Photo by Muffy Aldrich
The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Reader Question: What stores do you miss, and have your found alternatives?


A Reader Question for the Community:
It would be interesting to hear from readers as to stores they miss.  This morning I was thinking of the old Georgetown University Shop as well as Reichert’s In Des Moines, Iowa (in the 70s and 80s they had a half dozen clerks selling Southwick and Corbin suits on Saturday mornings). 
Thanks for your efforts.  I particularly enjoy your UK store selections. 
Regards.

60 comments:

  1. Barrie Ltd. Never found a suitable alternative.

    Aiken

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    1. Agreed. The one and only. Blew away anything in NYC.

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  2. Even though I do have several things from Brooks Brothers, most of my clothing was from more modest sources. Of those, I think I miss Kuppenheimer and they've been gone for twenty years. They had good clothes. Locally in the Washington, D.C., area, there used to be Britches of Georgetown. They were a very stylish yet conservative store but I never really bought anything from them.

    What I miss the most, I think, are all the little independent men's shops that could be found in small towns everywhere, especially college towns. They always had just what you wanted and their personal service was always excellent. Lady's shops like that are mostly gone, too.

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  3. I miss Britches of Georgetown, a Washington DC area mens clothier; Brooks Brothers when it was good; LL Bean when it was good.

    Eljos in Charlottesville, VA is a fantastic store for traditional "Brooks Brothers" type "button down" clothing and it has replaced both Britches of Georgetown and Brooks Brothers. O'Connell's in Buffalo, NY is also very good. Orvis has somewhat replaced LL Bean but the prices are somewhat daunting for replacing Bean. Truthfully, I haven't found a replacement for LL Bean yet, which is a shame.

    The Concord Diaspora

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  4. Thank you for the tip about this store. It’s 3 hours from where I live, but looks like worth the drive. I see a day trip to Knoxville in my future.

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  5. Chipps in NYC. My father purchased wild Blazers there in the sixties and seventies which he wore with sold, linen trousers. They were also famous for fur-lined athletic supporters with your Ivy League college's logo on the front. Another is Langrock in Princeton. Place was packed on a Saturday during school in the fifties and sixties and still today plenty of Langrock blazers and ties hang in closets all over the world as Tigers grow away from Nassau Street. These places are gone forever as the clients they served and the style they created are gone forever. America has fewer and fewer aristocrats who have both money AND taste.

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  6. I miss the bathrooms at Henri Bendels.
    New York City is ground zero of the retail Apocalypse.

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    1. Oh I don't know. Have you visited London lately?

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  7. I used to enjoy going to Bonwit Teller's store in Boston with my grandmother. Such a lovely shopping experience. I also sorely miss Trimingham's in Bermuda!

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  8. Arthur Adler in Washington.,DC. Also, Lewis and Thomas Saltz, Raleighs, and Jos. A Bank of 40 or more years ago.

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  9. Bunce Brothers in Cleveland, a locally owned version of Brooks in their prime.

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  10. I'm a former Chicagoan - Marshall Field's was the best.

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  11. I miss the old, real Jack Harper of State College, PA.
    I also miss Kountz & Rider in Pittsburgh.

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  12. Abercrombie and Fitch, back when it was about picnic baskets and bucolic elegance.

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  13. If anyone finds themselves near the lehigh Valley in PA, there still resides a traditional men's clothier in Easton - The London Shop

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  14. Frank Stella in NYC is a place I've increasingly enjoyed. Their style is classic with a little more European/English look (think 2 button, side vents, and more youthful cut). The advertise in the WSJ and have very competitive prices and excellent quality.

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  15. I miss Durgin Park, which does not serve food but Trad food like 'Poor Man's Roast Beef' and 'Short rib.' Was around for over 130 years. If that's not Trad... Now it's probably a wine bar.

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    1. And going through the bar to avoid the tourist line out front.

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  16. The only quality I have found for pants is FL Woods and Mercer shirts. Everything else is imported junk .

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  17. Moe Whitebook's in Iowa City and Clancy's in Cedar Rapids.

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  18. Trooping the Color in Winnetka , London Corner in Wilmette and Brittany Ltd in Chicago.

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  19. Ditto and ditto the nostalgia for Britches in Georgetown. I still have a gray roll neck sweater I purchased from there back in the 80's!

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  20. Schoenhof's Foreign Books and Bailey's Ice Cream. Loads of substitutes not no true replacements.

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  21. Higbee's in Cleveland, JL Hudson's in Detroit, Marshall Field's in Chicago, and Jordan Marsh in Florida (yes, I know they were really from Boston, but JM was part of our family Florida trips visiting Grandma and Grandpa.) And, how about the wonderful dining rooms in all of these stores...and being dressed up when we went to these places. All part of a more elegant time!!!

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    1. Oh, and one more......Havre's in Chagrin Falls, Ohio!!!

