July 31, 2024 • 61 mins
In this episode of "Tailored Talks", Brad, co-founder of OMJ, and his co-hosts Will Jones and Kendra Cheeseman dive deep into the world of custom clothing. They discuss everything from the nuances of fit and pattern to the intricacies of materials and design. Learn about the benefits of custom suiting, the importance of customer experience, and how OMJ Clothing stands out in the competitive landscape. Whether you're new to custom clothing or a seasoned sartorialist, this episode offers valuable insights and entertaining anecdotes from the industry.
Join us as we explore the journey of creating a perfect custom suit, the evolving trends in fashion, and the meticulous craftsmanship that goes into each piece. Plus, get a behind-the-scenes look at OMJ's philosophy and approach to making custom clothing accessible and exceptional for everyone.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:34):
Welcome back to Tailored Talks. I am Brad, co-founder at OMJ and one of the co-hosts.
Today, we're going to cover all things custom clothing.
Indeed. How are you guys doing? Doing well. Doing well. We also have a very
special birthday today.
Yes, happy birthday. The old man.
(00:54):
But to my right, we have co-host Will Jones. Hey, guys.
And then to Will's right, we have co-host Kendra Cheeseman.
Hi, how are y'all doing? dude? So a little bit of cleanup right off the top
from last week or our last podcast was all things whiskey.
So Kendra, we missed you, but Trey tried to kill it.
(01:16):
But two things people were asking about the whiskey club.
So the whiskey club is something that is specific to OMJ Clothing.
We have quarterly events.
It's fun. If you go on our website, omjclothing.com, There's a link there.
If you go on our social media, link in our profile, there's a link there. You can join.
(01:37):
We'd love to have you. And then also I had questions about people were asking,
where did you get that bottle of Pappy Van Winkle?
So I got that a long time ago, but we were actually giving it away.
Today, actually, we're doing a raffle for all those that renewed in the Whiskey Club.
They go into a raffle. So we're actually giving that away.
(01:57):
I don't think anybody's ever just done that. Yeah. Someone's going to be real
excited. Yes. Yes. Someone's selfless. No.
But we believe in sharing and we love the Whiskey Club that much.
So that's my plug for the Whiskey Club.
So today, a topic that is often very intimidating for a lot of folks, very nuanced.
(02:18):
It's one of those things that a lot of people just assume are not for them.
Custom clothing. So custom suiting, custom shirting. These are,
you know, custom is kind of used and essentially what it is,
is you're making something from scratch for you.
So that could really apply to a lot of things. But in the clothing,
we do pretty much everything in our store you can customize and make for you.
(02:41):
At OMJ, we make it super simple. We're here to help.
I feel like we have one of the best teams I've ever seen with custom clothing. You're here.
True experts. In fact, everybody's been here almost a full year.
And then everybody who's here has, you know, either like Kendra,
(03:02):
20 plus years in the industry.
Will, who's, you know, been best dressed since the second grade. Can we do that?
Too kind. Much too kind.
So, yeah, normally I like to take a very humble approach with anything,
but this is actually one of the topics I feel we're truly the best in,
(03:22):
and not just maybe locally, regionally, but nationally.
And so I'm excited to talk about it. We are going to do a lot of,
you know, I've, of course, been doing this a very long time.
On the the details and all the things that go into behind the scenes so you guys feel free to ask,
questions away even if you kind of know the answer and you
(03:45):
think it'd be a great question for our listeners and watchers ask the question
as well but i think hopefully we can just kind of share all the things that
go into custom and then also make it something that people can get excited And
then come in and experience the OMJ experience with custom.
That's perfect. So since we're talking about custom, maybe we can get a little
(04:07):
bit into like what exactly, other than like you're picking out your styles,
what entails custom suiting?
Right. And I think of this as like, you know, custom is a very broad term.
So, you know, it's more of like an identifier of I am custom making something.
Something in custom clothing custom suiting
(04:28):
shirting specifically there's sort of levels
so you know you have something off
the rack you're buying it in a store taking it with
you you can get alterations then you have what's
called made to measure or mtm you'll see that and that
is something that is a garment that is
sort of prefab off of a pattern so if
(04:50):
you're 40 you know they have that pattern and they can kind
of make that at the factory they can do some
tweaks to it so they can shorten the sleeves lengthen the sleeves they
can take things in let things out nip and
tuck here and there and so if you're pretty close to a standard size they can
really dial that in it's more expensive than off the rack obviously but it's
(05:11):
you know not as expensive as other makes yeah you're definitely still leveling
up but it's it's not say bespoke bespoke and also Also,
it's often like it's made to order, too.
So you can do some of those design things. You can pick your lining.
You can pick your thread, put your name inside of it.
So it is a well-made. It's something I kind of usually, you know,
(05:34):
at a bare minimum, I recommend something like that.
If you're not just a, hey, go get it off the rack, you know,
if you're wanting to invest, I would start there.
And it's also something at OMJ we do make to measure. Sort of your next level
would be, you know, a variation of bespoke.
So there are levels of bespoke too. You know, everybody's kind of heard of the Seville Row bespoke.
(06:00):
They're making it at the store. There's a guy in the back. He's been doing it for 30, 40 years.
Cut on premise. Yes. Yeah.
This is sort of like the pinnacle of suiting. But these are also $5,000, $10,000.
Multiple fittings. you know, and, you know, it's one of those things where it's
(06:22):
not accessible to everybody.
So, you know, for those that have the means, obviously, it's amazing.
In the turnaround process, you know. Yeah. What do you think?
Because, I mean, you'd have to be there for multiple fittings,
too. Several months. Like where you'd have to stay.
I mean, I wouldn't mind, but you'd have to have the financing to stay during that time.
(06:43):
Yeah. But very labor intensive. Very labor intensive.
And then you have sort of a notch under that and what I would sort of call,
and this is sort of the omj what we really specialize
in is we do actually make
that pattern and then send that to a factory so
yes we're not cutting it although eventually i
(07:04):
will be my goal i'll be cutting that
in the back you've heard it here first maybe maybe
a few years from now but you're getting
that sort of same level of design
creativity fit with that
we're adjusting for everything so if we're making the pattern we're adjusting
(07:27):
for posture you know your shoulders are they sloped forward are they sloped
back do you have one arm or one shoulder slope more than the other,
or you have high shoulders,
everything about that garment is constructed to you and it's made for you.
So with OMJ, we're going to take your measurements.
(07:51):
We're going to take your design. You know, if you wanted one sleeve longer or
one short sleeve, one long sleeve, one sleeve, a different color fabric than
the other. We've done that before.
Plenty of times. Sometimes it looks great. But we're able to do that because
it is truly made from the pattern up. It is a bespoke garment.
(08:11):
And that is going to be something that only a handful of folks really nationally
and regionally are able to do.
And really in the southeast, there's not a lot that do it.
It's usually going to be a version
of made-to-measure or maybe an amped-up version of made-to-measure.
It's not going to be super...
(08:32):
On the detailed pattern making side of things.
That's just, it's a lot. It's a lot. But it's a significant differentiator for us.
So I just want to call that out. I think that's what makes it different too
when we're like, say we're in a custom fitting and we're talking about it.
I think people really kind of perk up when you're like, you have your own pattern
(08:53):
and then followed up with, we can adjust your pattern as you adjust.
And I think that kind of makes people go, what?
Because it's really, they're not used to it A lot of places,
they're used to grabbing something off the rack that someone's tailoring it to them.
But it's really nice to go, this is kind of your pattern. Whatever we do going
forward, whether it be a sport coat or a pair of slacks, we can kind of change
things up for you as need be, too.
(09:15):
Sure. I mean, we're essentially sartorial chiropractors.
Can we call ourselves doctors as well? I don't think it's even much of a stretch at this point.
Fabric. The fabric doctors.
Yes. I love that. Yeah. But those varying degrees, and I know it's confusing,
(09:35):
but I think that people kind of knowing, you know, all that goes into the price too.
So, you know, a made to measure garment is going to be less expensive than,
you know, something where they're really tweaking that and making that versus
a fully bespoke handmade,
the guys in the back smoking a cigarette, right? Right.
(09:58):
You know, the old world tailoring, as I call it, you know, there's,
there's a romance in that, but that, you know, there's, there's a price difference.
So, and there's all can be great.
You know, I would say that too, even off the rank, you know,
it can be great with the right tailoring.
Well, and I think it's also about making the customer feel as comfortable as possible.
(10:19):
You know, that. I agree. The experience, you know, it's so clutch to this whole
process. I think one thing we do well is, you know, we have all different folks.
So we have people coming in for their first suit.
We have people coming in for their wedding suit.
We have people come in who they want to tell us how much they know about suiting.
(10:39):
And so those are all different folks.
You know, guy coming in, just graduated college.
He's, you know, young, he's in, you know, pretty, pretty decent shape.
Like he probably doesn't need a bespoke suit.
I mean, maybe he wants that. And if that's so great, but I'm not,
you know, I'm going to, yeah, I think a made to measure is going to look great on him.
(11:01):
And I think maybe start there and we're going to advise that or just be like,
Hey, look, you know, what's your comprehension level here?
Like, do you want to know all the nitty gritty details or no,
I want a suit and I don't care about it.
I don't care. Well, inevitably, as time goes on, you know, perhaps that's their
first foray into this, right, is an off the rack or ready to wear piece.
(11:24):
Then it's made to measure. Then hopefully, you know, down the road, it's bespoke.
And, you know, I always think with a suit that it should fit more like a set
of pajamas, you know, as opposed to something that's so cumbersome that just
collects dust in your closet.
That, you know, we want you to feel as ultimately as comfortable as possible.
(11:46):
And I think that's something that we do very well, sort of bridging those gaps.
I agree. Because whatever we create, we want people to wear.
I think that's the biggest thing is like, how can we get this that you're actually
going to wear, you're going to feel comfortable in it and be able to own it
too, because not everybody is instantly going to feel comfortable in a suit.
Yeah, you want it to be their favorite item in the closet for sure.
(12:09):
So as we talk about like custom suiting, you guys started from shirts, right, Brad?
That is correct. So the original omjolemasonjar.com, if you were to go there,
there would be button-down shirts and ties and polos and t-shirts.
There was no suiting and really not much thought put into it ever being custom suiting.
(12:38):
Okay. And then there was that one New Year's party, right? The morning after, I believe.
The morning, yes. Oh, wait, okay. I don't know this story at all.
Yes, this is a fantastic story. So this is new to me.
Well, I'll first start with a bit, maybe this is a bit just how I am,
but you're putting all this time, you're creating this clothing company,
and I'm very much all in with these things, right?
(13:00):
So I'm still working at a bank.
I still need to wear things other than just a button down. down,
I actually do need things that are in the suiting range.
So I had met with Tom James, which shout out Tom James, you know,
we'll probably hit on them later when we're talking about different levels of
competition and things like that. But, you know, they came to the office.
(13:25):
Got some things which I needed. And I'll be honest, I felt like a fraud getting that.
I'm like, if I'm in this industry, why am I buying this from somewhere else?
And everything was fine.
I know at that point, I was very well-versed in the fabric part of it just through shirting.
(13:45):
And so I knew what really quality fabric was.
And I thought everything was appropriately priced.
I I mean, I'm not saying that, but I was like, hey, A, I should be doing this,
and B, I know what the wholesale on this is.
So, you know, I should just do it myself.
Famous last words, right?
But I started making pieces. So, you know, finding factories.
(14:10):
Fortunately, Felipe is a very good connector and magically can find not just
a factory, but like one of the
best factories. degrees and then somehow convince them to work with us.
But started on that journey, made a lot of really terrible fitting suiting for
myself and a handful of friends.
And then, you know, through working at a bank, people come up and asking, oh, that looks great.
