La tua tesi in My Brand
My Brand sta cercando un/a laureando/a (preferibilmente facoltà di design della moda o economia con specializzazione in scienze della moda) che sia interessato/a a sviluppare il suo progetto di tesi partecipando direttamente insieme al team di My Brand alla fase di start-up dell’attvità.
Se sei interessato/a, contattaci cortesemente all’indirizzo: info@my-brand.it
Bstripe
Il cammino inverso di Bstripe dal web al “negozio a tempo”
Affari & Finanza, Moda & Design
12 Nov 2007
Sempre più spesso le piccole griffe, come i grandi nomi della moda, aprono il loro sito di commercio elettronico dopo anni di tradizionale attività. Più raramente succede il contrario. E cioè che chi è partito con un virtual store decide di aprire fisicamente un negozio.
E’ il caso di Bstripe, marchio milanese di abbigliamento personalizzato, che inaugura in questi giorni il suo primo negozio reale nel cuore di Milano. Del resto quelli di Bstripe sono degli originali. In tutto. A cominciare dall’età dei fondatori. Achille Balestrini e Francesco Invernizzi hanno infatti appena 28 anni. Un paio di anni fa i due hanno deciso di lanciare una linea di abbigliamento e lo hanno fatto a modo loro: rpoponendo esclusivamente capi personalizzati (con un nome o una sigla) e collezioni basate su edizioni limitate nei numeri e nel tempo. Per essere esatti non più di 50 pezzi per modello. Balestrini, che in realtà è architetto ed è l’ideatore di Bstripe, ha disegnato le prime collezioni e Invernizzi si è occupato della parte web.
Felpe. polo e magliette sono il loro pezzo forte. “Ho disegnato una mia linea pensando a quello che avrei voluto indossare e che non trovavo da nessuna parte – spiega Balestrini – perchè nei negozi domina uno stile troppo gridato e colorato, io volevo qualcosa di sportivo ma anche elegante e pulito”. Altra caratteristica è il made in Italy al 100%: “Tutti i prodotti sono realizzati interamente in Italia, con tessuti e accessori italiani perchè questa è la nostra filosofia aziendale”.
E il pubblico si è prontamente innamorato, le vendite in rete sono andate a ruba e i fondatori hanno deciso di tentare un’ulteriore avventura. Quella del negozio fisico.Anche in questo caso con qualcosa di diverso e originale. Quello di Bstripe sarà infatti un temporary store, e cioè uno spazio progettato con l’ambizione di far conoscere e testare con mano l’originalità e la qualità dei capi. Ma non per sempre. Tempo di vita previsto? Dal 15 novembre al 31 gennaio. La prima sede sarà a Milano (in Via De Amicis 53) ma poi l’obiettivo è di riuscire a girare in altre città italiane. “Nei primi mesi non avevamo nessuna pubblicità tranne il passaparola, il fatto d’indossare noi stessi le creazioni Bstripe e il desiderio di comunicare una nuova filosofia del vestire che affidi alla moda il racconto della propria personalità – aggiunge Balestrini – lo abbiamo realizzato con linee semplici ed eleganti, vivaci accostamenti di colore e la possibilità di lasciare il proprio segno su una banda, stripe in inglese, ricamata con un nome, una sigla o anche una data personalizzata”. Una sorta di versione sportiva delle tradizionali iniziali ricamate sulle camicie dei manager.
Pe un paio di collezioni i due giovani imprenditori si sono rivolti anche al pubblico femminile, ora hanno fatto una pausa con l’idea di riprendere con un prodotto anche in questo caso molto mirato. “Vorrei offrire alle ragazze lo stesso livello di prodotto che ho pensato per i miei coetanei maschi – precisa Balestri – ma ovviamente l’identificazione non è così semplice quindi sto pensando a una soluzione ad hoc”. E non è l’unica ipotesi di ampliamento del business. “Vogliamo arrivare anche all’estero – precisa lo stilista – abbiamo avuto qualche primo ordine dall’America ma, soprattutto, stiamo per chiudere un accordo con una catena di mool giapponesi per vendere in più città del Giappone”. Al momeno l’e-commerce di Bstripe funziona sia per i privati che per i negozi di tutta Italia, da Palermo a Bologna.
Marchio Depositato
Svolta una preliminare ricerca di anteriorità, è stata depositata la domanda di registrazione del marchio denominativo “My Brand” a livello comunitario per diverse categorie merceologiche.
Nella (lunga) attesa di ricevere risposta dall’UAMI, ringraziamo Marchiodimpresa per averci seguito durante le fasi di studio di registrabilità del marchio.
Fitting a new jeans
Fitting a newbie jeans guy
By Kevin Williams, Tribune staff reporter
11 May 2006
Chicago Tribune
Copyright 2006, Chicago Tribune. All Rights Reserved.
Ah, the lure of the proletariat. Seeking to become one with my fellow man, and craving the comfort that they tout thanks to denim, this sartorial stick in the mud has decided it is time, once again, to buy jeans.
The challenge, thanks to genetics and decades of bicycle racing, is that jeans don’t fit me. So the Williams aesthetic typically involves dress pants, or for casual wear, shorts or sweats. But no jeans, because my proportions are: 32-inch waist, 31-inch thigh and 46-inch hip. Were I female, I’d be in a rap video.
