While there is a veritable sea of woven shirt options in the market, Canadian label & Sons Garment Co. stands out from the pack with its high quality, small batch assortment of subtly designed shirts in delicious fabrics – all at affordable prices. Launched by longtime fashion veteran Patrick Williams two years ago, the collection is a definite go-to for collared casual tops and a somewhat under-the-radar brand that is totally worth knowing about.
Williams recently gave me the story behind his brand.
What is your background?
I worked for Levi’s for over 23 years in product development and sourcing and finished up in Hong Kong and I chose to come back to Canada. I launched & Sons five seasons ago. I had done product for Levi’s pretty much all my life so I decided why not do it myself? My thinking was to narrow it down to just one product category and do it well. I chose shirts.
What makes your shirts special?
It’s a premium casual shirt that’s meant to be worn with jeans so I do a lot of pieces in denim with laser etching. Those are things that no one else even has at this point in time.
What is your favorite shirt you offer?
It’s difficult to say. It’s like asking me which one is my favorite son. But I like the denim pieces that I do with laser etching or my prints. Everything is my own creation, ideas and concepts and every piece has its own likeness so I wouldn’t be able to tell you which is my favorite shirt. There are so many.
But in the current season the Cuban print was my favorite shirt and the other one is the overdyed linen one is another great piece. I wanted to do something about Cuba before the talk was in the air about Cuba opening up to tourism.
Who is the & Sons customer?
Young professionals who are 25 to 40 and who are looking for a quality shirt at value-for-money pricing. It’s not just a hyped up brand but an actual quality shirt. I do things that are not in your face and I am just playing in one category. When someone comes close enough they do appreciate what I’m doing be it the hand feel or the print or the overall quality of the shirt itself.
What’s next for the brand?
I am trying to stay true to wanting to make a statement with my shirts. I’ve used fabrics that I should have otherwise done in a jacket. It was more of a heavier fabric but I still did it in a woven shirt to give it a sort of overshirt feel. My accounts have told me it wouldn’t be a stretch to add in a blazer or jackets. I still need to process that but that might be something I would do.
But I want to be known for men’s casual, premium woven shirts. I want to be the leader in this category.
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