(14:37):
Where'd you get it? And then being able to, you know, say, well,
I actually, you know, pseudo made it.
And to see them you know what that's ridiculous right and so we kind of knew
within that first year or two like
hey we probably need to pivot into this because there's a lot of demand.
(14:58):
And i have to sell a lot of t-shirts to equal a custom suit like i can sell
one custom suit or Or a hundred t-shirts, right?
Or, you know, you know what I'm saying? So I think that was kind of the aha
moment too of, hey, we can be really good at this. We can offer something.
(15:21):
We can kind of bring it into the OMJ brand, which is, you know,
it's not a super stuffy brand. You know, think about we're very vintage inspired.
It's very customer experience focused.
So we can just offer something new. It won't be the most expensive thing,
but it won't be cheap either.
So, you know, we're kind of looking at this from that standpoint.
(15:41):
And to move ahead to Will's point, this is interesting, and this will be a little inside baseball.
We had just gone up to Biltmore for New Year's. This was of course,
pre-kids, you know, back in the day, I think it was 2014.
Yeah. And so we're driving home.
It was, I never forget my wife, Hannah and Felipe, we're driving home from Asheville.
(16:07):
And I'm like, guys, I think we're, you know, we really need to go into this custom suiting thing.
And they were vehemently against it
i mean you could have you
if i wish i could have recorded it no absolutely why would we do that you know
that sort of thing and you know i'm not used to like people being like is something
(16:30):
wrong with me like am i the problem here why are they so against it.
And then, you know, so talking about it and eventually, you know,
I was like, well, we're doing it and that's the direction we're going to take
and we're going to go for it.
You know, and I get it at the time. It's, you know, we're already stretched thin resources.
(16:51):
Felipe and I are both working other jobs.
It's another thing, you know, that's something, you know, think about it from
an outside perspective.
It's a lot that goes into that. So they know all the work that's going to go
into it. Double, triple fold that took to even start the brand.
So I get the reservation on that side. But it was a pivotal moment.
(17:11):
It would have been very easy to say, you know, you're right.
Like the fear here, this is going to be a lot of work.
But we wouldn't be a company today if we hadn't made that decision.
So very impactful. I'll never forget that story. And they came around very quickly.
Okay. So I'm curious now because this is the first time I've ever heard this story.
What exactly was it that triggered driving back from,
(17:34):
like, what did you see at the New new year's party or what did you
like what was the aha moment to say we're
doing i want to try to do this so to level and you
know good good buddy ryan you know his family is is the biltmore went to college
with lovely guy so he he had he had invited us up to do new year's at the biltmore
(17:56):
and you know it was a few other friends but you know we went to dinner at the
restaurant attached to the Biltmore.
It was of a vibe, right? So we're all dressed up in custom suits.
Definitely some drinks.
And I would say Ryan is definitely a dandy. So he loves all things clothing.
(18:19):
So he was excited. Okay. And then so I was excited.
And then we were just talking about it all night long, how cool it would be.
And we're watching fireworks and we're at the hotel And it feels like, Hey, I feel like I'm,
It was a more attainable thing, I think, after that.
Seeing kind of like, other than just Brad sitting at his house, you know.
(18:44):
Thinking this thing. It was kind of like a Gatsby moment where like everything
all comes together. A literal Gatsby moment.
It was a literal Gatsby moment. I'm not.
That's perfect. Sorry, I'm a lit nerd.
And wouldn't you say as well, to sort of feed off of this Fitzgerald vibe,
that, you know, Perhaps you had already put in so much homework at that point,
(19:06):
and it had sort of culminated around.
Say, New Year's. Yeah, by that time.
So y'all may have heard me talk about the 10,000-hour rule.
I go off on my tangent. So it's a practice that I heard first.
Malcolm Gladwell, the book Outliers is where I first heard it.
(19:27):
But the concept is if you do something for 10,000 hours, you are going to be truly great at it.
So in context, if you think of a 40 hour work week for a year,
no vacation, and you do it, you know, you do it for 40 hours straight.
No, you're not taking coffee breaks, you know, that sort of thing.
You get a little bit under 2100 hours in a year of work.
(19:50):
Work so if you are doing
something you know you how do you get to 10 000
hours you do it steadily for five years or
you just really kill it for a few years but there's all ways you can get there
but the important thing is that you get to that 10 000 hours because if you
(20:11):
get to that you're truly an expert at it it's interesting and this is in the
book tiger woods got his 10 000 hours i I think before he was like nine years old, right?
Not surprised, right? He's the best. Savant status. Yeah.
The Beatles, before they were 20, they had 10,000 hours, you know,
playing in clubs and, you know, hole in the wall and together.
(20:34):
And so, you know, there's a direct correlation of if you put in the time and,
you know, people don't think about it, they think about the after,
but Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods,
yes, he's naturally talented, but dude was an expert before he was nine years old.
And so for me, I kind of think about, you know, why I had done it.
(20:55):
I had been doing it. I was ingrained in it, definitely spending more time than I should with it. Yeah.
But making mistakes, working at this for hours and hours and hours.
So I was getting, I was on that path to 10,000 hours at that point by the time
we had that. So, yes, a lot of groundwork had been laid.
(21:17):
But, yeah, thanks for reminding me. And then by the time Will and I were meeting,
I was well on the way, I would say.
And I still hadn't hit my 10,000. And I think because Kenneth tried to calculate
it for me, as Kenneth does.
So I think he kind of thought around 2018 is when I sort of had my 10,000 hours
(21:41):
in the custom or slash clothing arena.
Amazing. So anyways, 10,000 hours, all you kids out there.
It's not just the instant gratification you're looking for here.
You have to work at it, right? Yeah.
One question I had, I thought I would pitch to you guys, is what do you see
(22:02):
as the benefits of custom suiting?
I think a big benefit for me, being in this industry for a long time,
is a lot of people off the rack.
It's just not a good fit sometimes. times. And I think the difference in custom
suiting is you really quite easily can get the fit that people need because
(22:22):
everyone comes in all shapes and sizes.
And I think custom suiting is kind of that niche place where people that are
not an off-the-rack fit and like without tailoring, you're starting from the
beginning of this is made for you.
And I think that makes a difference because you've got like athletes and you've
got people that just don't have a certain shape that matches what your like
(22:45):
standard fabric garment is for fitting.
I think that's really important to go, we can fit everybody.
Because there's people like.
Whether it be size or just cut or like something on them may be larger than
other things. And like everybody wants to be able to feel comfortable in what they're wearing.
And I think customs really does that.
Nobody gets left behind. Yeah. Yeah, totally. I mean, fit is key.
(23:09):
Yeah. In fact, it might be the most operative of tasks with respect to custom.
I will say as well, though, self-expression, individuality.
I know for myself kind of allows me to sort of flex my creative muscle and,
you know, the, the rewards from that, you know, just, just pay dividends.
(23:31):
The longevity that comes with a custom suit as well.
I feel like it, it transcends trends, right?
Yeah. How long have you had your, well, Will would keep, Will keeps everything
and takes very good care of his stuff. So we should, we should quantify that.
But yeah, how long have you had, you know, these pieces and what,
(23:54):
where would you say they rate compared to other garments that you've gotten?
Oh, I mean, you know, with respect to OMJ, you know, second to none,
Honestly, I mean, I have my first suit from you actually that was made in 2015
and it looks just as good today as it did in 2015.
In fact, I wore it on our first podcast. Yes. And that's just a testament to
(24:18):
the craftsmanship and the quality.
And back to the 10,000 hours. It's evident in the pieces we construct.
And you can see it on the smiles of the faces of our clients.
And that's what's truly rewarding for me is someone tries on a garment and they
(24:42):
get in front of the mirror and you can just see their entire facial expression change.
There's nothing better. Yeah, I think working with those that...
They've never experienced that feel-good moment, whether it be weight or,
you know, we've worked with a lot of, you know, folks that have been in accidents or something.
(25:04):
Maybe they, you know, maybe they're paralyzed or they're an amputee.
And those are my favorite because to get them to where they feel better or they
feel good finally in something because they've never been able to wear a garment
because of their prosthetic is true.
True and you know all the all the things that we do
(25:26):
to make that happen so making the
waistband more elastic right but not look like
an elastic waistband you know making the leg one side longer or bigger you know
you know these are things that you know other companies either they're not going
to take the time to do it's not worth their time to do or they're scared quite
(25:47):
frankly to do it Because they're not confident that they can actually get that done.
So yeah, I, I, yeah, a hundred percent. I love that.
In fact, and I had written down,
like just talking about like different materials and things like that.
So, but I broke it down into four kind of things.
And I don't know if you guys have heard of the, like, you can have it fast, cheap, well made.
(26:12):
So you got three options. You can only pick two, right?
So if you want it fast and cheap, it won't be well made. If you want it well-made
and fast, it is not going to be cheap.
So that kind of analogy, I think, is a great one here.
But with custom suiting, I kind of put it as four quadrants.
So you have your fit slash your pattern. You have your materials.
(26:35):
You have your design and your experience, like customer experience,
I think, is so important with that.
And so with a fit, obviously, there's a lot of places that can get your fit right.
Pattern that's going to be like with
the fit you know so the more abstract
(26:55):
you are i should say not not prototypical
body type that becomes harder to do and then you know i kind of look at it as
like if they're really good if they're a really good brand slash taylor you're
going to get three of those things if they're great you're going to get all
four so that's how i look at it those four quadrants.
(27:19):
I thought we could just talk about some of those quadrants and then maybe even
bring it back to like, obviously, you know, I would say we're biased.
We're going to do all four, right?
Most definitely. Yeah. But, you know, really breaking that down from a custom perspective.
So I think we've talked a bit about, you know, the fit and the pattern.
I think we've covered that.
(27:39):
That's going to be something that, you know, if you're a six foot 180,
you can walk into a store and get a 40 and look great okay so there's a lot
of places just by that they can get your fit right the design I think that will
is alluding to maybe touch a little bit on the different things that you can do with designing that.
(28:01):
Sure. I mean, you have a myriad of options. You know, one thing that we see
with a lot of our custom pieces is we'll see an accent here on the buttonhole.
So you could differentiate, you know, colors and so forth as far as threads.
As well, you've got your lining inside your jacket. You can personalize.
(28:22):
You can add a monogram, perhaps.
You can have a different lapel. Say I've got a peak lapel. You could have a
notch lapel like you guys are wearing.
You can accessorize it in so many different ways as well with a lot of our accessories.
Say if they're, you know, if a client's interested in, say, a colorful pocket square. wear.
Because I think that really hints is like the parts
(28:45):
where you get to really make it your own because I
think other things you're kind of limited and I think we have a lot of choices
like even talking about the sleeve like I have metal buttons on my jacket like
these are the things that I wanted to change to make it kind of different to
like suit me for like where I'm at today but also like changing things later
on when you build more suits you have those options too Because we change what we like also.
(29:09):
Sure. And I have so many clients say, well, I want to be able to wear black
and brown shoes with this particular item.
So I'll sort of steer them in the direction of, say, doing more of like a horn button.
You know, something that's kind of marbleized that might have some black and
brown tones. So you get that versatility. Exactly. I love that.
(29:30):
Another key component is the materials. materials
so this would also so the two two pieces
uh the inside the garment and
you know outside the garment but there
are plenty of places that will do you know
they might can make you could it could fit well but maybe the
fabric that they're using isn't as
(29:54):
high of a level of a fabric or even the
inner workings of a jacket which you
know we're talking about half canvas first is full canvas and you know what
that is and you know these are all you know again these are definitely at more
advanced level details but you know essentially how that jacket is constructed
on the places that you can't see are going to be so key to it making it fit well is that,
(30:20):
canvas on the inside which that's what's going to help give it the structure
help it mold to you does it extend into the lapel so if you have a jacket which
if on camera i'm folding my lapel I could wrinkle it up, and then if I let it go,
it's gonna pop back in place, natural roll, perfection.