Which leads to my Shameful Disclosure. As a teen, I bought a pair of Lee jeans that fit great. I was happy until I saw an ad for my very jeans. Chic, by Lee. Made to fit a woman’s curves. Yes, I had bought girls’ jeans. What they were doing in the boys’ section is beyond me, but there I was, a young cross-dresser. One removed logo later and nobody knew except me–and the probably-still-sniggering salesperson.
So, back to 2006. I want some jeans, and none of that baggy Phat Farm nonsense. What better place to start than The Levi’s Store, right? Wrong. Despite the confident sales staff, the Loose Straight are too straight, and the Comfort Fit are not.
Then comes The Gap, where there are more jean phrases being bandied about– straight boot, loose boot, baggy. “I want to see them on,” says the saleswoman, “so we’ll know what works.” None of ‘em.
The “loose straight fit” like ballet tights, etc.
“Try Eddie Bauer,” a helpful colleague recommends. I am assured by a salesperson that “the relaxed fit should work.” It doesn’t. Not even close.
Next stop, Nordstrom, and the 7 For All Mankind relaxed fit. I prefer to call them the Codpiece because once I get them on, the effect is, well, you know.
But there have to be guys built like me, and where do they get their jeans?
A bicycle-racing friend whose proportions are freakish but not absurd, uttered the phrase that pays: Bass Pro Shops loose fit. You betcha. The outdoor supplier’s loose fits–the Redhead label–demonstrate that outdoorsmen must spread out in ways that mimic cyclists, because the size 34 waist worked, for only $19.99.
But I crave perfection, so an order to Wheaton-based (but with jeans made in Mexico) MeJeans (mejeans.com) is next. You take 10 measurements, and choose from an array of 25 specifications including fabric, wash, rivet styles and colors. Send in your $90 and 4-6 weeks (“dependent upon volume of orders received”) later, you get some custom jeans.
Almost 10 weeks after placing my order, my MeJeans show up. MeJeans blames the holiday rush.
Whatever.
Then there’s UJeans (ujeans.com), the Ontario, Canada-based outfit that does roughly the same thing as MeJeans, for $110. You take 13 measurements, choose from 12 different specifications, and off you go. They promise four weeks, and took 4 1/2 weeks. So my cranky-o-meter didn’t go off.
But why listen to my yammering. Photos don’t lie.
- – -
THE LIST, AFTER TRYING ON MANY CONTENDERS, IS DOWN TO THESE:
$110 UJeans
ujeans.com
Wash (warm water/tumble dry normal): No shrinkage
Fit: Straddles the line between trouser and jean, long in the rise.
Aesthetics/finish: Excellent build quality, silly stitching on the back pocket that they don’t mention on the site.
Guarantee: If you aren’t happy, they’ll make it right. Period.
$20 Redheads
Bass Pro Shops, 6112 W. Grand Ave., Gurnee; 847-856-1229; www.basspro.com
Wash: No shrinkage
Fit: Just jeans, with no aspirations. Very comfy.
Aesthetics/finish: Built to last forever, nothing fancy or surprising.
Guarantee: If you aren’t happy, return ‘em.
$90 MeJeans
mejeans.com
Wash: A bit of shrinkage
Fit: Trouserlike rather than the traditional jean fit.
Aesthetics/finish: Flimsy waist button, lesser quality compared to the others.
Guarantee: If you’re dissatisfied and it’s their fault, they’ll make it right. Otherwise, there’s 20 percent off your next pair of MeJeans.
Finding fortune in pants
Finding fortune in pants that fit
Nakaso Dan
17 April 2006
Honolulu Advertiser
(c) Copyright 2006, Honolulu Advertiser. All Rights Reserved.
P.J. Benoit plans to return for the 20th-year reunion of his Kaiser High School class in August, hoping to fulfill the prophecy of his classmates, who voted him “Most Likely To Be a Millionaire.”
Benoit, 37, launched his online custom jeans business, mejeans, in January and has taken orders for more than 1,500 pairs of jeans since – at $89.99 a pop, including delivery.
Benoit’s Chicago-based business has been featured on NBC’s “Today” show and CBS’ “Early Show,” and in the Chicago Tribune and Wall Street Journal. And nearly 100 mejeans gift certificates were included in the gift bags given to presenters and performers at December’s Radio Music Awards, even before the company went live on its Web site, mejeans.com.
“We’re growing a little bit quicker than we thought we would,” Benoit said. “But it’s good. It’s very, very good.”
The idea to start a custom jeans company goes back almost 20 years when Benoit transferred from Chaminade University to Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., where he needed to trade in his board shorts for something warmer.
Six feet tall, Benoit’s steady diet of hamburger steak, mac salad and rice had swelled him to a 42-inch waistline.
He went shopping for a pair of Levi 501s in Wisconsin and could find only a pair of white jeans in his size.
“I remember walking back to the register with my white jeans and I walked past the 32s to 36s where they had every color, hue and fabric,” Benoit said. “That kind of stuck with me.”
Then three years ago, Benoit was working in supply chain management in Chicago, specializing in international freight forwarding, when a co-worker commented on his ill-fitting jeans.
“He said, `I’m going to buy you (a rear end) for Christmas.’ I said, `It’s not me. It’s the jeans.’ That got me started,” Benoit said.
