A lot of great lifestyle brands have a point-of-entry product. The kind of piece that becomes so popular and distinctive, you immediately learn its label, even if you never actually buy it. An example: Hadleigh’s slippers. “Magazines would write about them in the early years, and women would come find us with a torn out article,” says Gable Shaikh, who co-owns the company with her husband Ed. “The key to our store was the slipper, and it still is to this day. We’re so grateful people want to wear our logo.”
Of course, Hadleigh’s is much more than a handmade, Italian slipper. The Dallas-based company also features bespoke men’s and women’s apparel, including rich-hued cashmere sweaters and doubled breasted sport coats. Other shoe options include blue suede loafers and clean, white leather sneakers.
And though Hadleigh’s, named after the couple’s oldest daughter, opened a New York location on Madison Avenue in 2015, the company is Dallas through and through. Its appointment only men’s atelier has been on the second level of Highland Park Village (in the old Chanel storage space) since Gable and Ed decided it was time to move Hadleigh’s out of their Kessler Park home in 2009. Through the years, some of Dallas’ best dressed men and women, including Jamie O’Banion and Caitlin Wilson, have the sported brand’s signature blue designs. Tim Rogers once wore a Hadleigh’s tuxedo for 31 days straight just to own it. (He says it was worth it.)
Their original 350 square feet has grown to 1,800, and a non-appointment-only retail presence eventually opened on the ground level, though it wasn’t connected to the atelier. “Our dream was to have both shops connected,” says Gable. When the Goop pop-up closed in the coveted corner spot, the Shaikhs were finally able to make the move, just in time for their tenth anniversary.
Inside, a Terrazzo cobalt floor and blue cashmere chairs represent the brand’s signature color, while fixtures, such as Lucite shelves and white-dipped steel don’t distract from Hadleigh’s full breadth of merchandise. “I think going on to the next 10 years, we really wanted to make people more aware that we do have our Italian-made shirtings, our cashmere sweaters,” says Gable. “We really have a full lifestyle brand, and not just our slippers, although they go with everything that we have.” In the corner of the store, a staircase leads shoppers up to the atelier. “We waited seven years for that to happen, and now our dream has come true.”
