Trading Secrets - 192. More Than Money: Fashion expert Randy Willard! Suits, styles, do’s, don’ts and more!

Episode Date: August 15, 2024

This week, Jason is joined by entrepreneur and men’s fashion expert, Randy Willard! Randy has been on the forefront of custom men’s fashion since 2010 and primarily works with high level executives and leading business men in several different industries including: Forbes, 500 lists, athletes in sport, entertainment, finance, and technology leaders. Randy breaks down all aspects of the suit, what kind of suits he recommends for a wedding, the importance of not letting down the bride with how you wear your suit, the impact of wearing a suit jacket, what goes into styling, and so much more!  It’s an episode you can’t afford to miss!  Host: Jason Tartick Co-Host: David Arduin Audio: John Gurney Guest: Randy Willard Stay connected with the Trading Secrets Podcast!  Instagram: @tradingsecretspodcast  Youtube: Trading Secrets Facebook: Join the Group All Access: Free 30-Day Trial 

Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets, More Than Money Edition. Men's Fashion expert Randy Willard. Randy has been on the forefront of custom men's fashion since 2010. Randy primarily works with high-level executives and leading businessmen in several different industries, including Forbes 500 lists, athletes in sports, entertainment, finance, and technology leaders. Randy's mantra is, the man makes the suit, meaning one's individual style and look is the secondary expression.

We are going to learn the ins and outs of the high-end custom fashion industry and how Randy has been able to solidify himself as the expert in a unique and high-end space. And you heard the word man a couple times early in this intro, but we know that suits can be perfect for all genders, all people. There's been a roller coaster in the industry and whether you are consuming, buying, getting ready for a wedding, anything fashion. We're going to talk about it today. Randy, thank you so much for being on Trading Secrets. Thank you for this opportunity to sit down with you and share. Amazing. I'm going to just step right into this, right? Because people are here in suits. They're here in custom clothing. And they're probably saying, especially knowing my

audience. Suits. Huh. Okay, I see the politicians wearing the suits. I see that, but who's still wearing the suits out there? So I want to talk to you about the numbers, right? In 2024, the revenue in the suits market in the U.S. is $2.12 billion, which is still massive. That's a huge market. And we know that it's going to have an annual growth rate that's going to be stagnant over the next five years. That's what they're saying. So what is your take on just the overall idea of suits in an industry and a place that people have a lot of opinions. And what do you think we as consumers need to be thinking about suits as consumer behaviors change? I want to roll back the clock a little bit on this particular subject and address it. If this was 2020 and COVID

was all of a sudden hitting us in the face, we didn't know which way we were going. The history up until that point was NBA coaches wore suits, businessmen wore suits, mortgage banking, people were wearing suits. And then we go through this whole tunnel of love the last four years. And the further we go downstream, I think the clear of the picture is about kind of really where we're going. And I'm not so sure that 2022, 2023 was as clear a picture as it's becoming clearer today. You are absolutely right. Fewer people are wearing suits out there across the board in all the areas of life like they were prior to 2020. And it's almost like 2020 was a watermark and then things started to change.

That being said, what is out of sight is out of mind, but at some point in time when a person is in need of wearing a sophisticated look and they're looking to put on a suit that they haven't worn in a long time because that's not their journey. And they want to look great because their significant other looks amazing. They start discovering that, wow, it feels good to dress up every now and then. And I think there's going to be a period of time in the future where that's going to be more relevant to not only my generation that's somewhat past, but the generations of younger people that are coming up that are finding, you know what, I went this direction for so long.

