Sean Cullers, Jon Stone and Flynn Smith, who opened The Independent last fall, are certainly doing their part to revive and reinvent the look of the early ’60s with its tight suits and lightly padded shoulders.

I stopped by the men’s clothing store Thursday morning to do a checkup on the shop, and things are going well, they say. Now they’re partnering with Judson Lee and have opened Denim and Essentials on the square in Fayetteville to go with their other Independent store in Rogers.

As the name of the latest store suggests, they’re focused on jeans, and they plan to launch their own brand of denim that will be offered at all three stores.

The Independent is becoming part of the Little Rock community by being a sponsor on a fundraiser for the Old State House Museum.

A placard stuck in the Kavanaugh Boulevard store’s window advertised the Seersucker Social last Thursday night at the Old State House Museum. I was tempted to break out my stripes and head down to the Old State House and fall in line in one of the uniforms of the South.

But first a reminder. There is tradition that you should not wear seersucker before Memorial Day. Is that one of those archaic notions that can be ignored in these modern times?

It seems there is more to it than that.

An arctic front with high winds and rain came through Little Rock on Thursday and sent the temperatures tumbling from 75 to 50 degrees at the time the soiree at the Old State House tried to kick up its heels.

It would’ve seer-sucked out on the lawn where croquet - which Tennessee Williams famously said in a short story is a summer game - was to be played while the players sipped “Southern libations” such as mint juleps and dancers were supposed to trip the light fantastic to a jazz combo.

Southerners know about blackberry winter, a cold snap that is not uncommon in late spring. But by Memorial Day, temperatures in these climes normally settle down. With seersucker, you want it to be pretty warm, if not downright hot. That’s the whole idea of seersucker, the wonder fabric that is the coolest thing you’ll ever wear.

Brooke Malloy, development director for the museum, said the 110 who turned out at $50 a head had a delightful time Thursday night, partying in the old state House of Representatives chamber on the second floor of the river side of the Old State House.

But there was no dancing, she explained. Dancing en masse is not allowed inside the historic structure, which is more than 170 years old.

And so dancing, if it is to happen, must be outside, weather permitting. Last year, the inaugural gala was held on April 28 in balmy conditions, Malloy said. The 2014 date is tentatively set for April 24.

Now I understand, even if I don’t quite agree.

If you have a tip, call Jack Weatherly at (501) 378-3518 or e-mail him at

[email protected]

Business, Pages 67 on 04/21/2013