Epaulet shop - Official Affiliate thread

[applky]

Different kind of workwear.

Gray suit. Collar unbuttoned and shoulders slumped after a long day.

Southwick x EP mottled gray fresco suit
Brown suede belt

Vanda tie and PS

 

[FrankCowperwood]

In a big fan of double zippers.

 

[Epaulet]

I would also love a wool Doyle, although probably not as much as I'd love a wool Teba.

@Epaulet - I know you're into photography - I've also meant to ask if the Doyle is named after Christopher Doyle. If not, I'm going to pretend it is.

You know, the snuff suede blouson and the ghost suede MA-1 in particular both seemed like such killer pieces at really reasonable price points. Sometimes I can look at a piece and try to reason out why I think it didn't move, but those two stumped me. The only thing I can think - and I'm admittedly grasping at straws here - is that the ribbed-hem bomber silhouette isn't necessarily as traditionally flattering to as many body types as tailored garments usually are.

@notwithit that's certainly true, although we did an excellent Suede sportcoat with Golden Bear years ago and it also bombed. I could have run one out of Portugal for $595 which was really nice, but honestly, I didn't see it being a success.

Ultimately we do good with things that we "own," and the Doyle is a great example of that. I strugged to get through 60 suede blousons in four months. With today's backorders, we've sold 150 Doyles in less than a week. We don't make the only French Work jacket, but we're making one of the best ones. Same with the White Tennis trainer.

The suede jackets were nice, but got caught in a strange midpoint. They're too expensive for customers on a budget. They're too delicate for guys who are into stuff that ages nicely and changes. And the branding wasn't there for someone who wants a piece from a more known maker. For the Blouson, many guys might get a $200 fast fashion or kickstarter one, or a $1000 Valstar one, but ours was right in the middle of those two. And many customers were afraid of the maintenance.. which is a valid fear. My 3yo daughter totally destroyed my suede blouson with a toxic mix of snot and juice. My Aero horsehide jacket has no such problems. It makes sense. My customers are telling me that they like stuff like canvas, cramerton, tweed, flannel, horsehide, etc.. so I'm working to make a range of things in these materials, as its arguably what we do best.

But thanks.. I was super proud of the Ghost MA-1 actually. It looked awesome on the guys who bought it. You gotta take some chances in this biz.

 

[el es dee]

@notwithit that's certainly true, although we did an excellent Suede sportcoat with Golden Bear years ago and it also bombed. I could have run one out of Portugal for $595 which was really nice, but honestly, I didn't see it being a success.

Ultimately we do good with things that we "own," and the Doyle is a great example of that. I strugged to get through 60 suede blousons in four months. With today's backorders, we've sold 150 Doyles in less than a week. We don't make the only French Work jacket, but we're making one of the best ones. Same with the White Tennis trainer.

The suede jackets were nice, but got caught in a strange midpoint. They're too expensive for customers on a budget. They're too delicate for guys who are into stuff that ages nicely and changes. And the branding wasn't there for someone who wants a piece from a more known maker. For the Blouson, many guys might get a $200 fast fashion or kickstarter one, or a $1000 Valstar one, but ours was right in the middle of those two. And many customers were afraid of the maintenance.. which is a valid fear. My 3yo daughter totally destroyed my suede blouson with a toxic mix of snot and juice. My Aero horsehide jacket has no such problems. It makes sense. My customers are telling me that they like stuff like canvas, cramerton, tweed, flannel, horsehide, etc.. so I'm working to make a range of things in these materials, as its arguably what we do best.

But thanks.. I was super proud of the Ghost MA-1 actually. It looked awesome on the guys who bought it. You gotta take some chances in this biz.

Have you ever considered doing more of a crowd funding option with some of the more niche products?

 

[CharlieAngel]

Wore my ghost on the motorcycle while my Epaulet x Golden Bear was in the shop to fix a zipper. It was great (yes, I know if I'd fallen it'd have done probably exactly jack and **** to protect me, but it was more to serve as a windbreaker in rush hour traffic on the 10). It got pretty dirty and I've yet to clean it. Honestly, still looks good, even beat all to hell. The only change I wish i could make is to put a beefier zipper on it, but it's a great spring/fall jacket here in LA.

 

[CharlieAngel]

Have you ever considered doing more of a crowd funding option with some of the more niche products?

