The Man Who Once Made San Franciscans Look Good

Right through the nineties, San Francisco, despite its quirky and countercultural vibe, was still a fairly straitlaced business town. It was home to some banking stalwarts and financial institutions; it even boasted a stock exchange. Construction giants (such as Bechtel) and phone companies were part of the business establishment. Technology was pretty much localized to South Bay hubs such as Santa Clara, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Milpitas, and Palo Alto. The conventional nature of San Francisco’s business community meant that menswear was more traditional as well: suits and ties were the armor for the West Coast nine-to-five life. Before Wilkes Bashford opened his doors, menswear was a sedate, dowdy preserve of traditional brands and bespoke tailors. Brooks Brothers was the uniform of choice. Bashford had other ideas. “In 1966, career men wore single-breasted suits, flat-front pants, and skinny ties. We sold pleated pants, double-breasted suits, and wide ties,” Bashford told the San Francisco Chronicle, in 2006. He called that look the “bold conservative.” Read more at The New Yorker.