Good Counsel is a groundbreaking fashion brand set to revolutionize the industry with its fully inclusive approach catering to big-and-tall men. Until recent, the big-and-tall specialist has thrived with a successful subscription model, launching its highly-anticipated e-commerce platform on June 1st, 2023.
Good Counsel is a brand in good favor with men, receiving recognition from notable athletes like NBA Champion and All-Star Andre Iguodala and NFL athletes Travon Walker and Trent Williams. Good Counsel owes much of its success to the expertise of the brand’s Creative Director Courtney Mays, a stylist to some of the biggest names in the NBA, shaping the brand’s size-inclusive offerings through her time fitting clothes on guys who are larger than average.
Travon Walker, a Jacksonville Jaguar defensive lineman, has praised the brand for its inclusivity and recently partnered with them for their new e-commerce platform. “I basically partnered with Good Counsel for the simple fact that they sent out gift boxes early throughout my process,” he notes.
“I didn’t have to go to a store, which I don’t like – nine times out of 10 they’re not going to have it. Just a waste of time. Good Counsel just presented the opportunity where you can find athletic wear, casual wear, and things of that nature just for guys of my size to make it a little bit easier.”
At the heart of Good Counsel’s mission lies the desire to address the underrepresentation of big and tall men’s fashion. Traditionally, this market is overlooked, leaving larger men with limited options and a perception that they cannot enjoy fashionable clothing. With mainstream fashion geared towards a single standard size, big and tall men often struggle to find well-fitting and stylish outfits, forcing them to search multiple brands online for suitable choices.
Walker knows these issues all too well growing up, seeing, and experiencing the struggles of finding clothing that fits. Walker recalls, “So my dad, he could be considered big and tall, ‘six-three.’ He is about my weight. Growing up, he kind of struggled [finding] clothing as well.“ When asked about wearing clothing his father growing up, his response was prompt, “Still do, to this day.”
“A favorite brand that I had growing up that I used to always go in my dad’s closet for was [his] polo shirts. He wears an XXL in it, but I’m normally an XL guy. If I go put on a Polo t-shirt or something like that, it fits me better, and it looks better on me than my dad. My shoulder is broader than his,” he points out.
One of the significant challenges in catering to the big and tall market is the limited production capabilities of many factories, which lack the capacity to produce extended-size ranges for men. However, Good Counsel and its founder Mays are making proactive efforts to revolutionize this aspect of the fashion industry.
Mays has invested substantial resources in creating truly comprehensive size-inclusive offerings. The Good Counsel garments incorporate innovative features such as extended sleeve and pant lengths, t-shirts with split hems, and adjustable zippers for accessibility in and out with ease. This dedication aims to empower big and tall men with comfortable and stylish clothing that is often hard to come by elsewhere.
Walker says, “ I feel like Good Counsel does a great job with the material. You have athletic wear, and you have casual wear that you can put on and wear to a game or [somewhere] like that. The options that they have are great, and material plays a big part in it as well.”
The significance of appropriately fitting clothes draws in someone like Walker, seeking sophistication at any size. “I can dress up and still feel comfortable in what I’m wearing. I don’t feel like it’s too snug – more like the perfect fit,” Walker concludes.
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