When was the last time you found a tee shirt that was EXACTLY what you were looking for? It seems like we always settle when it comes to tees: hey, this is a little short but it’s black and it works. Louisvillian Annie St. Clair doesn’t think you should settle for a cut-rate or too-tight tee, and the difficulty she experienced in finding her perfect tee led to the creation of her company, A. St. Clair. A St. Clair sells beautiful, luxury tees that are fully customizable, and Annie St. Clair was kind enough to chat with us about it.
Louisville.com: Tell us a little bit about yourself!
Annie St. Clair: “I'm 29 years old, born and raised here in Louisville. I went to Sacred Heart and Western, majoring in PR and marketing. I have loved clothes since I was a little girl, and would always imagine having my own line. I have been lucky (and worked hard) on making that dream a reality over the past year.”
LC: Tell us about A. St. Clair and the tee shirt line.
ASC: “It's a line of luxury essentials. The pieces are simple and classic, and they aim to cover all of the gaps we see today in fashion. You can layer them, but the cut is slightly draped and beautiful enough to wear alone or dress up. We are allowing women to mix the neckline, sleeve, length, and color to create their perfect tee. The limited editions are super luxurious items we add to the collection seasonally to dress up modern-day classics, such as silk-trimmed tunics, and leather-trimmed kimonos.”
LC: So how did A. St. Clair come to be?
ASC: “A little over a year ago, I was getting ready, and just super frustrated with my basics collection. Leggings were becoming huge, and everything was just a tad too short. Many of my longer tees that I loved still had that tent effect and just weren't super flattering. I was so dumbfounded by the lack of simple, yet beautiful options. That's the goal...to make a beautiful tee for ANY occasion. So if you are layering under a sweater, with leggings, your shirt is long enough and beautiful enough to stand alone if you remove your sweater. And then you can order the same tee in a regular length to tuck into a pencil skirt and look super pulled together.”
LC: So what’s special about these tees? And where are they manufactured?
ASC: “Our line is the first luxury ‘custom’ brand of tees. We are trying to standardize a basics line so it's about fit, personal preference, and outfit choice, not trends. I love a good trend as much as the next person, and basics accentuate a trend when worn together. The goal is to make personal style super easy. Everyone defines the ‘perfect tee’ differently.
The tees are manufactured in Brooklyn, NY. We have a factory we work with there that does our patterns, samples, and productions.”
LC: What’s your favorite shirt from the current line?
ASC: “As far as the Essentials Collection goes, it's a tie between the v-neck and scoop neck long tees in black and white. I throw them on whatever and go. In Limited Editions, I love the tunic, and I'm itching to get the whole fall/winter collection out with leather pieces.”
LC: Tee shirts are often special because they hold memories – you get them at camp or as souvenirs on vacation. What are some of your most treasured tees? And what makes them so special?
ASC: “I could write a novel on this alone. Obviously, my tees are my favorite, but if we're taking it back a few years...all the tees I've loved either were extremely comfortable, detailed, or cut perfectly. I used to like those VS pink ones in college to wear to class for the comfort factor, there was the way too expensive Cynthia Steffe tank with leather rose details that I bought post-college, and the mix of J.Crew and Vince dabbled throughout for fit/cut/functionality purposes. We're hoping to be the brand that mixes all of those factors together.”
You can view A. St. Clair's collection, and purchase your perfect tee, on their website.
Images courtesy of Annie St. Clair
