Sale time at the J Simons store has always been a major talking point for anyone in the UK into Americana and Ivy League clothing, but this winter's sale promises to be something of a real conversation killer.
Along with all the Made In America coats, soft-shoulder suits, loafers and wing-tips, he'll also be selling the rails, the shelves and anything else that you can agree a price on.
In other words, this is the sale to end all sales: J Simons, the purveyor of traditional American clothing, is closing.
Having been in the same location since 1981, John Simons - the man who introduced Bass Weejuns and Florsheim to the UK, the man who invented the term Harrington jacket and helped shape some of the country's most enduring style references, from mods to smooths to soul boys - has decided not to renew the lease on the shop's current premises and move his retail operation online.
This of course is devastating news, perhaps not least for the likes of Paul Weller, Kevin Rowland, Robert Elms, David Rosen and Dylan Jones - all of whom, over the years, have been known to frequent the Covent Garden store and before that The Ivy Shop.
The closure in fact is bad news for anyone with an innate sense of style and an instinct for sartorial one-upmanship.
Always ahead of the cultural curve, maybe Simons' decision to shut shop isn't just a pragmatic one. With many of the brands he's spent decades championing, often single-handedly - Brooks Brothers, Woolrich Mills, Penfield, Pendleton, Baracuta and Sperry Topsiders, Schott - all enjoying unprecedented commercial success right now, it only makes sense for him to go one better and make his own.
Perhaps as a result, the only person with anything remotely resembling a smile in this circumstance seems to be Mr Simons himself, who sees the closure as an opportunity to concentrate on designing for his own label and an increasing number of other brands eager to exploit his free time and wealth of clothing knowledge.
Introduced last summer, his chinos, with their distinctive belt loops and über-contemporary silhouette are just a taste of what he has in mind. I've got tons of ideas, tons of designs, he says with the kind of enthusiasm you wouldn't expect from a man in the throws of a shop closure.
Along with the chinos, I'm looking forward to doing raincoats, shirts and maybe even knitwear, he says, sounding like someone about to embark on a brand new adventure.
J Simons
2 Russell Street, Covent Garden,
London WC2B 5TD
this post originally appeared on GQ Daily