long. And now that I'm starting to get a little bit older, it kind of feels good every now and then to step up with James Bond game, if you will. Yeah. Because Bond is always relevant. Our business model today as a company and the message we're trying to get forward to our audience is that dressing is important. Suits might not be quite as significant as they were in the past. But let me show you how it works for you with your lifestyle going forward when it's necessary. I love it. It makes a lot of sense, especially when you talk about the trends, right? We just know that everything goes in circles. The things that we once thought were cool a couple of years ago, skinny jeans, the younger kids wouldn't touch. You know, when you go to country clubs,

they're all wearing sports coats. And at some point, we'll make that full circle. If you don't mind, you're making me think of something that's totally relevant to right now in 2024, 2025. Everything you see in Europe in terms of a pant being worn or even a jacket being worn is a little bit more oversized compared to what's been going on the last five or six years. Guys are wearing pleaded pants, a higher waisted pants, something we haven't seen in years. The jacket isn't quite as form fitting in so many ways. It's something that's a little bit more comfortable. Who would have thought six, seven, eight years ago that we would be seeing that? I mean, I have clients today that are going to say, well, I don't know if I'm quite ready for that pleaded pant look.

So these things are coming back around for what they used to be five, ten years ago. And the same thing will happen with people wearing suits or thinking it's important to their life. Exactly. It's going to change those trends are changing and people that are interested in what is trending in clothing as it connects to cuts and colors and all the things. Randy and I will cover that. One thing we know that has stayed consistent throughout, all the these decades and years until 2024 and still here today weddings wedding day you're still going to see people in suits

in tuxedos so that's probably the most relatable and relevant place to start when you're consuming in the suit space in an event like that what are things we don't know that we need to know as it relates to materials cost who to work with

what's in the colors tell us everything i always like to address the whole wedding world extravaganza, starting with the groom, the groom should stand out from the groomsmen. If it's summertime, I encourage you to explore more colorful suits that really make you kind of like stand out, break the tradition of the wedding party theme a little bit by being in a lighter color or colorful suit as a wedding piece, or be in a formal look like some tuxedo black tie look that is the choice that you're trying to make

and the direction you're trying to go. This is your big moment that everything looks great throughout the entire ceremony and pictures are forever and you want that whole agenda to come out the right way. In bringing up certain parts of this

that are important, a lot of times because you haven't worn a suit in a while, so many guys are getting married and again, they're not wearing suits, we just address that. It's kind of a foreign piece, you know, how do I stand? What do I look? Do I buttoned all the buttons on my jacket? No, you don't do that. You always leave the bottom button on button for pictures. I just recently had somebody

who I made a garment for for his wedding and he didn't do that. And it just, in my opinion, ruined so many moments of pictures that were being taken for memory's sake because he didn't know how to stand or wear his coat a certain way. We kind of walk our through, our clients through those things, which are just as important as picking out the right color. I think that's a great golden rule for all grooms out there wearing a suit or a tux or whatever it might be. Make sure it is extremely differentiated from your wedding party. You alluded to do's and don'ts. And I see on your Instagram and TikTok, you do a lot of do's and don'ts in the fashion space. When it comes to anything from shoes to pants to jacket to even tie, we already got one don't from you.

Absolutely do not button all your buttons. What are some other don't do these things that we should know and that you can educate us on so we can help those who don't around us? Whatever you're wearing a suit or a sport coat, it should be your objective when the jacket is on to show a little cuff. If you're not showing cuff and your sleeve length is just slightly too long, to me, you've completely ruined the entire look of the outfit. You have to show the contrasting shirt from the jacket. You must show cup. And my rule of thumb is anywhere from three-eighths to a half an inch.

This is the general rule. And if you hit that, then you look for starters. And I would encourage you to always wear a French cuff for a wedding. Formalize it. Make it elegant. The other general rule of thumb is that with the pant itself, you want to make sure that your pant link is appropriate. If it's kind of puddling at the bottom,

it's blouseeing out at the bottom, the length, the outseem of your pant, it really just kills the deal. So proper pant length, if I was going to go down the list, never buttoned the bottom button of your jacket. Always show a little cuff in your shirt, shirt sleeve and make sure the pant just hits the top of your shoe and it doesn't puddle at the bottom. Those three things come together the right way. When you're standing, you're in her presence

for this most important moment. You look like the gentleman you were aiming to be when you started this whole moment. Okay. One more golden rule, especially at weddings. I do feel like there becomes this look that people are doing with these ties where they unbutton the top button or maybe even and two, and they're doing this loose look with the tie. What's your take on the overall tie? And should they be buttoned to the top? Should it be all the way? Is there a certain way you should

