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Doug Wood has spent 25 years building Tommy Bahama into a brand recognized well beyond golf courses and beach resorts. He also says he can tell, almost on sight, where a customer is from.
“Typically, you can tell East Coast, West Coast really fast,” Wood told Fortune in a wide-ranging and rather hilarious conversation riddled with nuggets of fashion advice—and some of fashion’s hottest takes. Right now, he said, that means spotting a very specific look.
“The East Coast is going through a massive preppy phase. Ralph Lauren is riding it high, and it comes off very much East Coast.” Wood’s not entirely sold on the trend himself. “That’s not my favorite phase,” he said. “I like the floral phase. It’ll come back.”
For the CEO of a company whose entire brand is defined by its floral phase, his comments may not be that surprising. After all, it was Wood himself who brought up how ubiquitous Tommy Bahama shirts are (“whether it’s Danny DeVito or you know, we made it into The Simpsons Movie“) and also how his brand is the epitome of all shirts of a similar style regardless of the manufacturer.
“There are so many apparel brands out in this world that aren’t known for anything, and we’re known for a loud Hawaiian shirt,” Wo...
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