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Best vintage suit sellers ever?

Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
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18,192
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Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
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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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Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
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Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
jamespowers said:
I'll have to check out Ardis but 30s ties aren't that hard to find---neither are suits in size 38-40. :rolleyes:

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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dakotanorth

Practically Family
Messages
543
Location
Camarillo, CA
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

A-List Customer
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439
Location
Bay Area, CA
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

I'll Lock Up
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5,927
Location
Sydney Australia
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".
 

YETI

A-List Customer
Messages
439
Location
Bay Area, CA
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

Distinguished Service Award
Messages
5,060
Location
Sunny California
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

Gone Home
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18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
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More information about the legendary Ardis Taylor in this link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_12713970?nclick_check=1


20090630__ecct0701ardistaylor1_Gall.jpg
20090701__ecct0701ardistaylor21_Gal.jpg



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Mr. Rover

One Too Many
Messages
1,875
Location
The Center of the Universe
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

One Too Many
Messages
1,942
Location
San Francisco, CA
Marc Chevalier said:
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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!
 

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