Andover Shop

Founded by Andover native Charles Davidson in 1948 in the Main Streed building his father owned, The Andover Shop was co-founded by Andover resident (and Davidson's brother-in-law) Virgil Marson, the son of Armenian immigrants. The store is known as a clothier to the students and faculty of Phillips Academy in Andover as well as to the affluent professionals in the Town of Andover. Initially a menswear-only store, the shop eventually went co-ed selling ready to wear as well as custom tailored suits for men and women. The Andover Shop is known for preppy style, imported fabrics and custom tailoring. Davidson's sister Dorothy Davidson Marson was the longtime manager of the business operations.

Although the Andover Shop management was known for not discussing it's clientele, customers themselves were know to publicly acknowledge the sources of their high-end menswear. The Harvard Square location, opened in 1953 on Holyoke Street, was known for it's salon-like ambiance as much as it's bespoke menswear offerings. While a student at Phillips Academy, Hollywood actor, Jack Lemon had a job at the Andover Shop stocking shelves. Customers included Presidents George H. W. Bush and President George W. Bush, Massachusetts Governor William Weld, Boston Globe columnists Bud Collins and George Frazier and Mike Barnicle, writer Malcolm Gladwell, Historian Henry Louis Gates and jazz musicians Miles Davis and Bobby Short. At Senator Ted Kennedy's funeral in ____, The Harvard Square location of The Andover Shop was acknowledged as a place where good times were had.

See Preached gospel of 'style, not fashion': Longtime proprieter of Andover Shop Boston Globe 12 Dec 2019: B.1. Charlie Davidson, the Andover Shop's 'Baron of Bespoke,' dies at 93 Boston Globe 11 Dec 2019. Virgil Marson, co-owner of legendary Andover Shop, dies at 94 05 Nov 2018. The Andover Shop, a Harvard Square salon for jazz artists and literati, is up for sale 18 Apr 2018 DOROTHY MARSON, 66 ANDOVER SHOPS OFFICE MANAGER Boston Globe 16 Mar 1989: 55 Andover Shop's 'Prince of Tweeds' dressed U.S. Presidents, Supreme Court judges Andover Townsman 18 October 2018. Andover Shop owner dies at 94 Eagle Tribune 25 Oct. 2018

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