eBay Chronicles #006

A Classic Suit from a Legendary Louisiana Retailer

When I was back in Indiana visiting my parents in March, I was walking through their house with my fiancé showing her all the old family pictures. Most of them come from times when the entire family got together on special occasions - Easter, Christmas, or a milestone birthday. Looking back on these, I’m always reminded that much of the entire family’s taste comes from my mother. My little brother and I are often outfitted in Brooks Brothers kids staples like pleated khaki shorts, boat shoes, and bright yellow pastel polos (always matching, of course). One image in particular that stood out to me is from Easter at probably five or six years of age, where I’m wearing seersucker shorts in the bright April sun. I remarked about them to my mother, who expressed her sadness that seersucker has fallen out of fashion the way it has, and that she still has a seersucker suit she herself wore numerous times for spring occasions. I couldn’t agree more - seersucker is a staple of southern menswear that has been left alone in current times. The fabric, in its most classic form, is expressive and bright while not too attention-seeking (like those pastel yellow polos my mom put us in so long ago).

Gregory Peck in seersucker, To Kill A Mockingbird

Before that conversation even happened, I had set out to find a seersucker suit in early 2025, after rewatching To Kill a Mockingbird after many years. Of course I had not noticed Gregory Peck’s immaculate seersucker three piece during my initial watch in high school, as I was forced to watch it and cared more about what was happening on the SNKRS app back then. On my second watch, though, I could not stop thinking about that suit for days afterward. A close friend of mine and my most trusted source for vintage suits, Chadbourne, (@alltimedarling on Instagram, check him out) owned a similar suit that I had seen him wear a lot the previous summer, and I couldn’t shake how great it looked, or how unique a suit like that has become in daily pedestrian traffic.

Seersucker sport coat, worn in its most classic form

So I set out to find the perfect one, and spent the next 8 months in utter failure. Every one I located on eBay/Poshmark/Facebook Marketplace/etc. was just not the one. Every day that passed by in that ridiculously hot summer was an opportunity to wear this suit I didn’t have yet. It wasn’t until September when the lows were in the 50s that my eBay saved search finally bore fruit: featured below, a 1970s seersucker two piece sold by Caplan’s Menswear in Alexandria, Louisiana.

There is a small bit of straying from the most classic details in this suit, emblematic of its time no doubt. What attracted me to this listing was not just that I knew it was the silhouette I was looking for, but also that it had some small bits of panache. Like the blue buttons rather than white and its non-traditional fabric pattern that is only discernible up close. I am just getting to break this out now, as I mentioned it was purchased in September, thus it was not wearable until a few days ago.

A great thing not just about seersucker but about virtually all summer suits is that the pants and jackets are wearable as separates. The more relaxed nature of summer dressing allows for a seersucker jacket with navy linen pants, or seersucker pants with a linen shirt (three buttons undone and cocktail in hand, of course).

Whenever I purchase any vintage clothing, I like to find out what I can about the maker, fabric, and/or retailer it came from. The midcentury especially had so many great retailers all over the country that have great histories emblematic of the American culture that ran through not just metropolitan areas, but all the small stops between the coasts as well. Caplan’s, the retailer of this suit, was a particularly great story. From Caplan’s “About Us” section:

“Since our first store opened in 1891, our goal has been to serve the public, as nearly as we can, to its complete satisfaction. Then, as now, we proclaimed, “Not the Largest, Not the Smallest, But the BEST PLACE in town To Trade.” By valuing our customers, associates, community, products, and services for over a century, Caplan’s has built a strong foundation for our future.”

Caplan’s was the place for men’s clothing, accessories, and lifestyle products in middle Louisiana from 1891 until the brand went fully into uniform and commercial clothing in 2015. The brand produced “blue gear” i.e. police uniforms and workwear as early as the 1920s (they are the oldest customer in the Dickies (then Williamson Dickies) commercial sales logs from 1922) in tandem with men’s and boy’s clothing. The brand has been passed down through four generations in that time, and while retail products are no longer available, to this day every single uniform worn by a city employee in Alexandria, Louisiana is made and sold by Caplan’s.

I encourage you to agree with my mother and embrace the elegance of something like a seersucker suit. It can be approached in so many ways, and the two pieces of the suit are so versatile throughout the spring and summer seasons. I always enjoy being the person that has something special to wear for a specific occasion, whether it be a summer wedding, derby party, or garden party in Nantucket (if you’re hosting one soon, invite me please). The fabric doesn’t just stop at tailoring, though. Seersucker shorts or shirts are excellent additions to relaxed summer outfits for running about town or sitting on the sidewalk enjoying an aperitif. No matter how you might enjoy yours, on behalf of all of us at TNBC, happy seersucker summer.