What’s more, that was back in J. Crew’s heyday. In 1991, he joined Ralph Lauren’s Polo design team. Somewhere along the way, he began wearing colorful African neck beads, which he continues doing to this day. They’re sold at the shop ($20 and $25 per strand).
Ms. Mashburn, with an upbringing in Midwestern states, recalled being inspired by iconic pieces of clothing seen in movies: Ms. Deneuve’s trench coat in “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” Jean Seberg’s striped Breton T-shirt in “Breathless.” (Hmm … all these ’60s film references.) She, too, moved to New York in 1984, landing a job at Vogue as assistant to the fashion editor Polly Mellen.
“My side of the brand is informed by that,” she said. “It was like going to Harvard for fashion — and life, to be honest. The older women I met taught me about confidence and style and dressing for practicality without sacrificing a sense of imagination.” Next came an editing job at Glamour, followed by styling work at J. Crew. The two met, independent of work, in 1985.
In 2007, by then married, they relocated to Atlanta. “We heard it was a great city, a complex city, with a fantastic food and music scene,” Mr. Mashburn said. There, he quickly found a master tailor, Quang Dau, and opened a men’s wear shop, taking what he described as “an open-kitchen approach,” with the cutting and tailoring done in full view on the store floor.
In 2010, Ms. Mashburn opened her own shop. In 2012, she moved to a larger space that was connected with her husband’s. In addition to the styles they design, they stock carefully chosen pieces from, for instance, Ulla Johnson and Aspesi, for women’s wear; Filson, for its tote bags; Vintner’s Daughter, for cosmetics; and Craighill, for objects for the home.
