English-style men’s clothing shop opens in downtown OKC

by Kelley Chambers
The Journal Record
6/12/2007


Journal Record Photo
OKLAHOMA CITY – Downtown Oklahoma City may have its own unofficial men’s clothing district soon with two stores already situated across Park Avenue from each other and a third store set to open soon around the corner in the First National Center.

In recent weeks, Claybourne’s Haberdashery joined the fray and opened in a space on the ground floor of the newly renovated Park Harvey Building.

Robert Claiborne, owner of Claybourne’s, explained the spelling of his store’s name as well as described the store’s concept and how he hopes it will fit into the downtown retail picture.

Claiborne comes from a long line of family members in the clothing business beginning with a relative whose father was in the clothing business. The relative’s last name was Claybourne, but he changed his name to Claiborne upon arriving in America from England in 1621. He said the spelling of the store’s name is a nod to his family members who worked in the clothing business in England.

The walls in the Oklahoma City store are bathed in a dark red and adorned with fox-hunting pictures while the floor sports a Scottish Tartan print carpet.

“I wanted the shop to look like something you’d see in England,” Claiborne said. “The whole clothing business is going back to more of a British-type look, so I thought it was very timely to do the store a lot like we had 30 years ago.”

And Claiborne knows something about how the clothing business operated 30, and even 40 years ago. His first foray into the business was a 65-page book on men’s shirts he prepared in his native Tennessee while completing a high school Distributive Education Clubs of America marketing project in the mid-1960s.

His book on men’s shirts won not only the Tennessee competition but also first place nationally. The win cemented his desire to work in the clothing business and continue a tradition of dressing well that went back to his childhood.

“This book really opened a lot of doors in the clothing business for me,” he said. “I grew up with a tradition of dressing well and being taught how to dress.”

Over the past 40 years Claiborne worked in men’s clothing for different stores and companies until landing in Oklahoma a little over three years ago. Looking to set up a store in downtown Oklahoma City, Claiborne said he could not find a suitable spot.

Instead, he opened Tailgate Clothing in Norman, which offered a mix of upscale clothing and University of Oklahoma casual wear.

When he found the space at the Park Harvey, Claiborne saw his chance to open a store downtown and closed his Norman shop.

“I really believe in downtowns,” he said. “And downtown Oklahoma City is just really happening now.”

But Claiborne is not alone. His shop is literally in the shadow of the Teena Hicks Co. in Oklahoma Tower, a downtown men’s clothing fixture for nearly two decades. Plans are also in the works to open a second location of Oklahoma City-based men’s store Pinpoint Resource in the First National Center just around the corner from Claiborne’s shop.

Rather than worry about competition, Claiborne said he thinks the close proximity will ultimately benefit all of the stores.

“It’s good,” he said. “Competition’s healthy. It just brings more people downtown.”

That's really cool! I'm gonna have to check that out!

Glad to hear more clothing retail to come downtown. The sad thing is we heard/read about the Pinpoint Resource's new location a year or two ago and forgot about it. Glad to see it finally coming to fruition.

It is always a good sign when retail hits downtown. Im quite sure he wanted to open at Penn Square, but Mr. Ooley's is a 40 year old local store and considered one of the best in the nation for mens apparel. He would have lost that fight.

When I worked downtown in the mid-80's, there was a large Harold's and Orbach's in the FNC arcade and both were quite busy.

Glad to see this nice turn-around.

Malibu, back then, was there a Harold's downtown, and in 50 Penn?

I'm not sure of this without checking it out, but it may be that "Harold's" was once part of the long-defunct Rothschilds downtown. But, maybe not. I do vaguely recall a downtown Harold's, though, somewhere else downtown ... maybe in the Oklahoma Tower.

__________________
Doug
http://www.dougloudenback.com/downtownOKC.htm
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Nope, there was a Harold's Downtown and at 50 Penn Place at the same time.

