We're Proud to Share Our Rich History
In 1897, a young tailor from Brooklyn named Samuel Christenfeld decided to start designing luxury clothing with an “English riding flair” and called it "Tailoring by Christenfeld" in Brooklyn, NY. Nine years later, in 1906, he formed a partnership with Mel Halpern and officially changed the name to Halpern and Christenfeld.
After a few years of partnership, Christenfeld bought out Halpern, took controlling interest of the company, and changed the name to H-C for legal purposes. Shortly after, he changed the name again—this time to H Bar C.
After Samuel’s death in 1939, H Bar C focused on the western market and began to grow internationally. Seymour moved to California to open the Los Angeles office and established the Hollywood arm of the brand. As a maker of authentic western wear—and with the rise of western movies—many films began to feature H Bar C. Catering to the Hollywood elite, H Bar C supplied clothing for stars such as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Elvis Presley, and John Travolta, to name just a few.
H Bar C recruited Nudie Cohn, the famous Rodeo Tailor, to begin designing shirts for the brand. H Bar C even produced some of Nudie’s own production lines. They pushed the limits of the day with embroidery and appliqué work, and many of these advances became new standards in western wear. It was during these years that Nudie worked with a young man named Manuel Cuevas, who would later become one of the preeminent designers of men’s western clothing.
After Bernie’s death in 1982, Seymour carried H Bar C on his own and directed garment design and manufacturing until his passing in 1996.
By the late ’90s, with NAFTA implemented, manufacturing in Los Angeles became unfeasible while maintaining the same quality at competitive prices.
HBarC, as a business, took a hiatus from production until a new model could be developed to reposition the brand. During this time, HBarC deadstock and lightly used vintage pieces exploded in popularity on traditional e-commerce platforms such as eBay, as well as newer social platforms like Etsy and Poshmark.
In 2016, as Western wear began surging back into pop culture for the first time in decades, we re-launched our own production. Our focus has been to distinguish ourselves as a unique brand catering to those who don't mind standing out with creative designs and the highest-quality products in the world of western wear.
We have always believed that if you make a quality product—evidenced by how many of our shirts have lasted 80 or 90 years—people will enjoy both the comfort and the look for decades. Today, as the industry increasingly recognizes that fast fashion is harmful to the environment, we are seeing a movement toward better fabrics and higher-quality production—something HBarC has been doing for more than a century.