Dan Trepanier, Articles of Style
NYC, USA
What business aspects have led to the success of Articles of Style?
1. Blog Content
AOS started as a blog in 2009, and we remain a content-driven business. Our editorial content has allowed us to grow a following of hundreds of thousands of regular readers from around the world, and position ourselves as experts and leaders in the menswear space. In addition to practical advice and “how-to” guides, we also touch on topics that are “deeper than cloth“, such as the psychology of dressing and sustainable manufacturing, which draw our readers closer to our brand for reasons beyond fashion and style.
2. Versatile Design
Our aesthetic is very unstructured and in-line with how today’s gentleman dresses. We create “lifestyle garments” for our clients that are designed to be dressed-down and mixed and matched with their casual items. We help our clients build the perfect wardrobes for their unique lifestyles, not just for business meetings or weddings. Our best sellers, for example, are burgundy flannels and forest green tweeds – not navy pinstripes.
3. American Manufacturing
We not only produce our garments with the country’s oldest and most renowned menswear manufacturer, we’re also continuing their legacy of American style (think soft shouldered tweed jackets and an updated “Ivy League” aesthetic).
4. Worldwide Reach
Through our exclusive online fitting process, we’ve done basted fittings with hundreds clients all over the world, from Canada, Japan, Brazil, Dubai, Germany, etc. We offer the experience of doing fittings with expert tailors that you trust, from the comfort of your home no matter where you live.
We made the switch from TSBmen to AOS when we entered the product business. “The Style Blogger” no longer represented our mission.
What do you think is the future of tailoring? Do you see technology replacing the essential art of tailoring for instance, cutting, measuring or producing bespoke suits?
In my opinion technology cannot fully replace the expertise and experience of a trained tailor. The pattern-making involved with bespoke cutting is intricate, unique to the individual client, and based primarily on visual data (which is why a fitting is more important than simply taking body measurements). With that said, technology never stops evolving. There are already apps that use your iphone camera to measure your body. This technology will continue to get better, as there is high demand for a reliable solution to scale custom products and solve the e-commerce fitting problem.
I think a combination of tech and human expertise is what creates the ideal model. For example, at AOS we use technology to help predict the body measurements of our clients, then we cut them custom made try-on garments for personal fittings which are reviewed by myself and our team of experienced tailors. This allows us to make full bespoke adjustments for each client individually. From my experience, even guys with the exact same body measurements often need very different pattern adjustments for a proper fit.
The key is combining the convenience, reach and marketability of e-commerce, with a personalized styling service and a quality fitting experience that can only be done by human experts.
What is AOS’ unique value proposition and how do you acquire your customers?
I’m a soft sell. I would draw up an interest in menswear, and point you to our website or instagram. My best bet of acquiring and retaining you as a long-term client is getting you reading our blog, learning about the finer points of menswear, and why what we offer is of greater value than anyone else in the business.
Convincing someone on the values of custom clothing takes longer than an elevator ride. We use our content platform to train guys on things like the benefits of investing in quality, the ins-and-outs of proper fit, how to curate a versatile wardrobe, etc.
If we become your go-to resource for menswear, we’ll eventually become your go-to clothier.
Address and info
Email
Service@ArticlesofStyle.com
Showroom
166 Mercer Street, 3F
Soho New York, NY 10012
Hours
Wed, Thu & Fri: 5pm-9pm
Sat & Sun: 12pm-5pm
By appointment only – email to book.