S04.E02: DiLascia

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

A clothing company in Los Angeles suffers from the owner's hit-or-miss designs, financial mistakes and refusal to listen to professional advice from his siblings.

[EAG46]

I wanted to smack Patrick multiple times throughout this episode.  I imagine Marcus did too.  How about you, Sarah?

[Primetimer]

And other not-quite-burning questions of a biz-dev fashion.

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[Amarsir]

Well that's another one where Marcus changes so much it's not the same business. A printed t-shirt company selling predominantly to men is now focusing on women to sell a variety of unprinted items. And Marcus seemed to be strong-arming a bit on the fabric choices when they walked through the factory, but it did seem like Patrick was the actual designer at least.

[KHenry14]

Well, the t-shirt company was about to go out of business, so obviously things needed to change. Marcus identified the problems and addressed them. The key issue is Patrick's ability to remain focused. If he can do that, I see his business growing since he's pretty talented. 

[Amarsir]

16 minutes ago, KHenry14 said:

I see his business growing since he's pretty talented. 

Is he? I guess that's my underlying question. A lot of the shirts he designed didn't sell, and the tryout at Courage.b didn't seem to go so well either. Marcus told us he's a talented designer, and we saw him do well in the Bloomingdale's sale pitch. But I'm not 100% convinced that the final designs were entirely his, nor that they will necessarily sell.  (I personally am not that impressed by an outline of a plane and two airport codes, but I do believe it sells for them.)

For what it's worth, Bloomingdale's isn't showing DiLascia on their website list of almost 2000 designers. Though that could easily just be that it's too early. 

[BabyVegas]

I checked into what DiLascia items Nordstrom is carrying since they were one of the other big retailers named and they're only carrying screen-printed tees for boys and toddlers and, interestingly enough, it looks like the designs on their website were ones that Marcus categorized as "losers." They're currently at full price - I wonder if they're scheduled do go on markdown at some point or if they're selling well enough that Nordstrom will keep re-ordering. Interesting, though, that they don't carry any adult sizes. My guess is that kitschy tees sell well for kids, but not so much for adults, which is why Marcus was trying to push him into expanding beyond his basic stuff.

I actually thought Marcus did a decent job blending Patrick's aesthetic with something that would actually make money, but Patrick was just so annoying that I wanted Marcus to stop helping him. Patrick kept behaving like a pouty child and it was never addressed but I kept getting this feeling that he wanted to be in the retail store because he wanted to be celebrity-adjacent and there's no way some celeb would show up at his office in the fashion district.

[BusyOctober]

I just didn't see the allure of these tee shirts.  Nothing that hasn't been in stores for years.  I don't think the "designs" were so special or unique. Some were nice, but graphic tees are everywhere. And I don't need a wardrobe full of them. Of course I state this opinion as someone who the fashion/beauty industry believes is invisible - a 40-something, 5 foot tall woman who wears a size 10-12.

[ae2]

This episode was difficult to watch. I decided to go to sleep about 3/4 of the way through it, not sure if I'll finish it today. The guy acted like a petulant child. My SO was there for the first time while I was watching the show, and I had to explain that the show is not always this focused on annoying dramatics.

Why was Marcus making this deal? What's in it for him? Graphic tees are everywhere and most of them are better than what this company was producing. And a third the price. The business was losing money while not even paying the two hardest working employees. And Marcus planned on completely changing their business anyway.

Did he just want to get into some new part of the clothing business, and wanted  to use this guy for his existing contracts and connections? That's the only thing this company had going for them. 

We've discussed how Marcus tends to take some companies in completely new directions, so much that they don't look like the same company. I'm not going to play armchair psychologist and diagnose this entrepreneur with some sort of mental illness, but he was so adamantly reluctant to change that everything Marcus did felt completely manipulative. Did he know that Marcus was going to shut down his storefront and change his product line when he agreed to the deal? He gave Marcus control, so it doesn't matter, but in the real world if you made a deal like this you would discuss the vision for the business before signing.

I have a feeling we're going to get a followup with this business where he's back in a storefront turning every design he thinks of into a tee.

[Gregg247]

I guess Marcus woke up one morning and decided he really, REALLY wanted to own a tee-shirt business and went looking through his list of show applicants for one.  

