Smoky Joe's was a men's clothing store that was started on

Maxwell Street Maxwell Street is an east-west street in Chicago, Illinois that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee (1988). '' ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

by Joseph Bublick in the late 1930s. The store was known as a trend setter in men's fashions. The name originated as a combination between Joe and his oldest son Morris (Morry) Bublick, who enjoyed smoking a pipe. Morry was purportedly an originator of the " Zoot Suit".Jewish Maxwell Street Stories - Shuli Eshel, Roger Schatz - Google Books
/ref> Many black entertainers went to Smoky Joe's to have their entertainment suits made, including the

Jackson Five The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

at the beginning of their careers who traveled there from their home in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

. Morry also suited James Brown and other well-known black entertainers during the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s, there were three Smoky Joe's stores in Chicago.Chicago's Maxwell Street - Lori Grove, Laura Kamedulski - Google Books
/ref> Smoky Joe's was mentioned in a Jimmie Lee Robinson's blues song "Maxwell Street (Tear Down Blues)". "I'm talking about Maxwell Street, that's right. A place of many lives, many dreams...I remember when we use to go to the 12th Street Store. There was the Earvin, Bertells, Levetts and Smoky Joe's ..." Jimmie Lee Robinson who was one of the first Chicago-born Bluesmen. He lived a few blocks from the Maxwell Street Market. The last Smoky Joe's retail store closed in the mid-1970s. The brand was revived in fall 2011 as a

bespoke The word ''bespoke'' () has evolved from a verb meaning 'to speak for something', to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective ''bespoke'' described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned t ...

made-in-Chicago smoking jacket company by the first grandson of Morry Bublick, Steve Omans and his fiancé' Beth Stern.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.smokyjoesclothing.com Clothing brands of the United States History of Chicago