Wilkes bashford biography of barack
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Out of power, but still a power broker
SAN FRANCISCO - Wilkes Bashford, of the renowned clothing store here that bears his name, places a John Lobb suede oxford, storlek 11, marked down to $1,650, on the table at Le Central.
"It's a gorgeous color," says Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco and Bashford's customer and close friend of 45 years. "I wouldn't even call that burgundy. It's headed for . . . It's Bordeaux."
"The color fryst vatten the reason I brought them over," Bashford says. "I wouldn't push shoes at middag otherwise."
"Wilkes, that's the most sensitive thing you've ever said," Brown quips.
As repartee, it fryst vatten pure Willie Lewis Brown Jr., perfected over the four decades he has been a central figure in the city's political and social life, and served up for almost that long at Le Central, where Brown, Bashford and a select group of others -- Herb Caen, the San Francisco Chronicle columnist who died in 1997, was a founding member -- have assembled every Friday since 1973
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Mitchells Acquires Wilkes Bashford
The Mitchell family is now wearing a new hat — that of a white knight. Late Monday night, the Mitchells, operators of the largest family-owned specialty store in the U.S. with sales of $100 million, inked an 11th-hour deal to acquire the assets of Wilkes Bashford, which simultaneously filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition. The deal by Ed Mitchell West LLC is for $4.6 million in cash and is subject to higher offers and bankruptcy court approval. A contingency of the sale is that the purchase be completed by Nov. 30 in order to maximize business during the holiday selling period, according to Bob Mitchell, co-president of Mitchells.
The San Francisco-based Wilkes, a men’s wear institution that opened its doors in 1966, operates a seven-story flagship on Union Square as well as a store in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, Calif. At the end of last month, the struggling Wilkes closed its store in Carmel, Calif., and, the month before that, a
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Wilkes Bashford, Men’s Retailer, 82
Wilkes Bashford, a legendary retailer whose San Francisco men’s store was an exemplary example of upscale retailing and superior customer service, died at his home there on Saturday night of cancer. He was 82.
His death was confirmed by Bob Mitchell, co-president of Mitchells Family of Stores, which had purchased the Wilkes Bashford business in 2009.
“I grew up idolizing Wilkes Bashford — the store and the man,” Mitchell said. “I will be forever grateful for our friendship and partnership. We was truly a legend and pioneer, but most importantly one of the kindest men I have ever known.”
Mitchell, who was in Italy for the men’s fall shows, said the news of Bashford’s passing spread quickly through the fashion community. “Two things everybody says is that he was a legend and a kind soul,” he said. “He will be missed.”
Wilkes Bashford opened his eponymou