Cladwell and Capsules dress men and

CINCINNATI -- Cladwell CEO and co-founder Blake Smith likes to explain his company’s business model in just a few words: "We help people, and they pay us."

The Cincinnati-based company’s original product, Cladwell, helps men design a fashionable but affordable wardrobe tailored to their tastes and needs. In October, the company introduced Capsules, a beta version of the same product for women. In May, it plans to add features such as recommendations as to where women can buy the clothing needed to complete their wardrobes.

How does it work?

Cladwell takes the user through a series of questions about his physical characteristics, his thoughts about fashion, his lifestyle and his clothing budgets. Then it helps him complete a "capsule," which in this sense means a wardrobe of fewer than 30 interchangeable pieces, suitable for one season.

Capsules works similarly, except it doesn’t have all the features Cladwell does, said marketing director Erin Flynn. The company expects to have those elements available later this year, she said.

Whose idea was this?

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It came from Smith and his friend Tim Brunk’s frustration with "the perpetual treadmill of fashion," as Smith puts it. "It felt like as soon as we started to feel OK about our clothes, there was something new we ‘had to own,’ " he said. "There was no finish line, and that was frustrating."

They reached out to their friend Chris Merchlich, who having worked for Macy’s, actually knew something about fashion. He was so helpful that they asked him to start the business with them.

They launched the company in 2012 and registered the Cladwell trade name in 2013. Two years ago, Brunk left the company to co-found another startup, Astronomer. (Read about that company here.)

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