By then, Benoit’s waist had shrunk to a size 35 or 36. “I’m certainly not a unique body type,” Benoit said, “and I’m still having problems finding jeans. Obviously, the jeans weren’t fitting me right.”
He began looking at other online, custom jeans businesses, met with consultants and tried to figure out ways to reduce production costs while ensuring quality.
Some companies used union labor and $1 million laser cutters. So Benoit decided to ship his work overseas to places like Mexico, China and Thailand, where the cutting is all done by hand.
He works out of a rented office in Wheaton, Ill., with no overhead or inventory.
And while other companies use algorithms that calculate jean sizes based on height, weight and shoe size, Benoit decided to build his jeans from 10 specific body measurements, including the circumference of the customer’s knees and where the customers wants the pants to sit on their waist.
All correspondence is done by e-mail to “provide a trail of communication that protects everybody,” Benoit said.
But even before the patterns are cut, employees begin an on-going process of making sure the measurements make sense so “we send you a pair of jeans that are correct,” Benoit said.
In some cases, as in building a pair of jeans for the female reporter on the “Early Morning Show,” mejeans employees suggested a low-rise boot cut rather than the straight leg jeans she ordered.
“We ended up sending her both pairs of jeans, and she said, `You’re right. This pair looks much better on me,’ ” Benoit said. “We can only go off of what measurements you give us. But we tell customers that this is a partnership.”
Each pair of jeans comes with the customer’s name on the inside label and the company’s mejeans logo on the outside, which can be covered by a belt.
mejeans has since shipped orders to every state plus Australia, Austria, Monaco, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Canada.
Now that Benoit is planning to return to the Islands this summer, he has begun thinking of the potential that his classmates saw in him two decades ago.
“They voted me `Most Likely To Be a Millionaire’ and, gosh darn it, I want to prove it,” Benoit said. “I don’t know if I’ll come back a millionaire. But I’d sure like for them to think I am.”
Custom-fit jeans
Purchasing custom-fit jeans online
21 February 2006
CBS News: The Early Show
(c) Copyright 2006, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved.
(Sponsorship of TREND REPORT segment)
JULIE CHEN, co-host: These days buying the perfect pair of jeans might just be a simple mouse click away. Many online retailers are now catering to women who don’t want to spend hours in a fitting room. In fact, some of the sites offer all sorts of advice, and one even allows you to design jeans from scratch. Our Debbye Turner decided to give online jeans shopping a try, and she’s here with the results. Good morning, Debbye.
DEBBYE TURNER reporting: Good morning to you. I’m wearing a pair. We’ll talk about it in just a moment.
CHEN: All right. Now how many Web sites did you actually buy jeans from?
TURNER: We bought jeans from four different Web sites. And each Web site was slightly different in the number of choices that you could make and how much you could control your final project–product.
CHEN: All right. Let’s start with Levi’s, probably the most popular brand, well-known brand in America.
TURNER: Very classic brand, levis.com. You go there and the thing–it’s very easy. That’s what I like about this. You just click on the jean finder. If you’re a woman, you click on “woman,” so I did. And then they want to know where you want the waistband to fall. Do you want it at the waist, just below the waist or low rise. And I wanted just below the waist. And then they ask you what kind of fit do you want? Do you want it slim or less than slim? Well, since I’m a good old, you know, corn-fed American woman, I said less than slim. And then you can choose from colors–colors. I had 15 different colors, and they fit very well. I liked these a lot. Here’s the kicker here with these jeans: I can’t believe that’s my back end. OK.
CHEN: You look good in them. How’d they feel?
TURNER: Well, thank you. They felt great and they were $19.98.
CHEN: Whoa!
TURNER: Nineteen dollars, ninety-eight cents.
CHEN: But you actually ended up buying two pairs from this Web site, right?
TURNER: I did buy two pairs. I bought the size I thought I could wear and then one size larger. The thighs–the size larger was too small, because it didn’t have stretch. So, for me, having a little stretch in there was important, so I could fit the smaller size, which my psyche liked, but it had the stretch in it and that’s what–that is what helped. So that’s an important tip for women who are curvey like me, you might want to get the stretch in the fabric. That’ll help you a lot.
CHEN: Lycra is your friend.
TURNER: I love Lycra.
CHEN: I love Lycra, too. And then levis.com will take back the jeans that didn’t fit, no problem?
TURNER: Yes, they have a 60-day return policy. So you can send them back and ask for more. It’s always a good idea to order multiple–multiples sizes, particularly if you’re not sure…
CHEN: And then send back the rejects.
TURNER: And then send back the ones that you don’t want.
CHEN: All right. The next Web site you went to is Lee jeans.
TURNER: Lee jeans.
CHEN: Used to be a huge competitor to Levi’s.
TURNER: That’s right.
CHEN: How was that Web site?
TURNER: Lee is making a comeback. It’s leefit.com and it’s very similar to Levi in terms of being very easy to navigate through. Again, I ordered the size I thought I should wear and one size larger because I have those kind of body isho–body issues. And I ordered a slightly lighter shade. Just to see it. I didn’t really like the shade but as you see, it fit very nicely and the–the size larger was too large. And again, they have a 60-day return policy so I can send the ones that are too big back.
CHEN: But did the shade match what you saw on the Web site when you got them in the mail?
TURNER: Yes. Yes.
CHEN: And you just decided when you saw it on you, you didn’t like that shade.
