Our Story
How it started
Born in Vietnam, Danh Tran grew up working in his family’s small tailor shop. By the age of ten, he was designing and sewing his own clothes- and dreaming of coming to America to become a fashion designer. At 18, Danh’s family emigrated to the U.S., and Danh soon landed his first fashion job at Mattel, designing for Barbie! He saved every dollar until he could enroll in his dream school, Otis College, where he graduated at the top of his class and was recruited by several big brands before settling in at Affliction Clothing as Head Designer for 10 years.
Danh hated wearing dress shirts. “They’re stiff and they’re scratchy.” So, he set out to create a dress shirt that felt like his favorite T-shirt. Using a unique blend of long fiber cotton and a proprietary manufacturing process, he developed a profoundly soft fabric, which he named “Buttercloth.” It has incredible breathability, 6-way stretch, and as Danh says, “it makes you look like a Friday night, but feel like a Sunday morning.”
Danh quit his job, sold his house, and cashed in his 401K to start the company.
The Buttercloth® story doesn’t end with comfort. Customers love the fit, and they appreciate the subtle details found in every Buttercloth® garment- often prompting the question, “Where did you get that shirt?”
I guess you could say, “it’s a boy’s dream come true.”
How it's going
Buttercloth’s explosive growth caught the attention of ABC’s Shark Tank, where Danh made a $250,000 deal with investor Robert Herjavec, who is helping to grow the Buttercloth® brand worldwide.
In 2019, Danh developed a cutting edge fabric technology called Icy Cotton®, infusing long-fiber cotton with organic mint fibers. This patented cooling technology keeps you cool & comfortable all day long.
After years of popularity & success with Icy Cotton®, Danh developed Icy Bamboo™ for the newly launched women’s line. In continuing to lead with innovation, he introduced another patent-pending feature, the Pre-Tucked® Waistband, offering an instant “tucked-in” look for women on the go.
Stay tuned for more surprises from Danh and his team at Buttercloth®.
- The World’s Most Comfortable Shirts.