Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Competition & the Necessities

Since beginning my online store for Tall & Extra-Tall Men, I have kept an eye on the competition.  I use this term lightly as we (meaning those online tall men's clothing companies I have found) have different marketing styles and target consumers.  However, one thing we all strive to accomplish is giving the tall man a comprehensive place to shop for his fashion needs.

But what are those complete necessities?

According to Forbes there are 10 Wardrobe Staples Every Man Should Have in his closet.  The first item noted is a great pair of khaki pants.  Although Altus doesn't (yet) offer them, another online retailer for tall men does.  Consider Teal Apparel for your tall khaki pant needs.  They ship their pants with an inseam of 40" unfinished so you can hem to your own required tall size!  As an added bonus, they (like Altus) are made in the USA.

Men's Fitness offers a bit more relaxed essentials list with their "10 Casual Wardrobe Essentials for Men".  We like # 4, a Classic Grey Sweatshirt, and #10, Comfy Sweat Shorts, both available for tall men through Altus.  For the essential #2 White T-Shirt consider Beanstalk Apparel, a Canadian company for tall people.

Esquire gives us 25 Essential Apparel Items.  Khaki pants for tall men can be found, as noted above, via Teal Apparel.  Esquire's recommended striped dress shirt will soon be available for Tall & Extra-Tall Men through Altus.

Huffington Post lists out 17 Essential Items Every Guy Should Own.  We especially like #12, a plain solid-colored hoodie, and #13, solid-colored crew neck T-shirts.  On the other hand, we feel the #14 solid-colored crew neck sweater could be substituted with a great tall men's sweatshirt.

My statement above, that online tall men's retailers have different "target consumers", stems from the fact that, although most of us strive to dress men 6'3" and taller,  just as there are a multitude of styles for all men, so there should be a multitude of styles for tall men.  Tall men vary in age, daily apparel needs and style preferences.  We would love to see a store that can completely meet the needs for all Tall and Extra-Tall men.  We keep working toward that goal at Altus.