Following his return from Monaco during his time in office, President Festus Mogae (tongue in cheek) shared his shopping experience at some of the country’s luxurious boutiques. “When you are inside those boutiques you don’t make enquiries about the price,” he said. “You just buy.” His sentiment was that there was something so classy about the boutiques that you wouldn’t want to say something that may suggest you are in the wrong place.
Located in the heart of the CBD at Masa Centre on the ground floor just above New Capitol Cinemas, Monsieur Men’s boutique generates a similar aura. The white spotless walls and shelves accentuate everything in store while the two mahogany chairs separated by a pair of Victorian wooden chests complete the classy look.
“We wanted to create the kind of ambiance that just makes you want to leave with something,” says management.
The gigantic end-to-end entrance gives an instant view of the entire store with Kagiso Sekolo immediately at your service. Looking stylish with a perfect fitting red golfie and a pair of chinos, you don’t need to ask where he shops.
With lots of boutiques around town that pride themselves in selling only some of the most popular brands, Monsieur is an anomaly.
After opening its doors in 2012 the store prides itself in catering for the outgoing professional, entrepreneur, CEO, and director. “Anyone who is fashion forward,” says management. In recent years men have become more self-conscious and going out of their way to work out, look good, and dress well. With the metrosexual celebrities like England’s David Beckham leading the way by setting trends, making bold moves and challenging stereotypes, more men have tossed caution out the window and adopted unique, personal styles outside the boundaries of perceived fashion.
Offering casual, smart casual, formal, and contemporary men’s fashion the comprehensive approach means the store strives to provide for all men’s needs. They had initially targeted the younger metrosexual professionals. “We have had older and more mature gentlemen showing interest in what we offer and this has broadened our customer base.” The aim is to provide timeless fashion for every fashionable guy out there. They say you are what you wear. That your looks make a statement long before you even open your mouth and what better way to make that statement than with quality brands like damat, hatemoglu, boggi, balmain, and lufian. With such a wide range of quality international brands the Monsieur owners have devoted their concept to pure sophistication with a touch of flair. It is definitely not the cheapest of boutiques but then again, with price comes quality.
Importing most of their stock from as far as Italy, Turkey, and Spain Monsieur pride themselves on exclusivity. “Nobody wants to wear what everybody else is wearing. You don’t want to walk into an event and find ten other guys rocking your shirt.” After realising men were looking beyond borders for more excusive quality the management decided to do the traveling and bring the brands closer to home. “We know we are dealing with the kind of clientele that travels, are on social media, and read fashion magazines hence the need to keep up with international standards.” Buying overseas comes with its own seasonal challenges. “It forces us to stock up ahead of time in order to provide the relevant fashion when the time comes. We don’t want to be stocking winter clothing in the summer or vice versa. We deal with such big brands as le coq sportif who keep us informed about what is trending.” Monsieur is not just about suits, shirts, T’s, shoes, and trousers. They also provide a wide range of quality accessories from lapel pins, bags, watches, and hats. The management now wants to spread their wings and open doors across the region. “We are opening a new store in Namibia in September this year.” They also want to take it further and launch a Monsieur clothing line. “We have always had international brands coming here so why can’t we have our own home-grown fashion brands?”
