Epaulet shop - Official Affiliate thread

[espen]

Been buying @Epaulet goods for quite some time now, when the Canadian dollar wasn't always in the toilet. It's always been awesome, and definitely opened my eyes to many things. Mike, you're doing a great job and running a great business, even when it goes under the microscope of a very particular group of people.

So, no communications changes from me, but I gotta ask...and mean nothing bad by it...can I get some more plain-jane canvas Doyles in the new year? Sashiko is great and all (have a couple), but I find it very particular in terms of styling.

 

[sartoria vacua]

IDK maybe offer tags with our SF handles on MTO etc. kit.

Maybe that already was a thing 10 years ago.

fwiw the canvas Doyle is ready for a reboot. I still have the brown version from fall17 (“walnut” in the EP color book?) on my WL.

fwiw2 i sort of respond to SF’s standoff range from the attention economy, or its own arcane eddy of it. A Doyle born on insta and not here or mailers would’ve been a pathetic beast, not a chore jacket we somehow all need 30 of.

 

[FLW]

Thought #1:
I think these are my favorite Epaulet items from about nine years of being a customer:

1) Oatmeal flannel walts
2) Cranberry and brown windowpane SC
3) Nightshade flannel walts
4) Fuchsia linen Doyle
5) Wool/linen Gable trousers

Four out of five of these were offered as single cuts or one-offs or some other promo. I gladly come back again and again for the unique stuff that often shows up here. I know that can be a cost/logistical nightmare, but it is indeed the stuff I like best.

Thought #2:
I'm wearing items 1 and 2 from the list above right now. Will I post a picture here? No. Posting on SF has become a pain ********** and browsing photos in-thread is not terribly convenient. Maybe if I figured out the import from IG option it would be better, but that is the only thing that might change my behavior.

Thought #3 (not thread-dependent, but just an observation):
If the non-LA items (tailoring, dress trousers, etc.) are going to be offered in the future, is there any thought to offshoring them? I understand that may be sacrilege to what many of us hold dear, but honestly American manufacturing has its own problems. Hertling seems to be taking forever and is increasingly interested in their own-label goods. Two out of four of my Southwick MTOs have been miscut (like three sizes too large miscut and sewing side tabs on backward).

I'm over my circa-2010 Sino-phobia. Quality fabrics and consistent construction are what matter to me. In 2019 it is significantly easier to produce garments abroad in an ethical fashion with high QC. No clue if Epaulet is in a place for such a move, but if it means sustaining some of the brand's designs, great. I'd rather be buying Made in China Walts from Mike than have to have them copied by Luxire.

 

[Todd V]

Matt’s photos definitely modeled and sold us on a lot of trad menswear in the early 2010’s.

 

[smmrfld]

is there any thought to offshoring them?

This is a deal-breaker for me. Epaulet's current sourcing is what drew me to the site originally and what keeps me interested.

 

[Michigan Planner]

This is a deal-breaker for me. Epaulet's current sourcing is what drew me to the site originally and what keeps me interested.

I'll echo this.

 

[Sartorium]

So.. this is an honestly non-judgmental question to everyone out there who participated in our recent projects:

We sold about 95 Doyles and close to 75 totebags. Got them in on time and shipped them out complete. I had a few return requests (10 jackets or so), but everything else was retained by the customers. I haven't seen any photos or heard any feedback besides one very early tote bag pic.

A very large part of this customer base is on Styleforum, so I'm wondering... what are your thoughts on posting photos or feedback? Is it too difficult with the interface here? Do you feel that people acknowledge your contribution enough? Is there something that I can do to make it easier or more attractive to post things?

I think I've posted maybe one photo in this thread. Probably just down to personal preference, I come for the discussion and not the fit pics, despite getting excited whenever new fabric swatches come out.

 

[FLW]

This is a deal-breaker for me. Epaulet's current sourcing is what drew me to the site originally and what keeps me interested.

I'll echo this.

I'm all for the idea of supporting American manufacturing but there does come a time when it is just no longer worth the cost. The whole MiUSA movement ten years ago was based on lots of blog/tumblr posts about "Fast, Cheap, Good- Pick Two." My experience is that Hertling and Southwick may be falling short on both the cheap and good categories.

I'd rather see Epaulet's models live on through ethical Asian manufacturing than watch that them die on the altar of $400 flannel trousers made in the United States.

The LA-made pieces are entirely a different story. They are still much closer to the general market price for similar pieces and seem to generally have better lead times. Individualized shirts are still really expensive, but they seem to hit their promised deadlines better and have fewer QC issues.


***EDIT: I should also add that any change in manufacturing should be transparent with a commensurate reduction reduction in price. Plenty of #menswear-era darlings moved production abroad and simply fattened their margins with little to no disclosure to the customer.

