Matches Biography
By a Matches Customer

Tom Chapman had the very bright idea to open a fashion boutique called Matches in Wimbledon Village when he was an ambitious lad of 19 years old. He was looking for what he calls an “ADD career.” One that offers, “Instant response, constant challenge, and a framework to reinvent things from season to season." Sounds like fashion. That was 22 years ago. Matches — which (for your information) is not named in connection with the tennis, but rather to suggest clothes that go together — has turned from one to ten designer fashion boutiques wilfully scattered London's villagey enclaves Notting Hill, Richmond and Wimbledon Village.

Each of the ten stores, which include a Max Mara and a Diane Von Furstenberg store, has its own unique personality. Richmond is beautiful and contemporary. The Ledbury Road stores in Notting Hill have a glittery, edgy high fashion appeal. The Wimbledon Village boutiques are elegant and bijoux.

From its not so humble beginnings selling £700 Versace sweaters, Matches now sells the best fashion labels in the world, including Chloe, Lanvin, Diane Von Furstenberg and Prada to, it has to be said, some of the most fabulous — and certainly among the most stylish — people in the world. It also sells labels you won't have heard of yet, labels you won't know you love until you tried them and the best shoe and handbag edit in London.

So what makes Matches different? Service. Everyone says so. Where else can you get a glass of Champers on a dreary Tuesday afternoon? “It's the single most important to us,” says Tom, “We have a toy box for kids, and we serve cappuccino and teas and Champagne. We want the store to be inclusive. To feel like it is part of the community. We know our shoppers.” I can support this fact. The staff there remember my name, my size and the labels I like. Another great thing about Matches is that its fashion philosophy is not la-di-da. “We cut through the label hype and zero right in on the product,” says Tom. “We edit for our customers who are very savvy and not unconfident. We want our customers to feel like individuals when they shop, and when they leave us with new clothes.”