Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
UPSCALE VENTURE
North Penn grad teams with Eagles player for men’s store
UPPER GWYNEDD » Jay Amin may have tackled many career paths in his young life, but through it all one thing was obvious: the dapper North Penn High School grad has always been sartorially one step ahead of the pack.
“Fashion has always been an extreme passion of mine, and my dad was always into suiting and looking his best, so I grew up knowing what different things about the suit were. As I got older I paid more attention to European styles, since I was from there,” noted Amin, who was born in London and moved with his parents to Upper Gwynedd when he was eight years old. “Caring about my appearance was always very important to me and I’ve always been in industries where suiting was required.”
With his adventures having led him from hotel ownership to a pharmaceutical startup and even to a stint in the Navy, it seems the world of pinstripes and power suits was always quietly beckoning from the sidelines.
So it came as no surprise to many when Amin partnered with Eagle safety and wellknown fashion maven Malcolm Jenkins to open the high-end but affordable men’s store Damari Savile at Washington Square in Philadelphia last summer.
“I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart, and I’ve always kept my eyes open, and although fashion is a very difficult industry to get involved with, it was just a good timing thing for me to do this now,” Amin said. “Malcolm and I kind of bumped into each other and we realized that we both wanted the same exact thing at the same exact time, and we both had the resources and the time to put into it so we kind of jumped in with both feet and here we are. It all happened quickly. Our partnership was formed in March and the store was open in June.”
Located at 709 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Damari Savile — “Damari is Malcolm’s middle name and Saville is named after Savile Row in London, where I’m from,” Amin explained — features Amin’s impeccable tailoring philosophy for customfitted suits as well as ready to wear, and is quickly becoming the pinnacle of style sophistication in a city not widely known for its fashion sense.
“Fashion for men is not very prominent here. Philadelphia guys just don’t care as much as guys in other cities,” Amin said. “There are places in the city where you can get custom suits but it just wasn’t what we wanted it to be and it became a lot of time wasted, making the purchase, getting alterations and it became very tiresome. So we just sat down and realized
we had this opportunity to effectively create what people were looking for. “Malcolm and I have completely different styles as well,” he added. “Malcolm is very outspoken with his dress and mine is very subtle. For me, less is more.”
Targeting the younger side of the millennial market, the shop caters to a wide demographic, including plus-size males, Amin allowed.
“The majority of our business is custom. I’ve tailored guys that are 300 or
400 pounds. Look at defensive linemen like Fletcher Cox; they’re huge. A suit can make them look very trim, and that’s our goal. Customers will come in and really want some guidance,” Amin added. “With that first consultation we really try to understand what people’s style is, and most importantly, we don’t try to change people or tell them what they’ll look good in. It’s what they feel comfortable in. We just try to set them off in the right direction. It just depends on who the guy is. We have 18-year-olds who need a suit for the prom and we have 80-year-olds coming in. The range is crazy. We specialize in 20s millennials,
but we’re not limited to them. We have things for every demographic. But from a pricing standpoint, it was targeted toward the 25-year-old millennial looking at the second phase of their career. Their appearance is a strong element to their success and they’re looking to hone in on that a little more. It’s not your recent college grads who are walking through our door the most, but it’s affordable for them as well.”
The shop welcomes walkins and does custom fittings by appointment on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday but has been going strong with both custom and ready-to-wear since the
outset, Amin noted.
“We feel that our pricing is competitive for the market. I don’t know anyone who is priced like we are, especially for the product that we sell,” said Amin, whose alterations span 28 measurements.
“It’s top to bottom, neck to ankle. We are very precise with our measurements. Especially as you get older our bodies start to lean in certain ways, with sloped shoulders, that indicate one arm would be longer than the other, I try to be very meticulous in regards to getting that suit to fit the right way, like your body is not sloped or leaning in one direction,” explained Amin, who even applies his attention to personal detail when it comes to the off-the-rack options. “I have things that can’t be taught in regards to my eye, in understanding the male body, where certain things should fit, and I do certain things with the garments to make them fit a little different from what you can normally buy, to make them a little more comfortable and easier to wear and also maintain that aesthetic of being a perfectly fitted suit, making the wearability a little easier for men.”
The shop’s maxim “fashion is a trend, style is eternal” is evident in suits like the Samson, with its shadow black windowpane on cool charcoal, to its interior lined with scenes of Paris, to the variety of shirts in stock to complete a look.
“We’re definitely not a fashion company. Fashion comes and goes. We’re not the company that goes on the Internet to see what’s cool this month and try to replicate that. That’s not what we’re about. We really try to help men identify what their personal style actually is, because style isn’t something most men will take the time to think about. Identifying your style is key to moving in the right direction.”
For more information, visit DamariSavile.com.