I was browsing massdrop the other day (I.. have a thing for mechanical keyboards) and thought it might be the perfect place to test some niche products. Also, the kickstarter would be cool in that you can gauge interest by the number of people willing to put their wallet where their mouths are.

 

[INKRO]

So I got my Doyle in size 42 yesterday and after trying on it looks like the fit's not working for me, guess it's going back.

It's a bummer because I like the style, but I'd need to size up to compensate and doing that would make it not work out in other areas. In any case, already put in for a return request, maybe someone can work it better for them.

 

[Epaulet]

So I got my Doyle in size 42 yesterday and after trying on it looks like the fit's not working for me, guess it's going back.

It's a bummer because I like the style, but I'd need to size up to compensate and doing that would make it not work out in other areas. In any case, already put in for a return request, maybe someone can work it better for them.

@INKRO just saw your email.. sorry that it didn't work. If you want to email me photos I'll be happy to check out how the fit looks on you. No problem on the return.. we've actually got a bunch of backorders on that so it will ship out immediately after we get it back.

 

[INKRO]

Well the measurements seem to work at first glance, and honestly where they measure the fit's quite good, but there's an area between where the chest measurement and the waist generally is where it just becomes uncomfortably tight and it falls apart for me (I guess I'm just not athletic enough for the fit ).

I could probably alleviate the issue by sizing up, but then everything else that's spot on flies out the window so I'm just going to give someone else a crack at it after the couple of minutes I put into it instead. Better for all of us involved I think.

 

[notwithit]

@notwithit that's certainly true, although we did an excellent Suede sportcoat with Golden Bear years ago and it also bombed. I could have run one out of Portugal for $595 which was really nice, but honestly, I didn't see it being a success.

Ultimately we do good with things that we "own," and the Doyle is a great example of that. I strugged to get through 60 suede blousons in four months. With today's backorders, we've sold 150 Doyles in less than a week. We don't make the only French Work jacket, but we're making one of the best ones. Same with the White Tennis trainer.

The suede jackets were nice, but got caught in a strange midpoint. They're too expensive for customers on a budget. They're too delicate for guys who are into stuff that ages nicely and changes. And the branding wasn't there for someone who wants a piece from a more known maker. For the Blouson, many guys might get a $200 fast fashion or kickstarter one, or a $1000 Valstar one, but ours was right in the middle of those two. And many customers were afraid of the maintenance.. which is a valid fear. My 3yo daughter totally destroyed my suede blouson with a toxic mix of snot and juice. My Aero horsehide jacket has no such problems. It makes sense. My customers are telling me that they like stuff like canvas, cramerton, tweed, flannel, horsehide, etc.. so I'm working to make a range of things in these materials, as its arguably what we do best.

But thanks.. I was super proud of the Ghost MA-1 actually. It looked awesome on the guys who bought it. You gotta take some chances in this biz.

That's a good call. I think people tend to underestimate the hardiness of suede in general - I've talked to people who won't wear a suede jacket in the rain - but there are things a sturdy grain leather will stand up to that suede just won't. I can see people hesitating when the comparison point is a horsehide Aero that has the potential to last a lifetime with relatively little maintenance.

 

[Michigan Planner]

While I love suede boots and shoes, I am generally not a fan of suede jackets because of the maintenance issues but I took a chance on the blouson when they got marked down and I am glad I did. I absolutely love it! I actually ended up picking it up because I was so impressed with the pictures of the Valstar version that I had seen but didn't want to spend quite that much without knowing how much usage I would get from it.

 

[Burzan]

Thought I was too late but I slipped in my order for an olive Doyle.

Need to replace the Olive canvas field jacket I picked up that was too snug for me. If anyone's interested in it let me know, size large and worn only a handful of times.

 

[Michigan Planner]

My Doyle is out for delivery today and it makes me sit here rubbing my hands together in anticipation like some greedy Bond villain! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the sleeves fit me pretty good right out of the box so that I can start wearing it right away and not have to wait to get them shortened.

 

[Sage47]

So I've been going back and forth on that snuff suede MA-1 jacket for awhile, and finally decided to go for it. We'll see how it goes.

Love the Doyle jacket in navy that I got, but it's just been so hot in LA, I still haven't had a chance to wear it. I'll probably take it with me to the Hollywood Bowl - should be perfect for an outdoor concert.

 

[espen]

Anyone have any comments on the Cramerton fabric (other than being awesome)? If I recall, people commented that it was slightly "tighter" than other rivet fabrics...wondering if it might be best to size up 1.