I can make it with one or the other collar, according to what the consensus is. NES has a 20 shirt minimum.

There is actually a third option:

Buy it from David Wood Clothiers in Portland, Maine or the Andover Shop in Cambridge/Andover, Massachusetts at $175. It'll be a NES shirt, designed by them. Do you know the Andover Shop's Charlie Davidson? He's nowhere as humorous as I. I'll sell it to any retailer who wants them.  Dave Mercer. That's selling to anybody. Isn't it? Their price will be $175, too.

Do you care why I can sell at $125 and they have to sell at $175. Or do you just want the best price?

I'll ask Bob Kidder at NES if he has provide an example of a BB-style shirt.

I repeat: Are you actually going to buy a shirt or piece goods?

It seems out of the three options with which you've been presented, one of them ought to be acceptable.

I'll even do away with the 100 yard minimum required by the weavers. I still have a 20 shirt NES minimum of a particular pattern.

That doesn't change your buying options any. 3. Which is 2 more than any other retailer/manufacturer is going to offer.

1. Styleforum w/a 20 shirt minimum and at $125.
2. DW/AS or any other retailer at $175.
3 Etsy at $21.50 yard x 3 (the amount required for a shirt).

Good night!!!

Last edited by aucociscokid2 (2015-11-19 00:23:41)

Buy a shirt you'll like. By all means. I sold enough to Dave Mercer for about 25 shirts (maybe) only because I had some left from an unpaid order. He's going through a lot of that trying to pattern match. After that's depleted, I don't think he'll be able to order in 100 yard tranches. I'll see if after the yardage for the 25 yards is depleted, if he'll make shirts with Etsy fabric too or instead. There's a market for $175+ shirts and one for $125 ones.

You may also want to buy some yardage on Etsy if it's a pattern you like against the day Dave Mercer runs out which is soon, in case he can't order more, and I can work a CMT deal out with him, which I think I can. He said he'd talk about it as soon as he has his costs worked out, which is as soon as he gets a few prototypes made.

Last edited by aucociscokid2 (2015-11-19 02:49:25)

Wonderful!

Fingers crossed, I hope he is able too

Tell me about it, Yuca.

It's so simple.

Most here seem to like the fabric.

1. Buy a shirt for $125 on Styleforum. Members here don't like those shirts, however, because of the alpha sizing.
2. Buy piece goods on Etsy for $21.95 yard and have a shirtmaker make it into shirts. ANY shirtmaker. I would recommend 4 yards because of the difficulty shirtmakers are encountering pattern matching.

Also:

1. This the 1st time in 45 years authentic "bleeding" madras has been available. Authentic "bleeding" madras is handloomed.
2. Madras has been fashionable for 300 years and was shown at many of the fashion weeks by both mens and womens designers for Spring-Summer 2016.

Simple! End of story.

Split yoke.

You've got Bop on the hook!   Just slowly reel him in.

My proposal, aucocisco, is that we form a partnership, you and I.  You seem to have some degree of business acumen and networking skills, whereas I have none.  However, I do have vision and a fine eye for authentic detail.  Plus, selfishly, I see myself leveraging you as a way to get my natural waist "collegiate cut" khaki venture off the ground....  We'll be filling what I see two voids in this enthusiast niche we've got here. 

1.  I conduct a rigorous Talk Ivy "focus group" to determine what these Ivy nuts want out of a shirt.  As someone stated earlier, I think it would be appropriate to have a button-down popover placket offered, as it is madras, after all. 

2.  We do the same thing with some Ivy-cut flat-front natural-waist "high-rise" khaki twill trousers.  We'll find a source for cloth and a maker.  Likely Hertling???  Anyone on this forum can attest to the fact that I'm THE guy to talk to on this matter.    Our good member and pal Oliver will likely serve as a consultant and/or necessary venture capitalist as well. 

3.  We cough it up, take the risk, and just make inventory up front.  We take measurements, write detailed product copy, put it on some handsome college models, take high-quality pictures.

4.  I recruit my good buddy to build us an eCommerce website very cheaply and it will look great so we can sell our shirts and pants through this website with the quality photos, product placement, marketing, detailed information.  People WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE GETTING. I'll even store all of our inventory here at my house and handle the shipping and returns, etc.  I'll also spearhead our stupid social media marketing campaign, which has to be done. 

5.  So we will start our "brand" with these two legitimate staples of US-made good ole' Ivy style clothing.   You let me handle ALL of the marketing.  No references to Vampire Weekend.  Instead we'll drop names like The Beach Boys and James Brown and Miles Davis - things that will tap into the nostalgia and proper hipness surrounding your rare, authentic, and straight-outta-the-past bleeding madras and my slinky slacks.  Between the two of us we've got an entire Ivy outfit ready to pose and sell.  Well, we'll need some shoes, so we can entice Rancourt to make us some signature pennies. 

6.  Within 2 years we both retire.

@WM I'd commit to two pairs of those chinos in a heartbeat. Seriously. You know what a mess I am below the belt. And I've found pants to be the toughest part of the puzzle. I don't have any interest in the madras, but I do hope it works out well for everyone and I would certainly recommend aucociscokid2 take you up on that offer.