SILICON VALLEY WARDROBE STAPLES
The money-making potential of this new attention to fashion can’t be understated. Mitchell says his strongest growth markets are in Seattle (where Amazon is based) and Palo Alto. And ironically, 97 per cent of his sales are in-store rather than online. “The tech person actually appreciates personalised service,” he says.
So have the sloppy geeks all but gone extinct? Not quite. Though venture capitalist Jason Mendelson, a former software engineer and co-founder of Colorado’s Foundry Group, wouldn’t be caught dead in a hoodie, he’s not one who has been buying those ties either.
Instead, he rotates through a collection of Eton shirts, which conveniently come in three barrel sizes. “I have no tolerance for shirts that don’t fit,” he says. The modern-day techie’s essentials are more than meets the eye. These not-so-basics – in cashmere, leather and suede – come from the biggest names in men’s fashion.