RIP TOM ALLEN: A MAN WHO LOVED LIFE!

Tom Allen was born in Tucson, Arizona on September 11th, 1946, and passed away peacefully in Scottsdale on April 22nd, 2024. Tom met Norma, the love of his life while attending Brigham Young University. After graduating with a degree in History, Tom and Norma moved back to Tucson, planning to attend law school. Tom took a part-time job at Mills-Touchè, a men’s store where he shopped, and was so passionate about clothing and fantastic at selling it that they offered him a full-time position.

In 1975, Tom and Norma moved their small but growing family to Phoenix where Tom would be the General Manager of the new Mills-Touchè store in Biltmore Fashion Park. In addition to managing and buying for Mills-Touchè during the late 1980s and 1990s, Tom was also a wholesale rep for Majer slacks and Jacobs & Roberts neckwear.

After Mills-Touchè closed its doors in early 2002, Tom played a lot of golf, one of his many passions, for about six months while deciding what he would do next. During this golf tour, Jackson La Baer and Greg Eveloff asked Tom to come to work at The Clotherie. It didn’t take long for Tom and Greg to become best friends; they remained so until Greg’s devastating and untimely passing.

Tom loved the clothing business, loved going to work each day, and loved the lifelong friendships he made over the years. He will be greatly missed by Norma (his wife of 54 years), five children, nine grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and many, many friends. Here, some thoughts from a few of them:

From Tom Simon, who worked with Tom at The Clotherie: “We worked together at The Clotherie and did most of the buying together. If you didn’t know Tom Allen well, he might at first come across as a grumpy old man but you’d soon find out, as I did when I travelled with him, that he was a real sweetheart: very generous, super knowledgeable. We first bonded over music: we both loved alternative country and singer/songwriter tunes. We took 20-30 trips together over the years and I never realized how hard it must have been for him to run around once the Parkinson’s got worse. He never complained; he was such a great guy. I’m now in the space where The Clotherie used to be, and I think of him every day.”

Recalls Bill Puckett, a friend for several decades: “I was a rookie salesman, new on the road, and Tom was ‘the man’ in Phoenix. He was, most importantly, a man of faith, a shining example of a family man who worked hard for his employers–Mills-Touche– for many years. As a buyer, he was that rare merchant who treated every dollar of his employers’ money as if it were his own. He was a quality guy who gave the business 100 percent: he bought what he thought was right for the store, regardless of who was selling it to him. So often today, you walk into a store, see so much of a certain brand, and say ‘X must be good buddies with so-and-so…’ Not Tom: you had to earn your stripes with Tom. He was the consummate professional: always doing what was best for the store, always honoring the store owners.

“Tom was also a guy very comfortable in his own skin. He was unpretentious, never affected or phony; he was just Tom, respected by so many! When I’d come to the store to sell him, it was all business. It wasn’t til we’d go out to lunch, always at the same place, that the fun would start. He had a very dry wit and an incredible sense of humor: we laughed a lot.

“Tom’s legacy will surely be his son Ben, who’s in the business like his dad (VP of Sales at Hagen) and is proud to introduce himself as Tom Allen’s son. Both quality guys, both first-class individuals.”

From Jeffrey Roberts at European Fashion Group: “I don’t think I’ve seen Tom since before Covid. I didn’t realize how quickly the last few years have gone by. He always played golf on Wednesdays and if he was short on the foursome, he’d give me a call. He loved playing and we always had lunch after. A couple of times, I remember, we played 36 holes, gluttons for punishment.

Tom was not verbose, but he had a quick wit and a dry sense of humor. He had a quiet way about him and was always honest and kind. I really enjoyed those Wednesday golf games and realize now that our camaraderie was much more than business.”

Jim McKenry at The Bird Dog Group sums it up: “Tom was the consummate clothier. He was a pleasure to talk to, learn from, and be around. I will miss talking to him about clothing and golf. The menswear industry has lost a good one.”