TURNER: Yeah, I decided I don’t want a light color around my hips so–It was totally personal preference.
CHEN: Dark makes everything slimmer, Debbye.
TURNER: Dark makes everything slimmer, baby. And these are very inexpensive as well: $34.99.
CHEN: OK. Affordable.
TURNER: You can’t beat that.
CHEN: Now the next Web site you went to is shopbop.com.
TURNER: Yes.
CHEN: Specializes in high-end, expensive, trendier jeans. How does this Web site work?
TURNER: All right. First you want to select your body size–your body type. Curvey, thin, tall or slim. And then you want to select the brand that you want. And I just happened to select Seven. Apparently that’s a very hot brand. All the celebs wear them, and you do, too, I understand. And then you want to select your size. And I want to make a couple of comments about this.When you select your brand, it’s going to give you a rating system for the cut that’s available in that brand that best fits your body type. So, I’m–I selected curvey because I am. I selected the Seven brand and then it gave me a rating system and said the boot cut long stretch was best for me. And so…
CHEN: And that’s what you’re wearing in the picture?
TURNER: And that’s what I’m wearing in the picture, and that’s also what I have on here. Now here’s what’s interesting. When I went to the sizing, it’s the newer blue jean sizing, I call it. I’m an old fogey and I’m used to the traditional measurements four, six, eight, 10, 12. Well, these are waist measurements, I think, you know, twenty-six, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty. I didn’t know. So I went to their customer service Web site, called their customer service agent to ask them about the sizing because they did not have that explanation on the Web site, and then they–they helped me with that. I ordered three different sizes and the middle size fit. Again because of the difference in the cut. The cut is very important.
CHEN: And again you get–again you’ll get your money back by sending the two rejects?
TURNER: You can send–I can send back the ones that don’t fit.
CHEN: Now this last–last Web site is called mejeans.com.
TURNER: Yes.
CHEN: They only make jeans online.
TURN: These are the truly customized jeans, the piece de resistance. You will tell them everything that you want, from waist to fabric to tint to what color zipper you want, stitching, pockets, everything. They literally build this jean for you from the fabric up. And it’s important for you to measure, because you have to take 11 different measurements and you want to measure accurately so that you get the jean that’s going to fit you.
CHEN: So I’m betting these should look the best on you.
TURNER: You would think they would look the best on me, but apparently I’m a sloppy measurer. Now, first of all, they have a design team and they look at your measurements and then they’ll tell you if they think you’re making mistakes. I asked for the classic. They said, no, the slim looked better.
CHEN: Who, you think you’re taller than you are.
TURNER: I know. You’ve got to measure carefully and…
CHEN: But they’ll work with you until they fit perfect.
TURNER: They’ll with you and they’ll–you can send them back and they’ll customize them.
CHEN: Out of time.
TURNER: All right.
CHEN: Debbye Turner, you look great.
TURNER: Thank you.
CHEN: Those Seven jeans look great on you.
TURNER: Thank you very much.
CHEN: We’ll be back after this.
Customers design jeans
Do-it-yourself denim business lets customers design their own jeans
Kat Zeman Daily Herald Staff Writer
16 February 2006
Chicago Daily Herald
Copyright (c) 2006 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company.
Waiting in line for a burger, P.J. Benoit keeps his eyes glued to the man standing in front of him. He can’t resist checking out the goods.
To him, it’s just business as usual. Even when the man catches him peeking, Benoit doesn’t appear to care.
“Hey, I’m only checking out the stitching,” he says, referring to the man’s jeans.
Benoit, a married man with two children, means business when it comes to jeans – serious business.
To him, astral rain is a fabric. Night? A color. Scoop? A type of pocket.
“It’s sickening how much I know about jeans,” he says, now tinkering with his laptop to open a Web site about the jeans he created.
The 37-year-old Wheaton entrepreneur has launched mejeans, a business he believes offers enthusiasts a unique, customized product – right down to the tiniest details. Slowly, he’s stitching his way into a jeans industry that rakes in about $12 billion every year. According to marketresearch.com, Americans purchase roughly 450 million pairs of jeans on an average annual basis.
The concept of custom-made jeans isn’t new. But where Benoit is trying to distinguish himself in the cluttered jeans market is by offering what he says are more choices in color, style, size and fit.
Starting at $89.99 – with prices going up for features like tints, frays and a stain-resistant “JeanShield” – clients can design jeans practically from scratch at mejeans.com. Customers choose not merely from different colors of fabric or “washes,” but different colors of stitching, styles of waistbands, pockets and numbers of belt loops.
Suffering from arthritis? No problem. Instead of a zipper or button fly, try a Velcro-close front.
“Most people just kind of settle,” he says. “But there’s got to be something out there that caters to the individual.”
Benoit estimates that his company can make roughly 89 trillion different combinations of jeans.
“There’s a good chance that the jeans you make, nobody else in the world will have,” he says.
Beyonce takes notice
That prospect might be what’s getting the Web site he launched last October notice from people all over the world – including the celebrity interest that can be crucial in getting a fashion trend to catch on.
A few months back, organizers for both the American Music Awards and Radio Music Awards called
Benoit. They stumbled on his Web site and wanted to feature mejeans gift certificates in their gift bags to the stars.
“They want stuff that’s a little different and a little cool,” he says.
