Photography by Garrett King
Jimmy Sansone simply wanted a “normal” shirt. Four years later, he and his brothers Conrad and Lan operate an entire fashion label aimed at the Midwesterner who wants comfort, yet doesn't want to be boxed into flannel and T-shirts—and shoppers can now experience it all in one room.
Located on 8809 Ladue in Clayton, the new pop-up space features The Normal Brand’s signature range of men's and womenswear in their specialty knit blend, PuremesoTM, Henley shirts, performance wear, hats, bags, and more. Everything that customers can find online is also in the shop, plus a few extra touches, including antiques, beard oil from Barrel Brand Oils, TESS Jewelry by Karen Daniels, and a number of exclusive styles.
“We design and make clothes for the modern man and woman’s normal,” Sansone says. “For you to want to wear something every day, it needs to be versatile and durable, and extremely comfortable. That’s what we do. In St. Louis, you can be downtown and 20 minutes later you’re in the middle of the country—our clothes are built for that life.”
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Photography by Garrett King
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Photography by Garrett King
The Normal Brand is currently stocked in more than 400 boutiques coast to coast and internationally in Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia, and Sweden. But Sansone says their customers have been asking them when they would have their own branded shop “for a while now," he says. “We knew we wanted to offer a unique experience while telling our story and decided that we finally had the team in place where we could execute to the level our customer deserves.”
Shoppers will be able to try out The Normal Brand's biggest collection yet, their fall line, which features new silhouettes and colors in PuremesoTM, as well as entirely new categories, like sweaters. The Sansones have also expanded their outerwear collection and their women's line.
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Photography by Garrett King
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Photography by Garrett King
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Photography by Garrett King
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Photography by Garrett King
“Our goal for the collection is to create timeless pieces with a rugged look, but keeping a feminine touch in brighter colors and textures,” he says. “This fall you will see masculine-inspired styles like our trucker jacket, but they have been updated with flattering lines, reworked in soft fabrics like Sherpa and then lined with our brushed flannels for warmth.”
The pop-up shop will be open only through the holiday season, but fans of the lifestyle brand can also find their favorite pieces stocked at Fun in the Sun in Kirkwood, Dapper Gents on Washington Ave, and Seliga Shoes in Brentwood, as well as a number of other locations throughout Missouri. This fall, shoppers will also be able to find Mizzou-branded gear for the first time both online and in select stores.
Just a few short years after modestly starting out in his parents' basement, Sansone and his brothers are even creating custom styles for corporate clients, including World Wide Technology Raceway, Anheuser-Busch, and the St. Louis Blues.
“We are living our dream,” Sansone says. “Every day is a blessing, and the support we have gotten in this city is really humbling.”
