Paul Stuart


Paul Stuart is a men's and women's clothing brand founded in 1938 in New York City by haberdasher Ralph Ostrove, who named the company after his son, Paul Stuart Ostrove. The company has four standalone boutiques in the US, and two in Japan. Since 2012, it has been owned by Mitsui. The Paul Stuart logo is Dink Stover sitting on the Yale fence. Paul Stuart has been described as a blend of “Savile Row, Connecticut living and the concrete canyons of New York.” Its creative director is Ralph Auriemma.

History

The company was helmed by the legendary merchant and CEO Clifford Grodd from 1958 until his death in 2010. The retailer remained a privately-held family business until December 2012, when it was sold to its long-time Japanese partners, Mitsui.
In fall 2007, Paul Stuart launched its Phineas Cole range, which is clothing with a slimmer silhouette.
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.

Retail locations

Paul Stuart has shops in New York City, Chicago, Washington DC, Osaka 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 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.
The store in Washington, D.C. opened in spring 2015 in CityCenterDC.
Tokyo boutique stores are located in Omotesandō and Ginza, and the Osaka boutique is in Shinsaibashi.
Paul Stuart shoes and boots are sold at Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Clientele

The brand has been described as a blend of “Savile Row, Connecticut living and the concrete canyons of New York.” Michael Bloomberg, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Miles Davis, Art Blakely, Ron Carter, and Billy Taylor were customers of the brand. Paul Stuart dressed Cary Grant in Hitchcock's North by Northwest.
Paul Stuart has been worn in Succession.