Everyone knows that St. Croix is the creator extraordinaire of luxury knitwear—and has been for almost 60 years. You can search the world over, and not find knits of higher quality. That’s been the singular goal of St. Croix’s founder, Bernhard Brenner, since he started the company.But St. Croix set its sights on claiming excellence in other areas of menswear, and it’s proud to spotlight a small collection of shirts and trousers during a special preview event.
This cohesive collection offers an opportunity for our retail partners to secure early placement of several key pieces that will be cornerstone wardrobe items for their customers. Here’s a snapshot of what makes this offering so great:
Crossover Shirts
Recently, St. Croix introduced the new Crossover Shirt Collection to rave reviews. These shirts are perfect for the man who needs or wants to dress up, but doesn’t want to have a completely separate wardrobe for his “down” days. Design Director Dave Gebhardt says: “It’s a refined look to wear with suits, but also looks great worn with khakis and denim”. According to Eddie Gricius, St. Croix Sales Representative, this is the perfect shirt collection. “With wovens doing so well in the marketplace, it’s a terrific way to bridge a classic dress shirt & sport shirt to our Crossover wovens, which really are timeless. Well, timeless with just a little bit of an edge to a classic look,” says Gricius.
Mostly comprised of neat, tidy patterns and fine details, like tattersalls and small stripes or checks, the Crossover Shirt Collection for Spring 2016 is a refreshing offering of pattern and color, with a shot of fun. “Five years ago, no one was buying sport shirts with checks. Or white backgrounds. The market was all about stripes,” says Gebhardt. But lately, customers are looking for variety and flexibility, so brands have responded by lightening up the formal look of their dress shirts—giving them some personality, “so that when you take the tie off, your smart-looking work shirt becomes more fun,” Gebhardt tells us.
As with any garment St. Croix offers, quality is ubiquitous. “We have the highest quality Italian shirt manufacturers,” says Gebhardt. Legguno, Canclini, Albini, Monti and Oltolina are some of the fabric manufacturers that St. Croix works with, whose “quality is unparalleled”, according to Gebhardt. The design team looks for 2-ply yarns in the fabrics, as well as yarns that have a natural stretch or Lycra stretch. The material has to look the best, perform the best and feel great. There is no other choice, and never has been, as far as Mr. Brenner sees it. “When we take our trips to Europe and attend the tradeshows, we are surrounded by thousands of vendors. Everyone is there. But we only work with the very top tier suppliers, maybe 5 or 6 vendors out of thousands”. Once the material is developed, the shirt is created by St. Croix’s premier Italian shirt maker. Just like the supreme quality of their handcrafted sweaters, no detail is overlooked in creating these Crossover Shirts. They really are the best of both worlds, in many regards.
Trousers
St. Croix offers a great mix of trousers to round out their collections every season. Two of their best are the 5-Pocket Trousers and the 14 Micron Merino Wool Flat Front Trousers. Both styles are handcrafted by St. Croix’s premier Italian tailor. The 5-Pocket Trousers are a fashion jean made of our exclusive techno-wool for year round comfort. These trousers provide great comfort stretch, and are both dressy and sporty…taking you from work to dinner easily.
Our Wool Flat Front Trouser is a true luxury item. Made from ultra-fine 14 Micron Merino Wool from Australia, these trousers are a key piece for any wardrobe. The wool is a mid-weight year round fabric, and the trousers are lined to the knee for increased durability and comfort. Combining either of these trousers with any of the exceptional Crossover shirts will create a stylish and luxurious look for any man, at any age.
This special preview event is only in effect from May 1 through June 15; so contact your St. Croix Representative for the preferred pricing on these fabulous wardrobe builders!
