Clothing Craftsman
Design savvy, covetable craftsmanship and just a little bit of rock and roll—Taylor Stitch truly embodies everything we love about fashion—and life
“A lot of times when you get a shirt tailored, you don’t get a shirt you want, you get a shirt they want to give you.”
And so began my conversation with Michael Maher, Barrett Purdum and Michael “Mikey” Armenta, founders of Taylor Stitch, the company (and fellas) dedicated to relentlessly designing and crafting clothes that fit like a glove.
Originally from the east coast, Maher and Purdum played lacrosse together in college and were on the fast track to becoming investment bankers. That is, until a fateful trip to Australia quickly made them reassess what they wanted to do with their lives.
“We felt like we couldn’t find shirts that fit us well, and we felt the shopping experience for men was pretty terrible all around. Barrett’s father would always bring back these custom shirts from Hong Kong, and we were [inspired by that].”
After graduation, Maher and Purdum headed west to San Francisco to get the company off the ground. However, they quickly realized they needed another mind with an eye for design to help bring their ideas to life—and they knew the perfect guy.
Enter Michael “Mikey” Armenta, the brother of a fellow lacrosse player who they had gotten to know in college. Armenta was attending another school studying industrial and graphic design, but would come up on weekends to hit up parties and hang out.
“We thought maybe we could get Mikey to move out to San Francisco...and then he surfed our couch for 9 months,” said Maher.
Since then, the trio has been laser focused on bringing their very specific vision to life, and count among their customers the likes of Jake Gyllenhaall. But, and perhaps more importantly, they have the hearts and devotion of an entire city in San Francisco, as well as fans from all over the world.
“A huge turning point was San Francisco’s Valencia [Street] community. Prior to our store, we had taken the route of pop-up markets, bringing the product to people directly.” However, the three of them felt there was a better way to help people understand the brand, so they opened a brick and mortar shop.
“There’s something about people being able to interact with a brand. Everyone who is in the store is hyped on what we’re doing. Even our employees...they aren’t just retail workers, they are family,” said Maher.
The Store Taylor Stitch ships clothes weekly out of the their store, which, just like their clothes, is beautifully designed.
And perhaps, this is a touch of Armenta’s influence, whose background is in design. However, when asked about the team’s design process, he’s humble. Armenta points out it’s a a team effort, with everyone having an equal say at the brainstorm and design table.
Purdum echoes this sentiment, but credits Armenta with helping him examine design in a new way. He notes he’s inspired by design in all areas of his life—from fashion to architecture to web design, and beyond—he, too, has a well-tuned eye for design.
“Mikey Got Us to Start
looking at different elements of design. It’s something I hadn’t done before Taylor Stitch. Before we were just playing lacrosse and going to school...i never thought
On the design process “It’s not a woman’s high fashion couture line, we just try to find great materials, like fabrics. We keep the fit block and change things like colors and materials.” - Michael Maher
“We pride ourselves on the fit our clothes, which is consistent across products: flannel, dress shirt, t-shirt or a sweater—the medium, we call it a 40, it will fit you dead on no matter the product. We try to keep the exact same fit with the pants. So if you buy a 30 in the jean, then you’ll be a 30 in a chino.” - Michael Maher “We are all in it together—equal parts.
We’re pretty fortunate to be in San Francisco—it’s probably one of the only places besides Los Angeles and New York that you can construct garments. All the production happens within half a mile of each other.” - Mikley Armenta On inspiration “A lot of mine comes from travel, people and places. One of our best friends lives in Mexico City, so the architecture, food and drinks...just existing in certain places and spaces.” - Michael Maher
“Exploration, surfing, the elements, getting dirty. Just learning things first-hand and experiencing new things.” - Mikey Armenta What’s Next “This next year, we’re looking to start more dying and washes on stuff, and in general, we’ll have a more broad collection which will include jackets, sweaters, pants, and shirts.” - Mikey Armenta
