Is there a market for a high-end menswear shop in Washington, DC?

[manchambo]



A couple of observations: I recently saw a graphic that said that clothes buying for men hits its apex in his 50s. I guess this is when men start sagging in the face and other areas and start to overcompensate by buying nice clothing (We'll all find out, right!?) Maybe you should up your target demo a bit. I would think that older men would not be into internet buying, but not sure. This graphic may have been in Put This On. I'll try to come up with it. Streets of G'Town went out of business, I heard, and they seemed to be wanting to do what you want. I only stepped in there once so I don't know why they didn't make it. It was ok, but at the time I was not employed so couldn't splurge on their wares. I think we are in need of some sort of huge discount mens store like Syms or Filenes basement (which are gone). I think this town has a lot of cheap ass government employees who would rather go there than Macys when they need a staple suit/shoes, for example. That would be your bread and butter. Like restaurants make all their money selling booze (They break even on the food). Then have some sort of area where high end stuff would be highlighted (for us SF folks). Filene's basement had an area like that. I think it was called "Off the Runway" or "From our flagship store" . Can't remember. I would occasionally pull some good ties, shirts and shoes from syms and filenes.

The point about men in their fifties makes a lot of sense to me. I'm now 35, make a good income, but I have kids and need to pay for braces, college, etc. So I basically try to get pretty nice stuff on sale. When I'm 55, barring some serious problem in my career, I should be making quite a bit more money, I will be done paying for my kids, my house will be paid off or nearly so, etc. I could easily see myself spending four times as much on clothes as I do now. In particular, I could see myself spending more time in a good men's clothing store, and less time in places like Neiman's last call and Off Saks than I do now. I would think that it would be a very good idea to make sure you include an older demographic in your plans.

 

[coolarrow]

The point about men in their fifties makes a lot of sense to me. I'm now 35, make a good income, but I have kids and need to pay for braces, college, etc. So I basically try to get pretty nice stuff on sale. When I'm 55, barring some serious problem in my career, I should be making quite a bit more money, I will be done paying for my kids, my house will be paid off or nearly so, etc. I could easily see myself spending four times as much on clothes as I do now. In particular, I could see myself spending more time in a good men's clothing store, and less time in places like Neiman's last call and Off Saks than I do now.

I would think that it would be a very good idea to make sure you include an older demographic in your plans.

Here's the study about men in the 50s that I mentioned:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2...transformation-of-50-year-olds?sc=tw&cc=share

 

[Quadcammer]



Still disagree, tons of guys that wear suits read blogs that include fashion, style, harberdashery sections.
Of

percentage wise, the guys that read these blogs/forums represent a very small portion of the suit wearing population.

If this wasn't the case, things like mens wearhouse and JAB would not exist.

 

[joshuadowen]

The original comment was regarding San Francisco (SF) not Styleforum (SF). The point was that living on the West Coast beats living in DC, but that no one in San Francisco wears suits.

 

[Big Texas]



The original comment was regarding San Francisco (SF) not Styleforum (SF). The point was that living on the West Coast beats living in DC, but that no one in San Francisco wears suits.

This is changing, albeit very slowly, and at the fringes of the tech scene. Kids these days are rebelling against the old rebellion, the Gen X rebellion, that mid-90s revolution that deposed the suit and tie, and installed the khaki pant and polo shirt in its place. Now you have a plethora of young, 20something kids who are getting paid obscenely well, and who are starting to get sceney and political in their own right -- sort of like a hipster/nerdy take on LA. These kids care a lot more about outward displays of success than their forebears did. I've seen startup founders trading in their hoodies for bespoke suits. I've seen more and more appreciation for Young Steve Jobs as a style icon -- he of the power suits and rakish smiles -- over Old Steve Jobs, he of the turtlenecks and architect's glasses and dad jeans.

The new revolution isn't coming overnight. But it'll creep up on us. The era of the suit as restrictive, uniformlike, hated corporate totem is over. The era of the suit as status symbol, as power statement, as totem of personal and professional pride, is coming back.

