It’s been said before, but it’s worth saying again: Kickstarter is not a store. Yet, many looking-to-launch brands in the retail world seem to use it almost as such. The massively popular funding platform has been leveraged by independent clothing, shoe, and accessory makers to acquire the money they need to get going. The likes of Gustin Jeans, Anstead Watches, and Flint & Tinder all started there. BUT THERE ARE RISKS. Estimated shipping times for the “rewards” can be woefully inaccurate, and the goods get out the door late. And once those rewards get there? Sometimes they disappoint. Still, Kickstarter is worth keeping an eye on. Here are Christian’s Kick-starer Picks for this month. Caveat emptor.
OriJeans: Made-to-Order Selvedge
I have personally been on a huge denim binge lately and discovering Ori Jeans has only increased that hunger for a great pair of jeans. With products made of American and Japanese denim, the creators of Ori Jeans wants to deliver a high quality product for a wholesale price while adding some great customization to make these your “dream jeans”. Ori Jean’s most alluring attribute of their products are the custom fit option that also comes with it. With a small selection of three body types to choose from as well as your measurements, their goal is to get you an incredible fitting pair of jeans for a reasonable (for selvedge) price. They’re also giving you the option through the power of the internet to “choose from a number of fly and pocket options.” $99 would get you a pair of jeans from their basic line. Production is in the Ukraine.
Rossling & Co Watches
Could potentially become one of the most versatile watches around. Rossling and Co watches have a great aesthetic that could go with the most basic outfits and still maintain the elegance you’re looking for when you have to throw on a favorite suit. This campaign has already greatly surpassed their goals, and should fund tomorrow (11/21). The watches are extremely thin, sleek, and put a modern spin on a vintage look. Sapphire crystal, Swiss Quartz, 40 mm in diameter, and five tweed strap options to pick from. Four case/dial color combos, and one of their stretch goals unlocked optional blue hands on the white dial watches. $139 would get a watch and strap combo of your choice.
Hucklebury Shirts – Made in the USA, 365 Day Guarantee
American Made, Italian Woven 100% Egyptian cotton shirts, and they’re guaranteeing them for a full year. $69 would get you one of three designs seen above if they fully fund at $15,000. $25,000 and another three designs become unlocked. Same goes for $35,000. One thing to note is that they did have to restart their campaign after successfully raising their goal amount earlier this month. Check out their size guide on their website to make sure you’d fit in one of their shirts.
Owen and Fred – Made in the USA shaving kits, duffels & briefs
Three bag designs, each under $100, all made in the USA, and the brand has already been featured in GQ. They got their start making custom leather luggage tags, but they’re going to the next level now with these offerings. It is at least a little assuring to see an already established company, looking to make the next step instead of starting from scratch. $45 would get you a shaving kit bag, $79 would get you their duffel bag, $89 would get you a briefcase. Each bag has three different color combinations to pick from. Each type of bag has a different saying screen printed on the inside. The shaving kit shows “Hey Handsome” when you open it, the Duffel has “Work hard, Play Hard” on the inside, and the Brief has “The Best Way To Predict The Future Is To Create It” on the interior. Nice touch!
Trofeo Wallet
A wallet needs to be simple, perform all it’s functions properly and will hopefully not leave any unsightly bulges in you outfit. Trofeo does all of that and it’s made out of the same material that’s used in Lamborghinis. So having this in your back pocket theoretically should make you feel like a baller. Theoretically. At $120 a yard, this material is not cheap. They’ve added an elastic strip in the middle so it’ll make it a bit easier to access your cards. $25 gets you one of these wallets.
Thoughts from you guys? Would you consider backing one of these projects? Have you backed style-related Kickstarter projects in the past? How did it work out? Leave it all in the comments…