H. Harris

Savile Row custom tailor H. Harris Clothing Company, had a store in New York City on 57th Street that created bespoke suits and coats for John F. Kennedy. Sam Harris would go to the Waldorf Hotel when Mr. Kennedy was in New York and fit him.

Although the firm was named H. Harris (founded by his grandfather), Sam Harris was the master tailor who personally oversaw John F. Kennedy's wardrobe from his days as a Senator through his presidency. The shop was technically an American branch of a Savile Row firm, giving JFK's clothes a structured, Anglo-American silhouette that differed from the softer "sack suits" popular at the time.

H. Harris is widely credited with tailoring the Shetland Tweed Herringbone topcoat JFK wore to his 1961 inauguration, a garment that became an instant menswear icon as well as his inaugural suit. Suits from 1955 bear the label "H. Harris" with the interior tag "Senator J.F. Kennedy," confirming the long-standing professional relationship.

Sam Harris was known for his outspoken views on fashion. When asked about the President's look, he famously distanced his work stating: "We don't follow Ivy League or beatniks. We make gentlemen's clothes". He insisted on two-button jackets to accommodate JFK's back brace and create a more authoritative, timeless silhouette. Several of these suits are in the John F. Kennedy Library Museum collection.