On a cold February day back in 2009 my wife (sweet Sarah J) and I stumbled into Billy Reid's Bond Street store in NYC and we were instantly greeted with the same warm Southern hospitality to which we are accustomed back home in Charleston. This was refreshing to me as I had to that point not spend much time in the Big Apple. As I was shown around their beautifully appointed store and offered a complimentary Bourbon I instantly fell in love both with their garments and aesthetic, and I had to know more about the man behind the brand. Little did I know then that Billy Reid would become a huge inspiration for Rogue Wave. I was pleased to find out that they had a store in my home town, so as soon as I returned home I walked in and introduced myself to their staff. Later that year I met Billy during an event in his store where he selected a pocket square for my suit and gave me the simple advice, "ALWAYS BE BOLD". That moment was a turning point for me and became a new source of inspiration as I began planning our brand and our own store. Fast forward a year later to the summer of 2010, we were kindly invited to put on a pop up shop at Billy's store at 150 King Street (lower King) in downtown Charleston where we showcased the first batch of Gato Heroi surfboards to ever hit Eastern Shores. At this point if you are still reading and are not connecting the dots between fine men's clothing and surfing well, take a look back at Phil Edwards or Miki Dora... That was the year that Billy won the CFDA Emerging Menswear Designer of the Year award and did his first colab with Levis. Tomorrow night we will be back, and this year Billy was honored by the CFDA as the 2012 Menswear Designer of the Year. Much has changed in just two years. Billy currently has stores from NYC to Austin, TX with rumors that they are planning to open a San Francisco location in the near future. As you can imagine we are honored and very excited to be invited back for another pop up tomorrow night. Please join us tomorrow to preview Billy's new Fall Collection and our Rogue Wave Vault Collection of vintage garments and other dry goods. There will be great people, drinks (read bourbon), and music by Ryan Bailey. If you're new to their shop don't worry we promise you'll enjoy yourself, just tell them Rhett sent ya!
PS- Billy, Thank you for the advice and inspiration. I promise to do my best!!!
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