.org. They're doing something brave, loving, and necessary. We're proud to partner with them. 🌈

🏃 Boston Marathon Recap: 2:48 and a Personal Best

On April 20th, I ran the Boston Marathon for the first time and finished in 2:48. That's a personal best by 6 and a half minutes. I wore one FlipMit (that brand we love/features in March!) with a mile by mile pace card I printed out taped to the outside.

Boston was everything people say it is. The crowd support is unreal. Heartbreak Hill sucked. And crossing that finish line on Boylston Street knowing I'd just run the best race of my life is a feeling I won't forget.

Yes, I am addicted super comfy and quirky clothes. But I'm also obsessed with seeing what I can do with this mind and body while I still have them.

(And yes, I wore Swoveralls pre and post-race. Always.) 🏃

Until Next Time...

This month, one customer on a mountain taught me more about kindness than most business books ever have. Science told me that my inner 8-year-old in overalls was onto something. Elise and Drag queens reminded me that self-expression is always worth fighting for. And Boston reminded me that I'm a sucker for type 2 fun.

Let yourself be nostalgic. Show up for the people around you, even the ones who've stepped in cow pasture patties. And if someone is reading stories to kids in a sparkly outfit, maybe just let them.

Stay cozy, stay kind, and keep being exactly who you are.

Yours in all the free waistband energy,

Kyle Bergman
Founder | Chief Swoveralls Officer

P.S. - If you or someone you know could benefit from waistband-free clothing, reply to this email. I take these conversations seriously.

P.P.S - If you made it this far, you might as well join our facebook group here (the Comfort Club), and special shoutout to comfort coach Mary Elise for helping run the group.