And in 2019, an unlikely suitor came knocking: The Pokémon Company, which wanted to make something one of a kind. This approach kept Original Stitch in business for a handful of years. “If you go to a large chain store, and if you’re a, then you’re supposed to fit in ‘large.’ And if you don’t, the silent message is that you should fit into the brand, not vice versa,” says Yasuhiro Hayashi, CEO of Original Stitch. Other online styling companies like Stitch Fix, Trunk Club, and Wantable typically match you with a stylist and a curated clothing catalog Original Stitch cuts out the middleman, handing you metaphorical control of the sewing machine. In an attempt to solve the same problem for others, he created Original Stitch as an online store offering custom, high-quality shirts, at the time marketed to busy tech workers. The problem he kept running up against was time he didn’t have enough of it to tailor his wardrobe. Original Stitch was founded in San Francisco back in 2012 by Jin Koh, a businessman who had been seeking sophisticated, custom-tailored shirts. And their sustained success coincides with the rise of a new customer demographic in the Pokémon marketing world. Produced by upscale shirt tailor Original Stitch, Pokémon Shirts are entering their third year of operation, putting an appreciable distance between being many one-and-done licensing agreements.
When your styling is all said and done, the final product will likely set you back over $100.īut that’s fine with you, because you are exactly the demographic The Pokémon Company has been breeding all these years. Pokémon Shirts offer fabric patterns representing every single Pokémon from the Kanto and Johto regions of the games, and a few from the Galar region sprinkled in, too. You have over 300 different fabrics to consider. Once that’s sorted, you’re still not done. Do you want short or long sleeves? Collar or no collar? A dress shirt always works, but maybe something looser-fitting might look good on you. Armed with that information, now you can hone in on the shape of the shirt. Sit up straight and find a friend, because next you’re going to need the exact measurements of your arms, neck, chest, and waist. As is often the case these days, maybe you want to look sharp for a business meeting over Zoom.
First, it’s best if you have some sort of formal event upcoming. No, in order to create a Pokémon Shirt - proper noun - there’s a process. But don’t get confused most shirts covered in Pokémon are not Pokémon Shirts. Pokémon Shirts are shirts covered in Pokémon.