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Business & Tech

GANT Comes to Georgetown

The European-inspired "American East Coast" clothing store GANT comes to M Street.

The "American East Coast" clothing line GANT opened the doors to its first District of Columbia store at 3239 M Street Monday.

"Expanding into Georgetown was a natural step as GANT's aesthetic is grounded in our authentic American East Coast heritage," said David Arbuthnot, chief executive officer of GANT USA, in a press release on Monday.

GANT is a European clothing line for men and women. The company opened in New Haven, Conn. in 1949 where it branded itself as a ‘preppy,’ collegiate retail store that brought the button-down rugby shirt complete with locker-loop for hanging to America. The style quickly spread across Ivy League campuses in America. GANT has since expanded from its sportswear heritage, branding itself with a refined, casual, European look.

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The retail store opened in the building that housed the former jazz bar Saloun, which closed in October of 2011. GANT had the building renovated to maintain the buildings historical integrity. Exposed bricks filled with signatures of past bar dwellers were left “in four visible sections of the space” to keep the building’s character, according to the release.

The store's clothing lines show design ties to mid-century Europe and the American East Coast Ivy school style. 

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Though the building no longer houses a bar, visitors shop in a “1950s clubhouse” atmosphere, according to the release.

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