Finding the right fashions has always frustrated oversized men.
Until now.
Two former American League MVPs, both large men themselves, have joined forces in a new venture designed to fill that void.
Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, winner of successive MVP trophies while playing for the Chicago White Sox, and Mo Vaughn, who spent most of his career with the Boston Red Sox, are now teammates in retail.
“I started the brand three years ago,” Vaughn told Forbes in an exclusive interview. “I was looking around for different products, different styles, and found nothing there. With me, because I’m a former professional athlete with a nice income, having stuff made was easy. But there really was no style for the big and tall guy.”
The brand, called MVP Collections, launched in August 2016 and found immediate success in the men’s fashion industry. The original founders were Vaughn and fashion industry veteran Diane Cutuli Bennett. Thomas, a friend of Vaughn’s since their college days, became a partner on May 29 of this year.
“We’ve both big guys who love style and love fashion,” Thomas said. “I’m really out there with loud colors and clothing. Mo is more casual, cool-looking, and more straight leisure. With me, it’s more upscale craziness: Billboard shirts, the big colors.
“This partnership is a great mix of our styles and a great combination coming together. Mo has given me the opportunity to have my own line coming out in the fall. It features four different styles. Big men are going to enjoy it. For so many years, all of us had to go to big & tall shops.”
The Thomas line, which retails from $59 to $208, bears the names El Dorado, Seductive Nights, La Barocco, and Neon Lights. Sizes range from 40-58 and measure double extra-large to 6XL with 32, 34, and 36-inch inseams.
“I love a great polo and jeans,” said Thomas, a Hall of Famer since 2014, “but I also love to wear trendy prints and bright colors. These collections include a little of everything from my personal style.”
According to Vaughn, who also played for the New York Mets, “We are able to change our styles as trends move. But we’re a full-service, on-brand, on-trend style entity that is manufactured in the USA.
“We started the brand by using social media, listening to the customer, and finding out what people wanted. I thought it was important to produce a line for large man even if he is short or fat.”
Vaughn said his company has done well in different platforms and forged relationships with such major retailers as Nordstrom’s.
Adding Thomas as a name partner helps.
“It’s refreshing to have someone you care about, who does well, and who gets his name up in lights,” said the 1995 American League MVP, like Thomas a first baseman who also spent time as a designated hitter. “Who else could be a better brand ambassador than Frank?”
Thomas, a five-time All-Star who played for three different teams, is currently a studio analyst for FOX Sports and NBC Sports Chicago. He won MVP awards in both 1993 and 1994.
