Fifty-seven percent of respondents to a July 2010 RetailWire poll said Gilt Groupe's new full-price men's clothing site that combined fashion and editorial had an excellent to good chance of success.
Now, a number of websites, including Gilt's Park & Bond, are providing men with information, quality merchandise and the convenience of online shopping to fully engage their inner Beau Brummel. But will men turn to these sites instead of shopping in stores, and will they do so in enough numbers to make them viable for the long haul?
Sites including Clad—a joint venture between J.C. Penney and Esquire magazine—and MR PORTER—the male-oriented counterpart of Net-a-Porter—have joined Park & Bond in targeting this market.
"It's an exciting time in men's fashion," David Granger, editor-in-chief at Esquire, told CNN. "There's been this real return to expressing individuality through clothes and it doesn't have to be through suits and ties."
Clad, which targets men 25 to 54, was created to "provide a full assortment of well-curated designer brands in a savvy digital environment," according to a statement from Penney.
MR PORTER, according to CNN, gets nine million page views a month and registers average orders of $700. It uses editorial style tips to help make men more comfortable with the shopping experience.
"There's so much product at the retail level, so for the average guy who may not like to shop, a curated site that offers a well-edited selection of goods, that's a really welcome solution," Tim Yap, editor of the Tobe Report, told CNN. "It also taps into the old-school notion of what real customer service is, that you know who the customer is and you service them in a more private atmosphere."