I used to have difficulty finding the best fit when it came to shopping for polo shirts (rah, rah…boo-hoo); either they’re too short, too wide, too tight or too loose. It has taken me several stores and a few hundred dollars to actually nail the right size (RL slim fit in one size larger for length… in case you were wondering).
Luckily there’s a new startup on the rack to help with our shirt-fitting woes.
“The Warby Parker for shirts”
Fresh off the Y Combinator’s 15th Demo Day stage is Jonathan Tang with a simple mission: to make sure our shirts fit.
That’s right, his startup, Vastrm (Sanskrit for cloth), is offering a t-shirt “home try on” program whereupon you:
1. Take a quick measurement survey
2. Receive 3-4 different sized sample shirts
3. Choose the best size for you
4. Send the samples back
5. Create the perfect fitting shirt online
Warby Parker (the online eyewear store) has nothin’ on Vastrm though; according to Jonathan everyone wears shirts but not everyone wears glasses.
So, why is Jonathan so interested in clothing? It may have something to do with his family’s thread empire.
The kid from the Chinese clothing kingdom
Jonathan’s family knows clothes. He is part of a Chinese dynasty (possibly of the actual Tang Dynasty?) of textile and apparel makers, which he claims now make 1 in 6 shirts in the US. Not too shabby.
He helped with the family business until he ventured off into the land of technology where he made quite the name for himself.
CRM King
Jonathan left the dynasty to start one of the first on-demand CRM companies in 1999 – Salesnet – with some rockstar clients like Microsoft, American Express and Staples.
He’s now combining his passion for clothing and his tech expertise with his new startup baby (that was all the rave at Demo Day).
If you’re a troubled t-shirt shopper, Vastrm just might be the answer to your prayers. Check it out, create your perfect polo(s), and be the best-looking guy on the golf course. Well, maybe.
