Menswear has many facets, from fabrics to construction, style to audience. An often ignored, but crucial component to all menswear retail environments is story-telling.  In order to sell a product, not only do you have to present something that’s visually appealing to the consumer, but you also have to provide them with a scenario where they would wear that item. East + West, a menswear store in St. Louis, Missouri, understands the importance of connecting the consumer with their products. Today, we spoke with store owner Brian Simpson about his high-quality, authentic offerings and his desire to create community.

Tell us a little about East and West, how you got started, and your role there?

I own East and West with my wife Lauren. We opened it in 2012, so almost 3 years ago. Really, at the heart of it, it’s a men’s lifestyle shop.  We try to bring in brands and products that we believe in, and ones that we think tell a story and give value for what you’re paying.  We definitely like to emphasize products that are made in the USA, but not all of our products are.

What made you decide to feature items for men in your store?

It’s something that’s always been an interest, hobby and passion of mine. A lot of things I was interested in I couldn’t get access to in St. Louis, so I ended up eventually going to New York or Chicago or San Francisco to shop. There is such a renaissance happening in menswear, and I felt like on a small scale, St. Louis could be a part of that. With the internet, blogging and social media, there’s no reason for St. Louis to be behind the rest of the country when it comes to offering great, unique fashion for men.   

You focus on brands that aren’t readily available at other stores in our area.  What is your process to locate a brand that’s a good fit for your customers?

Honestly, I start with things that I’ve worn or would like to wear myself. Like anything that interests you and that you get involved with, I began to read and research. Through that process, one product would lead to another. I’d find the jeans that fit me the best, and that would lead to a sweater that was great which led me to find my favorite sweatshirts and the shoes that worked well for me. I just kept finding all these little designers across the country that worked really well for me.  It seemed they all had these great urban underground followings. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the Punk music scene, years ago. You’d find a great band from New York or somewhere, and they’d come to St. Louis and maybe only 100 kids would know about them and come to the show, but everyone of those kids was a passionate supporter.   

I really focus on finding items and brands that are using amazing fabrics and construction and there’s a lot of great stuff out there. You may be paying $150 for a sweatshirt, but there’s a reason why, and you can totally tell the difference between an item we carry and something you might find at a more mainstream, low-cost store.  

Tell us about your customers.

I describe our average customer as the creative professional. They range from 25 to 50 and usually work in some sort of creative industry.  Not always the case, but usually. We do get some female shoppers for their male counterparts.  

Could you walk us through why you decided to carry the Snake Bite?

We really try to focus on giving our customers a cross-culture experience. I definitely think that guys who are interested in presenting themselves in a certain way in terms of how they put together an outfit, a lot of those same guys are also into the craft industry, in terms of beer and food and music and things like that. There’s a lot of overlap. Instead of regurgitating a lot of information that’s already out there, we try to bring new, less conventional things to people that we think might be of interest to them in another sector of their lives. We see a pattern that a lot of our customers love craft beers, so naturally a key chain that focused on craft beer and had a nice aesthetic and is made in St. Louis, it was just all woven together to be a good product for us to carry.It makes sense for us, because in addition to carrying clothes, we also throw parties where we focus on local restaurants, bars and mixologists, so the craft beer market is very much integrated into our business.

Tell us a little bit more about the events you host and why you decided to incorporate that as part of your business?

At the heart of what we want to do is build relationships with people across the city, even if it’s on a small community level. I think one of the best ways to facilitate that is providing events for people to get together and meet people they maybe wouldn't have met before. We also showcase some of the things we’re most stoked about around town, so we usually feature local restaurants and djs and things like that.  We just want to facilitate people getting together and building community, building relationships and networking culturally and out of that, get people working together to impact our city.

What inspires you to keep doing what you are doing on a daily basis?

If I was in this to sell clothes, I wouldn't have survived, nor would I have continued to be interested in it. I love to create and I love to work with people and build relationships and push myself. My wife and I are committed to being here long-term and East and West is one of the ways we thought we could improve the Greater St. Louis area while doing something that was of interest to us and that we are skilled at doing. That’s what keeps me going, continuing to see what evolves the business. I just love meeting new people and it’s inspiring to see all the awesome things going on around town and to be a part of that. What Dan and Kevin are doing with Snake Bite is a great example of that, to see them start the business and see what a great reception it has had around town and the buzz that it’s created, it’s inspiring. I think it’s really neat to see how people are continuing to make St. Louis a place worth not only coming to, but sticking around.

How would you define success as it relates to your business and what do you think has contributed to that success?

We definitely have immediate and long-term goals for the business. However, at the end of the day, if we can make an impact in the city from what we do, I would deem that as a success. If we can make a positive impact in building relationships and creating community, it doesn't matter how long we’d be in business for, whether it’s 5 years or 50 years, that would be a success for me.  

In terms of what we want to do, tangibly, we’d love to have a location in the city, that’s one of our next goals. I’d say we’d love to establish a strong St. Louis presence, and then we’re always open to doing something else, but first and foremost we’re focused on the greater St. Louis area.  We’re also continuing to expand our online presence as well.

You offer many brands that are Made In America- why is that important to you?