I remember hearing Daymond John from "Shark Tank" talk about when he started his t-shirt business.  He would create the design, have the shirts made up, would box them up with the help of his friends and his Mom, and would go set up a booth somewhere and sell 2000 shirts in a weekend.  Patrick has a full retail store in LA, and sells about the same number of t-shirts in a year!  I think Marcus has made a mistake on this one.

People, Product, and Process.  Patrick is immature, whiney, and can't stand on his own 2 feet.  The Product is t-shirts!  How unique!  No one else makes those!  At least he had the deal with TMZ, which was the only thing about this company that sounded promising, from a money-making perspective.  The Process was Patrick and his siblings didn't know how to run their business at all, and were looking to Marcus for a full bail-out, not for some investment/mentoring.  I think this company fails on all of Marcus' "3 P's" of business.

[Showthyme]

I wonder if Marcus will use DiLascia to produce tshirts for Camping World or his other entities. Inkkas made shoes for some of the CW employees with their signature blue and yellow complete with the logo. 

Patrick acts like a spoiled child. "But I want that!" He has more problems if he can only get inspired in that one retail location. Imagine what the world would be like if we all had to get inspired to produce any work. Designers and other creative people understand that profit is important if they want to reach a lot of customers and make a lot of sacrifices to make it happen. 

[PBSLover]

16 hours ago, BabyVegas said:

My guess is that kitschy tees sell well for kids, but not so much for adults, which is why Marcus was trying to push him into expanding beyond his basic stuff.

The company did a HUGE business with Kitson in LA.  Those kitschy tees helped establish the company...but the owner of Kitson was an asshole and drove the business into the ground.  They were great back in the day so I assume they are still good.

[Jamoche]

I'm looking at his website and the majority of them have nothing at all that I couldn't legally duplicate by going to a t-shirt on demand site, or Alibaba if I really wanted to drive him into the ground. "Follow me on Instagram"? Seriously?

[attica]

Having worked in fashion retail, there were a bunch details that stuck out to me as marking Patrick as A Bad Fit for the business he wants to be in. First of all, we were told he'd worked as a retail buyer for a big chain. If that's the case, he'd have to be way way way better with numbers. All the buyers I knew spent more time with calculators in their hands and spreadsheets on their screens than they did with designers et al.

Second, back in my day, we had a jargon-y term for 'designers et al': Garmento. And the thing that characterized Garmentos was their high-maintenance natures. If a box of stuff for a trunk show went missing, roofs would be ripped off, staff from the retailer, the shipping company, the tagging company, and the design firm would ALL be dispatched to track that fucker down with the intensity of a warehouse fire --regardless of how inefficient or unhelpful any of those arms would be. The point would be to diffuse The Hulk, basically. Patrick's pouty retreat marks him as prey in that environment. If you're not going to fight for yourself, you have to ally yourself with someone that can do that for you on a daily basis (which certainly isn't the role for your angel investor). Otherwise, you'll be eaten and spat out.

I haven't worn graphic tees since I left college, so I'm not his market. But I admit I laughed at the tee that said "Of course you can dance! (signed) Vodka."

[tobeannounced]

I'm not familiar with LA, but regarding Patrick's obsession with his storefront and the connection to Kitson, was it maybe just his way of being near the "in" crowd and maybe not really anything to do with it being his creative space or whatever his excuse was?

[mojito]

On 8/31/2016 at 7:05 AM, BusyOctober said:

I don't think the "designs" were so special or unique.

What, you wouldn't pay $35 for a shirt that merely read, "California" in Arial font (yes, it's that plain)?

Patrick clearly wants to schmooze with his "public".  He struck me as someone who needs to be noticed, and preferably in the company of high-profile people. 

I couldn't make out what Marcus was going to get out of this purchase either. Maybe he only really wants their TMZ connection.

[NewDigs]

On September 1, 2016 at 10:21 AM, attica said:

Patrick's pouty retreat marks him as prey in that environment. If you're not going to fight for yourself, you have to ally yourself with someone that can do that for you on a daily basis (which certainly isn't the role for your angel investor). Otherwise, you'll be eaten and spat out.

I couldn't believe he didn't place one single call trying to find the missing, most important, box! I guess I'm a Garmento 'cuz I would have done at least some of what you described. lol 

Imho his tees and graphics were nothing special. I was surprised that Bloomie's did a Trunk Show. But his pitch was much better than I expected.

