In our last post we talked about the January MRket show in New York.  After the show, the three came back to Reston but made the trip to NYC again just one week later for three days packed with showroom visits.David Eisele Sr, Owner and CEO,  Dave Eisele Jr, Vice-President of Visual Merchandising, and Dan Fox, Vice-President of Merchandising visited ten showrooms on this second trip including top men’s designers such as Zenga, Canali, Eton, Alberto, and Haupt.

These showroom visits are quite different from going to the booths at the MRket show.  “The show is great because we can visit a lot of booths.  But at the showrooms, designers are able to give a better presentation of their theme for the season.  We are able to see entire collections and more categories such as sportswear and outerwear,” states Dan Fox.

He continues, “At the showrooms, designers can also display signature looks on mannequins, which gives us a better look.  Now we’re not just looking at a shirt laid out flat, but we can see it as part of an outfit displayed on a mannequin.  This gives us a better idea how the clothes fit on a frame.”

The approach by Davelle at the showrooms is very different from other menswear stores.   Many other retailers no longer use local buyers.   Instead, they have buyers located in another part of the country making decisions.  These decisions are typically based on what they think they know about Washington DC, relying on stereotypes and generalizations.  In many circles, D.C. is still synonymous with a lack of style- but we beg to differ and we have the hands-on experience to prove it!

This experience comes from knowing our clients well.  We research, study, analyze and discuss their needs.  From our personal relationships, we’re able to interpret the seasons’ trends and designs based on clients, not just some profile on paper that is looked at from someone across the country.

David Eisele Sr states, “We always try to find new integrations of classic colors, but with patterns that we have not had before. We approach the decision making process with a combination of strategy, emotion, and artistic views in order to give our clients that unique edge.”

He continues, “It takes many hours of deliberation at every designer showroom.  It is no easy task to get the three of us to agree, but when we’re done it is really special.  We’ve considered how every piece from each designer will fit in with the rest of the store.

The end result allows for more style, creativity and options for the customer.  We work across designers to carefully and thoughtfully put together a store where everything fits together- rather than just order entire collections from each designer.  Although that is what the designers would like us to do, the results can be too disparate for the needs of our clients.”

The Davelle approach to ordering merchandise is one of the many things that sets Davelle Clothiers apart.  It enables us to create just the right look for any occasion.  It all starts with these showroom visits, and ends with a unique style all of your own.