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Attorney photo by Benjamin Hager
Many years before I came to work at Lawyer, I spent a couple of years working in retail. I was (was) manning the accessories counter at Nordstrom when the charming Jerri Helfman, wife of Ken, as in Ken’s Man Shop in Preston Hollow, poached me and I went to work for the best hair stylist in town. The day I saw Ken Helfman, a longtime Lake Highlands resident, sell a long cashmere coat to the mayor of Dallas in August was the day I knew I was in the presence of a master.
Today the youngest Helfman, Kory, an East Dallas resident and father, is running things. Even in the y2k era, Kory was ahead of the game when it came to technology, writing notes on his Palm Pilot and keeping a detailed list of digital clients. So it’s no surprise that Kory’s TikTok game is on point. If you want to learn about relating sleeve length to jacket care, pocket squares and jeans while having some fun, follow along there or Ken’s Man’s Shop on IG.
Ken opened Ken’s Man Shop on July 29, 1964 near the field where the Dallas Cowboys practiced on Forest Lane near Skillman.
“Lee Roy Jordon became a client. Many of the other cowboys followed. We used to do the Ken’s Big Play giveaway at Cowboys games, where the player of the game won a suit or sport coat of his choice. That association with the Cowboys sparked a lot of good things,” Ken told us during a Q&A a few years ago. They moved to Preston Hollow in 1993.
1982 commercial featuring Dallas Cowboy (and Lake Highlands resident) Charlie Waters. UNT Libraries Special Collections
Recently a collection of Ken’s Man Shop became available on the Portal to Texas History, a digital museum maintained by the University of North Texas Libraries.
The collection includes photographs of the store and its owners and past employees (not me), advertisements, letters from vendors, including tie maker Ferrell Reed. It also beautifully illustrates the evolution of men’s fashion over the years of Ken’s life.
Ken Helfman at his desk in 1968. UNT Libraries Special Collections
Although his father and brother were doctors, Ken said he discovered his love for retail and people while working as a shoe salesman at Persian Peyton’s Casa Linda. I for one am glad he did.
Check out our Q&A with Helfmans here and the full archives here.
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