Nigel boldly crosses final fashion frontier

Today's well-dressed man about town would appear to be increasingly ready to push the boundaries '“ and the budget '“ in the quest for timeless style.

Frontiers Man, William Street, Edinburgh

In the past two years, since making the switch from women’s clothing into menswear, so to speak, independent retailer Nigel Pashley has spotted a real shift in men’s shopping habits.

His shop, Frontiers Man in William Street is next door to Frontiers Woman, an established and successful business run by his partner Jane Forbes for more than 20 years. “My background is in chartered surveying and, basically, I was looking for something different to do,” says Nigel, 59. “It seemed a logical step to extend from womenswear into menswear. When you look around Edinburgh there are plenty of nice independent shops, but not very many of them cater for men.”

Having spotted a gap in the market, he and Jane did some research on brands and labels and came up with a collection of casual wear not previously available in the Capital.

Nigel Pashley, owner of Frontiers Man in William Street, Edinburgh.

“We wanted our target market to be as wide as possible in terms of age range, with fairly timeless clothes that are not heavily logo-ed from small independent brands,” adds Nigel.

His belief that customers would be happy to pay anything from £75 to £150 for a quality shirt with individual appeal was well founded.

“There is obviously still a place for the big shops, but more and more we find men want something a bit different; something they are not going to wear for one season and then throw away,” he says. “Men, in general, don’t spend as much on clothes as women, but they are becoming very particular and look at what they are buying in more detail. I find men can also be more fussy than women in terms of what they will and won’t wear.”

Frontiers Man, 4 William Street, 0131 538 3546. Open: Mon-Thurs, 10.30am-6.30pm; Fri-Sat 10am to 6pm.