

The Trunk Club For Men: Never Shop For Clothes Again - russell
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/03/the-trunk-club-for-men-never-shop-for-clothes-again/

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wallflower
This is a great idea. I've asked attractive female friends who I think have a
_good_ sense of style to spend a couple hours shopping with me and pick out
clothes. They're usually flattered and it's fun. Note: I only ask when I know
their boyfriend as well - so its clear that they're helping me as a charity
case (most girls _love_ to "fix up" a guy's fashion)/not trying to date them.
I don't do this as much now since I've learned what fits and what looks good
on me.

Fashion tip for skinny, nerdy guys: Dark sport coat, dark jeans, button down
shirt with a splash of color/texture

<http://yoox.com> for fashionable close-outs

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russell
You talk to a real woman about your taste and needs in clothing. She picks out
a selection and sends it to you. You keep what you like and send the rest
back.

This is interesting from a couple of points. First, I live 1 hour from the
nearest clothing stores and 2 hours from the likes of Macy's, plus I dont like
shopping for clothes. I have a live-in SO who probably wouldnt like another
woman shopping for me, or maybe she would be OK with it. I'm sure she wouldn't
like my paying full retail.

The second point is that this is an interesting business model, the customer
service of interacting with a sales person and the ease of shopping on the
internet. I could see the working with high end products like cameras and
electronics, maybe even furniture. Probably not with dog food.

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kqr2
For men who enjoy this service, they may also enjoy:

<http://blacksocks.com/>

Basically, it's a socks subscription service so you don't need to worry about
purchasing new ones.

Since they are all black, it also eliminates any matching problems.

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sfphotoarts
Everything they picked seems really expensive, tshirts for $40+

For $40 I can get an "EL Lit Glowing Equalizer [that] animates to ambient
noise or music" on thinkgeek.com

I thought it rather amusing though that half the comments were about spelling
errors :)

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mdolon
_"For $40 I can get an "EL Lit Glowing Equalizer [that] animates to ambient
noise or music" on thinkgeek.com"_

Precisely the reason you'd want someone else to shop for you. ;)

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jhancock
This was invented long ago. Its called a wife ;)

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teej
My wife:

\- Rarely buys clothes for me without my presence

\- Rarely gets something that fits, of the things she gets for me

\- Won't return it if I think it sucks.

\- Has a meh sense of style for men.

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johns
Maybe you should upgrade ;) Mine does all of those things, and extremely well.

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adw
Maybe (ha!) I'm weird, but I really enjoy shopping for clothes. No-one'd call
me handsome or dapper, but there's something really satisfying about putting a
look together.

I never have enough time, though!

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darkxanthos
I like the shopping but figuring out how to piece together a look that fits my
style is hard on me. I'm curious to see what options I get from them so I can
learn to do the same for myself some day.

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stuff4ben
This is pretty neat. It's like Amazons Mechanical Turk except for clothes
shopping. Maybe I missed it, but how do they make money? Do they just take a
cut off the top of the clothes they send?

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russell
They sell it to you at full retail. They order just-in-time, so they dont have
any inventory. The article didnt mention how they handle returns. The cynic in
me says that the returned items go at the top of the recommendations.

~~~
msg
hack: buy from them, return your stuff and get it on Amazon.

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mattj
Although it sounds kind of cool, I'd be a little nervous trusting people
working on commission for advice on whether a shirt looks good on me or not.

It seems like it wouldn't be hard to have some sort of follow-up survey to
unlock the commission (things like "did you feel comfortable wearing the
clothes recommended" / "did you feel pressured" etc.), but as is, I'd feel a
bit nervous about the advice.

That, and my girlfriend loves shopping. I think she'd kill me if I ever used
this service.

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thorax
> I'd be a little nervous trusting people working on commission for advice on
> whether a shirt looks good on me or not.

I figure if they're misleading you, you won't be buying from them again later
when people make fun of your outfit.

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spitfire
I thought it was a great idea, until I washed their intro video. Highlights:

    
    
        - A lime green tie with an ill fitting shirt on generic        
          businessman.
        - Striped shirt on a man over 19.
    

When creating a business based on style and taste, it helps to have some. The
advice to take a girlfriend shopping is good. or just try to develop taste
yourself.

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quizbiz
A good idea for a rich bachelor. Not much more.

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elai
Looking at the picture, it looks like pretty blase men's clothing.

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trickjarrett
Apparently the story is fairly popular, the site is down for me.

