Men's wardrobe consulting

A new wardrobe consulting service for men based in New York City named JAMES is setting out to prove why shopping smarter, dressing better and being more handsome doesn't have to be a store chore or a men's magazine mystery anymore.

With luxury apparel sales up 8% in 2010 over last year, according to a recent report by Bain & Co., JAMES has positioned itself to guide men to finding their wardrobes with care unmatched by American menswear retailers.

James Rarus, the James behind JAMES ( www.jamesrarus.com), is a twenty-year veteran of men's luxury retail. "JAMES may be the best men's store in America," says Rarus, "precisely because it's not a store. Stores are beholden to their brand identity first, then the consumer. They have to fit a shopper into their brand before he fits into their clothes and becomes a client."

JAMES isn't a personal shopping service, or image consultant. "If you're paying someone to buy your clothes for you," Rarus says, "that's not personal shopping. That's impersonal shopping."

To make sure its clients are exposed to what's right for them, as opposed to what's right "right now," JAMES isn't compensated by the retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers or artisans its clients are introduced to. Instead, clients pay for specific wardrobe advisement, procurement and restoration services offered on the JAMES website. "There are more men out there looking to dress well than menswear resources able to satisfy their desire," says Rarus. "Men are receptive to counsel, and they're apt pupils when learning how to craft and define a personal style. Not too many retailers or independent personal shoppers are able to counsel and educate with the intimacy, agility, candor and knowledge JAMES can.

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