# Robert Hall Clothing Stores **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 1, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127 "2015-10-01T13:35:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/1 "2015-10-01T13:35:26Z")
It would appear (according to [this Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hall_Clothes)) that this old store chain is no more. I remember one (maybe more) in the 60s when I was in college or soon thereafter. At least one was in Birmingham at the time. They had a jingle or singing commercial that I haven’t been able to locate online, but I feel confident that Brother Dave Gardner was mocking that little ditty when he did this nonsense rap (starts near 2:20 on [Rejoice, Dear Hearts: Part 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAiIpUHp7Lo)) which I memorized and trot out every now and then to confound others when they seem to need such a thing. Does any of this make any sense to you? Do you even remember Robert Hall? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/2 "2015-10-01T13:43:53Z")
I’m 47 and personally don’t remember them at all, but supposedly my mother worked at one right out of high school in '66. That was Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/3 "2015-10-01T13:46:39Z")
I shopped there when I was a teen. It was within walking distance, but the store has been gone for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/4 "2015-10-01T15:53:43Z")
I remember a Robert Hall store in my hometown up until the early 1970s when it quietly closed-no going out of business sale or signage, just open one day and closed the next. It used to stand next to the downtown Sears store. Both are long gone, demolished, and the minor league baseball stadium stands on the land where they used to be. [I can’t seem to get the link to post here (grrrrr) today, but I googled Robert Hall jingle and got all sorts of them available on youtube] ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/5 "2015-10-01T16:12:45Z")
I remember these in the 70s. There was at least one store somewhere in the Philadelphia area. One of the local schools had a building called Roberts Hall, which they jokingly called Robert Hall. That’s my entire memory of it. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/6 "2015-10-01T16:16:22Z")
I sure do remember Robert Hall – there was a store just up the street from us when I was growing up in the 60s. And I remember the jingle, which went something like this: “Oh, the values go up, up, up And the prices go down, down, down. Robert Hall this season will show you the reason Low overhead, low overhead!” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/7 "2015-10-01T16:32:14Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > I sure do remember Robert Hall – there was a store just up the street from us when I was growing up in the 60s. And I remember the jingle, which went something like this: > > “Oh, the values go up, up, up > And the prices go down, down, down. > Robert Hall this season will show you the reason > Low overhead, low overhead!” I do remember something like that and there’s a YouTube clip along those lines: WOW!! As that one finished this one came in. It's what Brother Dave ripped off, I believe! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfLfl\_HtG8U Viva SDMB! ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/8 "2015-10-01T18:45:53Z")
God yes, I remember Robert Hall. They had a reputation for selling the cheapest, shittiest clothes on the market. If you didn’t like a guy’s suit at work, you’d say, “Where did you get that, Robert Hall?” I remember the jingle a little differently: When the values go up, up, up And the prices go down, down, down. Robert Hall will show you the reason they give you High qua-li-ty – E-con-o-my! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/9 "2015-10-01T20:21:06Z")
I don’t recall ever seeing their ads, but they had a store in the aging downtown area of my LA suburb in the mid 60s. I think the store died around 1975. Without much fanfare as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/10 "2015-10-01T20:31:42Z")
There was one in my neighborhood in the Bronx when I was growing up in the 1960s. I’m sure I got some of my jackets there. (I went to a parochial high school where, as young gentlemen, we had to wear jacket and tie.) ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/11 "2015-10-01T20:35:22Z")
“_She looks like she don’t know better A case of partial extreme Dressed in a Robert Hall sweater Acting like a soap opera queen_” -Blondie As a hijack and also a tie-in to the misheard lyrics thread, I’d never heard of Robert Hall or his sweaters until I looked up the lyrics because for years I thought she was singing “She looks like Chita Rivera . . .” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/12 "2015-10-01T21:21:30Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > God yes, I remember Robert Hall. They had a reputation for selling the cheapest, shittiest clothes on the market. If you didn’t like a guy’s suit at work, you’d say, “Where did you get that, Robert Hall?” When I was a kid my mother sometimes bought me clothes from Robert Hall. Believe me, they worked hard to earn that reputation. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/13 "2015-10-01T21:39:25Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > When I was a kid my mother sometimes bought me clothes from Robert Hall. I got lucky. My mother was typical frugal-Polish and would have _loved_ Robert Hall prices, but she couldn’t abide their disheveled stores, so we never shopped there. Robert Hall used to advertise on White Sox games a lot. Draw your own conclusions about the White Sox fan demographic. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/14 "2015-10-02T00:30:10Z")
Got s suit for my first prom there (about 1968). Even I could tell it was pretty trashy, but it’s not like I needed a suit for regular use. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/15 "2015-10-02T02:53:06Z")
“Robert Hall for Easter” is what I remember. There was one where I lived in the late '60s. Never shopped there, but I walked past it on the way to the library and back. No idea if it was still in business when I moved to another state in '74. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/16 "2015-10-02T04:10:12Z")
I was born in 1961, in Astoria (Queens), New York. When I was a kid, half my clothes came from Robert Hall. “Mother knows, for better clothes, it’s back to Robert Hall again.” ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/17 "2015-10-02T13:20:12Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I think the store died around 1975. Without much fanfare as I recall. this [newspaper article](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19770629&id=b6orAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Mv0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3234,5906343&hl=iw) says that all 364 Robert Hall stores were closed simultaneously and abruptly in 1977. I vaguely remember from my high school days that “Robert Hall” was considered _totally_ uncool. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/18 "2015-10-02T13:53:41Z")
I remember the radio ads, and there was one here in Schenectady when I moved up here, but I never bought anything there. There were none near me when I was growing up, and I didn’t buy many clothes when I was in college. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/19 "2015-10-02T16:21:00Z")
I remember the store but not the jingle…I’m old! ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127/20 "2015-10-02T16:47:06Z")
I remember them. It was exactly the kind of place a kid gets his first suit for church or a recital. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-hall-clothing-stores/733127.md?page=2)