The market for matchmakers

Craig Wilson has a story in USA Today about how high-end personal shoppers have added new functions — such as trying to marry their clients off: [Claire] Wexler’s concierge service helps the wife-seeking man deal with, well, just about everything he needs in his search, from what flowers to send (“Not roses, they’re trite”) to ...

By Daniel W. Drezner, a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

April 11, 2006, 1:55 AM

Craig Wilson has a story in USA Today about how high-end personal shoppers have added new functions -- such as trying to marry their clients off: [Claire] Wexler's concierge service helps the wife-seeking man deal with, well, just about everything he needs in his search, from what flowers to send ("Not roses, they're trite") to what shoes to wear ("Brown goes with almost everything"). And if he has less romantic desires like finding a good doctor or choosing new appliances, she can handle that, too. "Our concept is to build a one-stop shop of resources," says Barbie Adler, founder of 6-year-old Selective Search, where 100 well-heeled men ? CEOs, professional athletes and the like ? pay an annual fee of $10,000 for 15 "introductions" to some of the 30,000 "bright and talented" women she has in her database. "They're not just arm candy, although we have that, too," she says. The women, called "affiliates," pay nothing to get in the game. Over the years, Wexler has found them mostly through word of mouth. "We're the surrogate females in (clients' lives) until we can get them a female of their own," Adler says. "Our client is busy. They believe in outsourcing." "We're the wing women," Wexler adds. Three thoughts (beyond the obvious reference to Tyler Cowen's "markets in everything" meme): 1) You have to think that some Hollywood executive read this article today and immediately conceived of a romantic-comedy-starring-Rachel-McAdams-kind-of-like-The-Wedding-Planner-but-funnier-and-with-more-heart. Some free advice for Ms. McAdams: "Run!! Run like it's a nekkid Vanity Fair cover shoot!! Run!!" 2) There's a Laura McKenna-type comment on the social significance of such services... but I'll just task this to Laura and any commenters willing to venture forth. 3) One of the suggestions that Alan Blinder makes in the current issue of Foreign Affairs about how to deall with the long-term impact of offshoring is to gear education towards jobs that require face-to-face interactions. This seems like the ne plus ultra of Blinder-style jobs. [That's all you're going to say about the Blinder article?--ed. I'll have more later in the week.]

Craig Wilson has a story in USA Today about how high-end personal shoppers have added new functions — such as trying to marry their clients off:

[Claire] Wexler’s concierge service helps the wife-seeking man deal with, well, just about everything he needs in his search, from what flowers to send (“Not roses, they’re trite”) to what shoes to wear (“Brown goes with almost everything”). And if he has less romantic desires like finding a good doctor or choosing new appliances, she can handle that, too. “Our concept is to build a one-stop shop of resources,” says Barbie Adler, founder of 6-year-old Selective Search, where 100 well-heeled men ? CEOs, professional athletes and the like ? pay an annual fee of $10,000 for 15 “introductions” to some of the 30,000 “bright and talented” women she has in her database. “They’re not just arm candy, although we have that, too,” she says. The women, called “affiliates,” pay nothing to get in the game. Over the years, Wexler has found them mostly through word of mouth. “We’re the surrogate females in (clients’ lives) until we can get them a female of their own,” Adler says. “Our client is busy. They believe in outsourcing.” “We’re the wing women,” Wexler adds.

Three thoughts (beyond the obvious reference to Tyler Cowen’s “markets in everything” meme):

1) You have to think that some Hollywood executive read this article today and immediately conceived of a romantic-comedy-starring-Rachel-McAdams-kind-of-like-The-Wedding-Planner-but-funnier-and-with-more-heart. Some free advice for Ms. McAdams: “Run!! Run like it’s a nekkid Vanity Fair cover shoot!! Run!!” 2) There’s a Laura McKenna-type comment on the social significance of such services… but I’ll just task this to Laura and any commenters willing to venture forth. 3) One of the suggestions that Alan Blinder makes in the current issue of Foreign Affairs about how to deall with the long-term impact of offshoring is to gear education towards jobs that require face-to-face interactions. This seems like the ne plus ultra of Blinder-style jobs. [That’s all you’re going to say about the Blinder article?–ed. I’ll have more later in the week.]

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

Tag: Culture