 

[sq4you]

Mauro Farinelli already tried this and it didn't work out well for him.
He now has a suiting business in DC. I have no clue how that is going but if you did something similar you would be competing with him.

Then there is lost boys, jcrew, barneys co-op all of which have decent suits.
Boring classic menswear is covered by josabank.
For shoes there is already alden and allen edmunds.
several hipsters already run accessories brands in dc.

People who don't dress well in DC aren't going to all of a sudden wake up when/if your store opens.
People who "care" already shop at the places i mentioned above and at saks, neimans, bloomis, etc.
People who are fanatics (SF members like random korean dude) will not shop at your store because they will hunt for bottom dollar online.

There are not enough people in dc who care about country of origin. of those who do, most are hipsters that will shop at the stores i mentioned above or online. the rest live in silver spring, mclain and alexandria or even further out and will not be bothered to go shopping in downtown dc.

 

[Jimmy D]

I'm one of those gents in the demographic of which you're speaking. I certainly would shop locally if it were feasible. As someone who lives in NoVA, who will go downtown to shop since I work downtown, I don't feel there are enough choices here that fit that not so stuff but still classy niche.

 

[Jimmy D]

Mauro Farinelli already tried this and it didn't work out well for him.
He now has a suiting business in DC. I have no clue how that is going but if you did something similar you would be competing with him.

Then there is lost boys, jcrew, barneys co-op all of which have decent suits.
Boring classic menswear is covered by josabank.
For shoes there is already alden and allen edmunds.
several hipsters already run accessories brands in dc.

People who don't dress well in DC aren't going to all of a sudden wake up when/if your store opens.
People who "care" already shop at the places i mentioned above and at saks, neimans, bloomis, etc.
People who are fanatics (SF members like random korean dude) will not shop at your store because they will hunt for bottom dollar online.

There are not enough people in dc who care about country of origin. of those who do, most are hipsters that will shop at the stores i mentioned above or online. the rest live in silver spring, mclain and alexandria or even further out and will not be bothered to go shopping in downtown dc.
I respectfully disagree. While boring classic menswear is covered by Jos A Bank, it's often shoddy and inconsistent quality. If I had a dime for every time I've purchased trousers at Jos A Bank and have been disappointed, I'd be a lot richer. Similar story with Brooks Brothers here in NoVA. There is a distinct lack of consistency but they still want to charge as if it's there. Personally, I would and do shop in DC because of this. I would venture to another establishment if it was worth it. I mean how lazy do you have to be to not drive or get on the Metro if the quality and consistency are there?

 

[comrade]



This is changing, albeit very slowly, and at the fringes of the tech scene. Kids these days are rebelling against the old rebellion, the Gen X rebellion, that mid-90s revolution that deposed the suit and tie, and installed the khaki pant and polo shirt in its place. Now you have a plethora of young, 20something kids who are getting paid obscenely well, and who are starting to get sceney and political in their own right -- sort of like a hipster/nerdy take on LA. These kids care a lot more about outward displays of success than their forebears did. I've seen startup founders trading in their hoodies for bespoke suits. I've seen more and more appreciation for Young Steve Jobs as a style icon -- he of the power suits and rakish smiles -- over Old Steve Jobs, he of the turtlenecks and architect's glasses and dad jeans.

The new revolution isn't coming overnight. But it'll creep up on us. The era of the suit as restrictive, uniformlike, hated corporate totem is over. The era of the suit as status symbol, as power statement, as totem of personal and professional pride, is coming back.

Very slowly. Very Very slowly. I've lived and worked in thick of Silicon Valley for nearly 25 years.
Just walk down University Ave in Palo Alto at lunch time and try to find a hint of growing style consciousnes
among the young rich. The only jackets - rarely ties, one sees are on slighly older guys who are probably
VCs or lawyers. The latest "look" is a black suit with bubber soled shoes and a dress shirt without a tie.
In 1990 one actually saw some decent suits , but even then this was a style backwater.