Touch of Death

About a year ago, I posted about Windsor Button, a relic of a shop in Boston where brass blazer buttons sat in bins by the mile and a reliable source for almost every tailor in the city. In the same post, I mentioned Locke-Ober, and then this happened:

I had mentioned it in several other affectionate posts as well.  Friend and frequent squash opponent Philip also alerted me to the closing of Windsor Button. I mentioned two great businesses in the same post and now they both will be gone.  I mentioned the town of Mammoth Lakes in another post, and it went bankrupt a few weeks later.  Obviously, I have magical powers.  Occasionally, I have used these powers for good, like when I caused Ralph Lauren to discontinue Rugby simply by mentioning it in a blog post.

You're welcome.

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To All Our Valued Customers,

They say that all good things must end someday. Sadly, it seems the time has come for us to say goodbye. After more than 75 years of providing sewing, knitting, and needlework supplies to the Boston community, Windsor Button will be closing its doors. We have lost our lease, as our landlord plans to renovate our space.

We realize that Windsor Button holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many New Englanders. Over the years many of you have shared stories and reminisced about shopping at Windsor Button with your mother or grandmother, working at one of the 10 stores, or buying your bridal veil at Windsor. Almost every day, someone will say “I don’t know what I’d do without you”.

The Boston store was the original, and has been the only remaining Windsor Button for the past 20 years. When we purchased the shop in 1998, yarn was not even in the product mix. Look how far we’ve come! We’ve evolved into a full-service knitting shop and have taught countless numbers of you to knit and/or crochet. It has been a journey that has at times been trying, but also intensely rewarding. We have lived, laughed, and of course knitted and crocheted together. We’ve shared joys and heartbreak with many of you and forged friendships along the way.

We ask for your continued support as we sell off our extensive inventory. Please tell your friends, co-workers, family, fellow commuters, and everyone you meet. They will thank you for sharing the news. We appreciate your support and will miss you.

Please join us for one last trip down memory lane!

Susan & Stanley Baker

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All of my blazers and probably 75% of my jackets have benefited from Windsor Button.

Sue and Stan Baker are liquidating their inventories, and if you want to buy beautiful and rare brass buttons in bulk, now is the time.

35 Temple Place, Downtown Boston   617-482-4969

Another Casualty of Casual

***Getting CRUSHED by the storm here in Miami today.  

Palm trees bending and their fronds pointing away from the wind 

as if they're in a speeding convertible. Rain works it's way under doors 

and into closed windows.  We are hunkered down 

in the cocktail lounge.  No rationing so far.

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From the Boston Globe, October 22, 2012
By Brian McGrory, Globe Staff

Excerpt (with emphasis added):

Here’s what I was faced with,” Ray continued. “I had a choice. Make Locke-Ober more casual, lower our standards to conform with the way society is today, or I could close it. I could close it with its history and its dignity intact. Because, frankly, it looked as good as it’s ever looked. The service was good, and the food was good."

"It’s unfortunate,” Ray continued. “It’s bittersweet for me. I’ve owned it since 1978."

But the reality, Ray has learned over the past decade or more, is that Boston has changed, often for the better, but not always so. An increasingly younger city is on a constant search for the next new thing, restaurants being no exception. Formality, here as everywhere, is a thing of the past.



Read the rest here.



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We were enthusiastic regulars and will miss it dearly.  What's worse than losing it is that which killed it after holding on for 137 years.