Omega Apparel, a company with more than two decades of serving the US Military as a leading producer of dress uniforms, has unveiled their new civilian clothing line.
Dean Wegner, President and CEO/Owner of Omega and the new Authentically American line of clothing, is a 1993 graduate of West Point and a military veteran who proudly served his country as a seven-year Army helicopter pilot and Army Ranger.
Wegner said the Authentically American brand is grounded in three promises that encompass the essence of the brand: Authentically Made, Authentically Patriotic, and Authentically You. Omega wants supporters of their brand to know what they stand for and to help them tell the story.
“There are two phases to the new brand that we are launching,” Wegner told the Review. “Phase one is about getting the story out. Everything we are going to offer is branded apparel and merchandise, all made in the USA. We make it here in Smithville, and at our facility in Nashville.”
Phase I of the brand launch will include men’s and women’s apparel, as well as items for children branded with a “stamp” logo and a vintage American flag logo. The lineup will consist of tees, hoodies, hats, and accessories, which supporters can wear every day. Phase II of Authentically American will be a military inspired ready to wear collection. Every garment will have a unique story to tell. There will be subtle design elements integrated into each and every garment that will link back to a specific military uniform in US history.
Each garment will be stamped to certify that it is 100 percent made in the USA.
In the spirit of transparency, Omega purposefully placed a large window in the reception area at the Nashville facility that looks directly onto the production floor so that every visitor can experience first-hand that apparel production is actually taking place in the US and Authentically American is the real deal.
Their products are not just “designed” or “assembled” in the US, they are actually “made” in America. With the Authentically American brand, the “stamp” logo is a visual representation that the items are genuinely made in the USA.
Ten percent of each purchase will also be donated to fund scholarships for children of military veterans. Wegner said that Omega intentionally chose to tie their donation to sales and not profits, so supporters of the Authentically American brand may be assured that that 10 percent of every single purchase is going to support our American Heroes.
“Ten percent of every sale will go to fund scholarships for children of military veterans,” Wegner said “I emphasize sales, because, not to knock to anyone who donates off profits, but you can play a lot of accounting games that way. With sales-based donations, you know that if you spend thirty dollars, three dollars of it are going to fund scholarships.”
“Our parent company has a 22-year history of serving the US Military as a leading producer of dress uniforms,” said Wegner. “It is only fitting that we chose education and supporting the next generation of American Heroes as the cause we support at Authentically American.”
The scholarship program is administered by International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc. (ISTS), a leading scholarship administration firm that is also based in Nashville. For more information on ISTS, visit http://www.applyISTS.com/.
Wegner said the line is intended to reclaim a piece of the American apparel market that has drifted ove
rseas in the last 30 years.
“Thirty years ago there were five apparel manufacturers here in Smithville, and 75 percent of the apparel in the US was made in the US,” Wegner shared. In the time since, that number has dropped to 2.5 percent. It’s crazy to think how many hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost. Part of our new brand is educating everyone about what’s happening, and encourage people to support products that are made in the USA.”
Buying American also supports job creation and helps in rebuilding the US apparel industry.
“When you purchase Authentically American, you can proudly proclaim that your purchase is helping to create American jobs and rebuild the US apparel industry. Our vintage American flag logo is a visual representation of the growing sentiment in America that we aspire to rebuild a strong manufacturing base in the USA,” a company press release reads.
While the line will be officially launched on Nov. 11 (Veterans Day), Review readers can get in on the action early and get a discount. Just visit http://www.authenticallyamerican.co/ and enter the code SMITHVILLEREVIEW to receive an 11 percent discount on the new line until Nov. 10.
The company may be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthenticallyAmericanCo/, on twitter at https://twitter.com/AuthenticallyUS, and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authenticallyamerican/