Not about to turn down that kind of publicity, Benoit started writing gift certificates to the likes of Sheryl Crow, Faith Hill, Mariah Carey, Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra and the Rolling Stones.
Shortly after the event, Benoit got inquiries about his jeans from agents for Beyonce, Shakira and Jim Belushi.
Like Shakespeare needed quill and ink, the fashion-conscious individual must own a good pair of jeans – or, for most Americans, several pairs. According to New York-based Cotton Inc., a textile research and market information company, the average American owns seven pairs of jeans and wears them three or four times a week.
“Jeans are an American icon, and they’re so comfortable,” says Claire Dupuis, Cotton Inc.’ s senior trend forecaster. “Our overall style in the United States is comfort … a relaxed attitude.”
Benoit is banking on it. But he’ll bump into challenges. While many corporate giants offer less choices in style and design, they have what mejeans is only beginning to gain: name recognition.
“It’s very difficult,” Dupuis says, about the chances of a small entrepreneur breaking into the industry.
“But I don’t think it closes down the possibility. There’s more room for new entrepreneurs as long as you have a good product.”
Benoit has confidence that he’s carving a unique niche. Besides offering choices in things like hardware and cuff size, mejeans also caters to special requests.
When an option is not available on his Web site, he works to make it happen – like rhinestones on back pockets or a large patch of suede along the front leg.
Copy this Kris Romer owns three pairs of mejeans. A stay-at-home mom, the 35-year-old Wheaton woman rarely wears stuffy business suits or frilly dresses.
“I’m a jean mom,” she says. “I wear them almost every day.”
But finding a comfortable fit has been a nightmare, that is, until she discovered mejeans.
“My waist is really small, much narrower than my hips,” she says. “So anything that fits me on the hips is gaping in the back.”
But mejeans gave her more than a great fit. She had an old pair of Old Navy jeans that she adored, but the store didn’t make them anymore.
She measured her old jeans and called Benoit. “Copy me this,” she told him.
Another time, she wanted jeans to match her jewelry. A big fan of Brighton Jewelry, famous for antique-looking silver accessories, she wanted something silver on her jeans.
“I was able to pick my buttons on my jeans to match my jewelry,” she says.
In the past few months, she’s also created a black pair of Capri flares.
“I think women enjoy having something catered to them,” she says. “But I don’t think it’s exclusively for women. I have a guy friend who owns a pair of mejeans.”
Size doesn’t matter
Fit is key. Benoit knows people can be cruel to those who possess less-than-perfect body shapes.
“Someone once made a comment about the way I look in jeans,” he says. “And it wasn’t a kind remark.”
Later, he decided that it wasn’t his body. “It wasn’t me, it was the jeans,” he says.
That’s when he got the idea to launch mejeans and swore it would cater to all body shapes and sizes.
While certain Web sites offering customized jeans, like Target’s and Tommy Hilfiger’s, politely suggest that women who weigh more than 240 pounds should seek jeans elsewhere, Benoit welcomes customers of all sizes. To him, there’s no such thing as too tall, short, fat or skinny.
Many companies also exclude people who have, well, slightly irregular body shapes. They ask for general statistics – like weight and height – and ask you to choose a body shape from provided diagrams. But Benoit has devised a sophisticated system for measuring that won’t exclude people with unique body shapes.
“These are true custom jeans,” he says.
A Web of denim
Right now, though, jeans are just a sideline for Benoit. A successful senior account executive for a freight boarding company, he carved a name for himself in that industry. Though he says his Internet venture has a steady clientele, he hasn’t quit his day job.
He admits, though, that mejeans consumes much of his time, especially since his orders have been growing rapidly.
In cyberspace – flooded with companies that offer custom-made jeans – Benoit becomes a smaller creature in a Web of denim.
Plenty of companies want a chunk of the multibillion-dollar industry.
Among the more well-known ones, there’s Land’s End. Based in Dodgeville, Wis., it offers custom-made clothing including chinos and blouses, with a money-back guarantee.
“We take the fear out of ordering custom,” says spokeswoman Jackie Schutty.
Land’s End’s production of customized jeans, though, was suspended for a revamping. Schutty said they are to return this month.
Also out there in cyberspace: ujeans.com, a Canadian company, and tailormade-jeanswear.com, a place where you can get your favorite jeans cloned.
The crowding of the field hasn’t deterred Benoit. He’s has been researching jeans-making for almost two years. He’s traveled to Mexico, China and India to visit factories where jeans are made.
He hopes the research will pay off. But most of all, he hopes his jeans will be fashionable and unique.
“I’ve always hated fashion brands that dare you to be cool enough to wear them,” Benoit says. “I want people to say, ‘I’m wearing me.’”
With the customer’s name printed on the inside tag of each pair, that’s not an understatement.
A reporter tries mejeans
A reporter tries her hand at ‘mejeans’
Kat Zeman Daily Herald Staff Writer
16 February 2006
Chicago Daily Herald
Copyright (c) 2006 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company.
As subtle as a garlic sandwich, my editor made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Now standing in the ladies room – half-naked with Scotch tape crisscrossing my nether regions – I must remind myself why I so eagerly agreed to this assignment.
The assignment – to personally test out a new Web site that sells customized, design-them-yourself jeans – was one I couldn’t resist.
