Urban Dandy Store, Big "A" Style: "The Executive Shop"

I went to meet a friend for lunch in downtown Atlanta and we decided to go to a great Jamaican restaurant on Walton St. called Calypso. The food (I had the coco bread, and the chicken curry with sides of carrot-raisin souffle and plantains) was wonderful.
But it was next door that I discovered a jewel box of a men's clothing store.
It is a little old fashioned establishment called "The Executive Shop" with some of the most attentive and nice salespeople you've ever met. These folks are real deal old school good people.
The store is just plain fun.

For a city supposed to be the cradle of Southern Belles and Church ladies, I have not found many places that sell great hats. I am very much a hat person and have a great hat face because I have great cheekbones (thank you Mom!). It is also not a secret that I wear a LOT of menswear. That is a style thing that I have been carrying around with me since my middle school "Seventeen" reading days.

They had an editorial with a tall, amazonian, Princess Diana look-alike plus size teen model and a petite Marsha Brady baby clone showing all the trends of the season for both body types and since they could not find cool plus size clothes (surprise, surprise) they defaulted to menswear for the plus size chick. That led to me wearing my Dad's high school Bavarian lederhosen, his sweaters, shirts and especially his exquisite ties which I proceeded to shamelessly purloin. I can tie a tie better than my brother or cousins because I started wearing them younger. I have also a thing for quirky sterling silver cuff links (they smile when I go into the Thomas Pink store on Jermyn St. in London).

I have not seen a single retailer of Phillip Treacy, Eugenia Kim or Stephen Jones.
I had not even seen a good selection of Kangol or Greek fisherman's hats (a MUST for the yatchrock trend) anywhere.
Low and behold The Executive Shop is NOT AT ALL what you would imagine. You will not find a stitch of Armani or Brooks Brothers uptight yuppy-boy tailoring in sight. It's all clothes that channel the inner Shaft, Superfly, Andre3000, Usher, Prince, Michael Jackson, Pedro Navajas and Tito Puente in men. If Andre Leon Talley decided to "butch out" or "go legit", "The Executive" would be the perfect spot.

Don't get me wrong. The place is 100% pure old school urban dandy.

They have a mind blowing selection of beautiful hats in all shapes and colors of the rainbow. A huge choice of Kangol's and Aegean authentic Greek fisherman's hats.

And glorious, glorious men's shoes. They have everything from shoes that ring of Victorian or Vaudeville show spats to pointy brogues with animal prints to shoes with golden Dragons that would make Mark Dacascos, Bruce Lee or any man in a Kung Fu Blaxploitation movie shiver with delight the same way chicks do when they walk into Stuart Weitzman's.

The stock is impressive and the prices reasonable. It is an Atlanta institution and has been dressing the smooth men of the ATL since 1965. And as I said the sales people and owner are just such nice people.

Notice the sharp display window full of goodies including those spat shoes I fell in love with, the jade Andre3000 get up, the easter egg shades brogues and the of the moment MJ white gloves.






The place is definitely a hat paradise. And actually men's hats are more flattering than women's hats...






The absolutely glorious shoes...




And the only thing that was missing to channel the King of Pop...



The Executive Shop is located at 56 Walton Street Northwest • Atlanta, GA 30303.

They DO have a website : http://www.theexecutiveshop.com