You may have noticed that I’ve been a little light on blog posts lately. While I certainly wish that I had a bit more time to create great #content, most of it has been taken up by a new project. As I’ve been hinting at on social media for a couple of months, I’ve had something in the works for a while and I’m excited to share it with you all today.
Like many of you, I love to dress sharp but have found that it’s increasingly hard to do in the casual world we live in. If you’ve read my two-season wardrobe post, my in-between wardrobe series, or any of my editorials then you’re probably familiar with the way I approach clothing – I tend to optimize for versatility and value, and very carefully pick pieces that will easily dress up or down. As the tired “direct-to-consumer” adage goes, I’ve often struggled to find products on the market that do this well and so last year I decided to do it myself. I’m not attempting to “disrupt” an industry or cut out an imaginary middleman, I’m just trying to make clothing that I think people like me will appreciate.
The brand is called Lost Monarch, and we quietly launched last week. Over the past year, my goal has been to create casual clothing with a bit more refinement – still polished and put-together, but not enough to stick out in a casual setting. Similarly, I’m trying to create pieces that I could comfortably afford by building our supply chain around expertise and quality rather than margins or marketing. I started the company with a couple of friends from my tenure at Massdrop – we’re all passionate about making good products at good prices, have a diverse skillset from our various roles in tech and startups, and want to apply these skills to the e-commerce world. It’s slowly coming together and we’ve decided that it’s time to start sharing our work.
Our first releases are two styles of pants – denim and chinos – both designed to be a bit more polished and versatile than what you would typically see from these styles. Both are made in Los Angeles from Japanese fabrics, and have many small features that I think make them unique in the market (you can read more on their product pages). They’re currently open for preorders, and we have more products on the way. While our long-term plan is to carry stock of these products so that customers can buy them without having to wait, we’re starting with preorders so that anyone can get in on the first run. You can also see other interest checks (like polos and umbrellas), which are products we are currently working to prep for production. I have many more ideas for products down the line, but we’re taking things slowly as we start out and hope to build some momentum from here.
Anyway, that’s the big update from me. I’d love for you to take a look, and would love it even more if you would send me any thoughts that you have on the products, the website, or anything else. Feel free to subscribe to our email list if you want to stay informed of upcoming releases, and if you feel inspired to join one of the preorders I’ll be sure to send you a note of thanks for being an early adopter.
As for the blog, I expect it to be more or less the same – it won’t become an extension of the brand or anything like that. I’m still on the lookout for interesting products and will still provide my thoughts on the industry as a whole; those things won’t change. Thanks to all of you who take the time to visit this site, whether it’s been for six years or just today. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s to come in the year ahead.