Now I’m not the sort of woman who obsesses about the perfect pair of jeans. I much prefer to walk into a store, grab a pair and get out. If that means accepting that they’ll cling too tightly or hang too loosely, I won’t lose any beauty sleep over it. But it sounded like fun – and I’d get to create my first custom-made piece of clothing.
So here I stand in the ladies bathroom, blushing in shades that rival Rudolph’s nose.
“What the?!!…,” exclaims a co-worker who walks in as my colleague – who volunteered for the dubious honor of taking down my measurements – slides the measuring tape from my belly to my ankle. The patches of Scotch tape sticking to my half-naked body serve as reference marks for measuring.
Like so many predicaments, the one I’m in started with a phone call. P.J. Benoit of Wheaton told us he’d launched mejeans, a business selling custom-made jeans over the Internet. He claimed to offer a unique product. Our inquiring minds wanted to know more.
The zipper war
As I sit at my computer, ready to design, I start mumbling to myself. I can’t believe how many choices I am given. Having choices is, of course, the whole point of mejeans, but it forces you to, well, decide. In my head, a war wages between the button, the lace-up and the zipper. After 10 minutes, the zipper wins.
Having finished the slightly cumbersome job of measuring myself – a task that took about 25 minutes and could be difficult to do alone – I begin to design. It’s another day, and I’ve just plopped down at my computer with a cup of coffee and a basketful of design ideas.
Now I have to choose a stitch color, and there are 10 options. Aaarrrgh! I can’t decide. And so it goes with every detail. Benoit tells me the process should be quicker. But I’m notoriously slow just picking out my clothes, let alone designing them.
I should have chosen fabric first, but shockingly, I couldn’t decide. But what’s this? Astral Night? Sapphire Dark? Indigo Burn? Slate? Cobalt Run?
They all look black, but upon closer inspection I realize each fabric example differs in how much denim vs. Lycra vs. cotton it contains. My co-worker mentions that a higher concentration of denim vs. Lycra would make the jeans tougher. Still not being able to conceptualize exactly how the fabric will feel, I take a shot in the dark and choose
Slate – 10.5 ounces of denim, 1 percent Lycra, 12 percent cotton.
That was probably the hardest part. But since I’ve designed my jeans, Benoit improved his Web site and it now contains a better explanation of the differing feel of the fabric choices.
I stare at my computer screen. I’ve designed a pair of black, low- rise, boot-cut jeans with a zipper, black stitching, patch pocket, coin pocket, 3-inch cuffs and a protective stain-resistant “JeanShield.”
It’s over. I exhale.
Just for me
A package arrives in the newsroom. It’s been a little longer than two weeks. I’d almost forgotten about my jeans. But now I’m excited. My hands claw at the package to unveil a pair of black jeans. Ooh! The fabric feels nice. Not too soft. Not too tough. Just right. I pat myself on the back for the fabulous choice I’ve made.
I check the zipper and try to imagine a button fly. Nope, the zipper was definitely the right choice.
Another pat.
I continue examining my list of choices, right down to the black stitching. All good. But now it’s time for the real test. I sprint to the ladies room.
I slip into my mejeans. They’re very comfortable. It’s almost as if I were slipping into my pajama pants.
But there’s a slight problem. The area around my waist is too loose. I can slide it to my hips but then my bottom sags. I must have measured wrong. Well, I suppose that’s the risk one takes when custom ordering anything. Still, I’ve grown fond of my mejeans. As long as I wear a sweater that hangs a little below my waist, the jeans look perfect. Plus they’re the most comfortable jeans I own.
I’d still prefer to walk into a store and try on a product before I buy it. But if you want something unique, you have to have a little courage and patience.
Online jeans shopping
Wall Street Journals’ reporter speaks about online jeans shopping
28 January 2006
NBC News: Saturday Today
(c) Copyright 2006, NBC Universal Inc. All Rights Reserved.
CAMPBELL BROWN, co-host: This morning on TODAY’S STYLE, shopping for jeans on the net. Can online sites actually make it easier on you? Christina Lewis and some of her colleagues from The Wall Street Journal decided to find out, and they ordered from five different Internet sites for both men and women. And this morning Christina is here to tell us what they found out. Christina, good morning.Ms. CHRISTINA LEWIS (Wall Street Journal): Good morning.
BROWN: Before we look at the jeans that you actually ordered, how big of a trend is this? Are a lot of people ordering blue jeans online?
Ms. LEWIS: Well, denim is a hot market right now. Everyone loves jeans, and so what these online retailers are doing is trying to get people to buy more jeans online, but promising that it’s going to be really convenient, that the Web site is going to do the work for you.
BROWN: OK. Let’s start with the first site which you went to which is the Tommy Hilfiger site. How was the overall shopping experience?
Ms. LEWIS: This shopping experience was really fun. Tommy has a unique product where you can custom design the jean, pick the buttons, pick the style, pick the flare. And they do something kind of interesting, and they’re having fun with it. They ask you to access various parts of your figure.
BROWN: Uh-huh.
Ms. LEWIS: So you actually have to tell them, you know, how big your rearend is. Like how big your thighs are.
BROWN: You take measurements? You just?
Ms. LEWIS: You take measurements, and you also tell them whether your rear end is flat, or regular.
BROWN: Or round, just a description.
Ms. LEWIS: Or full or prominent.