tie your tie? Is that a golden rule or no? I would probably for a formal wedding, go with a full Windsor. You can Google it a full Windsor. So it offers a little bit more of a girthier, big, or not. And never leave that top button undone. I don't care if you're doing a

country banger hillbilly wedding and you're like, okay, hand me the bud, bro, okay? Still don't do it. So remember, this is your one most important moment. And in my opinion, I mean, if you're a rock star and, you know, shit's falling from the trees on the ground and it's just like some crazy, crazy chaos events and you're like, you don't care.

Okay, do whatever you want. I'm still against it. All right. Keep your appearance on point. All right. At weddings, there you go. You got Randy Willard's suggestions and golden rules. He's challenging and pushing the millennials and Gen Z's to think different about their fashion and think deeper.

Here's one, I got to get your take on. Steve Harvey, he is known for the rant of his 75 suit rant. And what he says about it and is a suit advice is every man needs to own five suits, a black, a gray, a navy, a brown, a tan. And then he says you need two white shirts and two colored shirts. And with that combination, you could have 75 different suits. That is Steve Harvey's advice. What is your take on that? Well, he's close, but I wouldn't mandate that for every potential client or customer that I made.

Because the pathway that people are walking today is a lot different than what Mr. Harvey is walking. I think every man needs a black suit in their closet. I would say, unless you're just completely out of tune, you should have a tuxedo in your closet. Something that for a black tie moment or a black tie optional moment, you have it. So those are two things that really, for me, and starting with a foundation with your wardrobe and what you should have, I have to have a hard to heart discussion with my clients about having a black suit and maybe a black tuxedo. It's just a matter of going down the pathway of having like a blue suit, like a navy suit. or some form of blue, a gray.

And I like the idea of having a summer suit in there. Just a summer color that you can reach for. I would rather put my focus in on your personal appearance by having you approach the sports coat subject a little more aggressively because a jacket changes your presentation and everything all the time. You know, you take your jacket off, you just have a T-shirt on, it's a whole other look. those are important staples.

But the suit subject is a tuxedo, a black suit, a navy or a gray, a summer suit. If you have that, you're good. Okay. Interesting. So we got another rule from Randy, one black suit, one black tucks, one summer suit. You got to have it in your closet and start to take seriously the whole idea of the jacket. That's where you can kind of get cue to adjust some things and make it your own. Someone's listening to this and they're like, all right, I know I got to step it up.

I got to go get that black suit. I got to go get that summer suit. And the big question is, listen, everyone knows the difference between, you know, an item that's purchased at Target versus Gucci. I think that's obvious, that's obvious for a lot of reasons. But when it comes to something like a suit, it's not like you're wearing that brand name. It's not like the labels everywhere. It's kind of harder as a consumer to understand the difference in value if I were to go to

a, you know, a men's warehouse versus working with someone like you that is like the Gucci of suits. So talk to me. educate us. When it comes to consuming, when it comes to buying a suit, what are the things that we have to know as it relates to quality, price point, and possibly even the return on that investment? Well, to go down the pathway of having a custom suit made for you, it should be significantly more expensive because your expectations are a lot higher. If you're going down the pathway of buying something off the rack, then you're shopping, price points that

fluctuates significantly. This is what I would say. If you can, where I would start with all the knowledge that I have about this business and I'm like, okay, I want to up my game on a dress better. I would seriously try to seek out somebody in professional help, just like you would an accountant, just like you would any other professional advice. Find a clothing, find a guy that says, okay, that can help you with your own personal look at what you should look for first before you buy anything, no matter what side of the fence you're on. Because that education will be invaluable to what you're staring at when you look in the mirror, you put something on. I know that personally that when you put on a jacket, the way a jacket fits you starts with

the way it hugs your neck, the way it comes forward on your body, the way you feel the jacket naturally not working against you. The way it fits around your neck because of the way you move and you turn and you do things, you don't want to see a jacket being going backwards on. And so when you find somebody

