This Saturday, the Fourth of July, America turns two hundred and fifty years old. A nation born in 1776 is now a quarter of a millennium. It is not a number you get to write very often, and I keep turning it over: two hundred and fifty years of people building things, mending things, and passing what they know down to the ones who come after. That is not so different from what we do here every day, on a much smaller scale, on Kingsley Road and now in Preston Royal.
Dallas is doing what Dallas does in July. Give it a minute and it will somehow get hotter, so your haberdashers will be keeping things light, bright, and cool for the holiday weekend. And in order to enjoy our families and our freedom, Ken’s will be closed Friday the 3rd and Saturday the 4th. We hope you get to spend the weekend with the people you love, celebrating our nation’s independence.
American Made
We currently have a few American made products in the shop. We are proud to partner with these American brands. Keep an eye out for even more this fall and next spring as well.
A few of the American makers we currently carry:
Brackish — Handmade feather bow ties and accessories, each one cut and assembled in Charleston, South Carolina. No two are exactly alike, because no two feathers are. There is no faster way to make a tuxedo uniquely yours.
Brookes & Hyde — out of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the makers of our semi-custom belts. This is a small house in the truest sense: the owner and a single craftsman are the only two hands that touch each strap, start to finish. Come get fitted and walk out within minutes with a belt built to your waist.
Vesperre — hand-poured candles from a Dallas woman who treats scent the way a perfumer would. Coconut-and-apricot wax, wood wicks, and vessels carved from onyx, alabaster, and marble — substantial enough to live on a desk or a mantel long after the candle has burned down. Ask us about The Rancher and Carmel by the Sea.
MELT – Hand-poured candles in a cement vessel handmade by Teri. All locally made. Her full-time gig is being a DISD athletic teacher, coach, and director, but her passion goes into each and every candle.
Different crafts, different corners of the country, but each one made by hands we can name. That is the kind of company we like to keep.
Volunteering is in the Genes
Community is not a buzzword at Ken’s. It’s how our family grew and flourished. Our purpose has always been guided by giving back and showing gratitude.
The photo above shows my mother in her years of service with Jewish Family Services. Her full-time work at that time was at the Hockaday School for Girls. This was one of the many rooms she walked into long before any of us were old enough to understand what she was building.
My mother taught, gave her time, and assisted our community. She believed that you owed something to the place that held you, and that you paid it forward whether or not anyone was keeping score. To pass along knowledge, history, and value, she used to remind us, is a calling.
I think about that every time someone walks through our front door. The shop my parents opened in 1964 was never only a shop. It was a way of being part of a neighborhood. Two hundred and fifty years of a country, sixty-some of a haberdashery is in same thought, scaled down to a single block: take care of the people around you, and they will take care of you back.
A First Look at Fall ’26
While we celebrate where we have been, your haberdashers have one eye on what is coming. The fall lines are beginning to land, and a few of them are worth previewing now.
Articl3 has the El Gordo t-shirt: an ultra-luxe tee that was born from a conversation over drinks, arriving near the beginning of July. The soft, unstructured Articl3 Kamikaze coat is arriving at the end of the month. This will be your go-to for the fall.
Lattore is our newest brand, and one we are proud to launch in Dallas this fall! 100% Italian made. Soft-shouldered sport coats, soft jackets, and some outerwear will arrive in August and September. These pieces will not be here for long, either! We even bought a high-banded collar jacket (Nehru collar for those who can remember). We will let you know the minute they land.
Manto of Italy will be back and stronger than ever. Antonella has created some of her best work yet! Her soft jackets will be easily coordinated with 5-pocket trousers to dress slacks, and from polos to fusion shirts (a cross between dress and sport).
Fall at Ken’s is jacket season. Layering a soft coat over a knit, and your knit over a shirt, is an art, not a science. We will be teaching all of it in the weeks ahead. For now, consider this your save-the-date for the season we love most.
The Ken’s Archive, Coming Soon
To make room for fall, a small part of summer steps aside. Later this month your haberdashers will open The Ken’s Archive. This is a short, curated window on select summer pieces, at a price worth moving on. Emphasis on short. We are running clean this year, so this is a tune-up, not a fire sale, and it will not be here long. Watch your inbox please.
A Farewell to the Alfred
For years, our house cologne carried my grandfather’s name: the Alfred. Hand-poured one bottle at a time, it was a small piece of family you could keep with you. I have to tell you that we have poured the last of it. The fragrance at the heart of the Alfred is no longer available to us, and without it, the Alfred cannot be made again. If you have a bottle, hold onto it. It is the end of a particular thread, and I am grateful it ran as long as it did.
Here is what has not ended: your haberdashers have been hand-pouring custom colognes and perfumes for quite some time, and for now, we still can. As long as a blend does not call for what made the Alfred, we can build you a scent that is yours alone. It is limited, so if a custom fragrance has been on your mind, come see us soon.
And looking ahead: this fall, something new arrives: the Ken’s Cologne Bar. A new way to find the scent that fits you. We will say more when the season turns.
Two hundred and fifty years is a long time to keep a promise, and sixty is too. We are grateful to be here, your haberdashers, learning the work from the people who came before us: my father, my mother, and every client who has made this shop a second home.
Have a safe, joyful, and memorable Fourth of July, which is also my brother Daniel’s birthday. Happy birthday, big brother! One day you will be able to tell your future generations where you were and what you did when America turned 250!
🙏🏻💜 Kory Helfman
