Introducing Trunk Club

[Trunk Club]

Hi Everyone:

I’m Joe, the lead writer at Trunk Club. We’re excited to join Styleforum this week as a sponsor, and we'd like to introduce ourselves with a quick note.

Since Trunk Club launched in 2009, we’ve been fortunate enough to receive a fair amount of media attention. Most of the coverage has focused on our business model and how the service works (more on that later). It’s rare that we get to talk about our brands or exclusive items, which we hope will prove interesting to the knowledgable members of Styleforum.




Brands

Our vendor roster currently includes 60+ brands, including L.B.M. 1911, Billy Reid, Scarpe di Bianco, Eton, Bespoken, and Oak Street Bootmakers.

Exclusives

Speaking of Oak Street, they usually do a few exclusives for us every year. This week we’re rolling out our new rough-out Trench Boots (pictured above). These boots are extremely limited. The best bet for getting a pair is to book an appointment at our River North, Chicago headquarters.

We're getting ready to launch the Fall 2013 Eton Designer Series Trunk, which will feature six shirts made exclusively for us by Eton, and later this month we’ll announce a partnership with one of the best-known Ivy League shops. All of this comes on the heels of our F/W collaboration trunk, which featured exclusive items from seven of our favorite brands. (A few of these pieces are still available.)



Visit / Custom

If you’re in Chicago, we'd love for you to visit Trunk Club HQ. During a one-to-one appointment with a stylist, you can try on our exclusive merchandise as well as our long-standing favorites. Plus, if you’re interested in custom clothing, one of our custom experts will be happy to meet with you for a fitting. Our custom program launched in July 2012, and is available exclusively to guys who visit us in person. Our fabrics include Dormeuil, Scabal, Barberis, Zegna, and Loro Piana.



How It Works

To visit us in Chicago, just call to make an appointment. You can find our full contact information here. If you’re not in Chicago, we’re happy to ship a trunk of handpicked clothes straight to your door. After you sign up at trunkclub.com, we’ll match you to a stylist who will promptly contact you to find out exactly what you’re interested in. When your trunk arrives, you’ll have 10 days to try everything on and send back any returns, with free shipping both ways.

You can find more details about our service at our site. For information about our brands, team members, and overall business, check out the Trunk Club blog. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here as I'll be checking the thread regularly.

 

[LA Guy]

Welcome, gentlemen. Hope you enjoy our little place.

Cheers,

Fok.

 

[davidw25]

How much on the Oak Street's?

 

[Trunk Club]

Hi David:

The rough-out Trench Boots are $485.

Best,

Joe

 

[GauchoSF]

@OakStreetBootmakers , that Trench Boot collection looks amazing. Excited to see how this model works ..

 

[deepitm]

Boo-urns.

 

[AriGold]

welcum trunk club!

 

[Fang66]



Hi Everyone: I’m Joe, the lead writer at Trunk Club. We’re excited to join Styleforum this week as a sponsor, and we'd like to introduce ourselves with a quick note.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Since Trunk Club launched in 2009, we’ve been fortunate enough to receive a fair amount of media attention. Most of the coverage has focused on our business model and how the service works (more on that later). It’s rare that we get to talk about our brands or exclusive items, which we hope will prove interesting to the knowledgable members of Styleforum. Brands Our vendor roster currently includes 60+ brands, including L.B.M. 1911, Billy Reid, Scarpe di Bianco, Eton, Bespoken, and Oak Street Bootmakers. Exclusives Speaking of Oak Street, they usually do a few exclusives for us every year. This week we’re rolling out our new rough-out Trench Boots (pictured above). These boots are extremely limited. The best bet for getting a pair is to book an appointment at our River North, Chicago headquarters. We're getting ready to launch the Fall 2013 Eton Designer Series Trunk, which will feature six shirts made exclusively for us by Eton, and later this month we’ll announce a partnership with one of the best-known Ivy League shops. All of this comes on the heels of our F/W collaboration trunk, which featured exclusive items from seven of our favorite brands. (A few of these pieces are still available.) Visit / Custom If you’re in Chicago, we'd love for you to visit Trunk Club HQ. During a one-to-one appointment with a stylist, you can try on our exclusive merchandise as well as our long-standing favorites. Plus, if you’re interested in custom clothing, one of our custom experts will be happy to meet with you for a fitting. Our custom program launched in July 2012, and is available exclusively to guys who visit us in person. Our fabrics include Dormeuil, Scabal, Barberis, Zegna, and Loro Piana. How It Works To visit us in Chicago, just call to make an appointment. You can find our full contact information here.

