H. Herzfeld Tie Envelopes

I had never seen a tie envelope before H. Herzfeld.  The brand on the slick cardboard never matched the tie I bought.  Still, Herzfeld made an effort -- Even for the lowly tie -- The most affordable purchase in the store next to socks.  Why I kept these envelopes... I'll never know.  My sub-conscious must've reckoned...I'd  never see one again.

J McLaughlin & Shep Miller

Norman Polonofsky outside the old Shep Miller

Fall In (did I already use that?)

Norman's Blue, White, Yellow Red, Green & Pink Collar

Bamboo Toile


Dressing Rooms

Horizontal Cords

Gray flannel

Corn Husk Khaki

Canvas Jeans
Patch Crew Neck Shetland

Canvas Jean

Shirts to try on

Shawl Collar Cardigan

Lavender Horizontal Cords

Rep Tie Dopp Kits

Inspirational Colors

Knots &...

Socks

Critters

Linen Shirts


Old timers love to tell stories of the small town haberdasher. I remember Smith's Robertsons in Lake Forest. Hardwood floors haphazardly strewn with worn runners and Kilims. Labels like Gant, Talbot, Corbin, Gitman, Ruff Hewn, and British Khaki spoke to the absensce of any name ending in a - God forbid - vowel. Air hung heavy with the scent of lime, cinnamon and clove from sample cologne bottles. And I didn't seem to exist. I could've fired off a signal flare and I still couldn't get help.

Norman Polonofsky manages the J McLaughlin Men's store in Southampton, NY. It's easy to tell when someone's happy about what they do. Loaded with knowledge, he was in the apparel business as a buyer before he retired, Norman oversees a store that in many ways represents him...much like those haberdashers of the past. Shep Miller comes to mind. J Mac Women's now occupies Shep's old space.

Shep Miller was the haberdasher of New York's '70s and '80s Hamptons jet set. The aesthetic wasn't Ivy so much as it was resort. Bright colors, tweaked classics and an ease that comes with...Well, having a lotta money I guess. That's not to say J McLaughlin is aspirational. It's hugely affordable for what it is. But the tweaks are there in horizontal cords, bright colors and a mature aesthetic. Maybe this is what Vineyard Vines will be when it grows up.

Southampton streets are empty. Parking is everywhere. The drive from midtown is two hours but 45 minutes of that is getting from 8th Avenue to 2nd. Time it right and you can sail east in the HOV lane like you were tacking in a 41' Morgan. Throw a line to Norman when you get there.

Update: Robertsons in Lake Forest, IL was the haberdasher I remembered. Closed more 20 years ago, a reader and old friend reminded me it occupied the recently closed Blockbuster Video. Two floors with boy's clothing downstairs and menswear upstairs. Smith's is still open in Lake Forest and while I have a coat hanger from Smiths, I don't remember ever being in the store.

Heaven On 7 - George G Graham

John Locke Boater


Locke Coke


New Old Stock



Super Badger


Super Cashmere Sweaters from William Lockie


Fair Isle Sweaters


Chrysalis Field Coat




George's own likeness carved some years ago


George some years ago


Field Coat Tweeds

Go on...


and on.



Grown Up Surcingle


and not so surcingle.


A lot of Friday Belts

and peccary.


George's own Peccary Patina


Lid Over Body Case by Ettinger


with Hunter Green lining.

George and Tony Sylvester, GQ Style - UK

The dog barks. Loudly. And you know it's not a little dog on the other side of Suite 704's door. I'm not sure I want the door to open. But it does. George Graham invites us in to a haberdasher's wet dream. A dream of yesterday when things were made like, "a brick shit house." Where leather is thick and oily and cashmere sweaters, "Be careful over there!" are protected by George's own bark.

I associate much of the new 'preppy' with trying too hard. The whales, pink and green, diamond monograms, madras...These things are fine when they stand alone but they almost never do. Instead, its all worn head to toe in the much the same way a 25 year old will include summer jobs on their resume. Suite 704 is about taking jobs off the resume.

George acts as a middle man serving the retailers who don't want you to know who he is. He brings the truffles of Scotland, Dublin and London. His taste is what you see on shelves and hanging from racks when you go shopping. It sounds like a dream job to me.

"I told my kids to find another business." George says shaking his head. "Buyers don't know anything anymore. They click '15 Units' on a computer and have no idea of the history of what they're buying. A retailer called me complaining of oil on sweaters. It's supposed to have oil. That's what makes 'em waterproof! They only care about the dollars."

George came to NYC from Chicago in the '50s. I didn't press for the date. He was tired of working for a family company and wasn't overwhelmed with opportunities after graduating with a degree in aeronautical engineering. We talk about Chicago and the south side and George smiles when I ask if he knew Capper and Capper. "A great company." The dog, Picasso drops to the floor and settles into a rawhide.

The lace peccary gloves are a bit over the top but they're Italian so it goes without saying. The field coats sing to my Anglophile heart while Tony keeps asking me to feel a cashmere watch cap from Locke that, not surprisingly, suits Tony to his British Navy genes. If you're lucky, a sample that fits can be bought. And at a considerable cash discount. Just call before you head over.

I tell George the Internet may be the salvation for everything in this room. "It's a narrow niche but it's deep with people who search high and low for what you know and have." The words no sooner leave my lips when the phone rings. George puts the call on speaker and it's an old friend calling on behalf of a blogger who wants to interview him. I'd like the niche to open up just a little more for George.

George G Graham Galleries
12 West 57th Street, Suite 704
NY, NY 10019
212.582.7750
Call for an appointment

The Haberdasher

A threatened species to say the least. Especially in smaller towns. But when you find one they're like digging up truffles. Not that I've ever dug up truffles but I sure like to eat them. Wright & Simon sits in an odd part of downtown Wilmington, DE. I feel like I can get a line of credit and mugged all at the same time.

W & S been around since 1935 and I'm guessing my old journalism teacher, Jack Hunter, shopped there. Jack was in the PR department at DuPont and wrote the Blue Max on legal tabs late at night using a pencil so as not to disturb his wife. The lead character, Bruno Stachel, was based on a Nazi officer Jack turned informant during the war when he worked undercover in military intelligence.

Jack's first novel became a film starring George Peppard as Bruno, Ursula Andress as Kaeti and James Mason as her cuckolded husband. The movie killed off Bruno but Jack kept him alive and there were two more novels with Herr Stachel. A trilogy I really enjoyed written by a man I respected. One of the better dressed faculty members at my school as well so I can only assume some of his kit came from Wright & Simon.

I found a short sleeve Hathaway button down made in 1986. Priced at $24, Len Simon let me have it for $12. I'm not a short sleeve dress shirt kind'a guy but I've discovered the shirt works great with sweaters when you push up the sleeves. The Pringle sweater was in that heavy gauge plastic that makes a crinkly sound and reminds me of so many old haberdashers I've been in. Len knocked the price from $140 to $88. "Lets just call it a hundred." Len said.

Oddly enough, St Michael the Archangel is Patron Saint to paratroopers, policemen and haberdashers. Huh... I've been all three.

Anyway, We talked about the HBO documentary, Schmatta and before I knew it Len was measuring me for custom shirts. I ordered four. He's good. Two of the shirts are pop over oxfords sans pocket with lined button down collars. I can't even remember what he talked me into for the other two. Made in Perth Amboy, NJ. What a great experience. I can't wait to go back and see what else I can find.