BROWN: And how are the fit of the jeans?
Ms. LEWIS: Well, this was something–a little bit of a disappointment. Neither pair fit perfectly.
BROWN: Uh-huh.
Ms. LEWIS: The women’s pair was very large. And the men’s pair was a little tight.
BROWN: OK.
Ms. LEWIS: But you can return them and reorder and with only a–and you don’t lose very much money. They accept returns.
BROWN: Let’s go to the next one, which was Land’s End. And here, what did you all find? The fit–the customer service, you said, was good, but the fit not great again?
Ms. LEWIS: Again, this is a great company for customer service. If you call them, they pick up on no rings and maybe just a one ring, a half ring, so that’s great. But this pair, the size that they ended up recommending for me ended up being too large, and they also didn’t have a great selection.
BROWN: Uh-huh.
Ms. LEWIS: This pair which is custom had a great site, but also just ended up tight, which was something of a surprise.
BROWN: And I know another thing Land’s End told us is you complained that the color not always being what you thought it should be or what it looked like on the Internet.
Ms. LEWIS: Mm-hmm.
BROWN: They’ll send you swatches, right?
Ms. LEWIS: Yes.
BROWN: So you can really see.
Ms. LEWIS: Right. Customer service, if you want them, they’ll send them right to you.
BROWN: OK. These are Levis. A good site to look at because compared to some of the other ones, they’re really affordable jeans.
Ms. LEWIS: Yes, true. And also, Levis has so many pairs. And it can be overwhelming in the store, but online, all the selection is there, but they narrow the choices for you by telling you which ones will suit your–your body type, your preferences.
BROWN: And how did they fit?
Ms. LEWIS: These fit well. This pair, the women’s pair, actually fit perfectly, and that was after a very quick ordering process. So that was a great–a great shopping experience.
BROWN: You weren’t taking measurements for hours, and yet they still seem to work?
Ms. LEWIS: Right. Exactly. You just had to take a few to make sure that the length and the size was right.
BROWN: OK. And I know, I believe that it’s this site, is this right? Mejeans.com?
Ms. LEWIS: Right.
BROWN: They asked you to measure like basically every single part of your body, right?
Ms. LEWIS: A dozen measurements. It was really–it took a long time.
BROWN: So how do they fit? If they’ve got your measurements perfect, they should be perfect jeans.
Ms. LEWIS: Well, thank goodness, they did fit very well, you know, after all of that effort. But it was a complicated ordering process. You could customize down to every detail, the number of belt loops, and they took over seven weeks to come. So if you’re in a rush…
BROWN: Yeah, that’s a long time to wait. OK. Our final one and these are my favorite. These were the seven for all mankind. These are the ones that I wear.
Ms. LEWIS: Yeah.
BROWN: Shopbop.com. How did they do?
Ms. LEWIS: Shopbop has a great feature which is that you pick between four body types–curvy, short, tall or thin.
BROWN: Uh-huh.
Ms. LEWIS: And they tell you which jeans will suit your body type. And they have some great descriptions and some good things to help you with sizing. This pair fit perfectly. We were thrilled with them. The only thing is they’re our priciest pair. You know, you’re paying with taxes and shipping.
BROWN: They’re not cheap.
Ms. LEWIS: Yeah. Almost $200.
BROWN: No, no. Well, it’s interesting and worth giving a try to.
Ms. LEWIS: Mm-hmm.
BROWN: I mean, finding jeans is one of the biggest challenges in life, isn’t it?
Ms. LEWIS: Well, of the five sites, three gave us really good jeans and a good fit.
BROWN: Well, Christina Lewis, thanks so much. We appreciate it as always.
Ms. LEWIS: Thank you.
BROWN: And we’ll be right back. But first, this is TODAY on NBC.
The perfect pair of jeans
Finding the Perfect Pair of Jeans on the Internet
By Christina S.N. Lewis and Jessica E. Vascellaro
19 January 2006
The Wall Street Journal
(Copiright (c) 2006, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
IS THE PERFECT PAIR of jeans just a mouse click away?
For the consumer who squirms at the thought of spending hours in a dressing room trying on jeans, retailers are offering online jean advice guides — or in some cases, the ability to design a pair from scratch via the Web.
With a seemingly endless number of denims available, retailers are betting that shoppers will appreciate Web sites that help them narrow the choices down. They are also catering to consumers accustomed to having everything tailored to their tastes.
Online retailers are anxious to grab a higher share of the approximately $15 billion denim market. Denim — long a mainstay of the American wardrobe — emerged as an upscale fashion category five years ago and it remains hot: Jean sales were up 7.1% in the 12-month period ended in November, according to market-research firm NPD Group.
Yet unforgiving denim remains a thorn in many shoppers’ sides. In our quest for that elusive flattering fit, we turned to the Internet and ordered jeans from five online retailers that promised individualized denim or that suggested sizes and styles based on information we gave them about our bodies and tastes.
When possible we bought pairs for both men and women.
Our experience was mixed. Some of the pairs have already become staples in our wardrobes, but most barely made it out of the bag. The first thing we realized was that dressing-room-free shopping doesn’t mean you don’t have to get undressed. All three retailers we tested for custom jeans required measurements ranging from the straightforward waist and inseam to “knee circumference.”
