As many readers here know, The Andover Shop was recently acquired by several long-time customers who wanted to see the beloved store continue (and, upon closing, received a firm but smiling admonition from co-founder Charlie Davidson, “Well, it’s yours now. Don’t fuck it up”).
As they prepare for the arrival of spring and summer merchandise, they’re offering the grand-daddy of all winter sales – with entire sections of the store marked down an unheard-of 30%, 50%, or 80%. “With the discount, some of these prices are almost what clients were paying when we opened in 1948,” said Jim Toomey, vice president (and nephew of co-founder Virgil Marson).
The Andover Shop has also opened up their considerable archives, and these reflect several decades of curated purchases from the shop’s co-founders, Charlie Davidson and Virgil Marson. Many of these pieces are tweeds from historic English and Scottish mills that have since shuttered, or are overcoats and sweaters in heavier weights that would be fantastically expensive to create new today. There are also some amazing deadstock pieces that feel like a time capsule of the Ivy style at its 1960s peak: a lilac linen summer jacket, a rust-orange corduroy jacket that is as subtle as a Charles Mingus bass line, and a stack of pastel patchwork madras trousers.
The sale is only going on for another week. For those not near the Cambridge or Andover locations, much of the regular stock (but not the one-off pieces) can be found online at theandovershop.com. — ANV
Would be awesome if The Andover Shop had an Instagram where they could post photos and sizes of what they have, so people could call and purchase. There are so many awesome items there that aren’t online!
“Curated”. ?
I think it’s fair to say that they need a major website overhaul.
@Benjamin: The website is going to be overhauled!
@Lion: The Instagram is coming, too.
@Marc Chevalier: Heh. Well, ‘curated’ sounded better than ‘oh my god, he’s been in Scotland for two weeks and the bar tabs are piling high but we’re getting several large overseas parcels a day, every day.”
Marc Chevalier: Yes, absolutely. But I would say “cured” better describes things there, cured like a big fat cheese.
Oxford Dictionary: Curated (adj.) selected, organized, and presented using professional or expert knowledge.
What’s the issue?
“Curated” has been a somewhat faddish word in recent years. So, naturally, certain people disapprove.
While I am very sad to see Charlie retiring, I am also beyond excited at news of a more functional and representative website for this outstanding business!
I have no interest in Instagram as I am a borderline luddite, but I know that many will appreciate it, for whatever it is worth.
I will be very pleased to see all of this and to have the Andover Shop be a much more accessible wardrobe resource!
“Experts”, today on the national news we are told that archaeologist have found nuclear bunker in Poland, so now the bunkers didn’t evidently officially exist even though the locals knew about them since they were built.
Same happens with wild life. If an official doesn’t witness a bear or panther in the Ozark mountains they don’t officially exist. Locals know better.
Yes, most clothing web sites suck canal water just like their hard copy catalogs of the past did. Give me the “great” art of the Books Bothers’ catalog drawings, one had absolutely no idea what the item was. The descriptions sucked too. Brooks isn’t alone. Did no one own a camera east of the Mississippi, could they find no one that knew about clothing to edit their catalogs? Cable Car Clothier was ahead of their times.
O’Connell’s has a good web site, Ralph Lauren’s has improved a lot over the last couple of years. Christ, Macy’s isn’t so bad any more with the exception of calling all zippered waist length outerwear a “bomber jacket”. 😉
An updated website with all of the stock items they sell is needed if they want to survive another 70 years.
Yes, a new website please! Very exciting indeed!
@cameron: replace the word “faddish” with “pretentiously overused”, and you’ll catch my drift.
Did I miss it? Who bought the Andover Sjop?
Andover Shop. Sorry.