He really thinks he is that speshul snowflake. And agree he just wants so badly to be part of that scene.

I missed the TMZ connection. I kept wondering if he should be checked for rosacea. 

[PBSLover]

On September 1, 2016 at 7:21 AM, attica said:

Second, back in my day, we had a jargon-y term for 'designers et al': Garmento. And the thing that characterized Garmentos was their high-maintenance natures. If a box of stuff for a trunk show went missing, roofs would be ripped off, staff from the retailer, the shipping company, the tagging company, and the design firm would ALL be dispatched to track that fucker down with the intensity of a warehouse fire --regardless of how inefficient or unhelpful any of those arms would be. The point would be to diffuse The Hulk, basically. Patrick's pouty retreat marks him as prey in that environment. If you're not going to fight for yourself, you have to ally yourself with someone that can do that for you on a daily basis (which certainly isn't the role for your angel investor). Otherwise, you'll be eaten and spat out.

I thought that was so odd.  I wondered at first if that was a manufactured moment for entertainment value (like last week’s are-we-going-to-open-in-time drama). But I doubt Patrick would agree to a fake moment making him look like lazy screw up so I supposed it was real.  Not a great episode in my opinion.  Neither this one or the first. I need to like the owners.  I didn’t care for the Farrell guys nor Patrick.

[Corgi-ears]

Yeah, I'll stick with Glarkware.

I did rather enjoy the sales associate saying, "Yeah, we sell nothing at this store and I would rather you shut it down and I lose my job than to have to continue hanging out here while watching my boss swan around 'being creative.'" I may be paraphrasing.

[Jamoche]

On September 4, 2016 at 8:30 AM, Corgi-ears said:

Yeah, I'll stick with Glarkware.

Oh, yeah, Glarkware has more creativity in any one t-shirt than this guy had in his entire shop.

[PBSLover]

Glarkware is very one note (I just looked it up).  It’s not a clothing line.

[Amarsir]

11 hours ago, PBSLover said:

Glarkware is very one note (I just looked it up).  It’s not a clothing line.

Glarkware has a personal connection to these forums. I suspect that's why it was brought up, not the total point-for-point comparison.

Although, DiLascia isn't much of a "clothing line" either. Certainly not before Marcus came in.

[PBSLover]

14 hours ago, Amarsir said:

Although, DiLascia isn't much of a "clothing line" either. Certainly not before Marcus came in.

Very true.

[HelloOutThere]

I realize I'm super late to the party on this episode, but I actually have a connection to this one, as I own two DiLascia tank tops, and have been inside the now-closed store on Santa Monica Blvd. Some random thoughts:

- For some reason, the graphic designs REALLY connect with me. I'm a big airplane / aviation geek, and many of the designs feature planes, so they really connected with me. I actually first encountered this design as well as the LAX-JFK plane design in a boutique in West Hollywood (not the DiLascia store) about a year ago, and purchased them both, which introduced me to the brand. Patrick's brother wore a couple shirts in last night's episode with planes on them that I WANT. I get a kind of vintage '60s-'70s travel / Pan Am vibe from the aviation stuff. It's hard to put my finger on it, but I just love it. I'm far from a fashionista and it's rare for me to "connect" with clothing, but this was one of the rare times I did. Again, could be (probably is) my love for planes.

I'm not so much a big a fan of the statement tees, though I think some of them are pretty clever. The statement tees are more Kitson / impulse / trendy type stuff, but I do think the more artistic designs have more shelf life and aren't as casual.

- The overall aesthetic of the DiLascia line to me seems very "LA." It's no surprise to me that his line was big in Kitson, because I think Kitson actually captured the LA aesthetic quite well despite their operating failures. People here wear lots of graphic tees, lots of silly statement tees around town. Overall a very light and  "La La Land" type feel, not as serious as NYC. I can see why this aesthetic would fall flat or seem too casual in other parts of the country. I've gotten several compliments on my DiLascia items when I wear them out (which I do to run errands, or for daytime drinks at a restaurant / bar)

