From what I know, Paul Stuart was like a lot of men's stores in the mid-century; they had certain manufacturers (specifically Southwick in the case of PS during the 1960s) make their pieces in a certain style, which they would in turn sell under their own label. I've sold and seen a handful of Paul Stuart suits and jackets from the 50s and 60s that were in a sack cut and nothing was particularly different about what they sold.

I honestly wouldn't go as far as saying they helped define American menswear as they weren't historical trendsetters like Press and Brooks'. They were simply your typical north-eastern men's store that carried Ivy pieces - not that that's a bad thing at all.

Last edited by Bradley (2018-01-30 11:54:11)

Last edited by Bradley (2018-01-30 23:13:54)

I think Brooks had an Italian bod in by 1959 who was designing/cutting with reference to Italian style, I cant remember which thread it was in. Maybe the thread with the japanese tailor who does the roped shoulders

"I walk over toward the bar and while waiting for Freddy to pour the drinks I hear some guy, I think it's this Greek William Theodocropopolis, from First Boston, who's wearing a sort of tacky wool jacket in a houndstooth check and an okay-looking shirt, but he also has on a super-looking cashmere tie from Paul Stuart that makes the suit look better than it deserves to"

"I run into Bradley Simpson from P & P outside F.A.O. Schwarz and he's wearing a glen-plaid worsted wool suit with notched lapels by Perry Ellis, a cotton broadcloth shirt by Gitman Brothers, a silk tie by Savoy, a chronograph with a crocodileskin band by Breil, a cotton raincoat by Paul Smith and a fur felt hat by Paul Stuart. After he says, 'Hey, Davis,' I inexplicably start listing the names of all eight reindeer"

"Scott is wearing a red and purple and black striped cashmere intarsia sweater from Paul Stuart, baggy Ralph Lauren corduroys and Cole-Haan leather moccasins"

"I'm wearing a Joseph Abboud suit, a tie by Paul Stuart, shoes by J. Crew, a vest by someone Italian and I'm kneeling on the floor beside a corpse"

"I go into the bedroom and take off what I was wearing today: a herringbone wool suit with pleated trousers by Girogio Correggiari, a cotton oxford shirt by Ralph Lauren, a knit tie from Paul Stuart and suede shoes from Cole-Haan"

"He's wearing a cream-colored wool dinner jacket, wool trousers, a cotton shirt, and a silk glen-plaid cummerbund, all from Hugo Boss, a bow tie from Saks and a pocket square from Paul Stuart"

Just read that when Zoot Sims wife wanted to smarten him up (this would be in the late 60s, I'm guessing) she took him off to Brooks and Paul Stuart.  Apparently Zoot had been something of a scruffy dresser but his wife got him into tweed jackets, grey flannel slacks and loafers.  I wonder if the two stores were pretty close to one another.  Were they?  Are they?

Brooks was at 346 Madison and Paul Stuart next door at 350. JPress is just down the block on 44th and Vanderbilt next to the Yale Club.

The previous J Press store, their flagship, was a few doors up from Paul Stuart so all three were in the space of about 50 yards, also present were Allen Edmonds and Alden shops. Southwick and latterly Kamakura were further up the street. One could have spent ‘really obscene’ amounts of money in that Bermuda Triangle of the credit card balance. Most of them are gone now.