A Little Bit of History: Strivers' Row

Lately we have received several shipments of new brands in the shop. One of them comes directly from Atlanta, Georgia (ATL!) ... Strivers Row & Co. Not only do we find their collection to be an interesting juxtaposition of past and present, we also really like the historical facts of their brand name. In the late 1800s a couple rows of town homes named King Model Houses were built in Harlem, New York, on West 138th and West 139th. It was built with the intention of housing upper middle class white families, however, over time it began attracting influential African-Americans. Eubie Blake, a composer of ragtime and jazz music, and heavyweight boxer Harry Wills were amongst some of its famous residents. It was thought that if one was able to afford living in these town homes, one had made it. With hard-working people of that period known as "strivers", the name of the townhouses gradually changed to Strivers' Row. Strivers' Row became an important part of African-American history because of what it represented; residents of the town homes boldly lived lives that "answered to no one yet inspired everyone". That is the spirit in which Strivers Row & Co. is inspired by and seeks to embody in their collection of menswear. Paying homage and respecting the past while keeping it real in the present. As Howard Zinn once said, “If you don't know history, it is as if you were born yesterday.” We like that Strivers Row & Co. follows this ethos.