The Chapar - personal styling for men - with a difference

Many men simply cannot be bothered with shopping for clothes and, I suspect, this applies most particularly to men over forty. Whatever our excuse - we're busy, think shopping is for sissies, leave it to our partner/wife, can't be bothered - the result is that we find it harder to dress well as the grey hairs appear.

There are solutions - we buy everything at our favourite high street department store, we buy online, we don't buy anything or we rely on a partner selecting our clothes. But these are unlikely to result in outstanding sartorial results unless we are prepared to put in that extra care to ensure good fit, colour co-ordination or style appropriate to our age, shape, colouring and lifestyle.

For those with the desire to dress well, but without the time or inclination to put in too much personal effort, there is always the option of the personal stylist (see, for example, my post here about one such service, Sartoria Lab).

The Chapar now offer a further alternative. After a telephone consultation with a stylist, you are sent a trunk of clothes carefully selected for you. You try them on, decide what you will keep, pay for those and the rest are picked up by a courier to be returned to The Chapar - what could be easier?

But, does it work? I had the chance to try when The Chapar offered to put me through their process. I was phoned, at a time and date previously arranged, by Shaunie Brett, Director of Styling, who skilfully elicited from me everything she needed to know about my style and clothing preferences and my sizes. We chatted for twenty minutes or so and I was promised a box of carefully-selected clothes within a few days - very exciting - as good as Christmas.

A few days later a beautifully-presented box of clothes arrived. Unpacking them I was immediately struck by how well Shaunie has interpreted my tastes. As promised, she included a few items to stretch me and tempt me to try something new. This idea really attracted me - whether or not we feel confident in our choices, we should all try something new from time to time to expand our range.

Below are images of some of the items sent. Of the 17 items sent I would have rejected very few had I been in the position of a client. All suited me well in terms of style and colour and, particularly important, all fitted me very well. Brands sent in my box included Hentsch Man, Hackett, Brooks Brothers, Hartford, Pantherella, Sunpsel, John Smedley and a brand less familiar to me, Lubiam.

The Chapar is a great formula. For the man without the inclination to shop for himself, the service will save time and provide skilfully-styled clothes that will fit well and suit his needs. Even the confident and able sartorialist will benefit as he will be encouraged to try new styles and colours. Prices are no higher than available on the high street. The clothes selected are from the best-known and trusted brands, while newer and less-familiar names are included to keep choices as wide as possible.

The Chapar claim to be changing the way men shop. They must just be right.

For more information, see The Chapar website.

Some of the items selected by The Chapar for Grey Fox