Carl Wesley Menswear – Thong Giveaway
I’ve teamed up with Wes Brazel owner and designer of Carl Wesley Menswear to give away one of his thongs not yet released. He’s calling the print Electric Python, which in my opinion is an awesome print that plays into my draw of animal prints. All you have to do is go over to his website and sign up for the giveaway, which is joining his email list. The giveaway runs until the end of the day 10/1/2021. The winner will be drawn at random and contacted by email on 10/2/2021. Free shipping of prize available to USA. There is no purchase necessary for an entry.
Now, let’s hear a little more about Wes Brazel and his brand Carl Wesley.
How did you get into sewing and then into making underwear?
I watched my mom sew as a little kid so I wanted to learn. First I learned to make quilts because mom was a quilter. After I watched Project Runway as a teenager I was inspired to start making clothes. I was discouraged from pursuing a creative career so after high school I got my bachelor’s degree in social work – I went back a few years later to study fashion design which was my real passion. I actually started out making high end womenswear – think pretty dresses and evening gowns – and I designed a collection for several different fashion shows in Chicago.
The funny thing is I got in the underwear business by accident. I made a few pairs just as a fun project one evening and when I posted them in a men’s sewing group on Facebook I had guys messaging me ask to buy. Soon after that I started my online business and the rest is history.
What do you want people to know about the Carl Wesley brand?
I want people to know two things about Carl Wesley. One is that making underwear is a complete obsession for me. I literally lose sleep at night thinking about materials and construction and how I can make really great underwear – I hope that shows in my products. I want guys to love their Carl Wesley so much it’s their new favorite underwear.
Second: I’ve come to realize that I can do a lot of good for others with my business. It makes my heart full when clients reach out to me saying that my underwear makes them feel really sexy – especially the bigger guys who have a hard time finding cute designer underwear (my size range goes up higher than a lot of the other designer underwear brands). I think it makes their life better in some small way. I also want to give back with my brand. Every year I plan to raise money for a LGBTQ organization during Pride month and I’ve partnered with a local non profit to produce all Carl Wesley underwear.
You’ve grown to a point where you need assistance making your products. I think it is a pretty great partnership you found. Tell us a bit about it.
I’ve partnered with a nonprofit called Sew Loved Women’s Center here in South Bend to produce all my products. They provide industrial sewing training to local women so that they can get living wage jobs, and they also do production sewing jobs for people like me. At first they only produced a few different styles for me but now they’re doing all the cutting, sewing, and order fulfilment for me. I always wanted to have my products be American made and I’m especially proud that it gets to benefit women here in South Bend. My goal is to grow my business enough to employ 20 local women.
I’ve had several people looking for a monthly underwear club. Thong of course is what they are really looking for. Both the thong and bikini are not ones that are really available for us in underwear clubs. You have a thong option, but you don’t always have it open to join. Could you give us more details about it and how to get on a wait-list or how to get informed about when it is open to join?
I just started my monthly Thong Club two months ago (there’s also a Briefs Club subscription). There is a form where you can leave your email for the waitlist at this link here: https://carlwesley.com/collections/thongs/products/thong-club-a-monthly-underwear-subscription – If you join that waitlist I’ll email you before I email anyone else on October 1 when the doors reopen for 5 new members. My monthly clubs are where I try to do my best work. I like to use special materials and details which make the production more complicated so I only let in a few people at a time. In October I’m releasing my first custom print to the Underwear of the Month Clubs, and in November I’m planning to hand dye silk. Hope to see you on the inside!
I like to thank Wes for doing the giveaway with me and answering a few of my questions to introduce his brand to you. I think he is doing some great things with his business other than just selling underwear. Some he mentioned above, but there is one other thing I’d like to mention. He aims to be a more sustainable brand. Read his post on how he has taken steps to make his packaging sustainable.
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Not being a thong wearer I pass on the giveaway.
I see he plans to out-source the work. I’d just urge caution regards the production quality – it reads like he was doing this by himself and now he wants to focus on the business. Just keep checking the quality of the items as he receives them, and take action if poor. I don’t just mean the construction quality, but to check that the sizing has been done correctly and is within tolerances. There have been too many reports, in the forums and these posts, of sizing not being correct with other brands that this is a real issue for internet purchases.
I think the fabric looks cool. I also think it is nice that he is working with a local non-profit to help others learn a trade. I agree that he needs to remained focused on the product to ensure consistency in sizing and quality. After all, do you think Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, or even Karl Lagerfeld, Channel, Gucci were over night successes. I do wear thongs so it would be cool to win this pair.