Dean Vest in Holiday Plaid

Cable Car Clothiers was founded in 1946 by Charlie Pivnick. The store was originally a war surplus store called Vet’s Mercantile. In 1954, as military surplus sources dried up, the store focused more on traditional, British-style clothing. It was renamed Cable Car Clothiers, named after the cable car line on Powell and O’Farrell Streets. In 1970, the shop became known for its quarterly mail-order catalog, which eventually reached a circulation of 2 million and helped make the store a tourist destination. In 1972, Pivnick purchased and incorporated Robert Kirk, a San Francisco retailer founded in 1939, known for traditional, British-style clothing.