Tag Archives: UNITED STATES

TADICH GRILL

A San Francisco institution, Tadich Grill is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the Sunshine State and one of the oldest in the nation. Tadich Grill opened in 1849 as a coffee stand owned by and popular with the city’s burgeoning Croatian community. The business changed hands many times in its early years, with each successive owner coming from the Croatian community, maintaining the Croatian identity which had come to define the establishment. With each successive owner, the business expanded, becoming a café and dining room before settling into its final form as a high-end seafood grill with Croatian flourishes. The restaurant is a beacon on California Street, in the heart of the San Francisco Financial District – the Wall Street of the West, with many of its regular clientele hailing from the large investment banks and law firms that populate the immediate vicinity. The beautiful dark wood interiors which nod to the history of the eatery, have also proven to be attractive to tourists and visitors to the city alike.

TOM FORD

Tom Ford is a modern icon, an American fashion designer who is considered to be one of the world’s greatest couturiers and a leading tastemaker. He founded his eponymous label in New York City in 2005 having previously been the creative director at Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, where he transformed the brand into the global powerhouse it is today. Ford first emerged as a serious design talent whilst at Perry Ellis where he worked alongside his peer, Marc Jacobs. His signature style is overtly modernist, embracing sharp lines and angles, minimalist colour palettes and defined silhouettes, however Ford manages to pay homage to traditional methods and drapes in order to accentuate the figure. This style has won the label a great many admirers, with the brand being a go-to for the best-dressed members of High Society, silver screen stars and titans of industry. Indeed, Ford has regularly been sought out by Hollywood studios to craft bespoke pieces for their wardrobe departments, even dressing Daniel Craig’s James Bond – the manifestation of the British style, the Savile Row suited gentleman. Ford, a customer of Anderson & Sheppard, is an aficionado of the Row and its sartorial legacy. He has carefully studied the tailoring art and the English-style, borrowing heavily from the tradition for his own tailoring service. A full-suite fashion house, the Maison is now split between its beauty and cosmetic offer (owned by Estée Lauder) and the fashion business (under the Zegna group).

21 CLUB

A legendary speak-easy that grew into a landmark fine-dining institution in New York City, the 21 Club was a place to see and to be seen until it’s post-Covid closure. Originally a bar for those in the know during America’s prohibition years, it became a favourite venue of the Knickerbocker elite, a society outpost that’s legacy continued long after prohibition came to an end. The 21 Club leaned heavily into the concept of a private members club (it was a members club of sorts during its early years), with its signature jockey club motif. The bar expanded its offer to become one of the city’s finest dining rooms, a steakhouse with classic American cuisine defining its menu. The restaurant became a jewel in the Belmond/LVMH crown.

ABERCROMBIE & FITCH

Founded in 1892 as a premium gentleman’s outfitter and sporting goods supplier, Abercrombie & Fitch was a one-time rival to brands like Willis & Geiger and Airey & Wheeler. Their Manhattan store showcased a range of camp and safari wear, tailored sporting apparel, countrywear and equipment, including canoes, tents and guns. The firm was particularly well known as a supplier of fine sporting wristwatches and durable outdoors goods. The firm was also a pioneer in catalog business, dispatching across North America. However, the marque experienced a period of great decline following the Great Crash of 1929 which financially destroyed many of the brand’s most loyal and prominent customers. The Abercrombie name would begin a great resurgence in the 1990s when it was acquired by Limited Brands. The brand would become hugely popular as a lifestyle and casualwear brand as a consequence of a number of controversial marketing and management initiatives. Today, the brand continues as a lifestyle apparel brand, albeit with a heavy nod to it’s sporting and outdoors-oriented past. Vintage pieces, particularly those that pre-date the Limited Brands ownership, are highly sought after by collectors and connoisseurs.

PETER MILLAR

Launched in 2001, Peter Millar set out to offer luxurious and elegant sportswear and casualwear for the well-dressed man. Taking inspiration from the golf courses of old and using those styling cues to create clubhouse appropriate clothing lines, Peter Millar quickly established itself as a go-to label for the sports enthusiast. The North Carolina label uses cottons and fabrics from the region, renowned for their high quality and comfort, to produce sophisticated tailored pieces to elevate golfwear and redefine business casual attire. The brand, now within the prestigious Richemont stable, has expanded to offer a full range of menswear and womenswear from performance apparel to countrywear lines borrowing from the British and American traditions.

BENNY & CO

A New York brand whose history and reputation is intertwined with the rise of the 1990s East Coast hip-hop scene, Benny & Co began as a jeweller providing custom after market detailing to wristwatches and jewellery before launching their own eponymous range. The brand reached its zenith in the late 1990s and early 2000s when their “iced out” (diamond encrusted) watches were highly prized amongst their celebrity customer base and those who aspired to emulate them. The watches are increasingly rare today and are still relatively popular amongst collectors and connoisseurs of the music scene with which they are associated.