London - The only place to shop for men's clothing - then and today, it has not changed

Although Paris to me is the end-all, be-all, but when it comes to men’s clothes, its London and London only, ( St James to be exact) where I have shopped for more years than I care to remember, and there is no street in London where the ghosts of the 18th century crowd so thickly as St. James's Street. Adjacent Pall Mall may be described as the heart of clubland with its great places standing cheek by jowl, their marbled halls and vast rooms vying with one another in Victorian ostentation, but turn up St. James's Street toward Piccadilly and the elegance of Regency architecture at once asserts itself. The old coffee and chocolate houses once patronized by men of fashion, now clubs like Boodle's, Brooks's and White's, still present their stylish facades to passersby. It was at White's that Beau Brummel once remarked how he liked to sit in the window with his cronies ''watching the damned people getting wet outside.'' Today they are still the most exclusive of all London's clubs. It is not surprising that it is in St. James's Street that you will find businesses that have served the ''quality'' for 200 years and still quietly carry on their trade unchanged by time. Berry Brothers and Rudd at No. 3 is London's oldest wine merchant, and nearby stands John Lobb where, in the comfortable atmosphere of A good club, one can be fitted for the world’s finest footwear at around $500. 

And one of my favorites is Lock and Co. Older than either, at 6 St. James's Street, is Lock and Company, the hatters who trace their origins back to 1676. In an earlier age everyone wore a hat. To be seen outdoors - and on occasion indoors - without one was as unthinkable as taking a stroll along Piccadilly without trousers. By and large anyone who was anyone beat a path to the door of Mr. Lock. My favorite hat, a Trilby was bought here many years ago and to this day (I wear it only in London) is a great source of style and pride with me.