♥ CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN: MEET SILAS JACKSON.

i talk a lot about women's clothing on this blog- so i thought i would share something

with my male readers (if there are any of you out there!) who may be under 5'8" 

with NOTHING TO WEAR. 

in the world of ladywear- there are "petite" options for women 5'4" or shorter,

 but in the realm of men's clothing, sizes are about as regular as they get. 

while stores like "casual male XL" exist for men who are big and tall-- 

there is nothing on the opposite side of the spectrum for men who are

 a little bit smaller in stature.

that is the conclusion CEO & founder, Ben Robbins, came to

when he created Silas Jackson- a site which offers 100% cotton button-

down shirts and polos that are designed from scratch to fit the proper 

proportions of shorter men (at amazingly low prices!) 

i had a chance to ask Ben a few questions about his brand and here is

what he had to say:

A Glimpse of Glamour: After reading your story, I was surprised that there are not more options out there for shorter men-- why do you think that petite sizes are only offered for women and not men?

BEN: When I first started out, I was quite surprised too. I think the major brands and department stores perceive women are more attuned to or focused on "fit" and men simply settle for clothing that is good enough. That may or may not be true, but as a result, women have far more options when it comes to clothes and hence, expect more and expect better whereas men have to settle out of necessity. It's clear that shorter men, which are defined as 5'8" or under comprise roughly 1/3 of the male population, have to sacrifice either fit or style almost all of the time (or pay up for custom clothes.) And that's not fair; from what i've found, there is indeed a strong appetite among men to dress better if presented with the choice, and that niche options such as ours will only increase in the future.

AGOG:  I like that on your website, when selecting a size, you ask the customer to list which sizes they wear in other brands- how can your site calculate or estimate which of your sizes will fit a customer based on that information? 

BEN: It looks impressive but it’s actually pretty simple; it’s a ready-made app that analyzes the main components of many brands’ size charts, and lets us compare ours against theirs. Customers seem to really like it, which makes sense given that you can’t physically try on our shirts before ordering. It reduces returns, too. 

(PS-- did you know that returns are free on the site-- FOREVER??)

AGOG: How is it that you can offer such great prices on what seems like more of a niche product custom sizing?

BEN: We could probably make more money if we increased prices, but I really want our brand to be accessible to all shorter men, not just rich ones. It’s sort of a philosophical thing…I think it’s ridiculous to spend $150 or more on a shirt regardless of the fabric or craftsmanship, both of which we place an extremely high value on. Also, we work directly with a small factory that is willing to produce for us in limited quantities, something that large manufacturers just simply can't or won’t do.

AGOG: Your site is dedicated to offering well-fitting shirts for shorter men- are you looking to expand to suit coats/ sweaters/ vests some day?

BEN: Certainly. We started with button-down shirts and recently branched out to polos, and intend to offer pants early next year. From there, we’ll expand into a full wardrobe. We want to make sure we stay focused, and really perfect each type of garment was we go along.

AGOG: Are Silas Jackson shirts available in any retail locations or just online?

BEN: At the moment, just online. However, we’re speaking with a number of brick-and-mortar stores across the country, so this could change pretty soon.

AGOG: How often are new offerings added to the site? Is there a seasonal collection or do you run on a spring/fall calendar?

BEN: We began with 9-10 shirts, but recently expanded to over 40. We don’t currently have a set seasonal calendar, but that’s a natural progression as we expand, especially as we sell more to retail stores. Our shirt collection is pretty fundamental to any man's wardrobe, so seasonal isn't as big of an issue for us. When we get into sweaters, jackets, etc.-- it will be much more important.

AGOG: Is there anything else my readers should know about Silas Jackson?

BEN: There’s nobody named Silas Jackson, actually (at least nobody I know); the company is named after my nephews (Silas and Jackson, of course). Oh, and one of our shirts is named Omle, which is Elmo backwards…my 10-month-old daughter’s favorite Sesame Street character ;-)

PPS. ***** for 20% off your next order, (from now until October 31st)
 be sure to use "glimpseofglamour"as your promo code!!!*******