Case Study: How Executive Apparel Helped Solve a Restaurant's Promotional Uniforms Problem

Working with restaurant or food-service clients on promotional uniforms can be tricky, especially when so many places have unique requirements for look and functionality.

To help point distributors in the right direction, Lisa Denham, marketing director for Executive Apparel, Philadelphia, shared a case study on a restaurant uniform promotion that went particularly well. It shows how small details can have a huge impact for uniform buyers and offers a look at one way distributors can go the extra mile to solve a client's specific challenges.

Here, in Denham's own words, is how Executive Apparel helped land on a promotional uniforms solution for the client:

Executive Apparel was asked to develop a custom server’s vest for a sophisticated upscale restaurant with international flair. The establishment called for a relatively formal image. The vest should enhance the existing companion garments—black fitted pants and a crisp white shirt—and look neat when worn. The fit was of utmost importance.

The buyer expressed disappointment in the market, which didn’t seem to offer the right vest to suit their vision. They found that most versions were too boxy and short or disproportionate, thus giving a sloppy look. Most vests also had a back buckle-strap closure that was sewn into the side seams of the vest. When cinched on a smaller person the front of the vest lost its shape. The opposite problem occurred on larger people. The buckle would come apart.

Men's V-Neck Vest Gourmet Lined (front and back) by Executive Apparel. | Credit: Executive Apparel

We realized we would have to make a custom vest but there was one caveat. The client could not commit to the full minimum order at the start of the program. Without the advantage of the best price break a fully custom project was out of their budget. We put our heads together and came up with a creative semi-custom design.

Our solution was to use an existing vest from our In-Stock Gourmet Collection and add a newly designed type of buckle closure. We had recently adjusted the length on production of an alpha sized vest, and it was perfect for this project.

Our style 9100 Men's V-Neck Vest Gourmet Lined is constructed from our Signature Gourmet Fabric—100 percent poplin polyester. The fabric is machine washable, stain resistant and easy to care for, saving end-users time and money on laundering while always looking neat. It is fully lined with an inside bill pocket, two functional front welt pockets and sharp black suiting buttons.

The final challenge was the buckle. To avoid the sloppy look when a buckle comes undone, we designed a new type of buckle-strap closure that was shorter in length than most. Instead of sewing it into the side seams, it was “bar-tacked” to the back of the vest about a quarter of the way from the seam on each side. The 9100 has a full fabric back panel, which gave the buckle strap construction more strength where a common poly-satin back panel may not have held as well.

The end result was a sophisticated vest that looks great all night long and is adjustable to fit a wide range of sizes within each alpha size without looking boxy.

Looking for more information on promotional uniforms? Try some of these other stories from Promo Marketing. For more information on Executive Apparel, visit www.executiveapparel.com.