Truefitt & Hill
To settle into one of the green leather barber chairs at Truefitt & Hill is to bask in the lap of luxury; appointments are de rigueur for the precise haircuts, beard trims and hot lather shaves performed on the occupants of these seats. The clientele here consists mostly of bigwig businessmen, with a few notable artistic types (like conductor Zubin Mehta, Playboy columnist Asa Baber and actor Bruce Willis) thrown into the illustrious ranks for variety.

There are only two Truefitt & Hills in the world, and the original London establishment also lays claim as the world's oldest barbershop. Since its founding in 1805, the English Truefitt & Hill has counted every male British monarch from George III to Princes Philip and Charles, among its devoted clientele as well as Winston Churchill, Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Sinatra, Laurence Olivier, the Duke of Kent, Lord Sainsbury and various members of Parliament, both past and present.

After passing through a 120-year-old mahogany apothecary entrance, the visitor to Truefitt & Hill's estimable Michigan Avenue environs reposes in the waiting area (armed with a cookie, a cup of coffee and a copy of Royalty magazine) under framed lithographs of the Great Halls of the country of Kent. One of his venerable peers sits under prints of race horses, smiling distractedly, his pre-manicured hand resting in a pewter finger bowl. Across the room, under a portrait of a whippet, another silver-haired gent peruses the pages of The Wall Street Journal as his shoes are shined.

Chicagoans are privy to such pampering thanks to Kirk Merchant. After running the Drake Hotel's barbershop for 15 years, Merchant became the owner and manager of this tony Michigan Avenue establishment. "That was my Cadillac," Merchant says of the old business. "This is my Rolls-Royce."

Debonair in his signature red bow tie, gold-rimmed spectacles and immaculate white coat, the flawlessly-mannered Merchant occasionally lends his services as the official bow tier for the Four Seasons Hotel. Gut his true talent lies in his mastery of the straight razor: he trained the actor who shaved Robert De Niro in The Untouchables, and is frequently heard musing that "Shaving is really a lost art form."

But Truefitt & Hill breaks from tradition with luxury treatments, like pedicures and massages. In fact, the most popular service here is the one-hour stress-relief massage. Behind thick green curtains, the customer reclines in semi-darkness under piles of hot towels while his face, neck, shoulders and scalp are kneaded with oils. The soothing sounds of classical strings accompany the gentle clicking of an antique Rotherham clock. Explains Kirk Merchant, "We're not selling manicures, shoe shines, haircuts or shaves. We're selling an intangible - relaxation."

Chicago Social, June 1997