Sources: Ben Silver

Operating with the motto "Classic Style has always been our business," Charleston's Ben Silver is among the largest catalog and online providers of quality clothing. Indeed, the company is so well known, mailing to over four million customers around the world, that that I've wondered whether writing about them is even helpful to my readers.

But then I needed some socks, and Ben Silver has more patterned dress socks for wear with suits than any other source I know of (the Alan Flusser Custom shop in New York always has some nice ones but I can't buy their stuff on the Web in the middle of the evening when I usually "shop"). I depend on Silver's over the calf cotton and wool herringbones, birdseyes and houndstooths from Milan's Sozzi Calze (Silver doesn't offer horizontally striped versions in classic colors but no-one else does either).

Other interesting merchandise includes hard to find Francois Pinton sunglasses as worn by Cary Grant and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Trumper and Acqua Di Parma toiletries, and what may be the world's largest selections of enameled blazer buttons and cufflinks.

The company processes orders daily and ships in-stock orders within 2 working days of their receipt. They do a fine job of keeping customers informed about back orders and have a fair returns policy (exchange or refund within 30 days of receipt, as long as it is in saleable condition). That's classic style.