That is because the canvas is extended into the lapel.
(30:42):
Also is the canvas extending, you know, if it's half canvas,
which is a perfectly fine make, this is a half canvas jacket,
is it extending below that first buttonhole?
If it's above, which is a shortcut, then where the wear and tear is, is not properly secure.
You know, a full jacket is going to be canvas all the way through.
(31:03):
And so you're just going to get even more of a molded fit with that.
And so, and then it goes into like different fabrics and we recommend different
things and some are better unstructured and things like that.
But the material piece I want to hit on is like the mill.
This is where we get the fabric. So part of this is working with good factories.
(31:24):
Part of it is having good relationships with these mills. If you're just starting,
you can't just go work with Lora Piana or Zania or even like Vitelli Barberis
or Rada or, you know, Vitelli Barberis is VBC.
Drago, these are all world-renowned fabrics that are the top-level fabrics.
You have your Lora Piana and your Zania. That's your Rolls-Royce.
(31:48):
You have your, you know, Italian and English mills, great. There's definitely
other mills outside of those two countries that are great as well.
We kind of, I think, are a little more biased on the Italian mill side.
I have plenty of tailors that love the English mill side. We do like a soft
shoulder. We do like a soft, yes, yes.
(32:09):
But that is so important in the construction because you could have the best pattern,
but if you're not using a great cloth or great
materials on the inside it's not it's really not going to
matter and so that kind of
covers the fit pattern the design and originality and then the materials and
(32:29):
the last thing i would say is the customer experience so this is something that
you know as we evolve so much more is coming online i've had a lot of folks
you know without Without really knowing,
you know, I've really kind of, we've all really studied like customer retail
experience is where things are going for niche businesses.
(32:52):
Because you can't get that customer experience online.
That brand could have expert pattern maker, all the best materials.
You can choose any of the design and they may be a good brand,
But they can't have that level of customer experience.
They're online. It's really hard to do. And no matter how perfect we make a
(33:16):
garment for nine out of 10 people,
there's always going to be things that happen with a garment that,
you know, I kind of, I was trying to add it up.
You have the measurement piece. So, you know, it comes in as a fit.
We take like 35 different measurements, right? Right. And not to mention all
(33:37):
the things that we do from a posture standpoint.
So then you go into the design. How many design things can you change?
So many. I mean, you're looking at, you know.
The amount of variations could be really limitless, honestly.
So that also means opportunity for mistakes. So that's mistakes where human
(33:59):
on our end, putting an end, mistakes on the factory, you know,
that's why you want good factories.
Are they putting that order in correctly? Are they doing that stitch the right color?
Did they incorporate that shoulder slope? So the point is, no matter what,
it's never going to be 100% perfect 100% of the time. It's not possible with the human element to it.
(34:20):
And oh, by the way, you need the human element because that's all,
that's the only way you're going to get that dad and the son who have the same
measurements into a properly fitting garment. The computer's not going to be able to tell you that.
But the customer experience is when they come in and it is something wrong.
And then taking care of that and saying, no worries, we got you.
(34:43):
Or, hey, you need this in two days, we're gonna rush that alteration for you.
We're gonna fix that for you.
And so my common saying is I cannot guarantee when that garment comes in that
it is gonna be 100% perfect.
I can't, nobody can. But what we can guarantee is that we will make it perfect.
So we will do whatever we need to do from remaking it to recutting it,
(35:07):
to getting it rushed, to.
Brad, you know, making a special delivery himself, like we're going to make
that garment and that experience as perfect as possible.
But I think that's what stands out about, and I feel as though being when I
came here, that's what I thought kind of stood out is the customer experience
and going over and beyond.
(35:27):
And kind of that it's a small business, but at the same time,
you guys are having big impact.
And I think that's really great because even seeing some of the fabrics,
like when I first came here, I was expecting to see Laura Piana in here.
And in seeing that yeah exactly it's
here but like we cater to all
income levels right because you
(35:50):
know everybody's not there and that's fine but i
think it's really you're still going to look great in whatever fabric you choose
i'll brag on you guys too because there's an art to from a sales perspective
knowing hey this person that came in And I don't want to preconceive or judge
on what fabric they want to be in, right?
(36:12):
There is an art to, if I show them Laura Piana, they're going to fall out of their seat.
Or if I don't show them Laura Piana, they're going to be offended, right?
Right. So you guys are so good at recommending those right fabrics by that person,
just by your interaction in a completely,
you know, in a complete way that is in flow with that appointment.
(36:37):
Sure. There's some intuition involved. Yes.
So I think maybe to have a little bit of fun, we get into some different trends
that we're seeing. These can be good and bad.
I'm dying to make fun of something, right? It's Friday.
What are some, like, trends you're seeing in the custom clothing greater business?
(37:04):
I'm hesitant to say it because I feel like if I bring it into the world,
it will come up. I'm starting to see single-pleat pants come back.
And this is a personal thing with me. This is how I started in this business.
And seeing the wide-leg pants and the vest and the three-piece suits, they are coming back.
Oh, it is here. And it's hard.
Like, I have nothing against it. I think it's great. It's just of how many I
(37:27):
used to do back in the day of, like, single-pleats and double-pleated pants.
It's just i've been doing this a very long time
and i'm just wow it really did come back so so i personally
like a single pleat yeah and i like
a cuff as well and it came back as a fashion forward
yeah thing and loo of it
when you were working with it it was a very like it
(37:51):
was fashion but like it was a different type of fashion like it was
associated more with like dad fashion well yeah or
just like a wide leg style like it just it
looks different like when you do it a single completely it's not wide leg so
i i'm okay that but like
just to see it and even seeing the wide legs like in
the award ceremonies and things like that the wide legs were very very present
(38:14):
and i was like am i ready for this the 90s are definitely having a comeback
yeah for sure like but whether we like it or not is here so that's my thing
with the fashion of what's coming yeah i mean to speak to what you've just mentioned.
I'm seeing a lot more vests as well. Yeah.
So vests, some cuffs, pleats, more of a classic. Done right.
(38:38):
Done right. The right fit and pattern.
And that person has the personality and confidence to pull that off.
It does look great. I see guys on Instagram. I'm like, their pants are up to their navel.
Beyond. No, sorry. Over. Sorry. Right under their chest, right? Super high-waisted.
Their tie, you know, they could tuck their tie in just because the waist is so high.
(39:03):
They're wide. But they look great. They really look great.
And I'm like, I can't pull that off, you know, maybe.
In due time it's just
not me but i think they look great but i
think designing that pattern is a very different pattern
than you know uh you know we won't even get into like denim that's a totally
different pattern too and those are all different you know things with custom
(39:27):
where you can build that so i appreciate that creative ingenuity if it's made
well for that person and they are confident to pull that off. I think it looks great.
It's hard to get that, though.
There's a fine line in who are some of these guys wearing stuff at the award
(39:48):
show that are just completely oversized.
And having that look good, have it look of a purpose.
So I often think of Lewis Hamilton.
Oh, yes, because he pushed the boundaries. He's totally in a bigger fit.
And he's like his height too, but it looks great on him. It looks fantastic.
(40:10):
But it's also because it's Lewis Hamilton. True.
Very true. It's that too. Very true. But he pulls it off well. Right.
He does a lot of like jewelry too. He does. Which I think is something we talked
about too is like the lapel pins and things like that are coming back in also.
Sure. That's a great trend. Jewelry on the hat. Again, it is not my style,
but I think guys that do it, they look great. Yeah. A lot of bracelets.
(40:33):
Yeah. they do they look they look really good i it's not me but i applaud i
mean yeah because i think it's kind of fun that people can bring their elements
of like who they are into their fashion that they're kind of doing and making
it their own sure and ultimately custom is really about,
the individual you know and and and so it really caters to putting your own
(40:58):
spin on things and And it makes it fun for us, too.
Yeah. I think, too, like, just kind of when people come in, I don't,
sometimes I don't know if they realize what they're kind of getting into.
It's kind of like this magical thing that, like, we're doing this,
we're showing you these things.
But I think when they really go through the process, they're like,
oh, you guys are really doing a lot.
Like, because they're not used to people doing as many measurements as we do or taking photos.
(41:23):
And really taking the time to be like, this is what this looks like.
Or I know you picked this, but this is what this is going to look like in this light.
And I think it's nice that we go through all those things because it helps us get to know the client.
But that next time they come in, it makes it even easier that we know what's in their wardrobe.
We know what they have or what they purchased from us last time.
(41:43):
And we can just add on and build.
Sure. And I've heard from so many clients that have gone to other clothiers
and have said that the experience just didn't, you know, compare to what we've
offered and what we still offer,
obviously, and continue to offer here at OMJ.
You know, and I, to me, that's probably, you know, the number one asset that
(42:09):
we have is the experience that we provide.
You know, yes, we've got the detail, we've done the homework,
we, you know, can cater to any sort of, you know, proclivity when it comes to
fashion, but providing an experience that, you know, is ultimately comfortable
to the client is number one. I agree.
(42:30):
And I think there's a human touch to it. Yeah. Which we've seen with technology
a lot that some things are getting a little different of how they do things too. AI. eye.
Body scanners. Love a body scanner. It's funny because I.
There was a period of time where the tech industry was trying to get into clothing.
(42:52):
And it sounded so good on the surface.
You take this picture, it'll take your measurements, and it can make you a garment.
Pretty much all of those companies are gone.
And the body scanner itself, it will take your measurements.
But it's funny because it's really just for show, right? Right.
(43:15):
There are companies that they touted that at first, but they sort of just do
it for show now because it really it will give you the measurements.
But, you know, people often ask me, well, how do you make a fit for somebody?
And there's a formula to it. So I think, you know, again, I'm a I'm a numbers guy.
(43:36):
I'm a math guy as well as love the creative side.
But the missing variant when you're constructing a fit for somebody and a pattern
for somebody is fit preference.
And so if you were to write this equation on a board, you have measurements
(43:56):
times MC squared. No, I'm just kidding.
But you have your fit preferences, your variable there.
And that's what a body scanner can't tell you. I mean, you can tell it,
oh, I like it slim fit. What is slim fit? fit.
Or I might like it slim fit, but I've got bigger junk in the trunk, right?
(44:17):
So I might like it slim fit everywhere except the seat of my pants.
And so I think where you get into,
you have to have that knowledge of incorporating that fit preference.
I use the reference of a dad and his son. We see this all the time.
They come in, they're literally the same height and weight. but if I gave that
(44:39):
dad the pattern of his son he would.
Walk out of the store immediately. And then if I gave the son his dad's jacket,
he would feel like he was swimming in it.
It's just something that you need.
It's the art and the science that goes into it.
The art of that person measuring, talking to the client while you're measuring.
(45:03):
That's how you're getting a feel for what their fit preference is,
what they like, how they like it to fit.
As you talk to them, you learn about them.
And so a body scanner can't have a conversation with you and it can't tell you
all those things about how they want it to fit. So there's my body scanner rant.
If somebody is touting a body scanner for you, it should be complimentary, not the sole basis.
(45:31):
And to be on a positive note, I think it's great.
Like if we have people who are out of town, you know, we have them take a picture
and I can actually throw it in a body scanner and confirm measurements and then
look at the picture and look at their height, their age,
their weight, and get a feel, maybe talk to them on the phone for a little bit
(45:51):
and get a feel for their fit preference. So it can be complimentary.
Any quick, like, I think, you know, we get a lot of questions.
There's so many nuances to this, you know, how do I dry clean it? Or how do I clean it?
I should say we could talk about dry clean. Don't dry clean it,
is what we say. Press only.
Or a nice steam. A nice steam. Unless you, like, spill red wine on it,
(46:14):
do not need to take it to get dry cleaned. Dry cleaning is going to have chemicals.