that can help you understand a little bit, what should I be looking for and what should the space of your jacket look like when it's unbuttoned when you're standing straight in front of the mirror, find somebody that can tell you what you should be looking for when it comes to making that purchase

and it doesn't matter whether it's a $500 suit or a $5,000 suit. You can accomplish your goal if you know what you're looking for and where you're going. And that's what I do with every one of my clients. I don't care how much money they're going to spend on the garment or how many purchases they're going to make. I always start in the same place every single time. Let me show you the things that you should be looking for in a garment so that it's better

presented on you. What I'm hearing, too, is for people that are consuming in the, the, the suit space. The difference between going off the rack first working with a custom clover, it's almost hard to even put into words the difference, right? It's going to be the actual materials you use. It's going to be the colors that you pick out for the buttons. It's going to be the stitching. It's going to be how the shoulder sits on your shoulder, how every single aspect A to Z of how this thing fits and looks is going to be night and day, which is then represented in perception of the fit, the look, etc.

So it's hard to even quantify the difference because it sounds like the differences are so material. So then the question I got for you is this, Randy. I know you've done a lot of things with your business. You have a subscription service I now see where people can pay monthly. I know you offer consulting. And then I know you've done suits that are up to $5,000 even more. So you literally offer a bag of goods A to Z, walk me through what those things are. and what the price point of each of them would cost?

Well, we make custom clothing for men. And so that's all the finer pieces that you would have in your closet from suits, sport coats, slacks, dress shirts. Let's just take those spots right there, which can occupy quite a bit of space in a man's closet if he's interested in and having those things. Those are all custom pieces. You know, my suiting start at about 4,500 and go up.

depending upon the cloth and the choices you make. But for the most part, my custom suites are right out around $5,000 or a little bit more for any client that I make, regardless of this selection. My sport coats are three to four grand and dress shirts are right out about $500. But what you're getting with that is you're getting a superior cloth, number one, to what you're probably going to be able to get your hands on off the rack. and number two, you're getting all of my professional advice and experience that comes into your life to help you with your purchasing decisions

and quite frankly help you with the way you put it all together. And then it just moves, the box just gets a little bit bigger in terms of all the things that I provide for our clients, from footwear to casual pieces. We have recently come out with a new line of jeans that are off the rack. They're from Italy. They breathe more effectively than most of the denim you're going to find out there because they're blended with silk and linen.

It's kind of an ultra-premium denim. It's machine washable. You can wear it with your jackets when you're trying to up your game a little bit. So we're bringing that to our clients, sweaters, different casual pieces, a new breathable, nice, washable T-shirt that you can wear over just a pair of jeans or a pair of shorts, but we're during these hot summer months, all of these things we have as a part of our delivery

to our clientele. As we get to know them, we present these items to them, and they're starting to come online because we're just about ready to launch some things right there. That being said, yeah, the subscription services to offer an entree to those that want to see a little bit more behind the scenes,

what I'm really all about, how can I help them in a way that they would have to normally make an appointment to discuss with me? So all of this is kind of like tied together with our services in the whole world of men's fashion. Okay, amazing. And whether you're looking for that nice custom suit or you're looking for just more access to Randy's suggestions and questions, you can get that from a very affordable. price to, you know, what would someone cost a very expensive price, but the quality is there and you're also getting someone who will just A to Z be able to see the vision of what you're trying to get and how you're trying to get there, which will have a huge impact on just the

overall return of what you're buying. Talk to me about colors and trends. Like, are there certain, I see you're wearing a unique color. I, you know, I think it's, I don't even know if it would be characterized as salmon, but I'm seeing that all. colors are changing in men's fashion as to what's in and what's out. Could you give us a little breakdown of like what we know you talked a little bit about the pleats, but what colors are in, what trends are in, and when people come to you for a custom suit, what are some things you're suggesting today that maybe a year or two, three years ago you would never suggest? Well, the first thing as it relates to colors, the colors that are in are the colors

that best work for you. So I don't really actually care. about the colors that are popular today or not? Because the whole time I'm looking at you and helping you with your wardrobe or suggesting ideas for you is that I'm thinking about the colors that get the most out of your appearance.

