How Porter Square’s Drinkwater’s built a community, one suit at a time

Christopher Churchill Gary Drinkwater in Drinkwater’s, the North Cambridge men’s shop he opened in 2004.

The walk to Drinkwater’s takes me past a mix of casual passersby and storefronts offering the familiar rhythms of everyday retail. At Drinkwater’s, the men’s clothier in North Cambridge, the scene shifts: Two customers in sharp suits step out, pausing to hold the door and greet me with an old-fashioned (I wish I could say current) courtesy that already hints at what’s inside.

Crossing the threshold feels like stepping into another world. I’m reminded of the boutiques of my childhood in Paris, spaces where precision meets elegance, where every detail has its place. Even the merchandise in transition, making way for the new season, blends seamlessly into the shop’s quiet sense of order