SuitShop Co-Founder Diana Ganz is as cool as a cucumber. Not only is she a successful, multi-tasking career mom, but she’s also a woman with a passion for good quality at a good price. Right on the tails of their tan “eco-friendly” suit launch this past Summer, Denver-based Ganz is on a mission to elevate the special occasion outfitting experience for all—one suit at a time—as SuitShop becomes the go-to brand for stylish and affordable suits for every ‘body’.
This innovative, digitally native, direct-to-consumer, female-led brand is taking the menswear industry by storm. With that being said, SuitShop is thrilled to announce the expansion of their premium tuxedos just in time for the holidays, offering four fantastic colors (black, navy, burgundy and white), as well as three lapel shapes (shawl, peak and notch) in their highest quality materials at a great price. This top-tier collection is now available online at suitshop.com.
Here’s a little more from our exclusive interview with SuitShop Co-Founder Diana Ganz:
What is SuitShop’s mission?
“Our mission is to elevate the special occasion outfitting experience for all, one suit at a time, as we become the go-to brand for stylish and affordable suiting fit for every body.”
Where did the idea come from?
“The idea for SuitShop was born out of my childhood best friend and our co-founder Jeanne’s (not-so-great) experience suiting up her own wedding group in rental tuxedos. Going through the hassle-filled, expensive, and ill-fitting rental process, we realized we could create a better option. With her experience in fashion and technical design and my business background, we started SuitShop and set out to pioneer a new path in special-event and now everyday suiting.”
What are some “style” or “color” elements in your Fall/Winter line?
“We’ve recently added some new jewel tone colors to our collection that are especially great for the fall and winter—think moody, deep teal, rich burgundy, and earthy emerald shades. If pumpkin spice is more your vibe, then you’ll love our Burnt Orange suit. It’s bold but versatile and can really compliment any season depending on how you style it; needless to say, we’re loving it for fall. Our new shawl and peak lapel tuxedos are perfect for holiday parties. They give an always-classic but exciting and statement-making twist to black tie attire.”
What can we look forward to in 2023?
“All things new! We’ll be opening new showrooms in Boston, Houston, and Atlanta toward the beginning of the year. We’re excited to develop the type of community we’ve found here in Denver in some new-to-us cities. Heading into 2023, we’re ramping up our special order program. We have developed some new and exciting, on-trend special order designs that will be available to create in essentially any color you like. We’re also working on some fun collaborations with other wedding industry leaders in Denver throughout next year, and we can’t wait to bring the community in on these.”
How does your business work with your partner out of state?
“SuitShop is a digitally native, direct-to-consumer brand. While we originally started the company to offer an alternative to tired tuxedo rentals, we have evolved to be so much more than that and are the first and only brand to offer a coordinated collection of suiting and tuxedos for men, women, nonbinary folks and children.”
What does a typical day look like for you?
“Every day I feel so fortunate to work alongside Jeanne. Starting this company with her has been such a joy. The past six and half years have been an absolute rollercoaster, and I don’t think I could have survived the lows or enjoyed the highs with anyone else. Most start-ups fail within the first few years because of poor co-founder relationships. Jeanne and I have such different skill sets and so much trust in each other that we’ve been able to create a really amazing working relationship while growing even closer as friends.”
How have you expanded over the years?
“SuitShop is different now in about every way it could be since we launched in 2016. In addition to all the new products and colors we’ve introduced, we’ve also given our brand—originally called The Groomsman Suit—a new name and direction, launched countless new versions of our website, expanded our team to almost 20 people from just the two of us, and opened brick and mortar showrooms across the country.”
What was it like breaking into the men’s wear market as female entrepreneurs?
“At the time, we really didn’t think that it was odd or strange to be two women starting a men’s suiting company. We just saw that there was a need for a more reliable, affordable suiting option when it came to wedding group attire, and we went from there. While some potential investors or funding institutions may have questioned our ability to be successful in the industry because we were women, our customers never did. In fact, being two women in menswear gave us an advantage. People have always noted how amazing our customer service is, and however unusual leaders like us are in this industry, our identity has helped shape that next-level customer experience. As women who grew up in the Midwest, being especially kind to our customers and getting excited for their upcoming special events is only natural for us.”
Anything else you’d like to tell our readers?
“We’re always working towards becoming even more inclusive and offering even more innovative suiting solutions. Stay tuned as we keep growing.”