Especially if it's one of our fabrics, it's going to be high quality,
high thread count. So you could damage that fabric.
And we know plenty of people that have had that happen.
And also wool a lot of our garments are predominantly wool wool is naturally
(46:35):
cleaning naturally antimicrobial you just hang it up it will self-clean a lot
of people don't know that and usually the wrinkles just fall out they fall out
if if you're using great materials on the inside those are also natural materials.
And so they are naturally going to self-clean. You don't need to put chemicals
on it. If you want it pressed, great.
(46:56):
Be careful with your dry cleaners, folks. I think, too, like you said,
hanging it up, you'd be surprised.
Things look a certain way because they didn't get hung up in the first place.
Take a shower with it. Not literally, but have it outside the shower.
We cannot be your mother.
Yeah. I feel like hanging things up is really beneficial to garments.
How many people do we say, they'll call, where should I take it?
(47:20):
We say, just bring it here. Yeah. Also, if we say that, we may not have trust that.
Just bring it to us. We will get it back in proper shape for you.
I'd much rather do that than have a dry cleaner mess it up.
And I think a lot of people ask, like, if I purchase a suit,
how long will it last is a big one. Right.
(47:41):
That's a great question. And how trends will impact perhaps what they purchase
as well. That's a question that I get quite often.
Very subjective, obviously. If you take care of your garment,
it will last forever, right?
If you don't fluctuate in your weight, it will last forever.
Any garment we make is going to last. Again, I can't.
(48:02):
You snag it on something on a plane.
Wrestling at a wedding. Wrestling at a wedding.
Yeah. But how many of those do they bring in and we fix it up?
We fix it up, yeah. We've seen a few blown seats.
From like dancing or whatever. Exactly. Shout out to Sierra in the back.
(48:25):
Fixing scenes that have been blown out. Taylor extraordinaire.
Yeah, so I think that. What about, you know, one thing I get is how long does a custom suit take?
So you're roughly looking at about four to six weeks. Yeah. Upwards of maybe eight weeks max.
Obviously the more handmade bespoke component to it. There's more timing that
(48:48):
goes. There's more timing to it. Can we rush?
We can rush. And what is Brad's philosophy versus how often do I make you guys nervous?
I mean, we'll get it.
One way or another. I'm like, yeah. No, but I think it's important,
like, because I think sometimes people think they don't have enough time.
Or they're like, am I, because they understand the concept that it takes some time.
(49:09):
But I think we've done magic a lot of the time of getting things very,
very quickly. Sure. And we prefer an appointment.
However, if you were to walk in and we have the time, we're going to make more time for you.
Always. Yeah, I think our record, I think we've gotten a suit from overseas
in five or six days before.
Factory was not happy with me at all.
(49:33):
But thank you, factory, for getting that done for us.
And customers don't forget that. No, they don't. They ultimately come back.
Yeah. I think what we do is we really decrease the box that they can do.
So, all right, all these fabrics are out. You can work within these fabrics
and maybe it is more of a, if they have a pattern on file, it's not a problem,
(49:55):
but maybe it is more of a made to measure that they're going to have to do.
Yeah. And if the pattern's already made, we can get it much quicker.
But, you know, and then, yeah, sorry to get this as quickly.
This cannot be completely handmade.
Yeah. Any other questions? I think price point,
like when we're going through, because I think sometimes we talk about the fit
(50:18):
and the pattern and the design and like price sometimes is the last thing,
but having a nice idea because it can really go a lot of different ways.
So this is probably good because this is also going to vary.
You know, you could, there's plenty of places, you know, you can go and get
a, you know, custom suit, quote unquote, or made to measure.
(50:40):
You know, think of like Indochino, for example, and the price may be sub $600.
And that, and I want to be very clear, like there's no shade.
There's, that's in some folks' budget. And, oh, by the way, you know,
if you looked at the four-part spectrum, the fit pattern or fit slash pattern,
design, materials, and experience, you're going to get a good material.
(51:02):
They only use good materials.
Can't always speak for all the other pieces, you know, but I always,
I always say like, that's going to be a sub $600.
And again, if you're fairly standard build, then it probably will fit well too.
And so, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. I think where you get into
like a next level suit, you're looking at over a thousand dollars.
(51:24):
I mean, that's where our suits are going to start again.
Look, we're, we're a small business.
We're not going to be the cheapest people around, you know, but also depending
on the material and the type of, you know, are you having it fully handmade
in Italy, that's going to add up.
And so if you're getting a Laura Piana suit and, you know, you're looking at over $3,000, right?
(51:48):
So it's all relative. And then also, but if you were to go into the Laura Piana
store and buy something off the rack, not even custom,
you're going to pay more than you would pay getting a custom Laura Piana suit here with us.
So, you know, I would say there's a value there, too.
But again, it's all relative. So there's no value to the person who can only
(52:11):
afford the $500 suit. I totally get that.
But, you know, it's all relative. And you can find great suit.
There's a lot of places that make custom suits.
There are a lot of places that make custom suits. I'm happy,
yeah. I know we talk about them internally. We have nothing but good things to say all the time.
But there are a lot of competitors, local, national. professional what
(52:33):
are your thoughts on some maybe we do like
a rapid fire i'll be i'll be
maybe i'll be nice and actually i will say this everywhere has its unique perspective
yeah so yeah and admittedly there's things like other places are better at for
(52:56):
a certain type of client right Right.
Like say Tom James, I mean, they'll come to wherever you are.
Tom James. Great. Great. Yeah. And I know I mentioned them earlier.
They're in the office. Yeah. And shout out buddy. I went to school with,
he was a few years older than me, Adam. He's been there forever. He's a great guy.
He's going to take care of his clients, but it is a different model and probably
a different customer, right? Yeah.
(53:17):
They don't have time. They want you to come, you know, you're going to,
Tom James will go to you and, you know, And so for the person who's like,
I just need suits and I'm limited on time, and it's great.
You may not have as many options to pick from. It may not be as fully bespoke
or customized, or the person measuring you may not be in it for as long as a
(53:41):
more brick-and-mortar local tailor shop would be.
But they do a great job, and they serve a lot of clients really well.
Any others? I mean, you know there's lots. Well, you've mentioned Indochino, of course.
Indochino, you're going to get a fabric. But the person measuring you may have
started working there two weeks ago.
(54:04):
They're not going to tell you that.
Everybody that measures here has either been doing it for at least a year or
there's somebody shadowing that appointment that has been measuring for a year or more. war.
So, you know, I'm very particular. I don't just let people measure until they've
been doing it for a long time.
(54:25):
So it is very important to have somebody know what they're doing.
So if you, if you walked into an Indochino and I was asked them,
how long have you been here? How long have you worked here?
If they say, Oh, this started recently or they're, you know,
if they're, unless they've been like, I've been here for a year and a half,
just be cautious. Yeah, and it's essentially a chain, too.
(54:46):
Sure. National chain. So I can't fault them. I mean, it's hard to hire.
It's hard to find people that are good. Lord knows we've had our share of things
that just didn't work out.
So, yeah. But it does serve a great purpose.
Now, I know that there's another competitor saying Stitch by Mitch.
Right. So Mitch, you know, I will say this. So I mentored Mitch for quite a
(55:10):
few years, both at State.
And I love his passion and man, he gets after it and he's a hustler.
And so I give him all the kudos.
I mean, he'll, he'll fly to Seattle for a client like this afternoon. Yeah. Yeah.
I would, I wouldn't, I can't do that or wouldn't do that. And so I give him
(55:31):
many props. Mentoring Mitch was great. He was great.
Hopefully, I imparted a lot of wisdom for him. And, you know,
ultimately, his style is going to be different than the OMJ style.
And he's going to serve maybe a different client than the OMJ client.
So, there's room for all of us.
You know, I look at, like, I'll give a shout out to Abbeydale, David Watkins.
So, David's been doing this longer than I have for several years longer.
(55:55):
In fact, I would get David's advice all the time when I first started.
And he's always been incredibly kind and incredibly helpful.
For us, same thing would be like a TRC. These people know what they're doing.
They've been doing it a long time.
So you can't go wrong with them. I don't know much about Hive and Colony.
(56:18):
I think it's a bit more of, it's more of a vibe of, if you think like Miami,
they may not say that, that's just a vibe I get.
I can't speak to that. I'm sure they do a great job, but you kinda wanna go
to a place that you sort of mesh with their vibe, right?
If you love sort of that aspect and you feel of a vibe with the place you're
(56:40):
going to, by all means, you may get along really well.
I use Bruce Julian as a great example. He's far more eclectic than we are.
We have clients. They love that.
They're not going to see whimsical Paisley jackets hanging around our store.
And they get a great experience with Bruce and his staff.
(57:02):
So there's no ill will. for any of these places. They all serve a purpose.
You know, again, if you looked at the four-prong or four-part approach to what
makes a great custom-suiting company, I think all of those are,
you know, in that they do some of those things well.
You know, sure, you can't go wrong. I would also say, you know,
(57:24):
here in Charlotte, you know, my take has always been.
At least attempt, it doesn't always work out this way, but to be a helpful resource
across the board, right?
So all rising tides lift all ships.
I decided early on, I would rather be the company that other companies can come to for help.
(57:50):
You need a suit in six days, we got you.
You need a a suit for, you know, four-year-old kid, we got you.
You need a suit for somebody, you know, maybe your program sizing doesn't go up high enough.
Maybe you have, you know, not everybody does women.
(58:12):
I want to be a helpful resource for my counterparts, you know,
and so I think once we reach the level where we had quote-unquote competitors
say, hey, Brad, can you help me with this?
I kind of knew like, hey, we're all in this together and, you know,
we can all be helpful and together.
And, you know, if I can help people more than they help me, then,
(58:36):
you know, I feel good about that.
I like that. And to toot our own horn.
It doesn't hurt when Garden and Gun awards you with the best sport coat in the South.
Well, that is very helpful, especially, we have a large contingent.
I would say that serves an audience.
I could sit here and talk all day long, but until they read about us in a magazine,
(58:59):
they want nothing to do with us.
Totally get it. That was very helpful.
That has been helpful. Again, that was, you know, 2018 is when we won that award.
And so that was real. I mean, honestly, it was sort of like rocket ship for growth after that.
And then we get the eyes of Tabor on us as well. Yes. Yes. As a local.
But I mean, that's a lot about the teamwork, too. I think
(59:21):
that like when you build a community because we're all
kind of doing the same thing and sometimes we've been
able to provide something they were not able to do but they
literally send people to us if I think that's
kind of the ability like if we all work together sure because we have the same
goal at the end of the day to make Charlotte as a community dress well and feel
(59:42):
good about themselves and that is what everyone's trying to do sure and we have
such a good community at OMJ as well I mean such a testament to of Brad's leadership.
Yeah, definitely. We all really want to, you know, wear as many hats as possible,
you know, so that, you know, where there are times where one person is needed
for, say, one facet of the business, the other can take over.
(01:00:03):
And we're all in it together. A team, let me tell you, a team is huge.
And so, you know, with custom, especially there have been times when it was just myself and Felipe.
And it's a lot, you know. It's a lot of coordinating.
It's a lot of being completely organized and making sure all of these things are taken care of.
(01:00:30):
So to have a team is so important and impactful, and it lets everybody do the
things they do well and us not drop the ball on anything.
So I'm very proud of the team that we've built. Everybody serves a purpose.
It's all so influential in how we do things at OMJ.
(01:00:52):
All right, guys. This has been fabulous. A little custom 101 for all the folks.
Music.
Stupendous of me. Yeah.
I cannot. Yeah, no. But when you do, you immediately will tap into that rapport
(01:01:14):
that you established here, which is often fun.
But I'm like, I never see them in the suit. You just have to get out there.
