Eliot Rabin, the man behind the Peter Elliot empire of high-end boutiques on the Upper East Side, has spent 27 years wrapping his clientele in fabulous color. Especially at his menswear stores, Rabin has been a major supplier to your local dandy, delivering stripes, argyles, and loud checks of every kind. Naturally, his new store is about … blue?
Blue. It turns out Rabin has spent those 27 years completely in thrall to the classic blazer and its tonal relatives. (His 2-year-old son is even named Joshua Blue.) “Blue, unlike other colors, has so many moods, from passion to peace,” explains the Charleston native. “Sixty to 80 percent of all men’s clothing is blue. So I said to myself, I’ll bet I can build a store on the central theme of navy blazers.” Peter Elliot Blue will stock at least ten variations on the navy blazer, from a classic three-button to a very of-the-moment velvet.
Everything else in the shop will co-ordinate with or complement that jacket. But there’s a catch—most of these coordi-nating items will be in very limited styles (i.e., one style of khakis, one style of flannel slacks, one style of corduroys), in very limited (often just one) colors, available for a single season. Belts, for example, are offered strictly in alligator and shell cordovan, and are priced up to $1,000. There will be one style of felt travel hat, one reversible raincoat, one denim jacket (with button-out mink lining), one style of jeans with sterling-silver rivets and studs (they’ll patch your holes forever, for free), and one leather jacket. “But you’re gonna love it—know why?” Rabin asks in a thick Charleston drawl. “’Cause it’s gonna be gorgeous.”
Peter Elliot Blue, 997 Lexingon Avenue, at 72nd Street; opens September 13.