Not much to look at but a lot to look for
I can spot a Black Watch tartan from 200 yards
A 46 Long for $40
Good news & bad news
Lambourne - 40R / $48-ish
Polo circa 1970s - $40-ish
40R (I think) Make Len an offer
Hunter Green Blazer $45
Savile Row Suit - 38R / $68
NOS 16- something $18.95
NOS 16 - 33 (maybe?) $16.95
NOS 16-33 $18.95
NOS 16-33 $18.95
No longer available
NOS $7.00
I can't remember
Genuine Alligator Belt 38" $45
Selection of Morning Trousers
Keezer's is minutes from the Andover Shop but light years in other ways. There's no advice here much less counsel but if you know what you're looking for it's a helluva lot of fun. Mostly men's clothing, this place is lit like a 7-11 and crammed full of mysterious shipping boxes.
Len Goldstein runs the place and he clued me into new David Chu sport coats made in Italy- Retail $1,200 Keezer's $145. Len also has about 100 new peak lapel tuxedos from a well known men's store on Madison Avenue that retail around $4,000. Len is asking $495.
If you're 'Clothes Mad' the real fun is digging through the second hand stuff. Even if it's not your size it's fun to look at the labels of long gone stores and makers. Feel the goods. Appreciate the heft. 'Not as good as it was. Better than it will be.' Never forget that blazer buttons on a beat to hell coat are the hidden gold. Try on everything because sizes can be and often are wrong. And this is the place to make a mistake. It's hard to cry over a $40 screw up.
This isn't a Harvard Square haberdasher (although it once was in Harvard Sq) but I love the contrast. Contrast in color. Fibers. Formality. Life's too short to play it safe. Grab yourself by the short hairs and wear those Lilly P pants, Souleiado shirts, white bucks...just not together... but if you do -- please send me a picture.
Tin Tin, It is wonderful to see you visiting two wonderful Boston/Cambridge establishments. Several friends and I go "tweeding" every fall and Keezer's (a 10 minute trip from either home or work) is typically the crown of the hunt. It is, indeed, a wonderful muddle. All best on your visit, and I hope you make it to Bobby's in the South End.
ReplyDeleteBest,
NAC
How have I never heard of this place? I am going this weekend. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteThose labels! Some of those are 40 years old - like the Fenn-Feinstein. Treasures -
ReplyDelete"Appreciate the heft" -- good observation. To me, a core difference between the mainstream vs. trad style clothing is that mainstream fashion seems to move toward ever lighter and ever finer fabrics. Of course, we live in a more temperature controlled environment and spend less and less time out of doors...but the clothing I like is built for an 8 am trek to French class up Libe Slope with sludge up to your ankles and the wind gnawing at your vitals...
ReplyDeleteI've lived in and around Boston my whole life. I heard about Keezers a few years ago but still haven't gotten around to going there. I think this post is the push I need. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe blue NOS-something 16 is a Sero Purist. Wish I could go buy it!
ReplyDeleteWe were shopping at Keezers 25 years ago - BJW bought a tux there. Didn't think you would enjoy the "hunt" at such a place - guess I was wrong. DMW
ReplyDeleteNOW you're speaking my language Tin Tin.
ReplyDeleteI have a genuine addiction to searching through wares from the past in shops like this. It really is such a fun education on the history of clothing.
As I think I've mentioned before, I often try on especially interesting vintage items that I know I will not buy, purely for sport.
(but sometimes at $5, I take them home anyway with a remodel or re-purpose in mind.)
Grab that Black Watch number and run like a thief...
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I never ran across this place. I lived on Mass. Ave. between Harvard Square and Central Square for 3 years. I would have found some great stuff there during the mid '80s . . .
ReplyDeleteScurvyOaks
Ah, the memories. When I was a kid and needed something for a dressy occasion or just a costume-y occasion, my mother used to take me down to Keezer's. I didn't think much of it then, but now I realize what a gem it truly is. Oona's on Mass. Ave. between Harvard and Central Sqs. has some hidden gems as well.
ReplyDeleteYes, the blue oxford shirt looks gorgeous, but I really can't do 50cotton/50%poly, it's just too icky feeling on the skin. That Judd Inc. label is a beauty though. Just bought a New Old Stock vintage LL Bean shirt like this w/ button collar in a nice heavy 100% cotto, HEAVEN!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile this shop is great, I didn't realize there was such good vintage in Cambridge. Guess it makes since now that I thing about it!
Crikey - I live 2 miles away and had never heard of or seen this place.
ReplyDeleteTin,
ReplyDeleteyou're writing is getting better each time...sit down and write that novel! It'll be great!
Enjoyed
Another place to visit on my trip to Boston in four weeks.
ReplyDeleteI guess it is all about the thrill of the chase. I hope you "pounced" (to quote ADG) on the alligator belt. Unfortunately, the rest looks like a load of crap to me.
ReplyDeleteI'd buy some of these offerings just for the inside logos alone. My favorites: Catalina, Simpson and "Imported Shirting."
ReplyDeleteOh, to return to the days of stitched-in tabs worthy of their garments and proud to express it. Is that so difficult? My neck itches from those ghastly heat-welded nylon tabs that scream cheap mass-made product. Where's my sewing scissors?
-DB
I bought my first wool overcoat at Keezer's during my freshman fall in Boston (1981), back when the store was outside of the Square, up on Concord Ave near Huron. Paid $40. It was lost two years later by an acquaintance that I let borrow it, but I loved it while I had it.
ReplyDeleteRalph, Tommy, and the other faux-lifestyle brands are like a bad rash. The way the nonsense Hilfiger brand/logo sticks out against other "real," and more graceful brands of old in this post tells that story. Ralph, Tommy, et al are certainly laughing all the way to the bank, but we are worse off for their "contributions."
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ReplyDelete