Van Heusen is a brand with a legacy of more than 128 years in the US. Though it entered India only in the 1990’s, it has rapidly gone on to become the Number 1 premium lifestyle brand in just 25 years. They pride themselves in what they call POWER DRESSING. Office wear, party wear and even casuals, they have it all with every segment of theirs being top notch. So when I got the unique opportunity to try out and then write about Van Heusen’s latest & one of a kind MY FIT initiative, I was obviously thrilled.
ABOUT THE IDEA – MY FIT
“How often has it been that you have walked into an apparel store just to return empty handed because what you liked didn’t exactly fit you or wasn’t available in your size? How many times have you wished that you could alter just a bit of the design elements so that the garment truly reflects your own style?” – Van Heusen
Each one of us is unique – with different body types. Some of us may have a paunch, some of us may be shorter or some of us may have a longer than usual arm length. We all know that that when we visit a store, we are presented with fixed sizes and fits with no room for alteration except for maybe the length of a trouser. As a result, people who don’t fall within these specified sets of sizes and fits have to live with the compromise of not finding their perfect fitting garment. Even people with regular body type have to live with the compromises of things not fitting to their taste.
Van Heusen MYFIT changes all that. It’s an innovative solution that helps consumer first find the garment that they like and then choose the an alteration that fits to their unique body or to their unique taste.
So to get a first hand experience of this MY FIT, I along with my friend Pradyumna Bhandary who is also a fashion critic of some sorts headed over to the Van Heusen store. I was given a choice of 3 Van Heusen stores in Mangalore and I chose the newest among them at the Forum Fiza Mall, Pandeshwar. Once we were at the store, I explained to the store personnel exactly what my purpose of the visit was and she was more than ready to help me out with it.
The visit to the store and finding the right fit
I started with the shirt first. Now we all know that the first thing we do when we like a particular shirt is to sift through the rack and look for the size 40, 42, 44 etc. This is standard for any brand and then we proceed to the cash counter after checking that it truly fits. So how exactly is MY FIT different from regular shopping? Here’s how
Blue and black are my favorite colors. No, I don’t know the names of the variants of those colors or for that matter any color. Just plain blue and black! I chose a dark blue shirt which according to the Van Heusen Catalogue was Option number 32, NAVY CLASSIC SATIN SHIRT. Next comes the fun part. Instead of settling just for my size 40 shirt(size 42 slim fit) I get to have some options. Starting with the fit you have 6 choices –
A. FIT
1. Custom – which of course is your standard fit
2. Slim– With a narrower waist to hug those perfect abs
3. Tall– For those who are tall with slightly longer arms than usual
4. Athletic– Those who hit the gym need a little bit of extra in the biceps area
5. Plus– Tall and broad
6. Healthy – For those with the extra pounds around the waist
B. Size
Choosing the size is simple enough except for a twist. We obviously have the usual choices like 38, 40, 42 etc like I mentioned earlier but Van Heusen also offers the sizes in odd numbers is 39, 41,43. Something unique indeed!
C. Sleeve
Yes you have the option of choosing the exact same shirt in half or full sleeves. Remember earlier when you had to let go off a shirt just because it didn’t have the sleeve that you needed?
D. Sleeve Length
All branded shirts come with a sleeve length of the standard length of 25.6 inches from the shoulder. Many a times we end up with sleeves being slightly longer extending beyond the wrists(at least its happened to me) This is more common than sleeves being shorter. MY FIT offers a solution to both problems by offering 3 sleeve lengths i.e standard 25.6 inches, 26.6 inches(+1) and 24.6 inches(-1)
E. Cuff
Wearing your shirt to the office or do you plan to wear it to wear it at a wedding with a suit? You can choose the cuff accordingly i.e Chisel or double!
F. Collar
And finally you come to the collar. Yes, here too you can choose between the collarless Mandarin and the standard half cut way!
So in the end my choice of shirt as per each aspect went like this.
A Navy Classic Satin Shirt in
A. Slim fit(because I consider myself fit)
B. 42 (My regular being 40 have to go a size higher for slim fit)
C. Full Sleeves
D. Sleeve Length 25.6 inches
E. Cuff –Chisel
F. Collar – Half cut away(As I wear a tie to work)
Now that I was done with the shirt, It was time for the trousers. A bit of a quandary here as to whether to go for a black or a cream one as either would go well with the shirt that I had chosen. Then on insistence of the store personnel I decided to go with a cream trouser which according to the catalog was Option 2, Medium khakhi superfine twill 100% cotton trouser.
And just like the shirt, we have various customizations for the trousers as well!
A. Body Type
1. Snug fit
2. Ultra slim
3. Slim
4. Custom
5. Healthy
B. Front
You can either choose to wear a flat front or a pleated front, again something you can never do with your regular shopping otherwise.
C. Waist Size
As with the shirts MY FIT is available in waist sizes of odd numbers along with the regular fits. So you can choose 28, 30 etc or go with the 35, 37 to be precise with your waist size!
D. Trouser Length
And we finally round off the shopping by choosing the right trouser length which of course once chosen Van Heusen would have it delivered with the exact length.
So my personalization of the trouser went like this-
Medium khakhi superfine twill 100% cotton trouser.
A. Body Type – Slim
B. Front – Flat
C. Waist size – 34’
D. Trouser Length – 42.5”
Found exactly what I wanted!
I thanked the store personnel for her help and headed back home excited to go online and place my order.
Next step is what we all do almost on a regular basis these days. Online shopping! Obviously the store wouldn’t keep a shirt or a trouser of every size with every custom made fit. All I had to do was log in to www.trendin.com which also happens to be an Aditya Birla initiative and choose exactly what I did in the store. Mind you I could’ve easily skipped visiting the store and just visited the site because once you log in you’ll realise that its so detailed that if you know your fit you can easily shop for exactly what you need and that’s exactly what I’m going to do next time, now that I know my fit. In 5 simple steps I ordered my shirt and trousers and waited eagerly for the delivery.
The trouser selection on the website
The shirt selection on the website
And the package arrives!
After a week, the Trendin package arrived. I tried it on so that I could post the picture and make my modelling debut. And needless to say, its perfect….. Not just the model but the shirt and trousers too 😀
Photo credits : Dr Nishita Fernandes
Authors Note : This is a review article for Van Heusen’s MY FIT initiative. All opinions expressed are personal and in no way biased towards the company or the website.
To know more about Van Heusen MY FIT visit http://vanheusenindia.com/my-fit
