There is a recipe for good fashion, and Colorado Springs native James Proby is the one writing it for men’s dress attire in this growing city. The Men’s Xchange is a storefront on Centennial Boulevard just off Garden of the Gods, which Proby opened in 2017. It is, he tells me, “A social impact business on a mission to help men dress better and show up better.”
In the twenty minutes since my arrival, the door has dinged non-stop, welcoming shoppers, including Paul Snow and his son Tyler, who is shopping for his first suit.
“I’m already impressed,” Paul Snow says. He brought his 17-year-old to The Men’s Xchange, where Proby has meticulously measured the teenager while explaining how to find a suit coat that fits properly.
“The owner is very knowledgeable,” Snow continues. “He has good energy and a good positive attitude, which is hard to find these days. Some stores kind of expect you to know what you need, but James is really helping us.”
I asked Proby how he became an expert in the field of fashion.
“I started dressing like this in middle school,” he explains, holding open the lapel of his wine-colored velvet blazer. “People organically started to come to me for my opinion.”
After graduating from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Proby noticed there was a financial barrier between men who wanted to dress well and affording the clothing to do so. He started The Men’s Xchange as a for-profit business that would carry donated dress clothes for men of all ages.
“We have clothing for all ages,” Proby continues, “Young men. Older men. We dress more lawyers than I can count.”
Longtime store employee Malek Scott adds, “We get 60 to 90 new clothing items donated weekly. We dry clean and launder the clothes. Then we add them to the racks.”
For each customer, Proby, Scott or Proby’s daughter Tessa Stanley create a “My Size Card.” The trio shares a desire to know their customers by name, and to get each man’s measurements before exiting the store. The “My Size Card” includes shoulder width, waist size and pant length details. Proby tells Tyler Snow that suit pants off-the-hanger are not made to fit perfectly. Proby is an advocate of having items tailored to fit and even shares his space with an alterations expert.
James is really helping us. – The Men’s Xchange customer Paul Snow
Along with the racks of donated suit coats and dress shirts, The Men’s Xchange now carries new suits. Additionally, Stanley started a wedding division inside of the shop late last year. “We offer both two and three-piece suits,” she shares, “as well as tuxes. I really like being able to work with a lot of vendors.”
Everything at The Men’s Exchange is under $200. Used jackets are $50. Proby happily shares that for every nine people who dress with The Men’s Xchange, he gets to dress one member of the community for free. This is Proby’s way of giving back to the city he was born in.
A handful of nonprofits partner with The Men’s Xchange. The Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center, located on Communication Circle in Colorado Springs, is one of Proby’s favorite organizations to work with.
Stanley shares that when a representative from Mt. Carmel suggests a client who is looking for a new job and will benefit from a fresh look, “We try to do everything we can to make sure the individual feels supported and seen when they enter our shop.”
Stanley fully embraces the social impact part of her dad’s business, adding, “I had a gentleman last week, who lives in Boulder now, and he asked if he could ship his donations. He moved and doesn’t get down here [to Colorado Springs] a lot, but he still wanted to be part of impacting the community.”
Proby, Scott and Stanley work well together. Each moves through the racks with grace, and the shoppers they encounter inevitably smile. I watch the team help each person feel important.
As Paul and Tyler Snow check out after finding the perfect suit, Paul shares that they will definitely be back.
The Men’s Xchange is located at 4651 Centennial Blvd. More information at TheMensXchange.com.