Instagram. Yeah, like following people on Instagram. But I think that's the
nice thing that people show you like photos and things like that so you can
see them. Sure. Which is fun.
But yeah, I think it's kind of hard to see people in suits lately.
(01:01:34):
You got to get out more, can't you?
Yes. But it could be like we're in the land of Patagonia and that's all I can see.
We'll get them one by one. We can upgrade them though.
Music.
Music.
(00:34):
Welcome back to Tailored Talks. I am Brad, co-founder at OMJ and one of the co-hosts.
Today, we're going to cover all things custom clothing.
Indeed. How are you guys doing? Doing well. Doing well. We also have a very
special birthday today.
Yes, happy birthday. The old man.
(00:54):
But to my right, we have co-host Will Jones. Hey, guys.
And then to Will's right, we have co-host Kendra Cheeseman.
Hi, how are y'all doing? dude? So a little bit of cleanup right off the top
from last week or our last podcast was all things whiskey.
So Kendra, we missed you, but Trey tried to kill it.
(01:16):
But two things people were asking about the whiskey club.
So the whiskey club is something that is specific to OMJ Clothing.
We have quarterly events.
It's fun. If you go on our website, omjclothing.com, There's a link there.
If you go on our social media, link in our profile, there's a link there. You can join.
(01:37):
We'd love to have you. And then also I had questions about people were asking,
where did you get that bottle of Pappy Van Winkle?
So I got that a long time ago, but we were actually giving it away.
Today, actually, we're doing a raffle for all those that renewed in the Whiskey Club.
They go into a raffle. So we're actually giving that away.
(01:57):
I don't think anybody's ever just done that. Yeah. Someone's going to be real
excited. Yes. Yes. Someone's selfless. No.
But we believe in sharing and we love the Whiskey Club that much.
So that's my plug for the Whiskey Club.
So today, a topic that is often very intimidating for a lot of folks, very nuanced.
(02:18):
It's one of those things that a lot of people just assume are not for them.
Custom clothing. So custom suiting, custom shirting. These are,
you know, custom is kind of used and essentially what it is,
is you're making something from scratch for you.
So that could really apply to a lot of things. But in the clothing,
we do pretty much everything in our store you can customize and make for you.
(02:41):
At OMJ, we make it super simple. We're here to help.
I feel like we have one of the best teams I've ever seen with custom clothing. You're here.
True experts. In fact, everybody's been here almost a full year.
And then everybody who's here has, you know, either like Kendra,
(03:02):
20 plus years in the industry.
Will, who's, you know, been best dressed since the second grade. Can we do that?
Too kind. Much too kind.
So, yeah, normally I like to take a very humble approach with anything,
but this is actually one of the topics I feel we're truly the best in,
(03:22):
and not just maybe locally, regionally, but nationally.
And so I'm excited to talk about it. We are going to do a lot of,
you know, I've, of course, been doing this a very long time.
On the the details and all the things that go into behind the scenes so you guys feel free to ask,
questions away even if you kind of know the answer and you
(03:45):
think it'd be a great question for our listeners and watchers ask the question
as well but i think hopefully we can just kind of share all the things that
go into custom and then also make it something that people can get excited And
then come in and experience the OMJ experience with custom.
That's perfect. So since we're talking about custom, maybe we can get a little
(04:07):
bit into like what exactly, other than like you're picking out your styles,
what entails custom suiting?
Right. And I think of this as like, you know, custom is a very broad term.
So, you know, it's more of like an identifier of I am custom making something.
Something in custom clothing custom suiting
(04:28):
shirting specifically there's sort of levels
so you know you have something off
the rack you're buying it in a store taking it with
you you can get alterations then you have what's
called made to measure or mtm you'll see that and that
is something that is a garment that is
sort of prefab off of a pattern so if
(04:50):
you're 40 you know they have that pattern and they can kind
of make that at the factory they can do some
tweaks to it so they can shorten the sleeves lengthen the sleeves they
can take things in let things out nip and
tuck here and there and so if you're pretty close to a standard size they can
really dial that in it's more expensive than off the rack obviously but it's
(05:11):
you know not as expensive as other makes yeah you're definitely still leveling
up but it's it's not say bespoke bespoke and also Also,
it's often like it's made to order, too.
So you can do some of those design things. You can pick your lining.
You can pick your thread, put your name inside of it.
So it is a well-made. It's something I kind of usually, you know,
(05:34):
at a bare minimum, I recommend something like that.
If you're not just a, hey, go get it off the rack, you know,
if you're wanting to invest, I would start there.
And it's also something at OMJ we do make to measure. Sort of your next level
would be, you know, a variation of bespoke.
So there are levels of bespoke too. You know, everybody's kind of heard of the Seville Row bespoke.
(06:00):
They're making it at the store. There's a guy in the back. He's been doing it for 30, 40 years.
Cut on premise. Yes. Yeah.
This is sort of like the pinnacle of suiting. But these are also $5,000, $10,000.
Multiple fittings. you know, and, you know, it's one of those things where it's
(06:22):
not accessible to everybody.
So, you know, for those that have the means, obviously, it's amazing.
In the turnaround process, you know. Yeah. What do you think?
Because, I mean, you'd have to be there for multiple fittings,
too. Several months. Like where you'd have to stay.
I mean, I wouldn't mind, but you'd have to have the financing to stay during that time.
(06:43):
Yeah. But very labor intensive. Very labor intensive.
And then you have sort of a notch under that and what I would sort of call,
and this is sort of the omj what we really specialize
in is we do actually make
that pattern and then send that to a factory so
yes we're not cutting it although eventually i
(07:04):
will be my goal i'll be cutting that
in the back you've heard it here first maybe maybe
a few years from now but you're getting
that sort of same level of design
creativity fit with that
we're adjusting for everything so if we're making the pattern we're adjusting
(07:27):
for posture you know your shoulders are they sloped forward are they sloped
back do you have one arm or one shoulder slope more than the other,
or you have high shoulders,
everything about that garment is constructed to you and it's made for you.
So with OMJ, we're going to take your measurements.
(07:51):
We're going to take your design. You know, if you wanted one sleeve longer or
one short sleeve, one long sleeve, one sleeve, a different color fabric than
the other. We've done that before.
Plenty of times. Sometimes it looks great. But we're able to do that because
it is truly made from the pattern up. It is a bespoke garment.
(08:11):
And that is going to be something that only a handful of folks really nationally
and regionally are able to do.
And really in the southeast, there's not a lot that do it.
It's usually going to be a version
of made-to-measure or maybe an amped-up version of made-to-measure.
It's not going to be super...
(08:32):
On the detailed pattern making side of things.
That's just, it's a lot. It's a lot. But it's a significant differentiator for us.
So I just want to call that out. I think that's what makes it different too
when we're like, say we're in a custom fitting and we're talking about it.
I think people really kind of perk up when you're like, you have your own pattern
(08:53):
and then followed up with, we can adjust your pattern as you adjust.
And I think that kind of makes people go, what?
Because it's really, they're not used to it A lot of places,
they're used to grabbing something off the rack that someone's tailoring it to them.
But it's really nice to go, this is kind of your pattern. Whatever we do going
forward, whether it be a sport coat or a pair of slacks, we can kind of change
things up for you as need be, too.
(09:15):
Sure. I mean, we're essentially sartorial chiropractors.
Can we call ourselves doctors as well? I don't think it's even much of a stretch at this point.
Fabric. The fabric doctors.
Yes. I love that. Yeah. But those varying degrees, and I know it's confusing,
(09:35):
but I think that people kind of knowing, you know, all that goes into the price too.
So, you know, a made to measure garment is going to be less expensive than,
you know, something where they're really tweaking that and making that versus
a fully bespoke handmade,
the guys in the back smoking a cigarette, right? Right.
(09:58):
You know, the old world tailoring, as I call it, you know, there's,
there's a romance in that, but that, you know, there's, there's a price difference.
So, and there's all can be great.
You know, I would say that too, even off the rank, you know,
it can be great with the right tailoring.
Well, and I think it's also about making the customer feel as comfortable as possible.
(10:19):
You know, that. I agree. The experience, you know, it's so clutch to this whole
process. I think one thing we do well is, you know, we have all different folks.
So we have people coming in for their first suit.
We have people coming in for their wedding suit.
We have people come in who they want to tell us how much they know about suiting.
(10:39):
And so those are all different folks.
You know, guy coming in, just graduated college.
He's, you know, young, he's in, you know, pretty, pretty decent shape.
Like he probably doesn't need a bespoke suit.
I mean, maybe he wants that. And if that's so great, but I'm not,
you know, I'm going to, yeah, I think a made to measure is going to look great on him.
(11:01):
And I think maybe start there and we're going to advise that or just be like,
Hey, look, you know, what's your comprehension level here?
Like, do you want to know all the nitty gritty details or no,
I want a suit and I don't care about it.
I don't care. Well, inevitably, as time goes on, you know, perhaps that's their
first foray into this, right, is an off the rack or ready to wear piece.
(11:24):
Then it's made to measure. Then hopefully, you know, down the road, it's bespoke.
And, you know, I always think with a suit that it should fit more like a set
of pajamas, you know, as opposed to something that's so cumbersome that just
collects dust in your closet.
That, you know, we want you to feel as ultimately as comfortable as possible.
(11:46):
And I think that's something that we do very well, sort of bridging those gaps.
I agree. Because whatever we create, we want people to wear.
I think that's the biggest thing is like, how can we get this that you're actually
going to wear, you're going to feel comfortable in it and be able to own it
too, because not everybody is instantly going to feel comfortable in a suit.
Yeah, you want it to be their favorite item in the closet for sure.
(12:09):
So as we talk about like custom suiting, you guys started from shirts, right, Brad?
That is correct. So the original omjolemasonjar.com, if you were to go there,
there would be button-down shirts and ties and polos and t-shirts.
There was no suiting and really not much thought put into it ever being custom suiting.
(12:38):
Okay. And then there was that one New Year's party, right? The morning after, I believe.
The morning, yes. Oh, wait, okay. I don't know this story at all.
Yes, this is a fantastic story. So this is new to me.
Well, I'll first start with a bit, maybe this is a bit just how I am,
but you're putting all this time, you're creating this clothing company,
and I'm very much all in with these things, right?
(13:00):
So I'm still working at a bank.
I still need to wear things other than just a button down. down,
I actually do need things that are in the suiting range.
So I had met with Tom James, which shout out Tom James, you know,
we'll probably hit on them later when we're talking about different levels of
competition and things like that. But, you know, they came to the office.
(13:25):
Got some things which I needed. And I'll be honest, I felt like a fraud getting that.
I'm like, if I'm in this industry, why am I buying this from somewhere else?
And everything was fine.
I know at that point, I was very well-versed in the fabric part of it just through shirting.
(13:45):
And so I knew what really quality fabric was.
And I thought everything was appropriately priced.
I I mean, I'm not saying that, but I was like, hey, A, I should be doing this,
and B, I know what the wholesale on this is.
So, you know, I should just do it myself.
Famous last words, right?
But I started making pieces. So, you know, finding factories.
(14:10):
Fortunately, Felipe is a very good connector and magically can find not just
a factory, but like one of the
best factories. degrees and then somehow convince them to work with us.
But started on that journey, made a lot of really terrible fitting suiting for
myself and a handful of friends.
And then, you know, through working at a bank, people come up and asking, oh, that looks great.
(14:37):
Where'd you get it? And then being able to, you know, say, well,
I actually, you know, pseudo made it.
And to see them you know what that's ridiculous right and so we kind of knew
within that first year or two like
hey we probably need to pivot into this because there's a lot of demand.
(14:58):
And i have to sell a lot of t-shirts to equal a custom suit like i can sell
one custom suit or Or a hundred t-shirts, right?
