The Concept of ME-commerce

A custom tailored shirt is one of those luxuries that you probably think you don’t need – but once you get your first one, you won’t know how you ever wore anything else.  Up until recently, the luxury of a custom shirt was only attainable by those few who were willing to pay a bespoke tailor for exclusive personal service.  Not anymore.

Joe Button, a new Sydney-based startup aims to revolutionize the custom clothing industry and make it accessible to anyone with an internet connection.  Customers can now design their own shirts and shirtdresses online using the website’s 3D shirt designer tool and watch as a simulation of their customized creation takes shape in real-time.  Male customers can choose from one of four sizing methods that range from selecting a standard size in the click of a mouse to measuring themselves in less than five minutes (options in between include measuring a favorite shirt and altering a standard size).  And for those are just after a good quality shirt, Joe Button also has a collection of essential and seasonal designs for both men and women that can also be tweaked and sized exactly to each customer’s preference.

“We realized that there are different levels of consumer involvement so we decided to offer a few different ways to get a perfect fit.  A lot of the time, people find that the only problem with a standard sized shirt is that the sleeves are too short or the neck is too tight, so we let our customers start with a standard size and then tweak one or two measurements to fit their bodies.” says Joe Button founder Modi Song, who came up with the idea for Joe Button with co-founder Melissa Lee whilst working together as Corporate Finance analysts.

Joe Button are so confident of their custom sizing system that purchases are backed by a Perfect Fit promise – if the shirt doesn’t fit for whatever reason, Joe Button will either remake the shirt or reimburse the customer for alterations at their local tailor. 

Joe Button’s range of premium shirting fabrics is sourced from throughout Europe, including Britain, France, Italy and Switzerland, and prices start at $99 for a shirt and $149 for a shirtdress.  They offer multiple purchase discounts and free delivery worldwide with it usually taking about three weeks for customers to receive their order.  

“We think that a quality shirt shouldn’t cost as much as what the big brands are charging so we thought, why not do things a little differently?  Our shirts are all custom made from 100% European cottons that match if not better the quality of the established brands, but we can offer lower prices because we don’t have the same costs as a traditional retail shop.  Our goal is to offer customers a product without compromising any of the elements we value ourselves – price, quality and fit – and it’s that combination that we have always struggled to find on High Street.”

The concept of online customization has already gained significant traction in the US with co-creation marketplaces like Etsy and customizable jeweller Gemvara seeing massive growth in recent months.

“It’s the concept of ‘me-commerce’.  People don’t want to own clothes that they’re going to see everyone else wearing.  We want what we wear to reflect who we are as individuals.” says Modi.  “But you’ll still always be able to pick a Joe Button shirt from the crowd – just look for our trademark red button on the bottom of every shirt.”

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