Richard Carroll, a publicist for Warner Bros. Studios needed a suit for his brother’s wedding and couldn’t understand why there was no place on the Westside of Los Angeles for a man to buy one. He borrowed $7000 and opened up a men’s clothing and haberdashery store on the second floor of a medical building on Charleville Blvd. in Beverly Hills. The store consisted of 12 suits, 6 navy blazers, 6 tweed jackets and assorted slacks, dress shirts and neckwear. Carroll was able to combine a love of dressing well with his ambition of always wanting to be in business for himself.
Because of his studio connection, his first customers were directors, producers, writers and numerous actors. These men wanted an Ivy League look with a twist, and Carroll was able to adjust with the ever changing times of mens fashion. Hollywood celebrities such as Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, William Holden and Billy Wilder began to frequent the store and immediately took to Carroll’s classic styling.
As word spread and the business took off, Carroll was able to move to larger quarters in a downstairs corner store. After three years, his lease came up and he was forced to move three blocks away to a barren corner at Rodeo Drive and Little Santa Monica Blvd.
1953-1960
Little more than a bridle path occupied by homes, 23 beauty shops, a hardware store, a gas station and a book shop, Rodeo Drive becomes the new home to Carroll & Co. The new store, many blocks from the bustling center of South Beverly Drive, features a brick front, double-dutch front door and a dark wood paneled interior. The store is larger, and Carroll is now able to add some more casual categories, such as sportswear and shoes to his mix.
Carroll becomes one of the first American retailers to travel to Europe to find interesting and unusual merchandise to fill his store. In Great Britain and Italy, there was no central area where manufacturers had offices. Carroll traveled outside of London to Huddesfield for woolens, Northhampton for shoes and Hawick, Scotland for cashmere knitwear. In Italy, leather outerwear was found in Monza and the finest printed and woven silks for neckwear came from Lake Como. Carroll begins to form long time friendships with small independent manufacturers and insists that they make clothing for the Southern California climate and lifestyle. Despite the huge expense, Carroll continues traveling to Europe twice a year on buying trips.
The store continues to grow as other stores next to Carroll & Co. become available. Carroll expands the store to 7500 square feet. The Hollywood community continues to frequent Carroll & Co. as celebrities such as Gregory Peck, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Jimmy Stewart become regular customers.
Costume designers begin to find Carroll & Co. as the perfect outlet for classic and timeless clothing. Carroll starts a “Studio Division” to assist costumers and stylists with all of their wardrobe needs. Many film stars insist on wearing Carroll clothing in the features.
Attorneys, bankers, doctors, studio heads, accountants and politicians become enamored with the Carroll look. The store continues to grow with constant word of mouth advertising and referrals.
1960-1970
Now considered the epitome of the classic American men’s store, Carroll embarks on an ambitious plan opening a new store across from the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. In addition, a new store is opened on Anacapa St. in Santa Barbara.
Carroll continues to add a European flair to his merchandise mix. Unusual items such as an English side vented suit, a 6-ply ribbed Shetland shawl collar cardigan from Scotland and an Italian leather bomber jacket become staple items in the Carroll & Co. inventory. In addition, their exclusive “Carroll Man” cologne is introduced.
Carroll begins an advertising campaign in the International Herald Tribune newspaper and expands his customer base nationally and internationally. Many visitors to Southern California begin to frequent the store.
A catalog is begun featuring highlights from the Carroll collection.
The Hollywood community continues to be a driving force behind Carroll & Co.’s success. Carroll custom tailors clothing for Rock Hudson, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau for different film productions.
1970-1980
A large stock brokerage business next to Carroll & Co. folds and Richard Carroll makes the difficult decision to close his smaller two stores and expand the main Beverly Hills store to become the largest retailer on Rodeo Drive at over 15,000 square feet. Carroll builds an enormous clothing department and is now able to house over 3000 suits, sport jackets and blazers.
The Beverly Wilshire Hotel at the foot of Rodeo Drive begins a large expansion and when finished, validates Beverly Hills and specifically Rodeo Drive as a destination for international travelers. New stores such as Gucci, Bally and Chanel open up and Rodeo Drive begins to be viewed as one of the finest shopping streets in the world. Carroll, along with five other retailers and property owners, form the Rodeo Drive Committee in order to continue to promote the street. Carroll is named as one of the committee’s first presidents.
Because of the continued requests from the wives of their customers, Carroll’s wife Judy opens a successful ladies division which runs for 10 years. The “Carroll For Her” look is enthusiastically accepted by women in the working world as well as the Hollywood set. Doris Day, Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore become frequent customers.
As television shows and movies of the week become syndicated, costumer designers look to Carroll & Co. to provide timeless and classic clothing that will continue to look good in television shows for years to come. Carroll & Co. begins providing clothing for such classics as “The Bob Newhart Show”, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, “Charlie’s Angels” and “The Six-Million Dollar Man.”
