The New York City-based men's store was founded in 1926 by Harry Rothman, grandfather of current owners Ken and Jim Giddon.

It takes a lot to get Ken Giddon to wear a suit. But considering the occasion, it was the appropriate attire.

Giddon, who is usually dressed in a tight black T-shirt, was front and center Thursday night in a blue double-breasted suit when he and his brother Jim celebrated the 100th anniversary of Rothmans, the men’s store their grandfather founded in 1926.

The Giddons cleared the merchandise off of the main floor and installed a small stage, video monitor and bar for the party, which drew hundreds of industry executives, city officials and customers.

The theme of the evening was family and relationships, the cornerstones of the business for the last century. As the story goes, Harry Rothman was just 15 when his father was struck and killed by a horse-drawn ice wagon on New York’s Lower East Side in 1918. The oldest of eight children, he quit school and started selling rags out of a pushcart to help the family make ends meet.

That led to him opening his first store selling leftover merchandise from top brands at discounted prices.

Fast forward to 1985 when Harry and his brother both died and the family needed help liquidating the business. That task fell to Ken Giddon, who postponed business school in Boston to take on the task.

What he never expected was that he would fall in love with the business and decide to reopen it.

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