What have you been up to lately?
Running all over China to find the best deals in blazer production. Trying to do this without a Chinese partner has been difficult but ultimately satisfying in terms of accomplishments to date. Doing it all on a limited budget isn't easy either, but I'm now discovering the advantages starting this in China, i.e., dumplings are yummy and cost 30 cents.
What motivated you to start your own business?
It was kind of a combination of always wanting to do it and then also a product of the environment I was in. I found that I was working crazy hours and not seeing anything from it in terms of the satisfaction that I knew I would get from the same effort put into my own business. It was only when I started working on DressMonkey that I felt my work actually meant something. I also hate wearing suits in 97 degree weather, whereas I much prefer the DressMonkey office standard attire: boxer shorts only.
Why a clothing anti-brand?
Anti-Brand doesn't mean that we are anti-big names, it just means that we are tired of people thinking that to get a quality product, they must only purchase those brands. Manufacturing is cheap, and its especially cheap when its done in a country like China. Thats why most of our competitors are also here. But the difference between us and them is that we don't hide it. We employ the same production methods as they do, with the same quality everything, and the only difference is that we aren't willing to go out and spend a large amount of money on a marketing campaign that makes you think that our product is superior. We know that it is, you will soon, and we trust that you the consumer are confident enough to see that just because we're selling our blazers for cheap doesn't mean that we don't have the same if not better quality then some of the more established competitors out there.
Your first blazer experience?
I had worn them a lot when I was very young (not all the time voluntarily), and I also wore blazers in High School and then in college for random events. But it wasn't until after college that I started to see the blazer as the new accessory that could make guys look cool and it didn't have to cost much at all.
Ok, your first sexual encounter in a blazer?
Chicks dig the blazer, my current frau especially. I won't go into details but she's definately put it on a few times.
Wardrobe Essential?
My linen pants and now my blazers (which are now numbering in the thousands thanks to DressMonkey prototypes).
Ralph Lauren or Armani?
Ralph Lauren, but that's because I'm from Connecticut.
Girlfriend?
Denise from Konstanz, Germany. I met her in a bar here and since then I've learned all sorts of dirty German sayings which she will consistently deny she ever taught me.
Any Asian fetish you'd like to speak of?
Suprisingly no. A lot of people asked me if that was why I took Chinese, moved to China, and have no plans to return. But I really haven't left the blonde phase I've always found myself in.
Why DressMonkey?
Because DressMonkey describes an identity which I myself identify with. Corporate monkeys who hope yearn to be free, and we are the ones who will dress them. I hated wearing a suit not really because it was uncomfortable, but more because my boss told me I had to wear it. DressMonkey's mission is to release the inner monkey in everyone, who wishes to expand on their usual, dull wardrobes with something they can positively say they created themselves.