Note from Art: I plan on chronicling my experience in several posts over the next few weeks, with an exciting new men’s clothing/shopping service that I was introduced to called Trunk Club.  I’m not sure if I’m more excited about the solution to my fashion challenges, or the fact that this is the best recent example that I’ve seen of a service that so perfectly solves a problem that it practically sells itself. (The authors of the book Tuned In describe this type of offering as a Resonator.)

I have no stake in the Trunk Club for Men and when I let the co-founder, Matthew Scott, know that I planned on posting about my experience with his service, he urged me to help them get better.  I love his attitude! And I will.

I’m not sure guys are supposed to write posts about fashion. I’m expecting a call from my friend Chris, encouraging me to turn in my “man card” for writing on this topic.  He did that the one and only time I was dumb enough to indicate that I might have caught a fleeting glimpse of Oprah’s show when author Marcus Buckingham was the guest.

We’ll Chris, my excuse is even better this time.  I’m mixing fashion with business research.  Take that!

OK, some background is in order here on the roots of my fashion challenges.

First, I am a child of the 70s, when to quote my kids looking at the old family pictures, “What were you people thinking?”

“Hey, what’s wrong with yellow and green plaid bell-bottoms paired with rust colored shirts?” I retort to these logo-covered and self-annointed fashion critics. I don’t have the heart to tell them that I look at these same pictures in horror that anyone ever thought those clothes were acceptable for public consumption.

For those too young to recall, the 70’s started out with post-hippie era styling and concluded with disco.  Leisure suits were born somewhere in the middle of that “tasteful” decade.

Second, I transitioned at some point in my career from the standard blue suit, white shirt uniform that we wore at Panasonic to software-sloppy…the business casual that dominated the software industry for so many years.

Combine my 70’s experience with the blue suit to software casual experience, and I have a wardrobe that is just short of lousy with a sense of style that matches.

The Problem:

My professional world has transitioned from the daily corporate casual to super casual (home office) or on-stage as a speaker, seminar leader or MBA instructor.  I need some great quality clothes for the “on” days, and thankfully, there are many of these days on the calendar in the coming months. It’s time for a wardrobe makeover.

A bit more background. is in order.   I hate shopping. I hate shopping for clothing most of all.  There are many bad things that could be done to me that would be less painful than shopping.  The thought of it makes me recoil in horror.  If my wife suggests a shopping trip that will take us even close to the Men’s department, my mind goes blank, my eyes glaze over and I immediately feel the need to take a long nap.  Ask me to figure out any color and pattern combinations beyond white or off-white with dark and once again my mind goes blank.

I survived fashion hell for a number of years with a great retail clerk at the former Marshall Fields.  Jan learned my tastes and did a pretty good job of helping me out during my once a year visit. Well, Fields is gone and so is Jan, replaced by crappy off the rack merchandise and unhelpful staff at the local Macy’s.  My last fashion lifeline disappeared when Fields died.

Until now.  Enter Trunk Club for Men. The service is positioned as an innovative new service for busy professional men and successful entrepreneurs.  There is a membership component that gives it an air of personalization and exclusivity.  If this works, it may rank as one of the great problem-solving discoveries of my adult life.

One to One meets Web 2.0:

Here’s the business in a nutshell. You start by visiting the website and completing an application. I was invited to join by the co-founder, but be aware that the process does involve completing a no-fee application that helps Trunk Club understand a bit more about you and your clothing tastes and needs.  More about the application process in a future post.

Once you’ve been accepted as a member, you meet via webcam with a personal fashion consultant who interviews you to understand your requirements and your budget parameters.  After your webcam interview, your fashion consultant shops for and ships your clothes.

Once you’ve received the shipment, you and your consultant reconvene on a webcam call to review the items. You decide what you will keep and return the rest, paying only for your final selections. That’s it.  Oh, and your consultant will even direct you to a Trunk Club approved tailor in your area.

Let’s review:

  • I never have to leave my house.  The clothes come to me.
  • I gain the best guidance of a fashion pro.
  • I return what I don’t want and only pay for what I keep.  There are no other fees or no minimum purchase amounts.
  • The fashion consultant shops to my budget and seeks out the best quality and value that fits that budget.
  • Unlike the visit to a retail store, your fashion consultant works with you over time to learn your likes and dislikes and to fill out your wardrobe with a plan in mind.
  • If I need more of something, I send a note and things magically show up.

This rocks!

While I’m being a bit melodramatic in my description of my helplessness in the line of retail fire, I truly love this concept. I don’t know too many guys that care about shopping and those that do seem to operate with a search and destroy mentality.  Go in, select and exit as quickly as possible. There’s no plan, just a short-term mission.

With Trunk Club for Men, my modus operandi hasn’t changed, but all of the pain is gone.  I will spend minimal time thinking about the topic and leave the execution to a professional.  No stores, no changing rooms, just a big box of things to try on in my home. Delegating to experts is something that I can handle. This seems right on so many levels!

My parameters to Darcy, my consultant, are to focus on developing a small selection of high quality items of classic styling for use in speaking and workshop engagements.  Most of my work does not require a suit, so establishing a core grouping of jackets, shirts, slacks and ties is the top priority.

I can’t wait to see what Darcy sends me.

Stay tuned to see if this is as good as it sounds or too good to be true.  I’m betting on the former.

Future Post: I’ll share more about the video interview and business process, as well as the results of Darcy’s shopping trip.