Apparel Search · Shopping Guide · Google Affiliate Network Record
Page 3 — menswear tailoring, denim, plus-size leaders and surf heritage, from Jos. A. Bank to O'Neill.
Page 3 — menswear tailoring, denim, plus-size leaders and surf heritage, from Jos. A. Bank to O'Neill.
Page 3 of the Google fashion shopping guide continues the retailer record from Jos. A. Bank to O'Neill. At this time, the pages no longer use Google Affiliate Network links: the network helped advertisers and publishers improve performance across the affiliate ecosystem, and Apparel Search had used it to provide easy access to fashion products around the web, but in April 2013 Google retired the network and this section of the directory closed. The descriptions below are for historical reference only — please return to the main Apparel Search shopper section for different shopping options.
The group on this page is the specialist end of the market: a tailored menswear house with a century of heritage, two plus-size and big-and-tall authorities, one of the great denim names, a Fifth Avenue department store founded in 1826, a pre-owned luxury handbag specialist, a Los Angeles T-shirt pioneer and the original surf shop. Together they show how much of fashion retail is built on doing one thing definitively.
Each retailer here owned a niche. King Size Direct defined its customer by measurement — a man 6'2" or taller, or at least 225 pounds. Lane Bryant's claim was to be the most recognized name in plus-size clothing, with an emphasis on fashion and fit rather than merely size. Luxe Designer Handbags sold only authentic pre-owned designer bags, guaranteed authentic, at a discount off retail. Specialist positioning like that is what made these listings worth reading: the description itself told a shopper whether the store was for them.
The heritage claims are equally specific. Jos. A. Bank pointed to 107 years of quality and workmanship and prices typically 20 to 30 percent below competitors. Lord & Taylor had been building its reputation since 1826, its Fifth Avenue flagship windows influencing New York fashion for more than 90 years. O'Neill began around 1952 in a garage across the Great Highway, where Jack O'Neill glued together neoprene vests and walked into the wetsuit business. These are the facts the record preserves, stated as the companies stated them.
Tailoring, big and tall, plus size, denim, department-store classics, luxury handbags, tees and surf — eight specialists in a row.
Jos. A. Bank is not just another menswear retailer: what made it unique was a heritage of quality and workmanship attracting customers for 107 years, an extensive selection of beautifully made, classically styled tailored and casual clothing, and prices typically 20 to 30 percent below competitors — backed by an expert staff of sales professionals who prize service and customer satisfaction.
Founded over 50 years ago as a specialty retailer in men's extra-sized footwear, KINGSIZE grew into a leading direct mail catalog of big and tall men's clothing. In 1995 the company was acquired by Redcats USA, the nation's largest direct mailer of special-size clothing catalogs, including Woman Within and Roaman's. Its customer was defined plainly: a man 6'2" or taller and/or weighing at least 225 pounds — one of 13 million men in the United States, nearly 1 in 5.
Lane Bryant is the most recognized name in plus-size clothing, and its emphasis on fashion and fit — not merely size — made it a style leader. Cacique plus size intimates are a Lane Bryant exclusive, famous for the fit solutions and fashion styling they offer in bras, panties, sleepwear and more.
Lee Jeans is a leading international retailer and manufacturer of denim wear and casual wear, headquartered in Merriam, Kansas, near Kansas City, employing more than 400 people across the United States at the time of the record. Its parent company, the VF Corporation, was described as the largest publicly held apparel company in the world, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VFC, with principal brands including Lee, Wrangler, Riders, Rustler, The North Face, Vans, Reef, Napapijri, Kipling, Nautica, John Varvatos, JanSport, Eastpak, Eagle Creek, Lee Sport and Red Kap.
Since 1826, Lord & Taylor has built a reputation for service, for quality and, most of all, for style, creating a unique mix of the latest trends and timeless classics that made it a favorite store of generations of shoppers. The windows of its flagship location on Fifth Avenue had been making an impact on the New York fashion scene for more than 90 years at the time of the record.
Luxe Designer Handbags (LuxeDH) sold used Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci handbags at discount prices with payment plans, priding itself on the best prices for authentic pre-owned designer bags — every bag guaranteed authentic. Its range covered Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Dior, Chloe, Balenciaga, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Hermes and Bottega Veneta, in vintage, nearly new and limited edition styles, from a base just minutes from Aventura, Florida, selling shoulder bags, totes, wallets, luggage and other luxury accessories at a discount off retail.
Michael Stars held that being stylish and being comfortable should be one and the same. Stated on their site to be the founder of the 'original tee', Los Angeles-based Michael Stars pioneered casual chic tees from its founding more than two decades before the record, when a chance meeting with a beachside artist inspired South Africa-native Michael Cohen to launch a unisex T-shirt line. He and his wife Suzanne built the brand known for perfectly fitted tees, signature 'shine' fabric, ultra-soft layering pieces and plush cashmere sweaters. Michael Stars opened its first store in Manhattan Beach in 2001 and grew to 12 retail stores with distribution in all 50 states and internationally, featured in Vogue, Lucky, Elle and InStyle.
Sometime around 1952, Jack O'Neill opened the first surf shop in a garage across the Great Highway. He shaped a few balsa surfboards and sold accessories like paraffin wax and a few vests he had started gluing together from neoprene; when the vests sold, he went into the wetsuit business. By 1980 the surf shop had become a thriving international company, dominating the world's wetsuit market and a leader in beach lifestyle sportswear in the U.S., Japan and Europe. Its Superfreak Series boardshorts incorporated patented technology — a stretchable panel along the rear of the short for flexibility, with less flexible areas for durability and comfort — leading to the Freak Series Boardshorts and O'Neill Hybrid Shorts.
Denim, tailored menswear and handbags are easy to comparison-shop today. The Apparel Search Amazon clothing guide collects the Amazon clothing guide in one place — a useful yardstick for the same categories this page's retailers defined.
Specialist retailers are the easiest kind to replace when a link dies: search by the specialty, not just the name. The Apparel Search guides linked below cover plus-size fashion, big and tall menswear, denim and handbags with current destinations, page 1 of this series explains the network behind the guide, and page 4 completes the record with Orvis through Woman Within.
Page 3 covers Jos. A. Bank, King Size Direct, Lane Bryant, Lee Jeans, Lord & Taylor, Luxe Designer Handbags, Michael Stars and O'Neill. Page 2 covers Blair to Heels, and page 4 covers Orvis to Woman Within.
Authentic pre-owned designer handbags — Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Dior, Chloe, Balenciaga, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Hermes and Bottega Veneta among them — guaranteed authentic and sold at a discount off retail, with payment plans available.
Around 1952 Jack O'Neill opened the first surf shop in a garage across the Great Highway, shaping balsa surfboards and selling accessories and neoprene vests he glued together himself. The vests led him into the wetsuit business, and by 1980 the company dominated the world's wetsuit market.
Keep browsing the Apparel Search shopping guides:
Google Fashion Shopping Guide — All Pages