Fashion changes, but style endures,” Coco Chanel famously quipped. Wise words and an aesthetic reflected in the philosophy of men’s outfitter The TBCo. Heirloom Quality. Known in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast for a unique collection of upscale menswear with a European point of view, The TBCo. embodies the sensibilities of a classic men’s clothier, placing individual style and the highest-quality product above trends. Whether it’s a Barbour waxed jacket—the storied standard in classic British outerwear—or handcrafted welted loafers from Loake Shoemakers, distinguished labels combine with high-touch service for a composed look and unparalleled experience.
The TBCo. founder and director of operations Luis Toache comes from a fine arts background; his creative spark and curiosity were fanned at an early age by his father, who was “an avid style enthusiast and serial entrepreneur.” Toache founded a small art consulting firm in the early 2000s, through which he practiced his craft and provided guidance as a consultant. He had his epiphany while traveling abroad, scouting for new talent.
“During my trips to Europe, I started discovering these really cool men’s shops everywhere—we would go to France and see all these incredible men’s shops—Amsterdam, Belgium. I saw that trend in Spain, and I thought, why don’t we have that in the United States; why don’t we have something like this in Atlanta?” Toache recalls. “So I started to collect vintage items. Every trip to Europe I’d buy a few pieces and discovered this was what I really loved to do.”
Toache put together a team that includes his wife, Marketa Holanova, and brother, Roy Toache, and opened “a little vintage shop” called The Tough Boot & Co. “When we opened here on the Westside 12 years ago, not too far from Georgia Tech, we thought our customer was going to be a younger guy looking for vintage, but we curated the store to reflect a particular lifestyle that was really attractive to an older crowd,” Toache says. “Soon after we opened, we started to see a lot of customers between the ages of 35 and 65 coming from upscale Buckhead.”
The foundation the shop was built upon is twofold: a casual, heirloom-quality collection that’s a little more rugged, with offerings like khakis, hunting and leather jackets—what Toache calls “vintage adventure” themed. The TBCo. Reserve offers a line of suiting and more formalwear with a touch of vintage feel. In 2018, the company expanded the Reserve’s ready-to-wear inventory to include a custom-tailored collection.
“It was a hit,” notes Toache. “From the beginning, it has been our goal to create an unmatched experience for our customers. Our priority is to fully understand our guest’s lifestyle and assist in its expression through the clothing they choose.”
The Reserve “made to measure” experience unfolds with a consultation in a “speakeasy style” private room, where Toache assesses the client to start creating a map of their style in order to design a garment that results in a perfect fit.
“We use a lot of Loro Piana fabric, a very fine, top-of-the-line Italian wool,” says Toache. “It’s our pride and joy. It has a high price point but it’s an incredible fabric. We took a chance carrying the brand, and people loved it. There’s a whole demographic here that appreciates these lines that I found were neglected because nobody else had identified the niche.”
Other high-end fabric lines in The TBCo. tool kit include Zegna, Ariston and the more rugged Harris Tweed. “Harris Tweed is a very outdoorsy, all lambswool fabric from Scotland that has been produced since the 18th century,” explains Toache. “This fabric is phenomenal.”
The positive reception of these high-end products prompted the company to pair them with products of the same quality. “We imported English shoes, Italian socks and similar stock for the Reserve program,” says Toache. “We are one of the few exclusive vendors for Crockett & Jones in the Southeast.”
The TBCo. presents two collections each year—fall/winter and spring/summer—traveling to showrooms in the United States and Europe for brands with a heritage. “We like brands with a rich history, brands with a name and reputation,” Toache says. “We love Schott N.Y.C. They have been making leather garments since 1913. They made leather jackets for the Air Force during the Second World War they still carry today. They were actually the first brand to put a zipper on a leather jacket.”
The TBCo. also curates archives of rare vintage, historical and designer pieces, many of which are out of production and one of a kind.
The “vintage adventure” theme is reflected in the shop’s interior design, which exudes a mountain lodge feel by pairing leather couches with flannel, tweed and leather décor. References to icons like Ernest Hemingway, Marlon Brando and James Dean permeate the cozy space. Originality reigns throughout The TBCo., where novel items like Stetson headwear mingle with Japanese selvedge denim, English driving gloves and Italian leather belts. A rare vintage collection offers additional accessorizing options.
Expansion continued in response to increasing customer demand, and in 2019, The Tough Boot & Co. became The TBCo. Heirloom Quality. The team grew its collection of heritage and classic brands to offer greater variety and size options from top fashion houses, with a strict adherence to the kind of quality and unique continental style for which The TBCo. was widely reputed.
“Since those days, we have partnered with so many amazing heritage brands, and we’re always hunting for those special pieces to add to our vintage collections,” Toache says. “Our little shop has grown into a place where old school meets new world—where people can find the most iconic menswear brands and the inspiration to curate their personal style.”
So much more than a little shop, The TBCo. Heirloom Quality shares its passion to enrich life by bringing back the best of the best—the stuff and stories people remember and connect with. *
Wendy Swat Snyder is a Charleston-based freelance writer (sweetgrassandgrits.com).
