When Richard Carroll opened Carroll & Co. in a small second-floor office in 1949, the shop quickly became a hit with some of Hollywood’s most dapper men, including Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire. The Beverly Hills men’s specialty clothing store soon gained traction as a go-to place for costume designers looking to dress their leading men.

More than 60 years later, Carroll & Co. has seen its studio business shrink as celebrity customers look to larger stores or international brands that offer discounts or give away complimentary clothing.

But the shop still manages to attract some big names. This year Carroll & Co. clothed Denzel Washington in two of his upcoming movies.

John Carroll, who took over the business from his father, said the studio division is still an important part of Carroll & Co.’s sales, but it isn’t as big as it once was. Today it makes up about 10 percent of the company’s sales.

“I’d love to tell you that the entertainment aspect is an area that we can build on, but that’s changed a lot over the last few years,” Carroll said. “We have a small studio business but it’s not what it was. It’s not growing.”

Carroll & Co. is known for its high-end menswear including made-to-fit suits that can cost up to $5,000. The store also sells off-the-rack suits for as low as $900 and sportswear such as slacks, sweaters and jackets.

Over the years, Carroll & Co. clothing could be found on the actors in a variety of popular movies and TV shows, including “Mary Tyler Moore Show” and the original “Dallas.” Today the store’s credits include the casts of “Modern Family” and the new “Dallas.”

When costume supervisor Robert Mathews was looking for a cognac-colored suede jacket for Washington in his upcoming film “Flight,” he went straight to Carroll & Co. Mathews, who became a regular customer when he worked on “L.A. Law” in the early 1990s, ended up buying six of the jackets.

“Every time I’m doing a show and I need classic, beautiful men’s clothing of a high quality, I always find it there,” Mathews said. “Their clothes are always timeless.”

Changing times

Under Richard Carroll’s ownership, Carroll & Co. became known as a place where customers could have some coffee and maybe schmooze with the stars as they shopped. That atmosphere remains today.

“You feel part of the family,” said Stuart Newmark, a manager who’s worked for the store since 1989. “The best testament to the company is the longevity of the people who work here.”

But business has changed since the days of Sinatra and Astaire when Carroll & Co. was the largest retailer on Rodeo Drive with more than 15,000 square feet.

In 1996 Carroll & Co. bought a smaller 8,000-square-foot space on Canon Drive. At the time of the move, John Carroll, now 48, took over the business from his father, who passed away about seven years later.

Carroll & Co., which has 22 employees, recently downsized again, closing a two-year-old storefront in Montecito in 2010 and an 11-year-old store in Pasadena last year.

Martin Hughes, a business consultant with Moss Adams who works with L.A. fashion companies, said Carroll & Co. is one of the last establishments of its kind because independently owned shops face bigger challenges today as they compete against larger operations.

“Many have gone out of business due to the competition from department and specialty stores,” he wrote in an e-mail. “They can’t compete with the heavy discounts that these stores offer.”

Carroll & Co. remains competitive today in part because of its made-to-fit suit business and its growing selection of sportswear and accessories. The company also makes a number of sales through its Internet and catalog businesses.

Carroll expects that there will continue to be a market for Carroll & Co.’s brand of updated traditional menswear and old-school customer service as new generations of professionals seek out specialty suits and casual clothing. He even wants to open more stores, perhaps outside of Los Angeles, within the next five years.

“There are very few stores that do what we do,” he said. “There are a lot of places where a man can buy a suit, but in terms of our type of clothing, there aren’t a lot of people around.”