Our custom tailored clothing, as many would likely expect, took a bit of a dip over the past 18 months or so. We shifted the ready to wear division to more casual luxe options of jeans, knitwear, jersey shirts & more. We were also fortunate to see a big uptick in wedding business the past 6 months or so. Handmade custom suits & tuxedos were heading out the door hand over first this wedding season. As we creep into fall we will see a dip in wedding business as the colder weather moves in. However over the past month or two we've seen something we haven't seen since January/February 2020. A return to the trouser...
Out of seemingly nowhere in late August & into September & October we had a steadily trickling in of customers (many not seen in quite some time) all saying & asking essentially the very same thing. "I haven't worn pants in two years & now I need to & I need help." I suppose it isn't terribly surprising to us & maybe to others, the end of pants was a highly overblown & shortly lived phenomenon. We are now hearing from our clients they are back in the office more regularly & are traveling again for work. Seems like when the summer ended so did the moratorium on trousers.
Of course many folks need assistance not only in obtaining trousers they like & will function for their environments appropriately, but many need assistance with new sizing & adjusting. Trousers don't lie, as the saying goes... And being in sweats & jeans for 18 or so months can make a big difference when it's time to dress up again. Perhaps some have outgrown or some have slimmed down. Or maybe your tastes have changed. Whatever the reason is we are now seeing a big uptick in clients requesting new trousers (both off the rack & custom made).
Following the need for dress trousers we slowly are seeing a demand for staple items to update a clients work wardrobe. Simple dress shirts patterns & solids, updated navy blazer options & crisp subtle work suit orders are now also beginning to trickle back in. With so many clients saying they're sick of work from home and video conference calls has also come many saying they're tired of being in sweats morning, noon and night. They're looking forward to new items and a change from what has been.
We have scrambled to fulfill this recent uptick in demand & are trying to make up new trousers for the shop to keep pace. We've added new fabric books specifically for trousers and have been able to move up the time table by a 50% reduction in production time with one of our custom Italian pant makers. We're excited & ready for this latest step in the direction back to normalcy & our clients & friends seem to agree. In fact they're leading the way.
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