What’s in Store: Typecast Clothing
October 26th, 2007, 1:59 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Sam Mittelsteadt
Typecast Clothing
The Shoppes at Gilbert Commons, 1073 E. Baseline Road, Gilbert
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
Information: (480) 539-4937 or typecastclothing.com
A blast of guitars in mid-crunch greets you as soon as you walk into the store, which is stocked with T-shirts and hoodies emblazoned with intricate screen-prints that look like something off the cover of a 4AD Records release. Scandinavian-design shelves, corrugated metal walls and concrete floors add to the industrial vibe. “Every once in a while, we get a walk-in who looks around and says, ‘This place is effin’ awesome!’ ” says Jaime Tischler, who opened the store with her husband, Bobby, last year. “And that’s when we have to say, ‘You know this is a Christian store, right?’ ” (So, yes, she really did say “effin’,” not its more profane cousin.)
The core customer: Christians in their late teens to early 30s “who are looking for an alternative to the ‘cheesy’ stuff 
out there,” says Tischler. “Something that represents their faith in an art-based way, instead of a word-based way.” Interesting/odd tidbit: Although the store sits smack-dab in the middle of LDS territory and its wares fall safely in the “modest” category, only about 2 percent of the clientele is Mormon. (The Tischlers attend Red Mountain Community Church in Mesa.) “Maybe the word’s gotten out that we’re ‘just Christian,’ ” Bobby Tischler suggests with a laugh.
On the mannequins: “Butterfly” shirt by Souldog, $24. “Plum Romance” shirt by Truth Soul Armor, $45. “This Choice” shirt by Typecast, $18 (left).
Top-seller: The couple’s own Typecast clothing line, which began last year with only four designs for men, three for women. “He does the ideas, and I hop on Illustrator,” Jaime Tischler says. They’ve since expanded to dozens of designs, including crystal-embellished women’s shirts.
Low price point (right): Those Typecast tees are a top seller for another reason: Starting at $15 to $18, they’re less expensive than other brands. It’s all about location: Typecast’s neighbors in the shopping center include a bargain store and Old Navy, “so people expect to spend $10 to $20 for a shirt,” Tischler says.
Local lines: Their own designs, of course, and some pieces by Get the Word Out, based in Queen Creek, and Rebel, from Peoria.
High price point: Custom hoodies like a men’s “Iron Cross” design by Truth Soul Armor, $65.
She’s excited about: “It’s totally hoodie season,” says Tischler, and the store stocks several by Truth Soul Armor and their own line. “If Truth was in Scottsdale, they’d be $100,” Bobby Tischler says. “Here it’s $65.”
