Blue Delta Jeans, the only makers of bespoke jean apparel in the South, will be opening their first brick-and-mortar store in Oxford during Double Decker weekend. The company, founded in 2010 by Oxford native Nick Weaver and business partner Josh West, specializes in bespoke raw-denim jeans sourced and produced in the American South.
Bespoke apparel, a rarity in today’s fast paced world, is custom tailored for each individual customer. In Blue Delta’s Oxford studio, customers will have the opportunity to select their denim and make other style choices before being measured for their own custom jeans.
Each pair of jeans is produced in Tupelo, Miss. from patterns drafted from scratch for the customer. As Weaver says “there won’t be any rack jeans in the studio, every pair of jeans is handmade.”
While larger apparel companies have moved their production overseas, seeking cheap labor, Blue Delta focuses on creating a quality product by buying the best local products and utilizing skilled local seamstresses.
“It’s great that we can create jobs here and help other US-based businesses,” West said. “But the main reason we produce here is because of the quality of the material.”
The company’s Facebook page proudly states that all jeans are “grown and sewn in the South.”
Today, Blue Delta Jeans sells custom tailored jeans across the country through the world’s largest custom clothier, but the company had a humble start. Weaver recalls how, over dinner in 2009, West scribbled a business plan on a napkin. The pair has deviated little from that napkin over the past five years.
“Our business model is basically the opposite of everything you’ve ever been told,” Weaver explained. “We wanted to slow down, get away from the assembly line approach and make a quality product.”
The new Oxford location will continue this old-school approach to business. The store, which will more resemble a design studio than an apparel outlet, will offer customers a unique experience. The company’s goal, Weaver said, is to be each customer’s “personal tailor.”
As native of North Mississippi, West said that choosing Oxford as the location for the company’s first studio location was easy.
“If you’re going to be a clothing brand in Mississippi, eventually your map has to include Oxford,” West added.
With the town’s reputation for southern style, it seems like Blue Delta and Oxford are a perfect fit. Blue Delta’s Oxford Studio is set to open April 25 and will be located at 209 South 11th Street.
– Orion Wilcox is a student in the Meek School of Journalism and New Media. He can be contacted by emailing opwilcox@go.olemiss.edu.
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