 

[Epaulet]

@Epaulet Thanks so much!! I wished today's pics were better … I've been fighting the sun, since it's so freaking low in the sky now. Hopefully I'll figure out something that doesn't require me to wake up earlier

The new model pics sound great! For me, even seeing outfits on a mannequin would be useful. I could see you getting pretty creative with it … and do more of it when the inspiration strikes … without having to schedule a whole shoot day.

Good call, we're definitely going to try and do that!

Been buying @Epaulet goods for quite some time now, when the Canadian dollar wasn't always in the toilet. It's always been awesome, and definitely opened my eyes to many things. Mike, you're doing a great job and running a great business, even when it goes under the microscope of a very particular group of people.

So, no communications changes from me, but I gotta ask...and mean nothing bad by it...can I get some more plain-jane canvas Doyles in the new year? Sashiko is great and all (have a couple), but I find it very particular in terms of styling.

@espen thank you so much and I am thinking of some Canvas Doyles for next year. Let me ask... what do you think about pumice-washed on them:

This is a sample piece that we sold off earlier in the year. The regular canvas doyles got a line of sun-fading on them from being on a shelf in our warehouse and I pumice-washed them like crazy to try to fade the color and make the line invisible. Didn't quite work, but I kind of loved the wear effect... and the resulting garment much softer and better fitting than the "raw" canvas Doyle.

Pricing would be good too. We could release a fun batch of key colors and most likely put them out at $195.

IDK maybe offer tags with our SF handles on MTO etc. kit.

Maybe that already was a thing 10 years ago.

fwiw the canvas Doyle is ready for a reboot. I still have the brown version from fall17 (“walnut” in the EP color book?) on my WL.

fwiw2 i sort of respond to SF’s standoff range from the attention economy, or its own arcane eddy of it. A Doyle born on insta and not here or mailers would’ve been a pathetic beast, not a chore jacket we somehow all need 30 of.

@sartoria vacua LOL very true, some guys have fairly epic Doyle collections!

Thought #1:
I think these are my favorite Epaulet items from about nine years of being a customer:

1) Oatmeal flannel walts
2) Cranberry and brown windowpane SC
3) Nightshade flannel walts
4) Fuchsia linen Doyle
5) Wool/linen Gable trousers

Four out of five of these were offered as single cuts or one-offs or some other promo. I gladly come back again and again for the unique stuff that often shows up here. I know that can be a cost/logistical nightmare, but it is indeed the stuff I like best.

Thought #2:
I'm wearing items 1 and 2 from the list above right now. Will I post a picture here? No. Posting on SF has become a pain ********** and browsing photos in-thread is not terribly convenient. Maybe if I figured out the import from IG option it would be better, but that is the only thing that might change my behavior.

Thought #3 (not thread-dependent, but just an observation):
If the non-LA items (tailoring, dress trousers, etc.) are going to be offered in the future, is there any thought to offshoring them? I understand that may be sacrilege to what many of us hold dear, but honestly American manufacturing has its own problems. Hertling seems to be taking forever and is increasingly interested in their own-label goods. Two out of four of my Southwick MTOs have been miscut (like three sizes too large miscut and sewing side tabs on backward).

I'm over my circa-2010 Sino-phobia. Quality fabrics and consistent construction are what matter to me. In 2019 it is significantly easier to produce garments abroad in an ethical fashion with high QC. No clue if Epaulet is in a place for such a move, but if it means sustaining some of the brand's designs, great. I'd rather be buying Made in China Walts from Mike than have to have them copied by Luxire.

Thanks so much for all of the feedback @FLW ... you've always been one of the most stylish guys on here!

1) I remember when you picked up that pink linen doyle and those other great pieces. For sure we're going to expand the MTO program and the preorder project program in 2020 to offer more special and interesting things.

2) I actually just had a long talk with @LA Guy about posting images, and it's true... putting pics on here will never be the easy and seamless experience that it is on IG. And getting and tracking feedback is difficult.

Is there anything that would make it more rewarding to post photos for you? What if there was a dedicated thread just for images? We could use that thread to hold a monthly contest, as it would be easy to chronologically track what's in there.

3) You're not wrong about American manufacturing being more difficult than ever. Although I will say:

* Southwick is actually really on point these days. The past issues were also partially them and partially Adele's order submissions. I do all of the Southwick orders personally, and we really do have very few problems... although delays with promo fabrics were an issue. This was actually my biggest year for custom suits and sportcoats yet.

* Hertling... yeah... hard to say. They are pretty overwhelmed, so the golden days of $185 ends pants are probably gone. We'll still do work with them when they have space and it makes sense, but I don't see us doing anything large anytime soon.

* This Fall was our biggest season with Individualized since 2016. It went *really* well, and their shipping was very much on time. I've been able to work with a lot of customers personally to dial in fit and sizing, and we've offered a ton of interesting and exclusive fabrics lately.

