Welcome to the Alpaca Project: Styleforum + Epaulet (scarves, stoles. blankets and sweaters)

[LA Guy]

The Alpaca Project is our newest adventure and a collaboration with Epaulet.

As a community, Styleforum stands for the value of friendship and inclusivity. From the earliest days, our unofficial motto was: "Come for the clothes, stay for the company", and we always had focused on those two things, and strived to be a welcoming place where we can geek out about clothing and accessories, talk about the cool stuff we like, and everything else along the way, and help each other out in a very real way.

We're excited to present an exclusive collection of Alpaca scarves, handknit sweaters, stoles, and blankets alongside @Epaulet, one of our oldest affiliate vendors.

These items are available for preorder until Sunday 10/16 and will be in your hands before the end of November. There's a lot to talk about, but here's a quick overview:

• All items from the Alpaca Project are ethically produced in Peru at Fair Trade certified facilities
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• Alpaca is a unique luxury fiber that's softer than wool, warmer than cashmere, and friendlier on the environment than both of them.
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• 5% of gross sales will benefit the ALS Association: a key source of funding and and support for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) research and patients. One of our great members got this disease a while back, and for the foreseable future, we'll be supporting this organization.
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• An additional percentage will go to support Styleforum and our community efforts of meetups, editorials, and podcasts.
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• Of course, the entire assortment is Styleforum Approved®. It's stylish & current, responsibly produced, crafted in luxury fibers, and made to exacting quality standards.

I hope that you guys love this stuff just as much as we do! Get yourself something awesome for the season, and feel good knowing that your money also supports both the Styleforum Community and a worthy charity cause.

I'll let Eva take over from here and break down everything that's on offer. Of course, you guys can post any questions or feedback directly on this thread, and we'll try to answer it all.

As for me, it's the blue glenplaid throw blanket for me. And maybe another throw just in case my kids try to steal the one my wife and I will use.

Cheers,

Fok.

 

[Epaulet]

Thanks Fok! Sales have kicked off really nicely, and I'm super excited for this collection.

I'm old-school enough to remember the days of the "Proper Kit" trunk shows in NYC and the many collab products that Styleforum has done over the years, and I'm thrilled to bring some of that energy back.

When I saw these goods, I knew that they were perfect for this project. They're classic and luxurious. They're ethically and responsibly made. They're stylish and beautiful. They're fairly priced. We can offer a huge selection and prompt delivery. And there's something in there that everyone can use in their life.

It's an easy way to (1) get something exceptional, (2) support this website that we all love and (3) donate money to a worthy charity. Doesn't get much better than that!

As Fok posted, here's a link to the whole collection. There's a lot to talk about, so I'll try to do each product category in turn. If you have any questions or need any advice, feel free to post right on this thread and I'll answer directly.

 

[Epaulet]

Let me start with our best-selling scarf category so far.

The Plaid and Windowpane Category has five really classic scarves that can skew on the more formal side of things. They're all made in 100% baby Alpaca... which is much softer than wool and significantly warmer than cashmere.

These are all priced at $125. You can view them on the site and order here.

First up we have two handsome plaid designs. I really love the huge color pop of the Crimson Plaid

The next three are all "Eco" colors... meaning that they're undyed. The color tone that you see is exactly the color of the animal's hair. They make for wonderful neturals, and I love that all three will match navy, grey, and black outerwear. Chances are that you've got jackets in one or all of those colors....

 

[Epaulet]

I've got a million pics to go through, but here's a quick preview. Today I had the privilege of hanging with the Notorious @macjedi ... a.k.a. J.Robie ... and we shot a bunch of this favorite pieces from the Alpaca project.

I'm a huge fan of his Instagram posts, so it was great to bring him back. I'll have a full gallery of pics to show soon!

 

[LA Guy]

For me, it was this:

https://www.epauletbrand.com/collec...ow-blanket-glen-plaids?variant=43514603241701
in sky and lavender. It will go well with the new leather couch I am expecting in a month or so. Worth mentioning that the blankets, in particular, I think, are great for gift giving. No one that I know of is like "OMG, I have way too many alpaca blankets now."

 

[Epaulet]

For me, it was this:
View attachment 1840587
https://www.epauletbrand.com/collec...ow-blanket-glen-plaids?variant=43514603241701
in sky and lavender. It will go well with the new leather couch I am expecting in a month or so. Worth mentioning that the blankets, in particular, I think, are great for gift giving. No one that I know of is like "OMG, I have way too many alpaca blankets now."