Or, you know, you know what I'm saying? So I think that was kind of the aha
moment too of, hey, we can be really good at this. We can offer something.
(15:21):
We can kind of bring it into the OMJ brand, which is, you know,
it's not a super stuffy brand. You know, think about we're very vintage inspired.
It's very customer experience focused.
So we can just offer something new. It won't be the most expensive thing,
but it won't be cheap either.
So, you know, we're kind of looking at this from that standpoint.
(15:41):
And to move ahead to Will's point, this is interesting, and this will be a little inside baseball.
We had just gone up to Biltmore for New Year's. This was of course,
pre-kids, you know, back in the day, I think it was 2014.
Yeah. And so we're driving home.
It was, I never forget my wife, Hannah and Felipe, we're driving home from Asheville.
(16:07):
And I'm like, guys, I think we're, you know, we really need to go into this custom suiting thing.
And they were vehemently against it
i mean you could have you
if i wish i could have recorded it no absolutely why would we do that you know
that sort of thing and you know i'm not used to like people being like is something
(16:30):
wrong with me like am i the problem here why are they so against it.
And then, you know, so talking about it and eventually, you know,
I was like, well, we're doing it and that's the direction we're going to take
and we're going to go for it.
You know, and I get it at the time. It's, you know, we're already stretched thin resources.
(16:51):
Felipe and I are both working other jobs.
It's another thing, you know, that's something, you know, think about it from
an outside perspective.
It's a lot that goes into that. So they know all the work that's going to go
into it. Double, triple fold that took to even start the brand.
So I get the reservation on that side. But it was a pivotal moment.
(17:11):
It would have been very easy to say, you know, you're right.
Like the fear here, this is going to be a lot of work.
But we wouldn't be a company today if we hadn't made that decision.
So very impactful. I'll never forget that story. And they came around very quickly.
Okay. So I'm curious now because this is the first time I've ever heard this story.
What exactly was it that triggered driving back from,
(17:34):
like, what did you see at the New new year's party or what did you
like what was the aha moment to say we're
doing i want to try to do this so to level and you
know good good buddy ryan you know his family is is the biltmore went to college
with lovely guy so he he had he had invited us up to do new year's at the biltmore
(17:56):
and you know it was a few other friends but you know we went to dinner at the
restaurant attached to the Biltmore.
It was of a vibe, right? So we're all dressed up in custom suits.
Definitely some drinks.
And I would say Ryan is definitely a dandy. So he loves all things clothing.
(18:19):
So he was excited. Okay. And then so I was excited.
And then we were just talking about it all night long, how cool it would be.
And we're watching fireworks and we're at the hotel And it feels like, Hey, I feel like I'm,
It was a more attainable thing, I think, after that.
Seeing kind of like, other than just Brad sitting at his house, you know.
(18:44):
Thinking this thing. It was kind of like a Gatsby moment where like everything
all comes together. A literal Gatsby moment.
It was a literal Gatsby moment. I'm not.
That's perfect. Sorry, I'm a lit nerd.
And wouldn't you say as well, to sort of feed off of this Fitzgerald vibe,
that, you know, Perhaps you had already put in so much homework at that point,
(19:06):
and it had sort of culminated around.
Say, New Year's. Yeah, by that time.
So y'all may have heard me talk about the 10,000-hour rule.
I go off on my tangent. So it's a practice that I heard first.
Malcolm Gladwell, the book Outliers is where I first heard it.
(19:27):
But the concept is if you do something for 10,000 hours, you are going to be truly great at it.
So in context, if you think of a 40 hour work week for a year,
no vacation, and you do it, you know, you do it for 40 hours straight.
No, you're not taking coffee breaks, you know, that sort of thing.
You get a little bit under 2100 hours in a year of work.
(19:50):
Work so if you are doing
something you know you how do you get to 10 000
hours you do it steadily for five years or
you just really kill it for a few years but there's all ways you can get there
but the important thing is that you get to that 10 000 hours because if you
(20:11):
get to that you're truly an expert at it it's interesting and this is in the
book tiger woods got his 10 000 hours i I think before he was like nine years old, right?
Not surprised, right? He's the best. Savant status. Yeah.
The Beatles, before they were 20, they had 10,000 hours, you know,
playing in clubs and, you know, hole in the wall and together.
(20:34):
And so, you know, there's a direct correlation of if you put in the time and,
you know, people don't think about it, they think about the after,
but Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods,
yes, he's naturally talented, but dude was an expert before he was nine years old.
And so for me, I kind of think about, you know, why I had done it.
(20:55):
I had been doing it. I was ingrained in it, definitely spending more time than I should with it. Yeah.
But making mistakes, working at this for hours and hours and hours.
So I was getting, I was on that path to 10,000 hours at that point by the time
we had that. So, yes, a lot of groundwork had been laid.
(21:17):
But, yeah, thanks for reminding me. And then by the time Will and I were meeting,
I was well on the way, I would say.
And I still hadn't hit my 10,000. And I think because Kenneth tried to calculate
it for me, as Kenneth does.
So I think he kind of thought around 2018 is when I sort of had my 10,000 hours
(21:41):
in the custom or slash clothing arena.
Amazing. So anyways, 10,000 hours, all you kids out there.
It's not just the instant gratification you're looking for here.
You have to work at it, right? Yeah.
One question I had, I thought I would pitch to you guys, is what do you see
(22:02):
as the benefits of custom suiting?
I think a big benefit for me, being in this industry for a long time,
is a lot of people off the rack.
It's just not a good fit sometimes. times. And I think the difference in custom
suiting is you really quite easily can get the fit that people need because
(22:22):
everyone comes in all shapes and sizes.
And I think custom suiting is kind of that niche place where people that are
not an off-the-rack fit and like without tailoring, you're starting from the
beginning of this is made for you.
And I think that makes a difference because you've got like athletes and you've
got people that just don't have a certain shape that matches what your like
(22:45):
standard fabric garment is for fitting.
I think that's really important to go, we can fit everybody.
Because there's people like.
Whether it be size or just cut or like something on them may be larger than
other things. And like everybody wants to be able to feel comfortable in what they're wearing.
And I think customs really does that.
Nobody gets left behind. Yeah. Yeah, totally. I mean, fit is key.
(23:09):
Yeah. In fact, it might be the most operative of tasks with respect to custom.
I will say as well, though, self-expression, individuality.
I know for myself kind of allows me to sort of flex my creative muscle and,
you know, the, the rewards from that, you know, just, just pay dividends.
(23:31):
The longevity that comes with a custom suit as well.
I feel like it, it transcends trends, right?
Yeah. How long have you had your, well, Will would keep, Will keeps everything
and takes very good care of his stuff. So we should, we should quantify that.
But yeah, how long have you had, you know, these pieces and what,
(23:54):
where would you say they rate compared to other garments that you've gotten?
Oh, I mean, you know, with respect to OMJ, you know, second to none,
Honestly, I mean, I have my first suit from you actually that was made in 2015
and it looks just as good today as it did in 2015.
In fact, I wore it on our first podcast. Yes. And that's just a testament to
(24:18):
the craftsmanship and the quality.
And back to the 10,000 hours. It's evident in the pieces we construct.
And you can see it on the smiles of the faces of our clients.
And that's what's truly rewarding for me is someone tries on a garment and they
(24:42):
get in front of the mirror and you can just see their entire facial expression change.
There's nothing better. Yeah, I think working with those that...
They've never experienced that feel-good moment, whether it be weight or,
you know, we've worked with a lot of, you know, folks that have been in accidents or something.
(25:04):
Maybe they, you know, maybe they're paralyzed or they're an amputee.
And those are my favorite because to get them to where they feel better or they
feel good finally in something because they've never been able to wear a garment
because of their prosthetic is true.
True and you know all the all the things that we do
(25:26):
to make that happen so making the
waistband more elastic right but not look like
an elastic waistband you know making the leg one side longer or bigger you know
you know these are things that you know other companies either they're not going
to take the time to do it's not worth their time to do or they're scared quite
(25:47):
frankly to do it Because they're not confident that they can actually get that done.
So yeah, I, I, yeah, a hundred percent. I love that.
In fact, and I had written down,
like just talking about like different materials and things like that.
So, but I broke it down into four kind of things.
And I don't know if you guys have heard of the, like, you can have it fast, cheap, well made.
(26:12):
So you got three options. You can only pick two, right?
So if you want it fast and cheap, it won't be well made. If you want it well-made
and fast, it is not going to be cheap.
So that kind of analogy, I think, is a great one here.
But with custom suiting, I kind of put it as four quadrants.
So you have your fit slash your pattern. You have your materials.
(26:35):
You have your design and your experience, like customer experience,
I think, is so important with that.
And so with a fit, obviously, there's a lot of places that can get your fit right.
Pattern that's going to be like with
the fit you know so the more abstract
(26:55):
you are i should say not not prototypical
body type that becomes harder to do and then you know i kind of look at it as
like if they're really good if they're a really good brand slash taylor you're
going to get three of those things if they're great you're going to get all
four so that's how i look at it those four quadrants.
(27:19):
I thought we could just talk about some of those quadrants and then maybe even
bring it back to like, obviously, you know, I would say we're biased.
We're going to do all four, right?
Most definitely. Yeah. But, you know, really breaking that down from a custom perspective.
So I think we've talked a bit about, you know, the fit and the pattern.
I think we've covered that.
(27:39):
That's going to be something that, you know, if you're a six foot 180,
you can walk into a store and get a 40 and look great okay so there's a lot
of places just by that they can get your fit right the design I think that will
is alluding to maybe touch a little bit on the different things that you can do with designing that.
(28:01):
Sure. I mean, you have a myriad of options. You know, one thing that we see
with a lot of our custom pieces is we'll see an accent here on the buttonhole.
So you could differentiate, you know, colors and so forth as far as threads.
As well, you've got your lining inside your jacket. You can personalize.
(28:22):
You can add a monogram, perhaps.
You can have a different lapel. Say I've got a peak lapel. You could have a
notch lapel like you guys are wearing.
You can accessorize it in so many different ways as well with a lot of our accessories.
Say if they're, you know, if a client's interested in, say, a colorful pocket square. wear.
Because I think that really hints is like the parts
(28:45):
where you get to really make it your own because I
think other things you're kind of limited and I think we have a lot of choices
like even talking about the sleeve like I have metal buttons on my jacket like
these are the things that I wanted to change to make it kind of different to
like suit me for like where I'm at today but also like changing things later
on when you build more suits you have those options too Because we change what we like also.
(29:09):
Sure. And I have so many clients say, well, I want to be able to wear black
and brown shoes with this particular item.
So I'll sort of steer them in the direction of, say, doing more of like a horn button.
You know, something that's kind of marbleized that might have some black and
brown tones. So you get that versatility. Exactly. I love that.
(29:30):
Another key component is the materials. materials
so this would also so the two two pieces
uh the inside the garment and
you know outside the garment but there
are plenty of places that will do you know
they might can make you could it could fit well but maybe the
fabric that they're using isn't as
(29:54):
high of a level of a fabric or even the
inner workings of a jacket which you
know we're talking about half canvas first is full canvas and you know what
that is and you know these are all you know again these are definitely at more
advanced level details but you know essentially how that jacket is constructed
on the places that you can't see are going to be so key to it making it fit well is that,
(30:20):
canvas on the inside which that's what's going to help give it the structure
help it mold to you does it extend into the lapel so if you have a jacket which
if on camera i'm folding my lapel I could wrinkle it up, and then if I let it go,
it's gonna pop back in place, natural roll, perfection.
That is because the canvas is extended into the lapel.
(30:42):
Also is the canvas extending, you know, if it's half canvas,
which is a perfectly fine make, this is a half canvas jacket,
is it extending below that first buttonhole?
If it's above, which is a shortcut, then where the wear and tear is, is not properly secure.