Carroll & Co. also begins dressing political figures such as President Gerald Ford, Presidential candidate George McGovern and U.S. Senator Alan Cranston.
During this time period, Carroll’s son John joins the business as a stock boy and cashier, eventually moving up to the selling floor. He too begins a life long love of men’s clothing.
1980-1990
The high-flying “Miami Vice” and “American Gigolo” 80’s bring a new blend of fashion to menswear and catapults designer looks into the limelight. Loose fitting, lighter weight clothing is adopted by men everywhere and Carroll & Co. answers the call with new fabrics and relaxed styling without straying from their updated classic look. Carroll approaches his American, English and Italian designers to emphasize the importance of adopting new looks but to never loose sight of their roots.
Rodeo Drive continues to attract the finest stores with tourists and high end shoppers making the street a must visit on their excursions to Los Angeles. The Rodeo Drive Committee continues to nurture and promote the street as the ultimate shopping experience. Japanese tourists begin to come over en masse. Carroll designs a special watch with “Carroll & Co. Beverly Hills” on the dial. It is the only watch known to say “Beverly Hills.’’ Japanese tourists purchase the watch by the hundreds.
Hollywood continues its love affair with Carroll & Co. as leading men such as Tom Cruise, Robert Redford and Harrison Ford are all outfitted in Carroll & Co. clothing for some of their films. Long running television series such as “Hill Street Blues”, “St. Elsewhere”, “Dallas” and “Dynasty” rely on the Carroll look to outfit numerous characters.
Carroll & Co. begins an extremely successful practice of hosting a “Trunk Show” whereby a representative from a specific factory visits the store with swatches which are available to special Carroll customers for made-to-measure garments. This begins a trend which is quickly copied by many other menswear retailers across the county.
John Carroll begins to expand the Carroll sportswear collection, traveling on buying trips with his father and focusing his tastes on this new growing trend. New categories such as jeans and espadrilles make a major impact on the Carroll look.
1990-2000
Richard Carroll is recognized as the first retailer outside of Great Britain to be honored with a prestigious Warrant of Appointment for his devotion to the British textile industry. The entire Carroll family travels to London for a dinner with 600 members of the British Menswear Guild. The Warrant is presented to Carroll by His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent.
John Carroll follows in his father’s footsteps and is named to a two year term as president of the Rodeo Drive Committee.
Carroll & Co. is selected by the World Cup Organizing Committee to provide uniforms for the executive committee, ambassadors, interpreters and chairman of soccer’s summer tournament. John works with the committee to design over 800 uniforms in assorted styles and colors.
Studio production grows and Carroll & Co. continues to provide clothing for numerous feature films, as well as television shows such as “L.A. Law”, “Picket Fences” and “Murder She Wrote.”
It is during this period that Carroll & Co. seized the opportunity to purchase its own building on neighboring Canon Drive. Canon Drive is similar in many ways to what Rodeo Drive was in 1953. It consists of salons, restaurants and neighborhood businesses. The new store was designed from scratch and Carroll & Co. moved into its wholly owned free standing building in 1996. More space is devoted to the growing areas of the business, including sportswear and made-to-measure clothing.
The catalog business is expanded nationally and features a wide array of the finest European and American sportswear, all exclusively made for Carroll & Co. The catalog is mailed out to almost a million people annually.
The official running of the company is passed from Richard Carroll to John Carroll.
In 1999, Carroll & Co. celebrates its 50th anniversary as the oldest family owned retailer in Beverly Hills.
2000-2007
Carroll & Co. begins the millennium by opening a new store on Lake Avenue in Pasadena. Because of the increased growth in the San Gabriel Valley, John feels that the customer base is spreading throughout the Southland. With increased growth comes increased traffic and customers are less likely to travel long distances for non essential items. The store is an instant hit.
Canon Drive grows in popularity as celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck relocates his world famous restaurant “Spago” to the street. In addition, construction begins on the Montage Hotel, a five star resort property at the opposite end of Canon Drive.
A successful weekly Carroll & Co. advertising campaign is begun on page 2 of the Los Angeles Times.
The success of dressing Hollywood television actors continues with characters in “Boston Legal”, “Commander in Chief” and “West Wing” all outfitted in Carroll clothing.
The made-to-measure business continues to grow and Carroll & Co. now expands their trunk show mix from suits, sport coats and slacks to include shoes, shirtings, knitwear, ties and formal wear.
2008
Carroll & Co. announces the opening of their third store on Coast Village Road in Montecito. John had always admired the Montecito area and especially the neighborhood feel of Coast Village Road. The store is small and focuses mainly on sportswear and dress furnishings. Many Carroll customers have second homes in the area and the store quickly becomes a familiar friend to many.
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