[Sean Longden]

I think the dress is nice and I think it has a genuine appeal. But it does require specific marketing to reach an audience.

From my perspective, a limited run of a dress of this style is a much safer option that trying to make footwear ...

[willyto]

I'm not against womenswear but you have tons of brands specific to womenswear who are lead by women that know what women need and want. What does SJC know about womenswear and why does SJC want to step into it?

I'm worried about the focus in it distracts from other menswear stuff that is being neglected and that it could affect those products. If people don't see proper menwear being delivered and see SJC doing womenswear they might just lose interest and skip the brand entirely. 

Until you address the menswear and deliver a perfect product I would be cautious about focusing your attention into womenswear. To me other than the fabric the dress doesn't say anything to me, I don't find it particularly flattering or attractive either, it's just another beach dress in this particular case delivered by a menswear brand which is a small fish in an ocean of big sharks out there that are focused in Womenswear.

[Unkraut]

You added darts which are not in the promo/ shop pics? Then you'll have to take new pics. Darts are a rather big change if you ask me

[Sean Longden]

Willy,

I agree with most of what you are saying. I have advised Simon to be careful about spending too much time on women's wear at this stage in the brand's development. I believe women's wear is a difficult market and that a concentration on it could potentially undermine the current focus of the brand. That said, if it works and brings in money to support the brand, it could potentially be a good thing.

However, I disagree about the design. If that is 'just another beach dress' then the SJC polo is 'just another polo' - but, as we know, the SJC polo is much more than that.

[Sean Longden]

You added darts which are not in the promo/ shop pics? Then you'll have to take new pics. Darts are a rather big change if you ask me

I can't tell from my screen whether this is the dress with darts in it. But if the darts are on the finished garment, they should be on the garment in the photos. Otherwise there is the risk of garments being returned.

This goes to the heart of a careful marketing campaign. Don't rush to get a product out since last minute changes can be fatal.

[SJC]

The darts are in the finished garment and seen above.

[RockinByrdie]

Simon, I get what you're trying to do, but releasing a dress, without any input from women is frankly a little weird. Everything you have released for men, has started in this forum with a lot of discussion. Why would you not do the same thing for women? Laura Windley just tried to join the forum, but it thought she was spam and would not let her. Chat with her and get her to invite some of her women friends to discuss it? If you're going to start releasing women's wear they deserve the same focus and attention that the mens wear gets, otherwise it seems like just an afterthought.

[samtemporary]

I think getting the brand on as many bodies as possible is not a bad idea. Perhaps in collaboration with an existing women's vintage brand - marketed as a special or limited SJC run (which allows for the women's brand to do the same). Eh, just a thought.

[Sean Longden]

Yes, a collaboration might have been ideal method of moving in to the women's wear market.

---

I can't tell from my screen whether this is the dress with darts in it.

I can see them now I am using my home computer. Great.

[Unkraut]

I'm sorry Simon. It sounded like darts were added later. Take those to events and let people try them on. Gives you.more direct feedback

[Sean Longden]

I think what Simon meant was that the darts were not on the first iteration of the design (which dates back to last year). However, he added them for the final product in order to give more shape to the dress.

[LindyShopper]

Wow, this is all a revelation - I had no idea there was this entire forum with discussion about the SJC clothing that impacted things prior to the clothing being released.  Since I have been summoned as the token woman in this thread to comment about this topic, I'll say first that it would be great to have input from women on women's clothing and, second, that prior to the polo dress release that if I had to say what I thought SJC might release first as a woman's item of clothing that it would be something that is a sportswear reproduction, dated somewhere between 1910 and 1950, that is highly sought-after, works well with modern and vintage-wear, and is a continuation of the classic menswear/unisex aesthetic.  The polo dress seems out of character with the rest of the line, which I realize is funny since there are men's polos...

I can only speak for myself, but I am drawn to the SJC brand because of the menswear aesthetic.  As others have noted, there are a number of reproduction brands putting out dresses and other repro garments, but there are still gaps in my wardrobe because it can't always be a garden party or throwing on a pair of repro jeans with a tee shirt and I could see how SJC might fill in some of those gaps, particularly involving knitwear and trousers.

If I had my wishlist for an SJC item, it would be a pair of the chinos in a waist-to-hip ratio that I would not have to take to a tailor for significant alteration.  I'm playing golf for the first time in 10 years next week and I don't own any chinos anymore, nor do I believe I'll find any before then with a waist/rise high enough for my comfort, so I guess I'll wear a golf dress, LOL.

[Sean Longden]

Hello, welcome and please chip in on any of the threads.

[RockinByrdie]

Glad you made it in Laura.

[SJC]

Hi Laura, thanks for joining - yes it's a popular item and I guess that's why some of the biggest brands make a polo dress, for that very reason.