Yes, and now that my brain cells have settled a bit, I think that the downtown Harolds was in 1st National Center. Correct?

__________________
Doug
http://www.dougloudenback.com/downtownOKC.htm
http://www.dougloudenback.com/oklahomacity.htm
http://dougdawg.blogspot.com/

Yep!

Don't be so sure. It sounds to me like Claybourne's intends to cater to the business-dress set and as such a downtown area makes perfect sense. This type of a niche retailer is better served by being convenient for its target market and not the public in general. By locating in the heart of OKC's central business district, the shop is easily accessible during the business day which Penn Square clearly isn't. A downtown location also cuts down on the number of casual browsers who have no intent to make purchases but dilute the time that staff can devote to the serious customers nonetheless. A downtown location likely isn't going to be open on weekends (or at least Sundays) and needn't remain open every evening - this obviously cuts down on utlity costs and payroll and also helps attract quality staff. Unless you're a Chik-Fil-A or Franklin Covey franchise, you probably don't have the clout to negotiate that kind of deal with a mall landlord. And speaking of landlords, I'm sure Claybourne's rent is a heck of a lot cheaper than it would be at Penn Square Mall.

In any event, this sounds like a really cool store. It's always been an aspiration of mine to be able to run a haberdashery once I'm in a financial position to do so. At this point it's looking like a very, very distant dream but I haven't given up on it quite yet!

I wish this shop the best of luck. I hope it's the beginning of a substantial retail renaissance in Downtown OKC.

I'm hoping they carry Barbour jackets and accessories. It's great and attractive gear for our winter weather.

The Harold's downtown was in the FNC arcade (as I mentioned) towards the eastern end. It had an entrance from the arcade and also on Park Avenue. Was there for at least a decade.

The Orbach's was further to the west, also in the arcade along with BC Clark and a Hallmark store. There were a couple of other little shops there as well... Definitely the retail center of downtown at that time.

There is still a Hallmark in FNC.

The store will be great, for Downtown. But for mens clothing it really cant begin to compare to Mr.Ooleys for top designers and service. Mr. Ooleys caters to the extremely wealthy NHills crowd, so they dont have to go to Dallas for the best of designers and finest selection. You can get a custom fit Armani tux, on the spot, tailored that day because of the full time staff that does everything(very few shops in the region can do this). I dont know many who just go into Mr.Ooleys to browse around, because it is a bit intimidating and many feel they need to buy something just to be fashionable. But they see the prices and their wallet and the majority decide to never browse again unless they plan on spending thousands. It has turned into window shopping for almost everyone. These big guns in NHills simply run in and grab a 5000 dollar suit, get a bite to eat at bellinis then jump on a private plane for business(the store has a drive-thru where these people toss their porshe on the front lawn so they dont have to deal with the mall). If it wasnt in Penn Square then it would be in NH plaza. OKC should be proud of having the oldest and best stores in Oklahoma - BC Cark and Mr. Ooleys. I think many do not realize the significance of these stores. But, bottom line I am a Mid towner and love the fact we are getting more retail Downtown and cant wait for more high quality shops like Claybournes.

^ maybe he'll open a boutique downtown now that there's men's specialty retail coming in there. It doesn't have to take away from Penn Sq but instead would add to the retail landscape of OKC.

If the retailer is that good, then I think a smaller downtown boutique would be "suit"able.

__________________
Oklahoma City, RENAISSANCE CITY!

Robert Claiborne, owner of Claybourne's Haberdashery, is shown Monday in his store in the Park Harvey Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The store specializes in upscale American, British and Italian men's clothing. By CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN

Made in Oklahoma: Claybourne's HaberdasheryRelated Information


Robert Claiborne, owner of Claybourne's Haberdashery, is shown Monday in his store in the Park Harvey Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The store specializes in upscale American, British and Italian men's clothing. By CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN


Made in Oklahoma: Claybourne's Haberdashery

By Steve Lackmeyer
The Oklahoman
•Address: 213 Park Ave.
•Web address: www.claybourneshab.com.
•Employees: Two.
•Key personnel: Robert and Ana Ruth Claiborne, owners.
•Founded: June 2007.
•Product: Fine men's American, British and Italian suits.

