IN - STORE Southern Comforts

THE GET
I N - S T O R E
AT SID MASHBURN, NO SARTORIAL NEED — HIGH OR
HUMBLE — GOES UNMET. BY SANDRA BALLENTINE
1. Modeled after an old-school
haberdashery, Sid Mashburn’s
Atlanta shop is a gentlemanly
establishment where service is key
and the customer king. ‘‘It’s never a
case of ‘our way or the highway,’ ’’
Mashburn says. ‘‘We try to be
egalitarian not only with look and
fit but with prices, too. We’re not
just about selling guys stuff. We
want to please them, and we’ll do
whatever they want within legal
limits.’’ Go to sidmashburn.com.
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cool enough to take the hippest
thing out of Grandfather’s closet,
and on an older man, it just looks
like he knows what he’s doing.’’
7. These Day-Glo Caran d’Ache
pens ($20) are too bright to
lose, but according to Mashburn,
they’re also ‘‘so covetable your
friends will probably steal them.’’
8. Customers with an urge to
splurge are steered toward pieces
like this full canvas construction
jacket ($ 3,250) by Sartorio, a
division of Kiton. ‘‘They really
nailed the shoulder on this one,’’
Mashburn says. ‘‘It may not be
the latest and coolest, but it’s
definitely the best.’’
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3. A Massachusetts
metalworker cast this brass belt
buckle ($100) from an oyster
plucked from a bed behind his
workshop — the same one that
produces some of the bivalves
served at Grand Central Terminal’s
Oyster Bar and Restaurant.
9. The retailer rarely lunches,
but when he does, he heads
to Carver’s Grocery and Country
Kitchen for his favorite ‘‘meat
and three’’: fried chicken,
creamed corn, black-eyed peas,
mashed potatoes and cornbread,
washed down with sweet tea.
(1118 West Marietta Street N.W.;
404-794-4410)
4. The open-air tailoring studio
at one end of the store ‘‘is our
version of Spago in the ’80s,’’
Mashburn says with a laugh. Joking
aside, he calls the head tailor,
Quang Dau, a godsend. ‘‘Tailoring
is a huge part of what we do. We
narrow ties, take pleats out of
pants — and we even customize
classic Levi’s 501s, which makes
for a great twist on one of
America’s most iconic products.’’
The retooled jeans are $ 68.
10. He gets into the swim of
things with Birdwell Beach
Britches. ‘‘I like the quick-dry
nylon, the fit, the colors and the
price.’’ (They’re $ 55.) ‘‘They also
make really cute girlfriend shorts.’’
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5. The retailer keeps a cache of
Walker Percy books in the store.
‘‘It’s a good icebreaker,’’ he says,
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‘‘and in the selling business, you
need an icebreaker. We also have
a Ping-Pong table and serve
drinks, so guys tend to hang out
and use the store as an office.’’
6. Like every shoe that bears
the Sid Mashburn label, this
double-monk-strap ($ 595) is
bench-made in Northampton,
England. ‘‘It’s the perfect
shoe,’’ he says. ‘‘On a young
guy, it looks like he was
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P O R T R A I T BY P E T E R F R A N K E DWA R D S
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11. A music man, the store
owner likes to take in a show at
the Variety Playhouse, ‘‘a cool
venue in Little Five Points that
features a wide range of great
music, from Steve Earle to Gnarls
Barkley to Daniel Johnston.’’
Go to variety-playhouse.com.
12. Mashburn’s reasons for
using Musgo Real Shave Cream
($10.50) are straightforward. ‘‘It
gives you a nice lather and a great
shave, the packaging is pretty cool,
and the price point can’t be beat.’’
13. His bag of choice, Filson’s oil
tin cloth tote ($ 98), is ‘‘kind of like
a golden-era movie star — rugged
and classically handsome.’’ ■
2., 9., 11. PE TER FR A NK EDWA R DS ; A LL OTHER PH OTOG R A PHSBY JENS MORTENSEN.
2. Mashburn acquired a
number of the store’s stylish 2
furnishings from Love Train
Antiques, an insider address for
vintage European pieces.
Located in a converted gas
station, it’s open only three
days a month. Go to lovetrain
antiques.com for details.
Southern Comforts