There were some awkward moments of truth. In the name of a perfect fit, Tommy Hilfiger Corp. asks its customers to assess whether their posteriors are “flat,” “average,” “prominent” or “full or wide.” Lands’ End, owned by Sears Holdings Corp., showed us only one pair of jeans and suggested a size that turned out to be too large. One pleasant surprise: Most of the companies promise a money-back, customer-satisfaction guarantee even for custom merchandise.
Custom.Tommy.com dazzled us with options such as antiqued brass or copper oxide rivets and green or red buttonhole thread. But we were disappointed that neither pair fit correctly. Our women’s pair ballooned in the upper-thigh region, resembling jodhpurs. Our male tester had a hard time fitting his hand in his pocket, let alone his BlackBerry. The site says dissatisfied customers can reorder the same jeans with new measurements.
The jeans from Lands’ End also fell short of their promise. The company offers a virtual dressing room that guides customers toward clothes that suit their body type as well as a custom option where you design your pair from scratch. (The latter service is offline and will return in March.) In both cases our testers had trouble with the fit of their jeans. In the virtual dressing room, customers create a model that shares their physical characteristics and use it to “try on” clothes online. But the service suggested only one pair of jeans for our tester. The style was flattering; the size was too large. The waist on the custom pair was too high, although they were wearable.
A spokeswoman said that the company gives full refunds if the customer isn’t satisfied and that the fit issues were likely the result of measuring errors. Lands’ End jeans hit at the true waist, the narrowest part of the midsection, she says, but many women may measure the wider dropped waist, which is a few inches below the belly button — leading to an unintentionally large size.
Levi Strauss & Co. managed to find us well-fitting jeans without requiring too much time with a measuring tape. At Levi.com, we were asked only two questions — our preferred waist cut and desired overall fit. The secret was informative descriptions. The site defined relaxed fit as “roomy but not baggy” through seat and thigh and we found our size easily on a sizing chart. Unfortunately our male tester’s jeans were a tad short, but our female tester’s fit perfectly.
We found a pair that fit like a glove on Shopbop.com — although purchasing the recommended, and pricey, pants was a hassle since the denim guide didn’t link directly to the page where we could buy the precise pair. (The site, a unit of Bop LLC, says this feature will be possible soon.) Its recommendation, however, was right on target. The site rated each brand based on our indication of whether we were curvy, short, tall or thin, and displayed a rotating image of a body-type double in each pair. The site even saved us from ordering the wrong size by specifying that for our Seven For All Mankind stretch bootcut jeans, we should order a size up.
Our pair from MeJeans.com, owned by Wear Me Wear LLC, arrived in seven weeks — well outside the two to four weeks promised — and only after we broke our cover and had the company rush the order to meet our deadline. The company attributed the delay to heavy holiday traffic and our own measuring error. This custom pair took some time to make, requiring a bevy of measurements ranging from the circumference of our knee to our seated crotch (the distance, while sitting, between our waistline and the chair seat). A conscientious employee even contacted us when our measurements appeared off, and upon second measuring, we found they were. The final product fit well. The waist was a little large, but nothing a belt couldn’t fix.
—
WEB SITE: LandsEnd.com
THE JEANS/PRICE: Indigo stretch trouser jean/$45; Custom pair/$54
PROCESS: Two options: The site can either suggest jeans and sizes for you based on your virtual model, or you can create custom jeans by choosing your own jean color, fit, pocket and leg style.
FIT: Women’s pair: A flattering style but the sizing was off. Men’s pair: Waist was a little high and thighs were a little tight.
COMMENT: Our virtual dressing-room tester received only one suggestion. Our custom tester found it difficult to determine the color onscreen but was ultimately satisfied with the antique indigo.
WEB SITE: Levi.com
THE JEANS/PRICE: Trouser flare jeans/$44; Relaxed straight fit 559s/$40
PROCESS: A Jeanfinder sorted the jeans after we chose among several waist styles and fits.
FIT: In a surprise, both pairs fit all our trouble spots perfectly. But both looked different in person than online.
COMMENT: A simple and effective method to shop that gave us well-fitting jeans in just three days.
WEB SITE: Shopbop.com
THE JEANS/PRICE: Seven For All Mankind Bootcut stretch/$185
PROCESS: Brands and styles were rated based on which of four body types we selected. We could view each pair on a model with our selected body type.
FIT: Perfect. Comfortable in the waist and snug, but not too tight, in the legs.
COMMENT: Jeans were pricey and to buy the recommended styles, we had to click out of the guide and search for the pair ourselves.
WEB SITE: Custom.Tommy.com
THE JEANS/PRICE: Custom pair/$110
PROCESS: Photos change to reflect the selected options, such as style, fabric, label and pocket styles. Provided several measurements and assessments of our seat and thighs.
FIT: One pair was a good fit but a tad tight in the waist and pockets. The second was big in the seat and thighs.
COMMENT: High-quality products and we were impressed with the level of customization allowed — down to the color of the buttonhole thread, but custom jeans should fit perfectly.
WEB SITE: Mejeans.com
THE JEANS/PRICE: Custom pair/$89.99
PROCESS: Provided around a dozen measurements and selected details down to the number of belt loops, color of stitching and number of back pockets.
FIT: The correct length but a little loose in the waist.
COMMENT: We appreciated the online video tutorials on how to take accurate measurements, but the extensive measuring was a drag.