* At the moment, I'm keeping all of my production here just because it's realistic for me to personally oversee things that way. You will see a lot more robust offerings both custom and project-based out of Los Angeles. I know it looks like our Doyle production was all-Sashiko this Fall, but we actually make about 75 units in different wools via the custom program. I need to do a better job of showing the final results, because the stuff is beautiful. Never in a million years would I think that a denim factory could produce this...

Matt’s photos definitely modeled and sold us on a lot of trad menswear in the early 2010’s.

@Todd V true, he was uniquely good at that, and had a very strong sense of style. I think that my pics are better these days and Jay is a great model, but I do wish that I could replicate that Lower East Side look and feel.

This is a deal-breaker for me. Epaulet's current sourcing is what drew me to the site originally and what keeps me interested.

Still keeping things local! I actually just changed the site logo to this last night:

With the exception of Aero Jackets (made in Scotland), everything is fully made in the USA these days. I know that this is a frustration point for some former customers of Taylor Stitch and the like, so figured I should bring it more to the forefront.

 

[Don L]

I'd rather see Epaulet's models live on through ethical Asian manufacturing than watch that them die on the altar of $400 flannel trousers made in the United States.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[espen]

Couldn't agree more.

Thirded.

 

[Epaulet]

Thirded.

This is a good point, and I'm honestly pretty open about which way to go. There was a time period when stock trousers were a really big part of our business, and I'd order something like 120 units from Hertling every single month.

These were the days when the only competing good pants out there were from the likes of Brooks Brothers and J.Crew, and their prices and fits were both pretty lousy. But things have changed, and there's a ton of startups out there offering basic dress pants which are offshored. And there's brands like Bonobos - who operate at a huge loss and can often sell off imported trousers at close to production cost.

Those volumes that I achieved in the early days were possible because of (1) guys like you who understood and respected the quality and (2) dudes who wanted something that fit slimmer and we were the only option that they saw. Group #2 now has a ton of options, and I couldn't compete with the other players on price no matter how hard I try.

Southwick is pricey for sure, but they've been making really great pants for us, and we've been able to offer a lot of new fabrics - like Harris Tweed and Cotton-Cashmere Corduroy - that Hertling never really had. But outside of that, I'm thinking to focus on the Rivet and Wilhelm shapes in Los Angeles more than ever.

I have a long way to go with communication on this, but the current Rivets and Wilhelms are the best quality cotton pants that we've ever made. From stitching to finishing, the product is really clean. And it has soul to it. The best way to describe an LA-made chino or jean versus a European or Asian one is to contrast a Harley against a Yamaha cruiser. It might be more expensive, it might be a bit less consistent, but there's a feeling there.

So, let's say I get the Rivet and Wilhelm back to good stock levels right after the holidays (this is the plan). If I could source an inexpensive dress wool, these items could be produced for $175 as off the rack. And offered via full MTO as well. They're not traditional dress pants by any means, but maybe that's what can make them cool. And offering such an item with a matching Doyle or Sinclair will make an alternative suit that really stands out. What do you guys think of that?

 

[scb]

Rivets in wool? sign me up

 

[Epaulet]

Oh real quick.. I have some made up items to show you.

I'm going to do a second round of Gitman Brothers End shirting. Delivery on this is going to be early Feb. There's some killer stuff in there, but this deserves some special attention...

If you like our shirts and own one, then definitely consider treating yourself to one of these. I've seen a lot of shirt fabrics in my time, but nothing ever quite like this. The hand on it is really soft and it's a true four-season cloth. It's really something incredible!

 

[apolloali]

I'm definitely a smaller customer but I really love this thread and I think it got me back into forum culture and American manufacturing. I check it for convo and fit pics and updates from Mike because I really like reading about the development of the business.

That being said, couldn't that also be done on Insta? Some of the posts you post here Mike could obviously be narrative on the Insta stories. And I find a lot of good stuff by putting #epaulet into my Instagram follows.

I also think traditional American style is a bit less popular amongst folks below mid-thirties (including myself here). So it's kinda natural that the internet would be filled with less of those folks as streetwear and athleisure and mega expensive designer stuff becomes the menswar default.

EDIT: i'm also a bit surprised there are no local stockists anywhere else btw. Like Modern Anthology is near the old Epaulet location and I get American Trench socks and try on Magil polos and such there pretty often. I know Brick & Mortar is pretty dying but it could help spread the word a bit more if people get a chance to try stuff on more often. For big purchases, I still like to try it on first if I can to reduce the amount of shipping I do. Like I was on the fence about the Black Fleece fabric shirts but tried one on in person at the LA shop and knew I needed it. I'd probably do same if I had someplace to pick it up on East Coast.