Time Has Told: These Hoodies Are A Hit

Jayce Greene, 10, and his mother pushed through the door of Time A Tell, the clothing store and smoke shop at 1700 Dixwell Ave. He was looking for a Time A Tell hoodie.

“All the kids on my team are wearing them,” said Jayce, a student at Worthington-Hooker School and member of the Elm City Elite basketball team, as owner Joshua McCown brought out a selection of sizes and colors in the high-ceilinged, warmly-lit space. ​“They’re all over New Haven,” his mother added.

That’s an index of the quantum leap that McCown, 20, has taken in the two years since opening his shop with a mission to leverage his eye for fashion into being his own boss and realizing financial freedom.

McCown’s business has also continued to grow and grow and grow since this reporter last checked in with him in March.

“Yesterday, I shipped at least 60,” said one of McCown’s employees who was printing out a shipping label from an iPad on the counter. Over the summer, ​“there’s been easily 10,000 sales.”

To hear McCown tell it on a recent Thursday, Time A Tell’s green- and pink-saturated varsity jackets, hoodies, and T‑shirts aren’t just showing up throughout New Haven, but across the globe — McCown said he’s had orders from Switzerland, Japan, the United Kingdom, and France — as well as on the concert stages, music videos, and social media of celebrated rap artists.

“Great brand,” said Mylles Grant, a teacher at ESUMS, as well as creator of the clothing brand unm.thcd and Vybbes, and owner of The District, a fashion accessories store, who had just come in. ​“Good quality, original design. It just draws your attention. This guy’s got tenacity.”

“I’m a perfectionist,” McCown said. The material, he said, is cotton wash, or 100% organic and natural cotton fabric pre-washed to remove synthetic components and maintain coolness. ​“That kind of quality is so important because, number one, it has a nice feel, and number two, it’s about the brand and you are your brand,” he said. ​“The design too. It has to stand out. And the look. It has to look fly.”

Hence, the shop’s name, a reference to the 18-hour days logged by McCown running the shop, overseeing the online orders, and coming up with new designs, to realize the fruits of his labor.

McCown has no partners. ​“I’m CEO, president, executive of the board,” he said with a grin. ​“I’m a one-man army.” Asked about his influences, he paused, seemingly searching for a name. ​“Just write down Joshua McCown. I’m my influence.”

Joey Boemmel, a former classmate of McCown’s at Hamden High School, was browsing a rack of T‑shirts that had dropped earlier in the week. About his friend’s seemingly meteoric rise, he said he wasn’t surprised. ​“That passion for clothes, it’s always been there, and he always had that drive,” he recalled. ​“He would wear a leather jacket, it was almost like a varsity jacket with the patches on it, and he always had nice jeans and nice shoes.”

McCown said he’s recently started to focus on ways to give back. ​“I’m maybe the youngest business owner in the state,” he said. (His Instagram handle is dayoungestt_timeatell.) ​“Kids see me and they see what they can do.” Last week, he gave away ten copies of NBA 2K25 video game. ​“That’s the latest edition and kids are going crazy about it,” he said.

“To be as young as Josh and already have that mindset of giving back is insane,” said Kristen Threatt, co-founder of the Eat Up Foundation and Gorilla Lemonade, who saw people wearing Time A Tell around town and started following McCown on social media. ​“His brand is the hottest in Connecticut and that’s because Josh puts the groundwork in. He’s creative, he’s innovative, he hustles, he grinds, and that’s why he’s growing at a rapid pace. I’m inspired.”

McCown’s plan is to expand in another state. ​“My brand can’t get any bigger here,” he said. ​“It has to be somewhere I can take over like I took over here.”

Near him, Jayce Greene was admiring the logos and slogans jam-packed on his new black Time A Tell hoodie. ​“The design of it, the color, how it looks,” he said, beaming. ​“It’s good.”