Thanks for the order Fok!

And yes, very much to your point.. these Alpaca blankets are freaking amazing, and they're a great deal at $195. They're a perfect home accent and they make a wonderful gift. Here's the lineup of them below -- each blanket measures 75"x 50" (180cm x 130cm) and weighs 1.6lb (720g)

 

[Epaulet]

Got some great couple shots too! Telling you guys... if you have a wife, mother, girlfriend, sister, daughter, niece, aunt.. these Alpaca scarves and shawls make amazing gifts!

 

[Epaulet]

Hey guys! We received some beautiful new custom garments from our bespoke program with Hickey Freeman / Rochester Tailored Clothing.

I styled each one with a scarf so you can see how nicely these work with more formal looks...

Piacenza Antique Grey Check cashmere and the Sunset Boucle Scarf

Drago Charcoal Nailhead Suiting and the Crimson Plaid Scarf

Loro Piana Eggplant Windowpane Flannel and the Camel Houndstooth Stole

 

[Epaulet]

Hey everyone! Outside of being soft, warm, and stylish, Alpaca is significantly more eco-friendly than cashmere and sheep's wool. I've got some graphics that show the difference. They're scanned from a book, so please excuse any warping at the edges.

When I sourced these items, I was primarily focused on the product quality, the price, and the style. I honestly had little prior knowledge of Alpaca fiber.. outside of it being soft and nice and often used in tailoring blends. It was really great to also discover that it's objectively a better fiber overall. It requires less processing, offers more usable goods with the same food resources, and has a lower environmental impact.

#1) Alpacas are the most efficient producers of clean raw fiber

#2) Alpacas can thrive in areas where food agriculture cannot

3) A herd of Alpacas are significantly kinder to pastures and vegetation

4) Alpacas eat the tops of grass without tearing them out

5) Alpaca raw fiber is much easier to clean, and provides just as much insulation as wool

 

[Epaulet]

If you guys are in the Philadelphia area... definitely consider stopping by our event with American Trench. I'll have ALL of the Alpaca samples on hand, so you can see everything in person.

And it was going to be a surprise... but @A.T. Hamlin and @jah786 are giving away a free pair of socks to every person who attends.

Sorry to ruin the surprise, but who doesn't love free socks! Stop by and say hello!

 

[Epaulet]

Hey guys... three quick updates for today:

1. The Alpaca project is open until Thursday 10/20. Please get your orders in by midnight, so I can batch it all together and send the final placement to Peru on Friday. Should give us more than enough time to make the delivery date.

2. I'm going to shoot a video of our best sellers on Tuesday. That way you can see them in HD and really get a feel for the scale and patterns.

3. The scarves were a hit at our Trunk Show! Huge thanks to everyone who attended. We did an IG story before the event where both me and American Trench were presenting the featured show items. Here's me holding up some of the Alpaca pieces...

We're selling both of these Ethnic Print blankets really well

Here's the blanket unfurled, so you can really see the overall size of it.

This Indigo Houndstooth Stole is far and away our best seller. It's absolutely amazing!

These two Ethnic print scarves are doing really well also. And I tied the Ultraviolet stole like a scarf, just to show that it can still be worn in this easy way

 

[Epaulet]

Hey guys, there's one more day to go for orders! I shot a quick video of our best sellers.

And you can see everything that's on offer here...

 

[Epaulet]

Quick cross-post.....

Awesome, thanks. Leaning towards the Boucle scarf. Is there a picture of the sunset color?

Oh man you'll absolutely love the Boucle scarf, it's amazing. Both colors are pictured, but they're really close in person. Both of them are natural, undyed tones. You can't go wrong with either, although we've sold alabaster a bit more.

Alabaster is a creamy off-white

Sunset is a very light tan

 

[BlueMoonMonday]

Are the Alpaca blankets all gone? I just found this recently and was interested in a dove and pink one. Why have they been purged from your site?

 

[Epaulet]

Are the Alpaca blankets all gone? I just found this recently and was interested in a dove and pink one. Why have they been purged from your site?

Hey there! We closed all of the preorders and sent the breakdowns for scarves, stoles, and sweaters.

But it's actually good timing for blankets... they have to ship separately due to the weight, so we can definitely get your order into the group. Drop me an email at [email protected] and I can set it up for you!

@BlueMoonMonday