You know, a full jacket is going to be canvas all the way through.
(31:03):
And so you're just going to get even more of a molded fit with that.
And so, and then it goes into like different fabrics and we recommend different
things and some are better unstructured and things like that.
But the material piece I want to hit on is like the mill.
This is where we get the fabric. So part of this is working with good factories.
(31:24):
Part of it is having good relationships with these mills. If you're just starting,
you can't just go work with Lora Piana or Zania or even like Vitelli Barberis
or Rada or, you know, Vitelli Barberis is VBC.
Drago, these are all world-renowned fabrics that are the top-level fabrics.
You have your Lora Piana and your Zania. That's your Rolls-Royce.
(31:48):
You have your, you know, Italian and English mills, great. There's definitely
other mills outside of those two countries that are great as well.
We kind of, I think, are a little more biased on the Italian mill side.
I have plenty of tailors that love the English mill side. We do like a soft
shoulder. We do like a soft, yes, yes.
(32:09):
But that is so important in the construction because you could have the best pattern,
but if you're not using a great cloth or great
materials on the inside it's not it's really not going to
matter and so that kind of
covers the fit pattern the design and originality and then the materials and
(32:29):
the last thing i would say is the customer experience so this is something that
you know as we evolve so much more is coming online i've had a lot of folks
you know without Without really knowing,
you know, I've really kind of, we've all really studied like customer retail
experience is where things are going for niche businesses.
(32:52):
Because you can't get that customer experience online.
That brand could have expert pattern maker, all the best materials.
You can choose any of the design and they may be a good brand,
But they can't have that level of customer experience.
They're online. It's really hard to do. And no matter how perfect we make a
(33:16):
garment for nine out of 10 people,
there's always going to be things that happen with a garment that,
you know, I kind of, I was trying to add it up.
You have the measurement piece. So, you know, it comes in as a fit.
We take like 35 different measurements, right? Right. And not to mention all
(33:37):
the things that we do from a posture standpoint.
So then you go into the design. How many design things can you change?
So many. I mean, you're looking at, you know.
The amount of variations could be really limitless, honestly.
So that also means opportunity for mistakes. So that's mistakes where human
(33:59):
on our end, putting an end, mistakes on the factory, you know,
that's why you want good factories.
Are they putting that order in correctly? Are they doing that stitch the right color?
Did they incorporate that shoulder slope? So the point is, no matter what,
it's never going to be 100% perfect 100% of the time. It's not possible with the human element to it.
(34:20):
And oh, by the way, you need the human element because that's all,
that's the only way you're going to get that dad and the son who have the same
measurements into a properly fitting garment. The computer's not going to be able to tell you that.
But the customer experience is when they come in and it is something wrong.
And then taking care of that and saying, no worries, we got you.
(34:43):
Or, hey, you need this in two days, we're gonna rush that alteration for you.
We're gonna fix that for you.
And so my common saying is I cannot guarantee when that garment comes in that
it is gonna be 100% perfect.
I can't, nobody can. But what we can guarantee is that we will make it perfect.
So we will do whatever we need to do from remaking it to recutting it,
(35:07):
to getting it rushed, to.
Brad, you know, making a special delivery himself, like we're going to make
that garment and that experience as perfect as possible.
But I think that's what stands out about, and I feel as though being when I
came here, that's what I thought kind of stood out is the customer experience
and going over and beyond.
(35:27):
And kind of that it's a small business, but at the same time,
you guys are having big impact.
And I think that's really great because even seeing some of the fabrics,
like when I first came here, I was expecting to see Laura Piana in here.
And in seeing that yeah exactly it's
here but like we cater to all
income levels right because you
(35:50):
know everybody's not there and that's fine but i
think it's really you're still going to look great in whatever fabric you choose
i'll brag on you guys too because there's an art to from a sales perspective
knowing hey this person that came in And I don't want to preconceive or judge
on what fabric they want to be in, right?
(36:12):
There is an art to, if I show them Laura Piana, they're going to fall out of their seat.
Or if I don't show them Laura Piana, they're going to be offended, right?
Right. So you guys are so good at recommending those right fabrics by that person,
just by your interaction in a completely,
you know, in a complete way that is in flow with that appointment.
(36:37):
Sure. There's some intuition involved. Yes.
So I think maybe to have a little bit of fun, we get into some different trends
that we're seeing. These can be good and bad.
I'm dying to make fun of something, right? It's Friday.
What are some, like, trends you're seeing in the custom clothing greater business?
(37:04):
I'm hesitant to say it because I feel like if I bring it into the world,
it will come up. I'm starting to see single-pleat pants come back.
And this is a personal thing with me. This is how I started in this business.
And seeing the wide-leg pants and the vest and the three-piece suits, they are coming back.
Oh, it is here. And it's hard.
Like, I have nothing against it. I think it's great. It's just of how many I
(37:27):
used to do back in the day of, like, single-pleats and double-pleated pants.
It's just i've been doing this a very long time
and i'm just wow it really did come back so so i personally
like a single pleat yeah and i like
a cuff as well and it came back as a fashion forward
yeah thing and loo of it
when you were working with it it was a very like it
(37:51):
was fashion but like it was a different type of fashion like it was
associated more with like dad fashion well yeah or
just like a wide leg style like it just it
looks different like when you do it a single completely it's not wide leg so
i i'm okay that but like
just to see it and even seeing the wide legs like in
the award ceremonies and things like that the wide legs were very very present
(38:14):
and i was like am i ready for this the 90s are definitely having a comeback
yeah for sure like but whether we like it or not is here so that's my thing
with the fashion of what's coming yeah i mean to speak to what you've just mentioned.
I'm seeing a lot more vests as well. Yeah.
So vests, some cuffs, pleats, more of a classic. Done right.
(38:38):
Done right. The right fit and pattern.
And that person has the personality and confidence to pull that off.
It does look great. I see guys on Instagram. I'm like, their pants are up to their navel.
Beyond. No, sorry. Over. Sorry. Right under their chest, right? Super high-waisted.
Their tie, you know, they could tuck their tie in just because the waist is so high.
(39:03):
They're wide. But they look great. They really look great.
And I'm like, I can't pull that off, you know, maybe.
In due time it's just
not me but i think they look great but i
think designing that pattern is a very different pattern
than you know uh you know we won't even get into like denim that's a totally
different pattern too and those are all different you know things with custom
(39:27):
where you can build that so i appreciate that creative ingenuity if it's made
well for that person and they are confident to pull that off. I think it looks great.
It's hard to get that, though.
There's a fine line in who are some of these guys wearing stuff at the award
(39:48):
show that are just completely oversized.
And having that look good, have it look of a purpose.
So I often think of Lewis Hamilton.
Oh, yes, because he pushed the boundaries. He's totally in a bigger fit.
And he's like his height too, but it looks great on him. It looks fantastic.
(40:10):
But it's also because it's Lewis Hamilton. True.
Very true. It's that too. Very true. But he pulls it off well. Right.
He does a lot of like jewelry too. He does. Which I think is something we talked
about too is like the lapel pins and things like that are coming back in also.
Sure. That's a great trend. Jewelry on the hat. Again, it is not my style,
but I think guys that do it, they look great. Yeah. A lot of bracelets.
(40:33):
Yeah. they do they look they look really good i it's not me but i applaud i
mean yeah because i think it's kind of fun that people can bring their elements
of like who they are into their fashion that they're kind of doing and making
it their own sure and ultimately custom is really about,
the individual you know and and and so it really caters to putting your own
(40:58):
spin on things and And it makes it fun for us, too.
Yeah. I think, too, like, just kind of when people come in, I don't,
sometimes I don't know if they realize what they're kind of getting into.
It's kind of like this magical thing that, like, we're doing this,
we're showing you these things.
But I think when they really go through the process, they're like,
oh, you guys are really doing a lot.
Like, because they're not used to people doing as many measurements as we do or taking photos.
(41:23):
And really taking the time to be like, this is what this looks like.
Or I know you picked this, but this is what this is going to look like in this light.
And I think it's nice that we go through all those things because it helps us get to know the client.
But that next time they come in, it makes it even easier that we know what's in their wardrobe.
We know what they have or what they purchased from us last time.
(41:43):
And we can just add on and build.
Sure. And I've heard from so many clients that have gone to other clothiers
and have said that the experience just didn't, you know, compare to what we've
offered and what we still offer,
obviously, and continue to offer here at OMJ.
You know, and I, to me, that's probably, you know, the number one asset that
(42:09):
we have is the experience that we provide.
You know, yes, we've got the detail, we've done the homework,
we, you know, can cater to any sort of, you know, proclivity when it comes to
fashion, but providing an experience that, you know, is ultimately comfortable
to the client is number one. I agree.
(42:30):
And I think there's a human touch to it. Yeah. Which we've seen with technology
a lot that some things are getting a little different of how they do things too. AI. eye.
Body scanners. Love a body scanner. It's funny because I.
There was a period of time where the tech industry was trying to get into clothing.
(42:52):
And it sounded so good on the surface.
You take this picture, it'll take your measurements, and it can make you a garment.
Pretty much all of those companies are gone.
And the body scanner itself, it will take your measurements.
But it's funny because it's really just for show, right? Right.
(43:15):
There are companies that they touted that at first, but they sort of just do
it for show now because it really it will give you the measurements.
But, you know, people often ask me, well, how do you make a fit for somebody?
And there's a formula to it. So I think, you know, again, I'm a I'm a numbers guy.
(43:36):
I'm a math guy as well as love the creative side.
But the missing variant when you're constructing a fit for somebody and a pattern
for somebody is fit preference.
And so if you were to write this equation on a board, you have measurements
(43:56):
times MC squared. No, I'm just kidding.
But you have your fit preferences, your variable there.
And that's what a body scanner can't tell you. I mean, you can tell it,
oh, I like it slim fit. What is slim fit? fit.
Or I might like it slim fit, but I've got bigger junk in the trunk, right?
(44:17):
So I might like it slim fit everywhere except the seat of my pants.
And so I think where you get into,
you have to have that knowledge of incorporating that fit preference.
I use the reference of a dad and his son. We see this all the time.
They come in, they're literally the same height and weight. but if I gave that
(44:39):
dad the pattern of his son he would.
Walk out of the store immediately. And then if I gave the son his dad's jacket,
he would feel like he was swimming in it.
It's just something that you need.
It's the art and the science that goes into it.
The art of that person measuring, talking to the client while you're measuring.
(45:03):
That's how you're getting a feel for what their fit preference is,
what they like, how they like it to fit.
As you talk to them, you learn about them.
And so a body scanner can't have a conversation with you and it can't tell you
all those things about how they want it to fit. So there's my body scanner rant.
If somebody is touting a body scanner for you, it should be complimentary, not the sole basis.
(45:31):
And to be on a positive note, I think it's great.
Like if we have people who are out of town, you know, we have them take a picture
and I can actually throw it in a body scanner and confirm measurements and then
look at the picture and look at their height, their age,
their weight, and get a feel, maybe talk to them on the phone for a little bit
(45:51):
and get a feel for their fit preference. So it can be complimentary.
Any quick, like, I think, you know, we get a lot of questions.
There's so many nuances to this, you know, how do I dry clean it? Or how do I clean it?
I should say we could talk about dry clean. Don't dry clean it,
is what we say. Press only.
Or a nice steam. A nice steam. Unless you, like, spill red wine on it,
(46:14):
do not need to take it to get dry cleaned. Dry cleaning is going to have chemicals.
Especially if it's one of our fabrics, it's going to be high quality,
high thread count. So you could damage that fabric.
And we know plenty of people that have had that happen.
And also wool a lot of our garments are predominantly wool wool is naturally
(46:35):
cleaning naturally antimicrobial you just hang it up it will self-clean a lot
of people don't know that and usually the wrinkles just fall out they fall out
if if you're using great materials on the inside those are also natural materials.
