Meet The S.F. Menswear Brand That Aims To Suit Everyone

For many transgender men and women, a positive shopping experience is hardly common. In fact, it can be quite harrowing, for reasons ranging from poor customer service to ill-fitting garments. So, when Kipper Clothiers founders Erin Berg and Kyle Moshrefi launched their custom-suiting brand two years ago, they set out offer people impeccably handcrafted suits regardless of their gender identity.

The pair met while working at fashion start-up Tomboy Tailors (Moshrefi has also logged time at Everlane and J.Crew). It was there that they caught the entrepreneurial bug, and after seeing a gap in the market, decided to branch out on their own. While other brands like Bindle & Keep and Saint Harridan have
come out with similar business concepts, Kipper Clothiers claims to go beyond "the minimum acceptability of placing individuals in masculine-styled suits."

The result? A progressive line that redefines the menswear shopping experience and offers suiting tailored to every different body types, regardless of gender identity. "Kipper Clothiers is founded on the notion that clothing is essential to
everyone’s identity," Berg tell us. "Like hair style, it is one of the very first
visual markers that tell others who we are. When
I put on my very first suit, I felt a type of empowerment that can only
be felt by dressing in a way that perfectly matched my identity as a
transgender person, and I knew almost instantly that I wanted to give
that opportunity to others." 

"Shopping can be a very painful experience for transgender people, due to
the lack of retail professionals who respect their gender identity," Berg adds. "On top of that, it is nearly impossible to find clothing
that fits properly. Even if they do find clothing that fits, they often
don’t feel comfortable buying them, or sometimes even have to resort to
lying about who they are purchasing the clothing for."

When a client first comes in to Kipper Clothiers, they have an in-depth conversation with Berg and Moshrefi about what they're looking for in their garments. While the brand's suits aren't necessarily bespoke, a wide selection of fabrics and expert tailoring results in pieces that feel made-to-order.

"The suiting industry has been around for centuries, and has always been focused on men’s clothing and men’s body types only," Berg explains. "In creating Kipper Clothiers, we had to find suit-makers who were willing to stray off the beaten path and take a risk in creating patterns that would work for us. This is a very innovative approach to pattern making that has never been done before now." Berg and Moshrefi have made it their mission to create the perfect menswear fit for anyone who walks through their doors, and paving the way for shoppers with complex gender identities is at the core of their work. As Berg says, "Seeing the happy faces of our satisfied customers is the biggest reward we can ever imagine."