Pretend you own a clothing store....

[hendrix]



What brands would carry, how would you design your space, would you sell women's and men's clothing, and how would you differentiate yourself from everyone else?
Thought it might be interesting to see where this goes. Feel free to discuss any other relevant topics.

Cool thread. This post in Mortar made me feel a touch uncomfortable, not because i dislike the brands ( i love most of them), but it seems to be a) exactly what a million other boutiques are stocking right now b) right in SF hype trend (just add white mountaineering)

No hate to BTG, they're all good suggestions, but surely there must be other brands out there that people can walk into a shop and like. Do we have to have seen stuff on the internet for us to want to buy it in real life?

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Some brands I enjoy and that I think would go well with the shop:

Patrik Ervell shirts and knits

Stephan Schneider shirts, knits, outerwear, scarves. Not blazers (weird fit) or pants. You'd be one of the few shop carrying schneider and it always sells well

Outlier pants and shorts. Great for houston weather

Tantum T shirts.

Engineered Garments jackets (Bedford, Andover, etc)

Nice slim wool or cotton trousers in interesting fabrics for reasonable prices, around $200. Our legacy is a possibility, but I'm not sure of the fit of their pants.

A few standout pieces from Junya Watanabe

For shoes:

Common projects: white achilles low, black achilles low are classics and are easy to work with virtually any style so they'll always sell well

Trickers: I think it's pretty easy to do a collab with tricker's and I think it would add something really interesting to the store. There are a lot of style options. Would be cool to perhaps involve the forum in the design as well. Also their country boots are great, better than Alden boots IMO

 

[habitant]

I think that a lot of boutiques don't have a lot of focus. I kind of like Haven Vancouver, it's puny, but i really like the atmosphere... along with the fact that they only offer the high end of Havens offerings, makes it work well.

I went to 'anthropologie' with my wife for the first time last week, and it's pretty cool. Stuff for your home and clothing...

 

[sipang]

No hate to BTG, they're all good suggestions, but surely there must be other brands out there that people can walk into a shop and like. Do we have to have seen stuff on the internet for us to want to buy it in real life?

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Some brands I enjoy and that I think would go well with the shop:

Patrik Ervell shirts and knits

Stephan Schneider shirts, knits, outerwear, scarves. Not blazers (weird fit) or pants. You'd be one of the few shop carrying schneider and it always sells well

Outlier pants and shorts. Great for houston weather

Tantum T shirts.

Engineered Garments jackets (Bedford, Andover, etc)

Nice slim wool or cotton trousers in interesting fabrics for reasonable prices, around $200. Our legacy is a possibility, but I'm not sure of the fit of their pants.

A few standout pieces from Junya Watanabe

For shoes:

Common projects: white achilles low, black achilles low are classics and are easy to work with virtually any style so they'll always sell well

Trickers: I think it's pretty easy to do a collab with tricker's and I think it would add something really interesting to the store. There are a lot of style options. Would be cool to perhaps involve the forum in the design as well. Also their country boots are great, better than Alden boots IMO

I don't get this, those brands exist outside the styleforum hype or wathever, sure ther are other brands that go dramatically unnnoticed and that deserve some recongnition but ignoring labels just because they're mentionned on internet is silly.




I would just buy the entire Schneider size 3 inventory and set a nice webstore...


I tend to like stores with consequent buys from one label, it's more risky no doubt but at least you get the impression than there's more thought going into the selection, plus larger buys often mean more weird pieces, those that no stores will stock because they won't sell well (supposedly). I would also stay away from the really plain stuff.

I also like stores that pair brands in unexpected ways, that bridge aesthetics.


Admitdelly I'd be on the brink of forclosure 6 months in so I'm counting on my Schneider sz.3 monopoly to back my moribund operation.

 

[BlackToothedGrin]

While I understand where you're coming from Hendrix and don't disagree that other brands deserve consideration, I'd have to say that most of the things I listed aren't on a hype cycle, but are popular year in and year out, and for good reason. They provide the right mix of quality, wearability, and value that guys look for. With the exception of maybe BB1, I think everyone likes to feel like they got a good value when buying an item. When you handle an Ervell pocket sweater, a schneider scarf, or tricker's shoes, you instantly know why they cost what they do. These brands would seem to do even better in a brick and mortar than online, since the sense of touch is such a powerful one with clothing. Also, I was recommending items for a store in Houston, Texas that now carries mostly gitman, OL, and several different kinds of denim, so their store isn't trying to be and probably can't be too fashion forward. And yes, those items also sell well online, which again is probably a bigger percentage of business for a store in Texas than one in a more fashion-centered location. If the store was in New York, LA, or Paris I would do something different.

 

[hendrix]



I don't get this, those brands exist outside the styleforum hype or wathever, sure ther are other brands that go dramatically unnnoticed and that deserve some recongnition but ignoring labels just because they're mentionned on internet is silly.
I would just buy the entire Schneider size 3 inventory and set a nice webstore...
I tend to like stores with consequent buys from one label, it's more risky no doubt but at least you get the impression than there's more thought going into the selection, plus larger buys often mean more weird pieces, those that no stores will stock because they won't sell well (supposedly). I would also stay away from the really plain stuff.
I also like stores that pair brands in unexpected ways, that bridge aesthetics.
Admitdelly I'd be on the brink of forclosure 6 months in so I'm counting on my Schneider sz.3 monopoly to back my moribund operation.

I'm not saying ignore them, I just think it's strange that pretty much these same brands are repeated boutique-to boutique. I mean, I live in New Zealand, on the other side of the ******* world, and it's pretty much these brands (minus Schneider) at a local place down the road. Don't you find that weird?
Moreover, I feel more compelled to look at something properly when i've seen a picture of it on the internet - "hey, i remember seeing that in runway pics/WAYWT, I wonder what it feels like/how it fits?" Of course, there's also the fact that i know if i've seen it on the internet there's probably some place i can get it cheaper.

While I understand where you're coming from Hendrix and don't disagree that other brands deserve consideration, I'd have to say that most of the things I listed aren't on a hype cycle, but are popular year in and year out, and for good reason.  They provide the right mix of quality, wearability, and value that guys look for.  With the exception of maybe BB1, I think everyone likes to feel like they got a good value when buying an item.  When you handle an Ervell pocket sweater, a schneider scarf, or tricker's shoes, you instantly know why they cost what they do.  These brands would seem to do even better in a brick and mortar than online, since the sense of touch is such a powerful one with clothing.  Also, I was recommending items for a store in Houston, Texas that now carries mostly gitman, OL, and several different kinds of denim, so their store isn't trying to be and probably can't be too fashion forward.  And yes, those items also sell well online, which again is probably a bigger percentage of business for a store in Texas than one in a more fashion-centered location.  If the store was in New York, LA, or Paris I would do something different.  

Yeah disregard my use of "hype" - doesn't mean it's not deserved. What i'm getting at is that we are aware of these brands before we buy, and that seems to be reassuring. Does the boutique rely on our previous knowledge to a degree? Agree that baby alpaca is instantly recognisable as nice and certain things do strike you. Do we need to have seen a collection to "get it?" Or is that the original purpose of curating a boutique?


This is all first class wankery btw.

 

[andrewgreg]