For the outsize impact he has had on the way American guys dress, you might think Sid Mashburn hailed from one of the country’s most stylish zip codes. But the proud Southerner’s love of retail springs from watching his family in small-town Brandon, Miss., run local stores selling furniture, hardware, and clothing. After attending Ole Miss, he moved to New York in the mid-1980s, where meeting a Vogue editor named Ann Daggett changed his life in two important ways. Ann introduced him to a then-nascent catalog business called J.Crew, where he was soon hired to design menswear. The two married a few years later, in 1987.

After stints at Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Land’s End, Mashburn opened his first men’s store in Atlanta in 2007. Since then, its footprint has expanded to eight locations nationwide and attracted a clientele ranging from Arnold Schwarzenegger to André 3000. But famous or not, Mashburn is insistent that all his customers get world-class service. “That’s not really as magnanimous as people might think,” he says. “It’s because of how good I feel when people get taken care of.” Here, Mashburn explains how he takes care of himself and the others in his orbit.

First thing you do in the morning?

I roll over, pick up my glasses, pick up my phone. I check the weather, check the headlines, and tiptoe out because my wife is still asleep. Then I spend time reading and praying. And the highlight of the morning is that I make coffee for Ann.

What apps do you use the most?

Fairly recently, I found something called Radio Garden. I’ll show it to you. All those dots are radio stations around the world. So, if I push this one now, we’ll see what’s actually playing.

Do you have any personal rituals?

Every morning at the end of my shower, I’ll do a 90-second cold shower. As cold as I can get it, with as much power as I can get. And it will wake you up.

What do you do that’s still analog?

I do my calendar in pencil, because it changes quite a bit. And I play records. We play records in every store, so every store has got a pretty good record collection.

What in your wardrobe do you wear most often?

Six and a half days a week, I’ve got a coat and tie on. I would say, as a specific item goes, probably the thing that’s in the rotation most is our Ghost blazer.

Favorite websites?

I go to the New York Post, my paper of record. It’s my closest thing to a local newspaper anywhere.

How do you find calm?

I like to listen to music, whether it’s on my phone or on the turntable. I don’t really have any biases to the way I ingest it. I just like listening to it.

Who is your guru?

I would say personally, it’s Jesus Christ. Professionally, I’d probably say Mickey Drexler.

What’s your favorite cocktail, and how do you make it?

I don’t usually drink cocktails, but if I’m out somewhere, I’ll just have an Aperol spritz. The other one is, I like bourbon, just neat.

What is your exercise routine, and how often do you do it?

Daily, push-ups and squats, and now I’m going to add rowing to that. Also, I’m on my feet quite a bit at work, and I don’t take the elevator, only the steps.

What does success look like to you?

Gosh, I’m so fortunate in my work. It’s basically being excited every day I wake up.

How much do you trust your gut instinct?

Honestly, I like to talk it out a lot. But I would say 94 percent of the time, I go back to my gut.

Are you wearing a watch? How many do you own?

Every day I wear the Rolex Explorer I Ref. 1016. I’ve had this for probably 26 years or so. I also have an old Zenith 18-karat-gold dress watch that I love. And then I have a couple of pocket watches that my father passed on to me.

How would you describe your look?

I like to dress pretty classically. I like some color. But unless I’m doing something formal, I don’t like to look too buttoned-up.

How would others describe your look?

Ann calls me the “preppy hippie from Mississippi,” and that could probably say it as well as anything else.

What advice do you wish you’d followed?

I should have gotten married earlier. If I regret anything in life—I should have asked Ann to marry me almost immediately.

Last piece of advice you gave?

I asked a young guy who works for us in Nashville, “This girlfriend of yours, how long have you been together?” And I think he said about a year and a half, two years. And I said, “What are you waiting on? You need to move along.” He hid from me for the rest of the day. He hasn’t really brought it back up.

Drive or be driven?

Drive.

What is the car you are most attached to?

Mercedes-Benz station wagons. I’ve been driving them since 1996.

What’s your favorite hotel?

Memorable to me is staying at the Villa d’Este in Lake Como with Jerry Lauren. Jerry and I would go for two weeks at a time to work on neckwear twice a year. I think I slept in a broom closet there, but who cares? It was overlooking the lake, and it was at the Villa d’Este.

What’s worth paying for?

Live music. Always a great memory.

Last streaming binge?

You’re going to think I just crawled out from under a rock. Did you ever see 24?

What kind of music makes you happy?

Everything but death metal and gangster rap. Every single genre I love—and that’s why I like Radio Garden so much.

Top: Mashburn at home in Atlanta

Authors

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  Justin Fenner

  Lifestyle Director

  Justin Fenner is Robb Report’s lifestyle director. He’s been covering style, grooming, and watches for over a decade, traveling across the world to examine how these topics intersect with the broader…

  
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