If you’re not in Chicago, we’re happy to ship a trunk of handpicked clothes straight to your door.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

After you sign up at trunkclub.com, we’ll match you to a stylist who will promptly contact you to find out exactly what you’re interested in. When your trunk arrives, you’ll have 10 days to try everything on and send back any returns, with free shipping both ways. You can find more details about our service at our site. For information about our brands, team members, and overall business, check out the Trunk Club blog. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here as I'll be checking the thread regularly.

No you aren't.

 

[destiny7]

Hi,

Welcome to SF. How much are brown wingtip dress shoes. Please PM details thanks

 

[MikeDT]

Can you send a trunk to China, straight to my door? ...as I don't live in Chicago, USA.

 

[chogall]

Any Dreamforce special discounts?

 

[the honor roll]

​

Hello everyone,

My name is Chris, and I'm an English teacher from California based in Shenzhen, China. I also write about men's clothing and what I've learned from the artisans, founders, and gentlemen of the cloth.

While I was on a quick homecoming trip to the USA, my brother took me to the Los Angeles location of this company. One of their stylists gave me a brief tour and let me take pictures inside. I wrote a few words about it, titled "Club in the Trunk, Trunk, Trunk." Please enjoy.

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I can sum up my first and only experience with subscription goods with the following: “Fool me once . . .”

San Diegoahns in search of red & white delights head north to Temecula, a stretch of road lined with award-winning vineyards. I once underestimated a multi-stop tasting tour, which ended with me in my friend’s wedge heels “to feel taller,” and a wine club.

“Clubs are fun, and free!” I hiccuped to myself.

Two weeks later, I learned that wine clubs are, in fact, not free, and that I really only need a glass of Sutter Home every six months. I thank the customer service rep on the other line for understanding my mistake and cancelling my membership.

In the last couple of years, I’ve noticed subscription services make their way into the menswear community. Of these, two stand out: Bespoke Post, and Trunk Club. On a chance encounter, I visited the Los Angeles branch of the latter.

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Since it was acquired by Nordstrom last August, Trunk Club has expanded real estate in major cities, adding a face to a name, as well as inviting potential and regular clients to take suit measurements. Entering their LA warehouse of sorts, stylist Tim O’Neill welcomed me for a brief tour.

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Inside the shop, you can take a look at the merchandise that’s boxed and shipped every month: sunglasses to sandals, well-known to up-and-coming, domestic to foreign. For custom suiting and shirting, fabric books from English mill Gladson are available.

​

The patterns and dimensions of the showroom suits definitely fit a youthful aesthetic. Not much for my old man style (I may have uttered “whippersnapper” under my breath), but I’m always happy to see options available for men looking beyond the rack.

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What I’ve always appreciated about any well-done clothing store is feeling comfortable in your my skin among the presence of items that may be out of my league, and shopkeepers who shake off more panache than I could ever hold onto. Trunk club Los Angeles achieves this with local microbrews on tap, lumberjack-friendly furniture, a pool table racked up, and the service of individuals like Tim.

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Tim is new to Trunk Club, as well as to the clothing industry: he previously waited tables at successful restaurants, always complimented for his warm demeanor and easygoing sense of style. For that I commend Trunk Club for hiring attitude over experience.

Would I join the Trunk Club? Fool me twice?

One thing to consider is that by its design, you receive a regular shipment of clothing and accessories; pay for the keepers and return the rest. Derek Guy – of Put This On and Die Workwear! – wrote excellently about the psychological catch of this business model. For the record, I would never trade my candy for coffee mugs.

This is where communication with your stylist is critical. Together, you determine the intervals of trunks (monthly, quarterly, seasonally), the taste profile within the contents, well as your budget for each arrival.

At the very least, Trunk Club Los Angeles proves a basic truth of any good business: give your shop personality, and hire employees who are personable.