Really our inspiration between offering products made here in America is that we just like to know the people we’re working with.  We like to know the story behind the brand and the product and understand what we’re getting. It’s really rooted in how I did my own shopping.  I was okay with spending $200 on a pair of jeans as long as I knew the quality I was getting and the people behind it.  One of the neat things is that now a lot of the brands I work with I’ve built relationships with.  I know the owners or the designers and I know the reasons behind why they do certain things and it’s turned from business relationships to friendships. It’s really cool to work with people where not only do I believe in the product I’m selling, but am also happy to be supporting their livelihood. I think that’s really impactful about having that connection with that brand or that product that you’re working with. Snake Bite is a great story. I’ve known Dan for 15 years, and now I get to sell his product and provide income for him and vice versa for me.

I think it’s absolutely easier to sell a product when you have a connection to it. Most people either have not seen or are not familiar with most of the things we carry because they are smaller brands and they don’t have a lot of exposure. At the end of the day, if I don’t have that connection to a brand, or don’t have that story understanding why it’s worth what it is, then people won’t buy it or invest in it, so that’s why I think it’s critical.

Learn more about East + West here:

http://eastandweststl.com/

In the past few months, we've been excited to partner with some truly unique and innovative business owners. Businesses that are really changing the face of boutique shopping. On this interview we sat down with Brent Oberlink from Dapper Gents Grooming Lounge, a vintage-inspired barber shop that features domestically made menswear items. We discussed the inspiration for their business and what makes this old school/modern fusion work for them.

Tell us a little about Dapper Gents Grooming Lounge, how you got started, and your role there?

I’m the owner; basically owner and entrepreneur. I own another business as well and I travel a lot.  When I was traveling, I fell in love with the idea of a barber shop that was like grandpa’s barber shop, but with more of a modern twist. I couldn’t find anything like that in St. Louis, so I decided to start one. Dapper Gents is the place where you can still get your straight shaves, can still get all the classic cuts, and styling too. We’re not only a barber shop, we employ stylists as well. The barber shop side of Dapper Gents is an old school and modern fusion.

What inspired you to combine a barber shop with a retail space?

On the menswear side, we were originally just going to do leather goods. We went to a Las Vegas fashion show, and while there we decided that we wanted to add sports coats and shirts. Everything on the menswear side is made in the USA. Our leather goods in particular are made in St. Louis or in the midwest. We differentiate ourselves from other menswear shops by having local items. Our merchandise is hand-picked and many of the items are handmade, so it creates a whole different atmosphere. We carry craftsmen menswear, and you can feel and see the quality in each item.  

Are there specific products that you’ve found to be especially successful in your unique retail environment?

The Original Snake Bite is one of the most successful items we carry, I think in part due to the media blitz and social media surrounding it. The pick up has been really good. Another line that has been really successful for us is Shinola. They are a watch company that started in Detroit a few years ago. They are a leather goods watch maker, and they actually also make bicycles. All of their items are handmade in Detroit in a little factory. They do a tremendous job of social media advertising and have blown up big time in recent years. Another really successful line for us is Rawlings out of St. Louis. Everyone is familiar with them for making leather baseball gloves, but the also make leather bags, wallets and other leather items. We carry a line of theirs that is made in St. Genevieve.  

Do you have a consumer in mind when you make decisions about what products you will carry?

We are in the loft district downtown, so a lot of our consumers are between the ages of 25 and 40. The other group of our folks are the businessmen who work downtown. For the most part, everything falls in those categories. We don’t have that many people who drive in from other areas; its mostly the loft residents.  

Could you walk us through why you decided to carry the Snake Bite?

Right off the bat, the fact that it is a leather item, that struck our fancy a little bit in the beginning.  Snake Bite has also done an awesome job staying on the ball. They are always quick to respond to requests. The other factor that influenced us is that they are a local St. Louis company, a newer start up, and we like to promote things that are from St. Louis.

You also offer “pop-up shops.”  Can you tell us a little bit about those, and what it adds to the experience for your customers?

Basically everything that we carry in store is ready to walk out and wear. We’ve had a lot of customers request custom stuff. Bespoke Apparel has a shop out in Town and Country and they approached us to have a pop-up shop on the weekends. They come into our store and bring all of their pattern swatches and they offer complete custom tailoring. So, you come in, get fitted and they bring you back a suit or a shirt in about a month. We started that about three weeks ago and it’s been very well received.  

What made you decide to offer memberships and what are the benefits your members receive?

We created memberships as a loyalty program. Many of our customers come in on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis.  We wanted to give the guys that were in their that often some sort of a discount. We offer three levels, targeted towards how often the client comes in. We know that our prices are considerably more than other places to get your haircut, but you are really paying for the experience once you get there.  

What is the next big thing we should expect from Dapper Gents Grooming Lounge?

In 2015, because we’re so new, our biggest thing right now is to continue to get established in the city. We are going to Vegas (for a fashion show) next month, so there might be some new items in the menswear side that we bring on. In the short term, we’re going to try to liven up the menswear side a little more with more of the items that have been well received.  For us, that’s been the leather goods and locally made accessory items.

What takeaway would you want people to know about Dapper Gents?

One of the key items that makes us stand apart is our ambiance. That’s a word I hear a lot from customers. We create that by the way we display things and the items we have in the shop. Our barber chairs are a great example of that: they are over 100 years old and were originally made in St. Louis before 1920. We found them scattered all throughout the country, bought them, refurbished them and they look brand new, but bring that vintage feel. With our furnishings & our lounge, we've created what is very much a man’s world.  

Another thing that makes us stand out is our straight razor shaves. We offer something that died out years ago and only a few select places still do them. Most barbers don’t actually have a straight razor license. Almost everyone in our shop has a straight razor license, so it has been a huge sales point for us.

Learn more about Dapper Gents Grooming Lounge here:

http://dappergentsgrooming.com/