Atlanta’s H. Stockton belongs to that small cadre of independent menswear shops still in existence. It also belongs to that group of retailers that offered soft-shouldered clothing to a Southern clientele. Spokesman Glenn Au dug through the archives and sent along these images showing the store’s family (that’s Hamilton Stockton, Jr. above), sales associates, and vintage advertising, which includes bit loafers and a few layouts that look suspiciously Japanese (or is that the other way around?)
Said Au in his email, perhaps only half-joking, “As you can see, not much has changed.” — CC
God bless the ’80s, including mustaches left over from the 70s.
It was my pleasure to meet Mr. Stockton in his store in the “golden age” of the 70’s, and later as during market trips in New York. His store lives in the epicenter of the natural-shoulder universe and carries on where others have expired years ago. I believe that fact recognizes that “the man makes the clothes” more so than the “clothes make the man”.
H. Stockton is a wonderful store with even better people. I’m extremely happy to see this post and know that they are an advertiser on this site.
Liking the old Stockton newspaper advertisements in the article. Brooks Bros. made that format of single column ads the norm in newspapers in every city where they had a store. The owner of the small shop where I worked paid Brooks the compliment of simply snipping their ads and inserting his own copy and store logo and running them in our local paper. He once commented that he had heard from Brooks’ legal dept. about ceasing the practice, which he grudgingly did, eventually.
I’ve known Ham casually since I showed up in Atlanta in 1968 when it was one store on Pryor Street (now four stores in Metro Atlanta). Tragically, his son Court, on he left in the photo immediately above the mustachioed Ham, died after a valiant battle with cancer. Son Chip, on the right, is now the head and Court’s son Ryan is now in the business. I recently spent a little time with Ham and Ryan and Ham is alive and well and still dapper, albeit moving a little more slowly. You are correct that is part of the small cadre of independent menswear shops and probably is the best of the survivors.
Great store, but very expensive. I wonder if back in the days it was as expensive as it is today.
Ham Stockton–a true Southern gentleman. Of the Randy Hanauer type: pleasant, congenial. Trad trivia: a (younger) William King earned his stripes at H. Stockton before taking over his father’s clothing business, which, to this day, perseveres and thrives.
Way back when Randy covered Dixie for Southwick (guessing he was one of the better reps), Southwick repeatedly offered a bold, worsted serge blazer cloth. Imagine a wide wale corduroy, but running diagonally and unfinished worsted. Probably weighed in at 10-12 oz. Reminiscent of J. Press’ “Reefer Twill”?
This is terrific, and it’s great to see something positive about a retailer. It’s great to know we can find people like the Stocktons to still keep us in style. Thanks for this!
One of the things I miss from living in Atlanta is the ability to shop at HS. I make a point of stopping in whenever I am in town.
As a working Morehouse college student in the late 60’s I would passed the downtown store each evening walking to work. I couldn’t afford to shop until after graduation and military service in the 70s. The display of neckwear in the two store front windows where way more tasteful than those featured in GQ. Thanks to a salesman, who wore an eyepatch ( name was Tat ?) I was personally instructed on how to tie a bow tie and still find them refreshing today especially Butterflies.
Many times I have touched down and been forced to spend time in Atlanta and never knew an oasis like this existed. Always I spent my time at my friend Fuzzy’s Cajun restaurant and packed house bar up on the NE side. Now gone with his demise.
Great store. Fine brands and lovely sales people. A pleasure to shop there.
Thanks for the introduction to this store. Quite a nice variety of classic and tasteful items. As someone mentioned, it is not cheap, however there is free shipping over $50 (and almost everything is over $50, so for practical purposes “free shipping on all purchases”). Their English ties are fairly priced, and I am about to purchase one.
I shopped there when I lived in Atlanta in the late ’80s/early ’90s. They had a line of chinos called “Buckhead”, named after the pricey Atlanta neighborhood, and obviously a riff on Duckhead. I wish they still made those. I would like a pair of Buckhead khakis.
wonderful story!
What, no mention of Kent Brewer? Kent ran the H. Stockton store a Lenox Square for many years. He was the consummate professional and a true gentleman — never too busy to help. Three years after we moved to North Carolina, my wife called him on the phone and ordered a Southwick navy blazer for my birthday. She started to describe what I wanted, but he politely interrupted and said, “I know what he wants: Three buttons, natural shoulder, center vent, 42 Extra-long. I will get that ordered today and ship it to you in North Carolina. You can send me a check or call with a credit card number. And tell Hank I said hello.” Kent had a way of making you feel like you were his most important customer even though you weren’t. I was very sad to learn that Kent had died when I visited the store a few years later. His wife, Millie, was also very nice.
I love the old newspaper ads;I remember in the early 60s lusting over an ad in the Florida Times Union showing a pair of Bass Weejuns for an absorbent price of $17.00. I began calculating how many lawns I needed to mow ($1.50 to $2.50 a lawn)to purchase a shiny new pair of the most iconic shoe in trad. history.