And that's all that matters to me. Every season, pretty much the showcasing of colors exists. And they come through in different, perhaps patterns, et cetera, et cetera. But I care about what color looks best on you. I'm a real big fan, honestly, of a color that's overlooked by most men, and that's wearing the color of brown.

I love browns. They're warm, they're warm tones. More men can wear them than they realize it. It becomes a change of paste color in their wardrobe instead of always thinking about black, blue, or gray. brown in jackets as a as a as a as a easy evening look without making a loud colorful statement there's a lot of interesting browns out there that work really well and they're handsome that's that's a color that's overlooked and and i'm always focusing on that to see if my clients

interested in experiencing that color for themselves cool tell me about i feel like the work you do is the work of you're essentially like you are an artist right you have you're doing pieces all day you're seeing what the person looks like you're creating the color that works best for them based on your vision every artist has their favorite piece is there either one person that you've worked with or one suit that you've built or just a special moment you had in your career that you're like that's my masterpiece i think if there was one suit right now with i'm going to go your generation okay that i would encourage every guy to have or to look into it, because they want to go big and strong or go home, and they don't just

want to be in another suit where the jacket swings open. But I would do a solid, maybe double breast suit with a more modern pant. You could dress it up with a tie. You can wear the shirt underneath and it stays because a double breast crosses over. My favorite strong piece, and I will be wearing one of these new creatures soon because it's being finished off is a Navy double breast. Stay tuned if you're watching my Instagram to see this because it's a monster suit. It's solid. It's strong. I can wear it many different times. Okay. We got the double-breasted Navy suit. That's the monster. Now, tell me a little bit about what someone might not be able to understand just based on reading.

your online, your website, or seeing you on social media with the experience they get. There's going to be a lot of people here that have never got a custom suit in their life that are listening right now, but they're intrigued. Paint the whole picture of start to finish,

how long it will take for them to get their suit, how long they should prepare and then come to you, give me the walk through step by step. What can someone expect if they say, Randy, you're my guy, build my suit? whenever I'm meeting a new client and we're getting ready to start the conversation about what do you need? What is it you're looking for? What do you want to wear? What your interest is? I always tell them that as it relates to making you either a custom suit, any custom items

to suit, the sport code. It's a eight to 12 week process from the beginning. We got schedules, his life, my life, fitting that in. Maybe you're out of state. Maybe I'm coming to you, but always allow about 12 weeks to get it all done comfortably without any issues. Because when we start the process, it's a series of pictures and me measuring you, discovering you, building a pattern for you. That's all in-house. It's all done with my people. My master tailor, that's been collaborating with me for 20 years. Then I come back, hopefully in a timely basis and do a complete try-on fitting where we're putting the garment on but it's unfinished so that we know that we're moving in the right direction and you're somewhat comfortable

or completely comfortable with the way it's fitting and the way it looks and then towards the end of the 12-week period of time 10 to 12 weeks somewhere in there I'm delivering you in your garment or garments and I do it in person to make sure we've got it right. And if we don't have it right, I don't fix things that have a problem. Most of the time, I start all over and I create a new garment for you to modify your profile so that we get it on cue because that's what you deserve and buy a custom garment. And I can tell you, I have a few pieces from Randy. I have had them since 22 now.

Still can bring them out with mixing different undershirts, quality is bar none there's nothing that touches it there's not one thread that's out of place and i know if there was i could bring it to randy and he would have that corrected in just seconds we're going to end with these two things one i got to get a trading secret from you but before i get the trading secret i want a quick rapid fire i know randy you got strong opinions which i love and i want to know what you're going to say a jensier says to you or millennial randy i don't need a suit I don't need it for an interview. I don't need it for a special occasion.

That's how I feel. Before we go to your trade secret, how is Randy Willard responding to that? You need to go out more often, become more familiar with atmospheric places, and you will discover how out of tune and how out of look you really are. There you go.

