It is with great excitement that I am at last able to provide you with a confirmed date for the the first release of our new men’s shirt range – the date is 20th September 2010!

As I mentioned in my email last month, Thin Red Line is changing somewhat, so instead of providing an entire range in one go, we are now stitching shirts by design and releasing them on a monthly basis. The first release, due in a couple of weeks, will comprise of six fabrics, each available in:

Classic Fit Double Cuff Regular Sleeve
Classic Fit Double Cuff Extra Long Sleeve
Classic Fit Twin Button Cuff Regular Sleeve
Classic Fit Twin Button Cuff Extra Long Sleeve
Slim Fit Double Cuff Regular Sleeve
Slim Fit Double Cuff Extra Long Sleeve
Slim Fit Twin Button Cuff Regular Sleeve
Slim Fit Twin Button Cuff Extra Long Sleeve

I know that just six fabrics may not sound like a lot of choice but don’t panic – this is just the beginning of a monthly roll-out of new formal shirt designs and we’ve chosen the selections carefully in order to ensure that (hopefully), there will be something for everyone in each monthly release. For those of you who asked about pre-ordering, thank you for your feedback, we are working on implementing this in future but this facility unfortunately wont be ready for the first release.

So what else is new? Well, as part of our new way of doing things we now regard registered customers as ‘members’ rather than simply people who have used the registration process as a way of storing address details to expedite the order process. As a Thin Red Line member you will receive an additional discount that is not available to non-members and, in the future, I plan to make some unique shirts that will only be available in the members area. Basically, if you’ve been patient and understanding enough to stick with TRL through the last 10 months, I want to give something back as a thank you, so please ensure you are registered and do tell work colleagues, friends and family.

Finally, a word on pricing. A number of customers will be out there who have only come to know of Thin Red Line due to our £9.99 sale that has gone on whilst we sorted ourselves out. I am slightly concerned that this figure is now the price that people have come to expect from Thin Red Line because, as you probably guessed, selling a shirt at our quality at £9.99 is not commercially viable – we’d go out of business.

Don’t worry – Thin Red Line has always been about providing exceptional value for money and we will strive to continue to do so. However, everything costs more today than previously – we all know what’s happened to fuel costs recently but did you know that cotton prices have jumped by almost 80% since March last year? It’s staggering isn’t it?! Our new shirts are without doubt the best yet – we’ve made a number of noticeable improvements to both the fabric and the construction of the shirt itself and I would hold these shirts up against any of the £80+ shirts available in the UK. So price notwithstanding, please rest assured that a Thin Red Line shirt will still represent what I believe to be the best quality and value in the UK.

At the end of the day it is you, our customers, who will make the decision as to whether our shirts really are as good as I say. You know that I always appreciate full and honest feedback about anything to do with our shirts, service or communication, so don’t hesitate to email me at: hereward.cb@thinredline.com with your comments and thank you for sticking with us.