For all you fashion fans out there, we have exciting news! An acclaimed menswear store has just opened in the 12South neighborhood, garnering praise from magazines like GQ and Esquire. STAG Provisions is a multi-brand retail space specializing in contemporary clothing with classic roots. We caught up with co-owner Steve Shuck to learn more about this successful and stylish boutique.
Nfocus: Who is your typical customer? Who shops at Stag Provisions?
Steven Shuck: Kind of everyone. We want to offer a little something for everyone, not everything for someone. We don't have pieces that are just for one guy, that only he can wear and that exclude everyone else. We want to keep things on trend, but we don't follow trends. If a guy invests in one of our products, we want him to feel comfortable in his wardrobe five years from now, just like he does today.
Nfocus: Why Nashville?
Steve Shuck: Nashville has been on our radar for a very long time. When we look at places to consider, we always focus on places where we already have clients. We have tons of clients, both famous and not, who come to Austin and live here in Nashville, and among our online clients, Nashville is always in the top 10.
Nfocus: What is the brand that you have owned since the beginning and what is the new brand that you are excited about?
Steve Shuck: Double RL is a brand that we’ve had since we opened. When we opened, we were one of eight wholesale accounts they had in the United States. It’s a brand that’s been with us and part of our DNA. We’ve also done special collaboration collections with them. We’re celebrating our 15th anniversary in the fall and they’re going to create a special jacket just for us. Save Khaki is a brand that’s really simple cotton basics. What makes it special is that they make everything soft and everything is made in the United States. It’s a brand that’s been with us since the beginning as well.
A newer brand for us is Kapital, a Japanese brand that has been around since the '70s. They have a very tight distribution of about ten accounts in the U.S. They do a reimagined version of American workwear. Another newer brand for us that's been around for about 3 or 4 years is a brand called Portuguese Flannel. They're a fourth-generation shirtmaking family. Obviously, what they're best known for is their flannels, which are buttery soft. You'll see a lot of them here in the fall and winter. They just make great, easy-to-wear pieces that any guy can wear, whether he's 22 or 72, and it'll suit him. It's a brand that we really love and believe in.
Nfocus: Could you tell us a little more about your business partnership?
Steve Shuck: I came from a retail background. I worked at Gap for 16 years and was responsible for the global operations of the brand. I wanted to do something smaller, something more entrepreneurial, which brought me from San Francisco to Austin. My business partner, Don Weir, was in the antiques world and worked with a few different stores in Austin. Our visions aligned with what we both wanted to do. We wanted to open a menswear store because there was a void in Austin at the time for multi-line retail.
Nfocus: Do you sometimes do special collaborations?
Steve Shuck: We have a few items! We have Levi's, but the embroidery is from a brand in Austin called Fort Lonesome. It's a group of women who use old hand-cranked chainstitch machines. We've been working with Imogene + Willie for 15 years. We grew up together. We were their very first wholesale account. They design T-shirts just for us. We always try to have some exclusivity on certain products, but we just try to create products that you might not find anywhere else where we hang out. If we don't like something, you won't find it here. We never buy products because we know they're going to sell. We're going to buy products because we think they're cool and we like them, and we think our customers will like them too.
Discover STAG Provisions – 2311 12th Ave S Suite 101
