Interview with a Tall Entrepreneur

I had the pleasure of interviewing the founder of a new and exciting tall men’s clothing store, the Vertical Workshop, his name is Vertical Jeff. The store is based in Canada but ships at a flat rate across both Canada and the U.S.A (they also ship to the rest of the world, so the UK is definitely not excluded).

Here’s what Jeff had to say:

1. What inspired you to create your own tall men’s clothing business?

   Years of struggling to find clothes to fit my thin, 6’5” body.  Like most guys my size, I hunted everywhere to find something to fit my long arms and body and usually came home with XL or 2XL clothing.  It didn’t fit great and the style was rarely something I was proud to wear, but at least the arms and body we’re long enough.  The internet has definitely given tall men more options, but the selection is still limited.  Big & Tall stores are common.  Tall & Thin stores are not. 

   For years I thought about starting my own online shop for tall men, but since my background is sales and marketing and not clothing design, I did nothing about it.  It wasn’t until I met a few independent designers that I realized I could combine my business background with their design background and finally create a store dedicated to premium clothing for tall men.

2. There must be some specific things you had in mind when you set about making the business. What sort of clothes are you looking to offer?

   When I look back over all my discussions with other tall guys about clothing and fashion, I realize that guys generally fall into two groups.  The first group are guys that do not put much thought into fashion, and are generally happy as long as they have something to wear each day.  Since fashion isn’t on the top of their priority list, this group is quite happy wearing inexpensive items from your local discount store even if they need to buy XL or 2XL clothing so that the arms, body, or legs fit.  This group is not the target for Vertical Workshop.

   The second group of guys are fashion conscious and envy their shorter friends who can walk into their favourite store and find something that fits every time.  This group wants to be in style and knows how clothing is supposed to fit.  They want to wear quality clothing, but cannot find anything that fits in their local stores.  This group is the focus of Vertical Workshop.

   Given our target market, we’re aiming to design “premium essentials” specifically for tall men up to 7’0”.  We’ve started with perfectly-sized premium T-shirts (available now), but more essentials (i.e. polo shirts, sweatshirts, pants, etc.) are coming in 2010 or 2011.

3. Starting a new business from scratch can’t be easy. Have you had any obstacles along the way?

   Although I have experience in online retailing, I didn’t have much experience in fashion design and production.  I’d hoped to open the store in March, but it took a little longer than expected to get the production sorted out and the shirt quality just right.  We could have rushed it, but then we might have missed the mark.

4. Speaking from your own experience, what do you think tall men are really looking for when they buy clothes?

I didn’t actually visit a Big & Tall store for many years because I hated being reminded that I was so tall that I needed to shop at a special store.  I don’t want to feel like I’m weird or different (in a negative way) for being tall.  It’s one of the main reasons we named our company “Vertical Workshop” and not “Tall Guys R Us” or some other name that negatively emphasized my tall stature.

The bottom line is that when it comes to fashion, I just want to fit in.  I don’t want to have to wear different clothing than my friends just because I’m tall.  I never understood why the stores that supposedly cater to tall men offered clothing that was not in keeping with the quality or style of clothing offered at regular stores.  I used to hate social events because inevitably I’d be the only one wearing clothing that was either a few years out of date or that was just plain unattractive.  But hey, at least it fits…right?

5. I know I’m looking forward to the new site, but are there any products in the line which you’re really excited about?

   Now that we’re open we’re turning our focus back to our next designs.  We’ll be releasing some sketches of our next prototypes in a month or two and I can’t wait for the feedback from our community.  Vertical Workshop really is a grass-roots effort, so when I get feedback through email I always read it and use it to help define the future of our company.  So I encourage tall guys everywhere to send us your thoughts, comments, feedbacks, desires, and suggestions. 

6. Lastly, do you have any advice for tall men out there?

   Be proud of your height.  Don’t let the “normal” size world get you down or dictate what you can or cannot do.  And when it comes to clothing, remember to let us know what you’d like us to design to help you feel better about your external image. 

Thank you for your time, Jeff.