- I really wanted to buy the leather LAX-JFK hat (Patrick wears it in the scene where they visit the two female designers Downtown, I believe) for a friend of mine (who has lived in both cities -- how perfect). I stopped in to the store on a Sunday afternoon. The shop is (was) actually physically connected with a separately-run clothing boutique next door -- you could freely walk between both and it wasn't immediately clear to me that there were two separate businesses there. Nobody was manning the DiLascia side, but the owner of the connected shop told me he could sell me the hat on DiLascia's behalf. I don't remember the details, but I didn't have any cash, and the other owner couldn't process a credit card payment for DiLascia, so he ended up calling the owner (I'm guessing Patrick), who was just waking up at 2pm on a Sunday, and yadda yadda yadda, I couldn't pay with a credit card and couldn't buy the hat. Have been meaning to stop back into the store, but too late now.

Sorry for the wall of text -- it's cool when you have a personal connection to something you see on a show you watch all the time. And I really like the designs! (Maybe there's something wrong with me.)

I do think Patrick has design talent and hope the business stays afloat. Off to see if there are any clearance steals on the website. 

ETA: It looks like Patrick did a whole "Profit" line - http://www.dilasciashop.com/collections/the-profit

Edited September 9, 2016 by HelloOutThere

[attica]

Thanks for that link, @HelloOutThere. Not lying: Patrick's "who's grace?" tee made me snort.

Edited September 10, 2016 by attica

[selhars]

I like almost all of Patrick's T-shirts. I'm a t-shirt person. Known for wearing with cathy phrases.

I could see broadening the offerings, cuts and sizes. But I liked what he had already. He wasn't marketing himself, and the base wasn't broad enough. That's all.

[Amarsir]

3 hours ago, selhars said:

I'm a t-shirt person. Known for wearing with cathy phrases.

You mean like this?
 

(Time to find out who the young'uns are when they miss the joke.)

[PBSLover]

Ha!

[ae2]

Do people buy graphic tees because of a brand name that creates them? In my mind they were all sort of generic and interchangeable.

All I know is that they are everywhere already. In both malls near me there are Spencers, Hot Topic, and FYE that sell a wide variety of graphic tees. The big box stores carry some selection of mostly current pop culture tees. A quick Google search shows me that the mall anchor department stores all sell them too.

The only real reason to invest* in such an entrenched market is if there is an opportunity to disrupt one of the existing mainstays. How do you do that with graphic tees and grow it into an X million dollar business?

* There is almost always room for an individual to create a business in an entrenched market that thrives well enough to support them. Someone investing like Marcus is doing is hoping to grow the business exponentially and get a large return on his money.

[Lola16]

I'll have to remember to stop by Courage B to see if DiLascia clothes are still there. 

I wear graphic tees, a lot. Yoga pants, tanks or tees are my wardrobe most of the time. Unless I have to dress up for school or a business appointment, I'm all about the cotton.  Most of my tops are from Lucky Brand shop, or are sports teams.

I was wondering if Marcus saw a fit for DiLascia and that jeans store.  He still has that, doesn't he?

[Lola16]

OK, just checked out their website. Some of the tees are cute BUT the women's style is still lacking! It's a high crew. No tanks, No V's, No scoops.  Rules me out.

[anadyr21]

Ok, so looking at the website, I love the MTA-NYC Subway line. But, I'm not paying $35 for a T-shirt. Before they went out of business, Steve and Barrys had cute T-shirts for like $7 or $8. Yeah, I'm cheap.

When the girl on the show mentioned that she would pay like $70 for a hoodie, I almost lost my mind. Then Patrick was like, "This isn't Forever 21." Nope, not paying that much for a hoodie, even though I liked the concept.

Patrick was a big baby and I think he wanted to be "hip" and seen in his LA store. Psychologically, I can understand. Financially, it was a no. I just wish everyone would stop babying him. I do think he's creative.

[ethalfrida]

I don't get the Forever 21 comment. I know they are trendy, I shop there and overall the item costs are average.

[NewDigs]

On 9/19/2016 at 11:57 AM, ethalfrida said:

I don't get the Forever 21 comment. I know they are trendy, I shop there and overall the item costs are average.

I think that was his, rather inartful, way of saying he thought that Forever 21 is cheap.

While his fancy-schmancy stuff is pure sophistication and luxe.

IOW overpriced.

I liked a couple of his tees but $30+? They're tee shirts, ffs.