And so they are naturally going to self-clean. You don't need to put chemicals
on it. If you want it pressed, great.
(46:56):
Be careful with your dry cleaners, folks. I think, too, like you said,
hanging it up, you'd be surprised.
Things look a certain way because they didn't get hung up in the first place.
Take a shower with it. Not literally, but have it outside the shower.
We cannot be your mother.
Yeah. I feel like hanging things up is really beneficial to garments.
How many people do we say, they'll call, where should I take it?
(47:20):
We say, just bring it here. Yeah. Also, if we say that, we may not have trust that.
Just bring it to us. We will get it back in proper shape for you.
I'd much rather do that than have a dry cleaner mess it up.
And I think a lot of people ask, like, if I purchase a suit,
how long will it last is a big one. Right.
(47:41):
That's a great question. And how trends will impact perhaps what they purchase
as well. That's a question that I get quite often.
Very subjective, obviously. If you take care of your garment,
it will last forever, right?
If you don't fluctuate in your weight, it will last forever.
Any garment we make is going to last. Again, I can't.
(48:02):
You snag it on something on a plane.
Wrestling at a wedding. Wrestling at a wedding.
Yeah. But how many of those do they bring in and we fix it up?
We fix it up, yeah. We've seen a few blown seats.
From like dancing or whatever. Exactly. Shout out to Sierra in the back.
(48:25):
Fixing scenes that have been blown out. Taylor extraordinaire.
Yeah, so I think that. What about, you know, one thing I get is how long does a custom suit take?
So you're roughly looking at about four to six weeks. Yeah. Upwards of maybe eight weeks max.
Obviously the more handmade bespoke component to it. There's more timing that
(48:48):
goes. There's more timing to it. Can we rush?
We can rush. And what is Brad's philosophy versus how often do I make you guys nervous?
I mean, we'll get it.
One way or another. I'm like, yeah. No, but I think it's important,
like, because I think sometimes people think they don't have enough time.
Or they're like, am I, because they understand the concept that it takes some time.
(49:09):
But I think we've done magic a lot of the time of getting things very,
very quickly. Sure. And we prefer an appointment.
However, if you were to walk in and we have the time, we're going to make more time for you.
Always. Yeah, I think our record, I think we've gotten a suit from overseas
in five or six days before.
Factory was not happy with me at all.
(49:33):
But thank you, factory, for getting that done for us.
And customers don't forget that. No, they don't. They ultimately come back.
Yeah. I think what we do is we really decrease the box that they can do.
So, all right, all these fabrics are out. You can work within these fabrics
and maybe it is more of a, if they have a pattern on file, it's not a problem,
(49:55):
but maybe it is more of a made to measure that they're going to have to do.
Yeah. And if the pattern's already made, we can get it much quicker.
But, you know, and then, yeah, sorry to get this as quickly.
This cannot be completely handmade.
Yeah. Any other questions? I think price point,
like when we're going through, because I think sometimes we talk about the fit
(50:18):
and the pattern and the design and like price sometimes is the last thing,
but having a nice idea because it can really go a lot of different ways.
So this is probably good because this is also going to vary.
You know, you could, there's plenty of places, you know, you can go and get
a, you know, custom suit, quote unquote, or made to measure.
(50:40):
You know, think of like Indochino, for example, and the price may be sub $600.
And that, and I want to be very clear, like there's no shade.
There's, that's in some folks' budget. And, oh, by the way, you know,
if you looked at the four-part spectrum, the fit pattern or fit slash pattern,
design, materials, and experience, you're going to get a good material.
(51:02):
They only use good materials.
Can't always speak for all the other pieces, you know, but I always,
I always say like, that's going to be a sub $600.
And again, if you're fairly standard build, then it probably will fit well too.
And so, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. I think where you get into
like a next level suit, you're looking at over a thousand dollars.
(51:24):
I mean, that's where our suits are going to start again.
Look, we're, we're a small business.
We're not going to be the cheapest people around, you know, but also depending
on the material and the type of, you know, are you having it fully handmade
in Italy, that's going to add up.
And so if you're getting a Laura Piana suit and, you know, you're looking at over $3,000, right?
(51:48):
So it's all relative. And then also, but if you were to go into the Laura Piana
store and buy something off the rack, not even custom,
you're going to pay more than you would pay getting a custom Laura Piana suit here with us.
So, you know, I would say there's a value there, too.
But again, it's all relative. So there's no value to the person who can only
(52:11):
afford the $500 suit. I totally get that.
But, you know, it's all relative. And you can find great suit.
There's a lot of places that make custom suits.
There are a lot of places that make custom suits. I'm happy,
yeah. I know we talk about them internally. We have nothing but good things to say all the time.
But there are a lot of competitors, local, national. professional what
(52:33):
are your thoughts on some maybe we do like
a rapid fire i'll be i'll be
maybe i'll be nice and actually i will say this everywhere has its unique perspective
yeah so yeah and admittedly there's things like other places are better at for
(52:56):
a certain type of client right Right.
Like say Tom James, I mean, they'll come to wherever you are.
Tom James. Great. Great. Yeah. And I know I mentioned them earlier.
They're in the office. Yeah. And shout out buddy. I went to school with,
he was a few years older than me, Adam. He's been there forever. He's a great guy.
He's going to take care of his clients, but it is a different model and probably
a different customer, right? Yeah.
(53:17):
They don't have time. They want you to come, you know, you're going to,
Tom James will go to you and, you know, And so for the person who's like,
I just need suits and I'm limited on time, and it's great.
You may not have as many options to pick from. It may not be as fully bespoke
or customized, or the person measuring you may not be in it for as long as a
(53:41):
more brick-and-mortar local tailor shop would be.
But they do a great job, and they serve a lot of clients really well.
Any others? I mean, you know there's lots. Well, you've mentioned Indochino, of course.
Indochino, you're going to get a fabric. But the person measuring you may have
started working there two weeks ago.
(54:04):
They're not going to tell you that.
Everybody that measures here has either been doing it for at least a year or
there's somebody shadowing that appointment that has been measuring for a year or more. war.
So, you know, I'm very particular. I don't just let people measure until they've
been doing it for a long time.
(54:25):
So it is very important to have somebody know what they're doing.
So if you, if you walked into an Indochino and I was asked them,
how long have you been here? How long have you worked here?
If they say, Oh, this started recently or they're, you know,
if they're, unless they've been like, I've been here for a year and a half,
just be cautious. Yeah, and it's essentially a chain, too.
(54:46):
Sure. National chain. So I can't fault them. I mean, it's hard to hire.
It's hard to find people that are good. Lord knows we've had our share of things
that just didn't work out.
So, yeah. But it does serve a great purpose.
Now, I know that there's another competitor saying Stitch by Mitch.
Right. So Mitch, you know, I will say this. So I mentored Mitch for quite a
(55:10):
few years, both at State.
And I love his passion and man, he gets after it and he's a hustler.
And so I give him all the kudos.
I mean, he'll, he'll fly to Seattle for a client like this afternoon. Yeah. Yeah.
I would, I wouldn't, I can't do that or wouldn't do that. And so I give him
(55:31):
many props. Mentoring Mitch was great. He was great.
Hopefully, I imparted a lot of wisdom for him. And, you know,
ultimately, his style is going to be different than the OMJ style.
And he's going to serve maybe a different client than the OMJ client.
So, there's room for all of us.
You know, I look at, like, I'll give a shout out to Abbeydale, David Watkins.
So, David's been doing this longer than I have for several years longer.
(55:55):
In fact, I would get David's advice all the time when I first started.
And he's always been incredibly kind and incredibly helpful.
For us, same thing would be like a TRC. These people know what they're doing.
They've been doing it a long time.
So you can't go wrong with them. I don't know much about Hive and Colony.
(56:18):
I think it's a bit more of, it's more of a vibe of, if you think like Miami,
they may not say that, that's just a vibe I get.
I can't speak to that. I'm sure they do a great job, but you kinda wanna go
to a place that you sort of mesh with their vibe, right?
If you love sort of that aspect and you feel of a vibe with the place you're
(56:40):
going to, by all means, you may get along really well.
I use Bruce Julian as a great example. He's far more eclectic than we are.
We have clients. They love that.
They're not going to see whimsical Paisley jackets hanging around our store.
And they get a great experience with Bruce and his staff.
(57:02):
So there's no ill will. for any of these places. They all serve a purpose.
You know, again, if you looked at the four-prong or four-part approach to what
makes a great custom-suiting company, I think all of those are,
you know, in that they do some of those things well.
You know, sure, you can't go wrong. I would also say, you know,
(57:24):
here in Charlotte, you know, my take has always been.
At least attempt, it doesn't always work out this way, but to be a helpful resource
across the board, right?
So all rising tides lift all ships.
I decided early on, I would rather be the company that other companies can come to for help.
(57:50):
You need a suit in six days, we got you.
You need a a suit for, you know, four-year-old kid, we got you.
You need a suit for somebody, you know, maybe your program sizing doesn't go up high enough.
Maybe you have, you know, not everybody does women.
(58:12):
I want to be a helpful resource for my counterparts, you know,
and so I think once we reach the level where we had quote-unquote competitors
say, hey, Brad, can you help me with this?
I kind of knew like, hey, we're all in this together and, you know,
we can all be helpful and together.
And, you know, if I can help people more than they help me, then,
(58:36):
you know, I feel good about that.
I like that. And to toot our own horn.
It doesn't hurt when Garden and Gun awards you with the best sport coat in the South.
Well, that is very helpful, especially, we have a large contingent.
I would say that serves an audience.
I could sit here and talk all day long, but until they read about us in a magazine,
(58:59):
they want nothing to do with us.
Totally get it. That was very helpful.
That has been helpful. Again, that was, you know, 2018 is when we won that award.
And so that was real. I mean, honestly, it was sort of like rocket ship for growth after that.
And then we get the eyes of Tabor on us as well. Yes. Yes. As a local.
But I mean, that's a lot about the teamwork, too. I think
(59:21):
that like when you build a community because we're all
kind of doing the same thing and sometimes we've been
able to provide something they were not able to do but they
literally send people to us if I think that's
kind of the ability like if we all work together sure because we have the same
goal at the end of the day to make Charlotte as a community dress well and feel
(59:42):
good about themselves and that is what everyone's trying to do sure and we have
such a good community at OMJ as well I mean such a testament to of Brad's leadership.
Yeah, definitely. We all really want to, you know, wear as many hats as possible,
you know, so that, you know, where there are times where one person is needed
for, say, one facet of the business, the other can take over.
(01:00:03):
And we're all in it together. A team, let me tell you, a team is huge.
And so, you know, with custom, especially there have been times when it was just myself and Felipe.
And it's a lot, you know. It's a lot of coordinating.
It's a lot of being completely organized and making sure all of these things are taken care of.
(01:00:30):
So to have a team is so important and impactful, and it lets everybody do the
things they do well and us not drop the ball on anything.
So I'm very proud of the team that we've built. Everybody serves a purpose.
It's all so influential in how we do things at OMJ.
(01:00:52):
All right, guys. This has been fabulous. A little custom 101 for all the folks.
Music.
Stupendous of me. Yeah.
I cannot. Yeah, no. But when you do, you immediately will tap into that rapport
(01:01:14):
that you established here, which is often fun.
But I'm like, I never see them in the suit. You just have to get out there.
Instagram. Yeah, like following people on Instagram. But I think that's the
nice thing that people show you like photos and things like that so you can
see them. Sure. Which is fun.
But yeah, I think it's kind of hard to see people in suits lately.
(01:01:34):
You got to get out more, can't you?
Yes. But it could be like we're in the land of Patagonia and that's all I can see.
We'll get them one by one. We can upgrade them though.
Music.
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