I hope you’ve been having as much fun reading the Weekly Letter as I’ve had writing it. You may have noticed that you’re inbox was not as full of these letters in January. I have wanted to write with an update on where things stand with production and the direction of REID MILLER Apparel as a company for quite a few weeks now. It seems that every possible delay hit in January. This has been hugely frustrating with the only consolation being that I am learning that this is the nature of the beast for your first run in manufacturing.
A huge thank you to those wonderful ladies who have been extremely patient waiting for their beautiful Riding Denim Jeans.
On the Riding Denim production front, we had a few delays making sure that our measurements are on target for each of the sizes. As many of you are well aware, we are doing things a bit differently, with more generous measurements in the glutes, quads and calves for each waist measurement. While it is exciting to provide something that really fits and wears differently (especially for the fellow ladies who have been quietly grumbling about ill-fitting pants), doing things differently makes for challenges on the production front where manufactures are used to a certain way of doing things. That said, we are finally ready to cut!
The first limited run of the Riding Denim will be made in February. I will be heading out to El Paso, Texas at the end of the month to meet our partner, Try America and oversee the quality of each of the 70 pairs of jeans we are producing. (If you’ve been wanting a pair, there are a limited number of Riding Denim in each size, so order here while you can to join the first wave of ladies riding around in REID MILLER Apparel Riding Denim.)
As for the Riding Jacket, I have learned a huge amount about where this unique item fits in the apparel market over the past few months. When I originally set out to make the jacket of my dreams, beautifully tailored for an active woman’s body and the needs on a bike with the highest-quality materials, the product was all I thought about. When I finally had it in my hands, it took me a while to see that what I had wasn’t a biking jacket, but a beautifully tailored blazer with lots of lovely features for the active woman. It IS fabulous on the bike. It is such a luxury to ride around in something so stylish, durable and tailored on a bicycle. But ultimately it is an awesome, high quality, blazer for the active woman, with nothing about it that says “biking clothing”(which in many ways is why it is appealing).
In addition, I realized that women HAVE to try it on. They have to feel the beautiful fabric, have to see how it fits and moves on their bodies. All this information has lead me to see that the jacket belongs in a shop. For this reason, I am waiting on production until I find the right boutiques to nest my creation. The goal is to place them in select boutiques in the U.S. by Fall 2016. I hope to add a second color for this first run as well, which I’m extremely excited about.
Do you have a favorite boutique near you that specializes in high quality, beautifully made apparel? PLEASE get in touch to let me know. In the next few months I will be sending my work out to boutiques across the US that fit the bill.
Thank you so very much for all your support. This has been quite a ride and I couldn’t do it without you. Sending you lots of love from Durham, NC.
Sincerely,
Reid