Page 160 - Cityview Jan-Feb 2017

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 108like this,” he explains. “I created a storeto do something. The store has grown and become much more than I ever thought it would, and for the last 20 years, 25, maybe more, I wanted to have a store that negated not your ability but your desire to go into a larger market to buy your clothes.”His reputation nationally is far greater than it is locally. “My national reputation far, far, far outstrips the reputationof this store in this town,” he says. Atthe recent gala held to honor his 50thyear in business, people with national reputations came to honor him, from the proprietor of Wm. King Clothiers in Bristol, to a gentleman who for 25 years was the director of men’s fashion merchandisingfor Neiman Marcus, to designer Alexander Julian. They were “here in Knoxville, to honor me,” he adds with amazement.Twice in the course of the interview he notes that “a prophet in his own land is without honor,” a paraphrase of words spoken by Christ to explain why his hometown of Nazareth rejected his reading and explanation of the prophet Isaiah. This is heady stu . However, McClellan says it not with rancor but with humor, having taken full measure of the irony. Matthew McClellan has promoted and sold ne clothing here in Knoxville without receiving high honor in his hometown because he believes in the mission, not the praise. The praise comes at the nationallevel; the love is here. And while he takes pride in the success of his store, it’s not because others failed, but rather the relationships he has cultivated in this town and how he has been able to serve it.Given the national respect he has earned, one wonders why he has not moved elsewhere, to grow his business in a larger market like Atlanta. Put simply, this is his town, and he has a great love for Knoxville, for his clients, for his immediate and larger family, and for his great passion: to dress well and to see a man well dressed.Keith Norris was properly instructed by Matthew McClellan not to wear his suitcoat with jeans.From ladies who lunch to gals on the go, M.S. McClellan o ers only the nest in women’s fashion from denim to furs. O ering design names such as Lafayette 148, Barbour, Nic + Zoe, and Parker Smith, ladies nd an alternating array of options for any season.158JANUARY FEBRUARY 2017