How Robert Graham Colorized Menswear

Eleven years ago, Robert Stock, founder of Robert Graham, did something that changed menswear forever. He took the two-two-toned banker-style contrast collar (typically white on blue, á la Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gekko in 1987’s “Wall Street”) and cuffs, and added intricate patterns and colors to them, giving men who longed for a little more zest in their clothing something to be excited about. Now, men all over the world, including Shorewood and Milwaukee, are sporting Robert Graham.

Embroidered cuffs and printed collars have come to define the Robert Graham brand, a quirky but sophisticated line of men’s dress shirts, knitwear, pants, shorts, and jackets, famous for bright colors, bold prints, and intricate detail.

The brand got a boost when Americans fell in love with the character Cam on ABC’s award-winning show, “Modern Family,” and his no-apologies fashion choices, which include Robert Graham-esque dress shirts.

So, given the brand’s flair and enthusiastic following, it is surprising that the creation of its signature characteristics was kinda…well…ho hum. Founder Robert Stock explained the conception of detailed collars and cuffs to CultureMap Houston: “It just happened. It was kind of weird. We just decided that we're going to do prints and things inside of cuffs and roll 'em up and see what it looks like. I describe Robert Graham as kind of a treasure hunt. When you buy something you start looking at it (closer) to see what you will find.” Read the full article here.

Well, regardless of how the trend came about, we are glad it did. Robert Graham is the perfect antidote to the sea of grays, blacks, blues, and browns that makes up a large portion of menswear today. Harleys has a huge selection of Robert Graham apparel, and with spring around the corner, it’s time to set your inner-color lover free.