Paul Stuart

Paul Stuart is a men's luxury clothing brand based in New York City and owned by Mitsui since 2012. The company has three boutiques in the US, and is sold at department stores in Japan.

Paul Stuart's style has been described as a blend of “Savile Row, Connecticut living and the concrete canyons of New York.” The Paul Stuart logo is a drawing of fictional character Dink Stover sitting on the Yale fence.

History

Harry Ostrove started Broadstreet's men's clothing stores in New York City in 1915. Ralph worked for his father but left in 1938 to start Paul Stuart, so named for his son, Paul Stuart Ostrove.

The company was helmed by the legendary merchant and CEO Clifford Grodd from 1958 until his death in 2010.

In fall 2007, Paul Stuart launched its Phineas Cole range, which is clothing designed to appeal to a younger client although more exclusive in production and pricing.

The retailer remained a privately-held family business until December 2012, when it was sold to its long-time Japanese partners, Mitsui.

Paulette Garafalo, formerly of Brooks Brothers and Hickey Freeman, became CEO of Paul Stuart on June 14, 2016, marking the first time someone unrelated to the Ostrove family led the company.

In 2019, the company began offering a lower-priced made-to-measure service branded as customLAB, and a luxury MTM jeans service branded as denimBAR. In 2019, the company celebrated the redesign of its omnichannel e-commerce website with home delivery via vintage Packard automobile.

On July 1, 2022, Paulette Garafalo accepted a new role as Executive Chairman of Paul Stuart. Trevor Shimpfky was announced as president and CEO. Their creative director is Ralph Auriemma.

Retail locations

Paul Stuart has standalone shops in New York City, Chicago, Washington DC, Southampton, New York, and Tokyo.

Since 1938, the original New York City flagship store has been located at the corner of Madison Avenue and 45th Street. It has grown to 60,000 square feet (5,600 m²) and remains the company's largest store.

In the fall of 2008, Paul Stuart relocated its Chicago store from the John Hancock Center on Michigan Avenue to Oak Street. In the spring of 2011, Paul Stuart opened a second Chicago location in The Loop, at the corner of LaSalle Street and Adams Street in the historic Continental and Commercial National Bank building designed by Daniel Burnham, currently anchored by JW Marriott Hotels. Both Chicago stores were broken into and looted during the George Floyd protests in Chicago, and the Loop store in the JW Marriott was permanently closed. In 2024 the Oak Street store was relocated to Michigan Avenue adjacent to Chicago Water Tower and opposite its original Hancock Tower location.

The store in Washington, D.C. opened in spring 2015 in CityCenterDC.

Paul Stuart shoes and boots are sold at Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue.

On 1 September 2020, Paul Stuart opened a second store in New York City. The 846 ft² CustomLab store was located at 505 Broome Street and focused on the brand's entry-level made-to-measure tailored clothing. The brand later opened a shop in Southampton, New York.

The Tokyo boutique is located in Kita-Aoyama. The brand is sold nationwide at Japanese department stores including Daimaru, Keiō, Keisei, Isetan, Matsuya, Matsuzakaya, Mitsukoshi, Seibu, Sōgo, Takashimaya, Tōbu, Tōkyū, and others.

Clientele

Michael Bloomberg, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Ron Carter, and Billy Taylor have been customers of the brand.

Paul Stuart's style has been described as a blend of “Savile Row, Connecticut living and the concrete canyons of New York.” In its early years, Paul Stuart was known as "the poor man's Brooks Brothers"; later its prices rose, and for many years it has been more expensive than Brooks Brothers.

Paul Stuart dressed Cary Grant in Hitchcock's North by Northwest. The brand has been worn in Succession.