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    2. I miss Higbees too! We always went downtown on "Black Friday" when I was a child to see Santa, have lunch and buy winter accessories.... quality wool scarves, hats and sweaters.

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    3. Oh WyndWater, and one more, Peter's in Chagrin Falls.

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  22. Hart Albin Men’s Store in Billings, MT.

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  23. Oxford Shops in Ohio

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  24. Frederick and Nelson in Seattle.

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  25. I dearly miss Donecker's in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. They had a wonderful ladies shop, an outstanding men's shop with excellent tailor and helpful staff with really good taste. The home goods shop included many quality, hard to find items, the restaurant was a nice mix of homey and haute.

    The men's store attracted clients out of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, and New Jersey as well as Lancaster County. It was not unusual to find cars with diplomatic plates in the parking lot, it was well known among the DC embassies staff.

    Sadly, there is no substitute. Boyd's in Philadelphia is simply not the same.

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    1. Boyd's is a horror show.

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    2. Doneckers was such a wonderful store - nothing beat a shopping trip there followed by lunch in the restaurant. I also miss Trimingham's, the Cambridge J. Press, Jacob Reed in Philadelphia... Lilly is still around but a shell of its former self.

      O'Connell's is a lovely store, but I'm not in Buffalo and ordering online isn't the same as shopping in store. The beauty of these places was not only in the quality of goods but also the atmosphere and service.

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  26. Huge 2nd to the Olde Jack Harper in State College and Britches was wonderful in the 80's.

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  27. Though I have found good substitutes, I liked Hillhouse Ltd. in Providence.

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  28. Chipp and Tripler. The Fairfield Store and Ed Mitchell's in Fairfield County CT, Jacob Reed's Sons and the old Brooks Bros. in Philadelphia, Brent & Co. and Mansure & Prettyman in Wilmington.

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  29. I miss Brooks Bros., Land's End, and LL Bean. Sure, the names are still there but all three are a shadow of what they once were.

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    1. Marks & Spencer ruined Brooks Brothers and the brand has never recovered. Why M&S bought BB remains a mystery.

      Hackett, now under Spanish ownership, is a shadow of its former self despite recently opening a tailoring shop in Savile Row. As I'm not skinny, it's now impossible to find anything that fits.

      Btw, have you seen what the new management are doing to Polo Ralph Lauren. It's becoming a hipster brand.

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  30. Wm. H. Lohmeyer in Baltimore and Joseph Condello in Chestnut Hill.

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  31. MacHugh's in Ridgewood, NJ

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    1. Yes, and Roots in Summit, NJ. Both MacHugh's and Roots had a few branches in other New Jersey towns. They were excellent men's shops that also had lovely ladies' departments.

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    2. I well remember Roots -- it was a wonderful store. I bought a charcoal grey Chesterfield coat there when I was not long out of grad school, but outgrew it and passed it on to my father. Who later had it stolen from the coat closet at a funeral.

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  32. Hunter Haig in New Haven.

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  33. Abercrombie & Fitch!

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  34. The Country Store of Concord and Pappagallo

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  35. Oh, yes, Pappagallo! And Bonwit's! Shopping at the Westchester store with lunch at Schrafft's.....we still have Christmas ornaments stored in an overcoat box from Bonwit Teller. And Bendel's!

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  36. Mercer and Son is an island unto itself. Everything else is up for grabs. British goods are, for the most part, very over-rated and extremely inconvenient. Sadly, traditional style, good taste and quality have been lost in less than one generation.

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    1. One generation's latest styles are the next generation's traditional styles. Generation skipping may apply.

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    2. Tradition, good taste, and the quality of workmanship is not subject to the whims of current marketing fads. Once the memory of these standards is lost, only the empty shell of imitation remains. This is why so many of the comments lament the passing of these clothing stores, and this is why SWNE remains a beacon of our collective memory.

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  37. Ditto on Britches. Still have a few warthog shirts.

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  38. Reichardt's clothing, Estes-Kirtly and Bodin Vandorn in Des Moines, Redwood & Ross, Stephans, Moe Whitebook and Breamers all in Iowa City, Karlton's, Weatherwax in Sioux City, Weatherwax in Sioux Falls, SD and Britches of George Town. All were wonderful and all are missed.

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    1. Amen to Don Butler of Redwood and Ross who showed me the look/culture. That was in Battle Creek, MI in the mid-60's. I've been hooked ever since.

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  39. Albert Ltd. Bellevue Washington

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  40. Still standing: E.A. Davis in Wellesley and FL Woods, right down the street from me in Marblehead!

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  41. Swaine Adney San Francisco. No replacement Stateside

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  42. Ducks and Company (a women's traditional clothing shop in San Diego) and The Toggery Shop (also in San Diego). I can't find Nantucket Red pants like The Toggery Shop carried anymore. Mine have long since worn out and I no longer own a single pair.

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