Best vintage suit sellers ever?

[Marc Chevalier]

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Here's my list (in no particular order). Alas, some of these gents aren't in the vintage menswear business anymore:



-- Jon Lundberg (Lundberg Haberdashery, Kensington, CA) -- Destroyed by fire in 2000. A legendary and expensive selection of vintage men's suits, especially belted backs. http://www.libertyship.com/lundberg/lundberg_cctimes.htm


-- Art and Janene Fawcett (Vintage Silhouettes, Crockett, CA) -- What a wonderful shop theirs was! http://www.sfchroniclemarketplace.c.../01/30/CC7267.DTL&hw=victorians&sn=072&sc=365


-- Benjamin McGinty (McGinty's Vintage Underground, Altadena, CA) -- My vintage suit guru. Retired from the business (for now). http://books.google.com/books?id=R1...vvWsCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1


-- Ardis Taylor (Vintage Apparel by Ardis, Oakland, CA) -- Incredible suits, year after year! http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/31/LVDA17P46B.DTL


-- Roberto Isola (Daly City, CA) -- A longtime fixture of the Bay Area's vintage scene, Roberto describes his mission in a tongue-in-cheek way: "enforcing men's fashion." More than a few NoCal Fedora Loungers swear by his excellent suits and advice.


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[jamespowers]

I'll have to check out Ardis but 30s ties aren't that hard to find---neither are suits in size 38-40.
I can agree with Vintage Silhouettes and Roberto though. Fortunately we still have Roberto around up here.
The other two I will have to trust you.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I'll have to check out Ardis but 30s ties aren't that hard to find---neither are suits in size 38-40.

Ardis (who is 6'9") is a longtime master at finding large and long size vintage suits. He really has superb stuff. Give him a call:

Vintage Apparel By Ardis
2440 11th Ave.
Oakland, CA 94606

Phone: (510) 532-4844


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[Marc Chevalier]

The other two I will have to trust you.

Ask Roberto and Art about Jon Lundberg. They'll have loads to say.

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[jamespowers]

Ardis (who is 6'9") is a master at finding large and long size vintage suits. He really has superb stuff. Give him a call:

Vintage Apparel By Ardi
2440 11th Ave.
Oakland, CA 94606

Phone: (510) 532-4844


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6'9"?! Holy Crimony! I'll have to check it out. Does he have a storefront?

 

[jamespowers]

Ask Roberto and Art about Jon Lundberg. They'll have loads to say.

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But it doesn't matter now if I can't get anything from him. [huh]

 

[Marc Chevalier]

6'9"?! Holy Crimony! I'll have to check it out. Does he have a storefront?

Nope, he's done it all by appointment or via vintage fashion expos for about 20 years. Ardis is also the best restorer I know of vintage shoes. He makes them look like new from the soles up.

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[Marc Chevalier]

But it doesn't matter now if I can't get anything from him. [huh]

True, but the stories are great. Jon was quite a character: you never knew when his store would be open, or for how long. The guy had an endless stream of vintage belted back suits flowing into and out of the shop ...


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[jamespowers]

Nope, he's done it all by appointment or via vintage fashion expos for about 20 years. Ardis is also the best restorer I know of vintage shoes. He makes them look like new from the soles up.

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Shoes eh? I'll have to check on that then. I could use a decent shoe repair guy.

 

[dakotanorth]

Ardis Taylor

I can attest to Ardis's collections- I bought a very rare suit from him at the Santa Monica Vintage Fashion Expo.
Late 40's, double-breasted, LONG, in a teal blue with faint red pinstripes. Very, very rare.
I paid BIG bucks for it, but I know I will never see another one like it!

 

[YETI]

Mr. Lundberg

It's because of him that the Oviatt name remains a holy grail in my quest to find the best in quality vintage attire.

 

[cookie]

Who wrote this?

"Lundberg, who smoked two to three packs a day before the fire, is in fair condition in the intensive care unit with "very, very bad smoke inhalation," said hospital spokeswoman Carolyn Kemp".

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Aren't there any great vintage suit sellers in other parts of the U.S.? Or are they only in California?

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[YETI]

Jon Lundberg

What many of his customers didn't know was that he was a well established vintage guitar dealer and collector decades before he became a "haberdasher" in vintage clothing. Among his clientele were 60s hippie musician types like the Grateful Dead. He was quite a character with a wealth of information and not just with vintage clothing. I remember selling him a near mint 40s olive green Stetson Whippet and his eyes just lit up. As I left his shop, he put up the closed sign and went to the bistro next door for lunch wearing the newly acquired fedora. He had 2 Stetson Whippet hat boxes he refused to sell. Otherwise, I would have kept the hat.

 

[Lauren]

Ditto about Art and Janene. The vintage expo hasn't been the same since they stopped selling there. Some of my very favorite things were from them. I'm sad I never made it to their store.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Back in 2004, Andykev posted some great photos of Art and Janene's store. (The pics are no longer online, alas.)

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[Orgetorix]

Never been there, but I've heard great things about Bobby from Boston, particularly from Hemingway Jones.

http://www.bobbyfromboston.com/

 

[Marc Chevalier]

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More information about the legendary Ardis Taylor in this link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_12713970?nclick_check=1

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[Mr. Rover]

Bobby's From Boston has a wide range of clothes, from denims to suits, as well as a huge shoe and hat collection. When I was there, there was there in May, there was a whole rack of Palm Beach suits.

 

[Guttersnipe]

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-- Ardis Taylor (Vintage Apparel by Ardis, Oakland, CA) -- Incredible suits, year after year! http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/31/LVDA17P46B.DTL


-- Roberto Isola (Daly City, CA) -- A longtime fixture of the Bay Area's vintage scene, Roberto describes his mission in a tongue-in-cheek way: "enforcing men's fashion." More than a few NoCal Fedora Loungers swear by his excellent suits and advice.


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I've dealt with both Ardis and Roberto and am continually impressed by the frequency with which they both have really awesome stuff. What impresses me about Ardis (other than his gigantic height lol ) is that he always seems to have enough stock to tailor what he takes to any show. If he's at Viva Las Vegas, he has a rack of just about the best gabardine casual wear you'll ever see. And if he's at the SF Art Deco show, he's got racks of wonderful suits instead!