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Photo, Hair and Makeup by Carrie Woomer
ShiteShirts is interested in providing customers with a unique look made from surplus fabric that is one of a kind. Their shirts are at the same time goofy, brilliant and completely original. Inspired by their crazy shirt nights, they have created a company that doesn't take itself too seriously- and apparently you can have some pretty cool dreams if you wear one to bed! I spoke Matt Weil about his company, their esthetic and their laid back attitude about what they create.
How did you come up with the concept and what do you want customers to know about the product?
We used to have crazy shirt nights when we were traveling in Canada as a bit of fun on nights out. It created an sense of near-anarchy which resonated with the 'we don't care' attitude prevalent with guys and girls that just want to have fun. We went to music festivals with the same idea and it was at Glastonbury in the UK where we decided that we could make a business out of it. In doing so, we thought we'd bring a lot of fun to customers. The key concept is 'no two shirts the same', created by breaking the shirt up into about 14 different pieces of material or panels and operating with a lottery format. ShiteShirt buyers (they call them ShiteShirters) never know what their shirt will look like. Each shirt, whilst being completely different from the next, carries the same sentiment for the wearer: WE ARE NOT SERIOUS. We don't care, we are anti bespoke, we're having fun. The name 'ShiteShirts' came after many long deliberations. We wanted something that would encapsulate the peacock effect that the shirts were bound to have. A friend of ours suggested 'Shite' as it is a Japanese term for the lead actor, the alpha. We think it works perfectly.
Where do the fabrics come from, and are you constantly looking for new ones?
Our fabric is sourced from all over the world. The first prototypes were made out of material that my mother was planning to use to make aprons and notice boards. She wasn't best pleased -neither was my dad, for that matter, as I chopped up his favorite Hawaiian shirt in the process. The key is that every fabric we choose is slightly crazy. We have had sequins and faux leather, teddy bear patterns and felt zebra print. We aim to create a sustainable business in buying up surplus fabric that would otherwise go to waste and are constantly looking for new fabrics. We regularly visit the biggest fabric shows - if it's crazy enough, we'll get some. (They don't buy too much of each fabric, though- this keeps each shirt very different).
What about this design do you think appeals to a variety of customers? What is the most unusual shirt created thus far?
The concept appeals to people who don't take themselves too seriously, whilst some just want it for the attention it brings. There is a great variety of customers that all want it for different reasons. One guy bought ten for his planking holiday (lying face down on the floor in strange places) to Eastern Europe. The craziest one I've seen, although I'm sure there are some more ridiculous ones out there, had faux leather shoulders with a tiger pattern, sequins on one arm, teddy bears all over the collar and a floral arrangement on the back.
What direction is the brand trying to go with this concept, and are there other ideas in the works?
We want to push the concept as far as it can go. We are currently building our community and interacting heavily with people who 'Like' the concept on Facebook and the shirts in particular. We have close to 30,000 Facebook followers at the moment. We have other products in the pipeline and are currently taking orders from retailers for the products.
Where do you hope this idea will lead?
A sea of ShiteShirters taking over the globe in a mishmash of colorful randomness.
Who is the ideal customer for this brand? How would you describe a typical customer or the customer you have in mind?
Our ideal customer is someone who is going to embrace the Shirt and shout about his/her love of ShiteWear from the rooftops- in a perfectly appealing and funny way of course. The ideal customer just wants to have fun and do something a little off the wall; be it bungee jumping or singing in a band, a silly groom wanting to annoy the bride's family or a pub landlord wanting to attract attention. We have a near limitless type of 'ideal customer'.
Are customers required to wear an animal mask (as pictured on the site) in order to enjoy the shirt? How can wearing one of Shite Shirts items make someone's day better? What activities can be made more interesting by wearing one of your creations?
Of course not. At the early stage we just didn't want there to be a 'face of the brand' - we thought an animal mask would keep the attention on the shirt. The idea is that the ShiteShirters are ALL the faces of the brand. We have had stories of ShiteShirts doing incredible things for people- that affection had flowed. I categorically think that any activity - ANYTHING - can be made more interesting just by wearing a ShiteShirt. I went to sleep in one last night and had the most incredible and beautiful dreams.
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This is ShiteShirts Ireland here. We were appointed sole distributors for ShiteShirts in Ireland in August 2011. We were asked for an provided a Marketing Plan which we proceeded to put in place including magazine advertisements, website listings, stands at events such as Toys 4 Big Boys, wedding shows, leaflet drops, etc. at considerable expense to us. We ordered and paid for our first order of 100 shirts from ShiteShirts, which arrived. When it came to our second order our minimum order limit was raised from 100 to 250 shirts. Alarm bells should have sounded but naively we went ahead and paid for 250 shirts in December 2011. We never received this order of shirts and have been unable to get our money back from the company to date. ShiteShirts then cancelled our sole distribution agreement without explanation, notice or a refund of our money.
All of the money we spent both on marketing and the order of 250 shirts was borrowed. We have tried every avenue to get the money back from ShiteShirts to no avail. This company treated us very badly and has acted in a very fraudulent and unprofessional manner.
