Why we started nicholas james – a premium apparel brand for men under 5’9”

We asked our Founder, Nick Parker, about his path to creating the nicholas james clothing collection.

How did you get into clothing?

"At eleven years old, I started working as a caddie at the local country club. I quickly fell in love with the game of golf, and the lifestyle that went along with it. Eventually, I “graduated” to working in the bag room and later the pro shop, where I helped the golf pro with merchandising (buying and selling clubs, balls, apparel, etc). Now, I was hooked on the business-side of the game. Specifically, I found great pleasure in buying (and later selling) apparel."

So you became hooked on golf and shopping?

"My love of golf and merchandising would lead me to Methodist University, where I studied Professional Golf Management as part of their business school. When I graduated, I started working at a club in Darien, CT, where I helped run the shop. Eventually, I became more interested in apparel specifically and decided to go sell for Bobby Jones Sportswear, which at the time was the leading menswear brand in golf and specialty retail stores. While there, I was part of a team that helped launch a Big & Tall offering for the brand. This was the first time that I mused the idea of creating a clothing brand for shorter men."

So it took a few more years to get to this point?

"Like most of us careers are never in a straight line, and I left the apparel industry to sell B2B Software and Services. I worked for traditional white-collar firms, but overtime they were becoming more “business casual.” This shift to casual dressing was a huge problem for me. As someone that’s 5’6”, I didn’t have a problem dressing well when it meant putting on a suit and tie – my shirts and suits were made-to-measure, and they fit me well.  However, sportswear (casual) brands design their clothes using a fit model that is 6’2”! If you’re short it’s very difficult to find proper fitting casual wear “off the rack. This means you pay for expensive tailoring, and items like polos and sweaters aren’t really meant to be tailored so those just remain ill-fitting.

What makes nicholas james clothing stand out?

"In doing some research, I discovered that there were a few brands that were offering apparel designed for shorter men. However, they didn’t match the aesthetic that I had grown accustomed to after years of working in the golf and premium apparel world.

This meant dressing was now about compromise – I could buy poor fitting items from premium brands and have them tailored to fit me better (making already expensive clothing even more expensive) – or I could buy clothes the fit well but lacked the level of refinement that I was looking for. "

"I created nicholas james, so that shorter men, like me, no longer have to compromise on quality fabrics and fit. "

Now there is a good alternative and I hope that it resonates with shorter men like myself. We will continue to offer more options and colors as our customer base grows, so stay tuned by joining the #shortlist.