Randy's always got a good, strong opinion. I love that. And I think one of the big messages I've heard before is that part of your brand in these situations is also the thought process of tension behind your style and what it looks like and how it is. And so I know you believe in that. But Randy, let's end with your trading secrets. So something that no one could learn from a TikTok, a YouTube tutorial, a textbook, or professor. They can only learn from your unique career track and your experience. What can you leave us with? Whatever it is you do, be passionate about it.

And with me, with regards to my work, yes, I love the fashion industry for men. But I am more passionate about it today than ever before. And if you can sink your teeth into whatever it is you're doing in life and realize that you're super passionate about it, wonderful things will happen and your life will grow. And for me, it's all about getting married to that relationship and building it like there's no tomorrow. And I get every single day, even at my age, more motivated than ever before to explore new avenues and new possibilities to enlight my audience. And that's what we bring to the table. And you should be doing the same thing in your own business. Yeah, I think you practice what

you preach too, right? I think it was just a few years ago. You and I start talking and you're like, I'm going to start trying social media. And you think about where your industry has gone, right? Clothing. in the last three, four decades, the manner in which it's changed, even like going from mobile to only brick and mortar to now social media, you've adapted through all those and continue to thrive in a space that some people back in the day were trying to survive. And I think that is a testament to your passion, how meticulous you are and how detailed you are. And I could say, oftentimes I talk to you, you're traveling to go see your clients. And I'm like, Randy, what are you going to slow down? And you're like, when you love what you do and you're this specific

about all the moving parts of it, you know what, there's no looking back, there's only looking forward. And I think I've even asked you before, like, when do you think you're going to retire and you're like, this brain will never stop? I just love it too much. And I think no matter what industry you are, whether you're getting a suit or not, that is a big takeaway. Yeah. I think something that started to uncover itself and reveal itself as, you know, the space of being passionate about your work is like super cool as you if you're not afraid to reinvent to develop new possibilities for your business model you start experiencing things that just invigorate your soul and the work that you do and one of the things that's transpired

is I've sunk my teeth into for lack of better descriptions the whole social media world whether it be TikTok or Instagram or Facebook or any of that is that you realize people are wanting to hear from real people. And they may not know a lot about your product at times or which way to go. But they sense the fact that this person has won, done it. He's not new on the scene. He has something to share and he really cares. That comes out when you announce yourself on social media

in the various different ways you want to do it. The people that are out there that are just schlepent and shlaher, products everywhere, God bless them. I hope they're all trillionaires. But that's not who I am. What I am is something that is offering to the public, to the individual that cares, a resource that's meaningful to their lives, and the public, and your audience out there is a lot smarter than you realize because they see that. And to me, that's gratifying that people see that. and they're willing to extend themselves to you to say, I'm going next week to Boise, to see a client because of social media.

He was just motivated. He had to talk to me on the phone. He had to do a consultation. He wanted to ask me some questions. Didn't know if he was right for me. We got on the phone, spent 30 minutes to do the virtual. It's completely ready for me taking him down the pathway to improve his appearance. And that's what's happening to us from social media because people see a real

true organic vibe that's sincere and meaningful and they're want to embrace it. Be real. Know your audience and be passionate and also some golden rules. Show off that cuff. Make sure that you never button that last button. One black suit, one black tucks, one summer suit and jackets are the real deal. That's everything we're going to get from Randy Willard. But Randy, if people want to find you on social media, if they got questions, if they want to get a suit from you, where can they find all things, Randy Willard? yeah i mean if you just go to instagram or tic-tok and you type in the man makes the suit that's our brand there's a reason for that name because i believe the individual makes the clothes and i'll never change

that thought the man makes the suit it'll take you right to us bam there you go randy thank you so much for being on this episode of trading secrets talking about the industry the trends what you're doing to differentiate and how some of us need to reshape our thinking about what we're wearing and the impact it has. That is Randy Willard, the man makes the suit. Thank you to be on this episode, Trane Secrets. It's been fun.