We thought how a shirt fits mattered. We were wrong. Here is what we found.
Men often purchase clothing based on only fit. Why?
Yes, fit matters; but this is not the only feature of a shirt. For that matter it should not be a main feature at all. We learned that the more we focused on the importance of fit the quicker we lost sight of the true purpose of shirts.
First, let's journey back to the basics. What is the purpose of a shirt? To protect us from the elements, to cover our bodies, to be comfortable, and to communicate something about us.
Clothing today is an extension of our expression. It is our identity.
The last part, the "communicate something about us" aka "personal style," is the main part that counts today. Covering our bodies, protecting us from the elements, and being comfortable was solved thousands of years ago. Clothing today is an extension of our expression. It is our identity.
The fit of a shirt is simply part of the style: slim, standard, tapered, boxy. These are all style preferences. So, when a guy says he wants a great fitting shirt, it is a matter of preference.
The fit is just a very small part of the total style, the tip of the iceberg if you will. To compare, a specific fit is like the horsepower of a car, there is a lot more to a car than that. It seems silly, yet this is how we incorrectly discuss shirts.
A man can have the best fitting shirt but with cheap buttons, a horribly shaped shaped collar, cheap polyester thin fabric, and made in a creamy shade of beige - who cares about the fit after all that? This often is the case now with mens fast fashion. Cheapened to hit a price, and rough details to achieve a faster sewing speed takes a toll on each garment.
When we polled guys on what mattered most when buying clothing the first response was "a better fit than..." So, naturally fit rose on our list of product importance. Henry Ford said, if he asked his customers what they wanted they would say a faster horse.
Creating Great Style is Hard
Every brand states they have the best fit. That is because creating style is hard, it's an art form. More than anything it is not easily explained on a business proposal or VC deck. So, menswear companies that pop up like weeds are based on fit: shorter shirts (Untuckit), custom sizing (Proper cloth), huge size range (Bonobos). That is a tangible thing that can be discussed on an earnings call. These companies are not founded on the pursuit of great style.
So why create? Why bring a single new shirt into this world? Why make garments that just fit a little better and fill our landfills. It's not the shirt fit that matters, its the style that matters. It's how the style makes you feel like a unique individual when you start your day.
We started Batch to address a need. Shirts that say the right thing about you. Shirts that create passion. Shirts that change our customers expectations of what it means to buy a garment. Fit is a given. Creating style that makes you experience the world differently is hard.