Three months after opening for business in downtown Oklahoma City's Park Harvey Building, Robert Claiborne doesn't mind answering the one question that's on many customers' minds: what is a haberdashery?

"Quite a few think it's a store that just”sells hats," said Claiborne, who runs Claybourne's Haberdashery with wife Ana Ruth. "But that's a hattery.

"Older people do know what a haberdashery is. Originally, a haberdashery was a store often foun— in hotels - a smaller shop that carried fine furnishings and sportswear that we refer to as clothing. They carried really fine handmade silk robes, pajamas, cotton shirts, handmade neck ties, suspenders, belts and cuff links. They might have also sold a navy blazer and pants, but that”s about it."

It's that tradition of quality that Claiborne says he is trying to capture with his store. To emphasize the old-school nature of the store, the walls are a deep red, adorned with pictures of fox hunts and movie stars such as Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart.

"I wanted to give it that old k—nd of feel - the feel we saw 3” years ago," Claiborne said. "The‘ lost that 's”oppy' feel."

A separate suit room is at the front of the store, and Claiborne has hooked up with some of the city's finest tailors, including Hans Herman and Alex Hilton.

Once the explanation of haberdashery is complete, one more question often follows: Why is the spelling of the store different from its owner?

Robert Claiborne said Liz Claiborne was a distant relative, and he didn't want to get his store confused with the brand that bares the same name and spelling. So he reached back in history to when his ancestors spelled the family name as Claybourne

FYI folks, Claybournes in the Park Harvey is having a 70%+ off sale just to keep the doors open. They are calling it their "fight for survival" sale. It has been going on for a few weeks now, but they need all the support they can get just to keep the doors open. This is a good chance to get fine tailored and english apparel at dirt cheap prices. I plan on going this weekend if they're still open.

I picked up a Mckinzie Tribe sport jacket there a couple of months ago and the store looked pretty bleak. Not much in the way of spring merchandise . . . definitely looks bad for this guy. One of his problems is that he is still paying rent on the store he had in Norman that he closed to open this one. Most of his stuff is pretty tweedy and a little heavy for OKC IMO. Teena Hicks is still my favorite men's store, downtown and otherwise, but I hope Mr. Claybourn can make it over the hump.

__________________
The Old Downtown Guy

It will take decades for Oklahoma City's
downtown core to regain its lost gritty,
dynamic urban character, but it's exciting
to observe and participate in the transformation.

He actually does have some really good stuff, but Summer does seem a bit bleak... Not a good time for wool in OKC. I'll have to check it out again.

They're about to go under? This can't be a good sign for clothing stores downtown.

I think it's more about his store in particular than clothing stores in general.

__________________
The Old Downtown Guy

It will take decades for Oklahoma City's
downtown core to regain its lost gritty,
dynamic urban character, but it's exciting
to observe and participate in the transformation.

mecarr, exactly as ODG said, it's more his store than clothing stores in general. Lit, Firefly and Teena Hicks have been doing good for years now. I'm not sure if Pinpoint Resource ever opened up in First National yet or not. As others said, it's nice stuff, mainly out of season and pricey, top that off with high rent on two properties with only one store, and he opened in Park Harvey before many if any were living there, it was tough from the get go. I don't think this is doom for clothing retail downtown, just bad planning.

I feel bad for him, but hopefully this will allow a more appropriate tenant to move in, such as a Jamba Juice or something along those lines.

jbrown, or even the Chic-Fil-A Tanenbaum kicked out in the first place. That would have been more appropriate and there was no need to kick them out. I talked to the former owner of that old Chic-Fil-A. From what I heard it was a pretty shady deal.