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Vastrm (YC S12) Promises The Perfect Fitting Polo

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Re: Vastrm (YC S12) Promises The Perfect Fitting Polo

#51

Post by jontang »

aero142 wrote: post #45

I love the idea. As a tall slender person, I'm usually in between sizes and things are never right. For this along with every other personal item, I hope manufacturing on demand gives us all a return to personal customization. One thing keeps bugging me though. Home page, slide one, white polo. I don't think that shirt fits right. It looks like it's too narrow either across the chest or in the shoulders and that is c…

Yeah, I hear ya on that photo. If it is any consolation that photo was taken before we started our perfect fit program! And that model was not fitted with our home try-program. Needs to be replaced, agree!

Re: Vastrm (YC S12) Promises The Perfect Fitting Polo

#52

Post by Evbn »

pg wrote: post #43
jcampbell1 wrote: post #40

Am I missing something? $70-$90 for a polo shirt with no brand identity, from a website I can't pronounce. Can someone explain the appeal here? I see that the "perfect fit" is tag line, but polos are stretchy so the fit isn't a huge concern for most people.

Many people willing to pay that much for a polo shirt consider lack of conspicuous brand to be a feature.

But more people pay extra for conspicuous branding, not to mention the marketing benefits. Hence the luxury fashion industry.

Re: Vastrm (YC S12) Promises The Perfect Fitting Polo

#53

Post by jontang »

cageface wrote: post #46
jcampbell1 wrote: post #40

Am I missing something? $70-$90 for a polo shirt with no brand identity, from a website I can't pronounce. Can someone explain the appeal here? I see that the "perfect fit" is tag line, but polos are stretchy so the fit isn't a huge concern for most people.

This seems much closer to a "lifestyle business" than anything else I've seen come out of YC.

Perhaps, but if you look at the industry closely, most of the largest apparel brands in the world started with basic apparel (t-shirts: Gap ($16B market cap), Uniqlo ($20+B); Yoga wear - Lulu Lemons ($10B market cap), athletic tops: Underarmour ($5B market cap).

Re: Vastrm (YC S12) Promises The Perfect Fitting Polo

#56

Post by jontang »

philip1209 wrote: post #47
jontang wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great point! We are working on getting our prices down. But we are still less expensive than off the shelf Lacoste or Ralph Lauren Polo (which range from $95 - $145 retail). And we believe our quality is higher. Plus, we are custom. I like your second point as well. With dress shirts, precision is extremely important to get the right fit, especially in today's style trends towards tighter fitting clothes. That is why…

Yes. I don't know what your target demographic is, but your fabrics seem to target a younger, less stylistically-aware group that doesn't align with your price points and level of detail. For instance, half of your fabrics are horizontally-striped, which I would consider both an immature look and stylistically unsound (with vertical stripes considered 'slimming'). I associate Lacoste with consumers who try to compens…

Great points! Would love to discuss with you more offline.

We source some of the highest quality cotton available. We use essentially the same quality that you might see on a Cuchinelli, Zegna or Kiton polo - which retail for $250 - $400 at Niemans or boutiques. We sell our polos, private label into some high end boutiques for $175 and $195 (retail)- using the same fabric we offer online. I agree, we need to do a much better job at marketing and branding though. And I really liked your comments about creating a visceral attachment to the garments. Stay tuned for that and please stay in touch with us! Are you in marketing?

Re: Vastrm (YC S12) Promises The Perfect Fitting Polo

#57

Post by philip1209 »

jontang wrote: post #56
philip1209 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. I don't know what your target demographic is, but your fabrics seem to target a younger, less stylistically-aware group that doesn't align with your price points and level of detail. For instance, half of your fabrics are horizontally-striped, which I would consider both an immature look and stylistically unsound (with vertical stripes considered 'slimming'). I associate Lacoste with consumers who try to compens…

Great points! Would love to discuss with you more offline. We source some of the highest quality cotton available. We use essentially the same quality that you might see on a Cuchinelli, Zegna or Kiton polo - which retail for $250 - $400 at Niemans or boutiques. We sell our polos, private label into some high end boutiques for $175 and $195 (retail)- using the same fabric we offer online. I agree, we need to do a muc…

Shoot me an email - I am interested in talking more. Mail@philipithomas.com. I'm an engineering and physics student who, among other ventures, owns a marketing automation company and who appreciates clothing.

On a bit of side note, I'm excited to be meeting Daymond John from Fubu and Shark Tank tomorrow!

Re: Vastrm (YC S12) Promises The Perfect Fitting Polo

#58

Post by philip1209 »

jontang wrote: post #56
philip1209 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. I don't know what your target demographic is, but your fabrics seem to target a younger, less stylistically-aware group that doesn't align with your price points and level of detail. For instance, half of your fabrics are horizontally-striped, which I would consider both an immature look and stylistically unsound (with vertical stripes considered 'slimming'). I associate Lacoste with consumers who try to compens…

Great points! Would love to discuss with you more offline. We source some of the highest quality cotton available. We use essentially the same quality that you might see on a Cuchinelli, Zegna or Kiton polo - which retail for $250 - $400 at Niemans or boutiques. We sell our polos, private label into some high end boutiques for $175 and $195 (retail)- using the same fabric we offer online. I agree, we need to do a muc…

One other note: Advertising for women sometimes focuses on finding that 'perfect black dress' (in ads ranging from the dress itself to deodorant) - I wonder if your company could create the 'perfect black polo' for men.

Re: Vastrm (YC S12) Promises The Perfect Fitting Polo

#59

Post by wildgift »

jcampbell1 wrote: post #40

Am I missing something? $70-$90 for a polo shirt with no brand identity, from a website I can't pronounce. Can someone explain the appeal here? I see that the "perfect fit" is tag line, but polos are stretchy so the fit isn't a huge concern for most people.

I think the high price subsidizes the free fitting.

Re: Vastrm (YC S12) Promises The Perfect Fitting Polo

#60

Post by BadassFractal »

jontang wrote: post #18
BadassFractal wrote: post #7

Perfectly fitting clothes is a pretty hard problem to solve without human intervention (a tailor). Sites like BlankLabel do a decent job at getting you a dress shirt that will fit you alright, but it's not quite there yet. The shipping times are quite long, and the cost is very high unless you go for the rather disappointing fabrics. Affordable, rapidly produced and perfectly fitting clothes would be a dream.

This is precisely what we are striving for. Not an easy task. Our fitting process will require no measuring tape and no human intervention. From size optimization to recommending adjustments for perfect fit, we hope that the whole process is frictionless and hassle free. We will work on pricing and speed to delivery in the meantime!

Hope you guys succeed, I'd be a customer!
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