J. H. Gordon Menswear

J. H. Gordon Mens Wear Store was open for business for 85 years having five owners

J. H. Gordon founded his menswear store in Stratford in 1923 the year that terminated 25 years of his life spent as director of the Thornton and Douglas store. He established his business at 10 Downie Street in the Gordon Block built by his father Willaim Gordon. The business was located there until it moved to 77 Ontario Street in 1959.. His son K.Quarry Gordon joined the business in 1924 and when his father died in 1932 he assumed ownership.

In 1981, K. Quarry Gordon died , his son Rob B. Gordon took over the business. Later Ron sold the store to Don Gibb, a long time employee. Don eventually sold the business to Mark Jones in 2014. Mark ran the store for 4 years until it closed in 2018

J. H. Gordon

K. Quarry Gordon

Rob Gordon

When the new store opened by K. Quarry Gordon in 1959 on 77 Ontario Street, it was furnished with naughty pine, beige upper walls, direct and indirect lighting artistically planned. The store was designed to encourage the browsing shopper who wants to see what was there, how much it is and how good it is. No counters existed in the new store. Goods of all kinds were laid out on tables and hung on racks where customers could get a close look and not have to appear through glass barricades or lean over counters to appear at labels on boxes. The made to measure suit department was a Gordon’s Hallmark for many years and was equipped with a brighter, larger fitting room and sample swatches of cloth were readily available.

Some of the well known long term employees were Tommy Otten, John Wood and Bob "Chick" Appell. Bob Appel retired after 34 years as salesman of Gordon’s men’s fashion shop. He describes a special type of men’s clothing that was popular during his time after WWII. “Zoot Suiters were the rage. They were men’s suits with loose jackets and butterfly backs and high waisted taping trousers with creases at the front and 30 inch knees. This bizarre costume was incomplete without a long chain, dangling from one of the pockets, but the suit which would stagger even the most diehard punk rocker today didn’t phase Bob at all”

In the late 1960s there was a fire next door at the Centre Restaurant that did smoke damage to the clothing store. The picture below shows the people lined up for the reopening. The location of the restaurant later became the popular Rankin’s Soda Parlor and then Gene’s restaurant.

For a short time Rob Gordon was owner of two other stores that were located in Festival Square . One was called “Images” a women's fashion store and the other “Gordon’s Ladies Shoes”. Source: pictures and text Stratford-Perth Archives

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse