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==Clothing innovations== |
==Clothing innovations== |
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Although today many people consider Brooks Brothers a very traditional clothier, it is known for having introduced many clothing novelties to the market throughout its history as a leader in the industry. In 1896, John E. Brooks, the grandson of Henry Sands Brooks, |
Although today many people consider Brooks Brothers a very traditional clothier, it is known for having introduced many clothing novelties to the market throughout its history as a leader in the industry. In 1896, John E. Brooks, the grandson of Henry Sands Brooks, applied button-down collars to dress shirts after having seen them on English polo players. In addition to the aforementioned ('''[[Ready-to-wear|ready-made clothing]]''' in 1859 and the '''Button-Down Dress Shirt''' in 1896), other firsts Brooks Brothers brought to America include: '''English [[Foulard]] Ties''' (introduced by Francis G. Lloyd in the 1890s before he was made president of the corporation); '''The [[Ivy League (clothes)|Sack Suit]]''' (1895); '''The Pink Dress Shirt''' (before 1900, it became a sensation in the postwar period to go with charcoal-gray suits); '''The [[Shetland (sheep)|Shetland]] Sweater''' (introduced in 1904); '''[[Overcoat#Examples of overcoats|The Polo Coat]]''' (about 1910); '''[[Madras (cloth)|Madras]]''' (introduced from India via Brooks Brothers to the public in 1920); '''[[Argyle (pattern)|Argyle]]s''' (in the 1920s, Brooks Brothers became the first American retailer to manufacture argyle socks for men); '''Light-weight Summer Suits''' (the first lightweight summer suits made of cotton corduroy and seersucker were introduced by Brooks during the early 1930s); '''[[Ruth R. Benerito#Contributions|Wash-and-Wear Shirts]]''' (in 1953 the store pioneered the manufacture of wash-and-wear shirts using a blend of Dacron, polyester, and cotton that was invented by [[Ruth R. Benerito]], which they called "Brooksweave"); and the '''Non-iron Cotton Dress Shirt''' (1999).<ref>''The Atlantic Monthly,'' “Under the Golden Fleece,” by George Plimpton, April 1993, and reprinted in ''American Heritage'', November 1993.</ref><ref>Cotton, Inc. "A Pressing Matter - Does wrinkle-resistant cotton threaten to make ironing obsolete?" [http://www.cottoninc.com/lsmarticles/?articleID=35]</ref> |
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Between 1865 and 1998{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}, Brooks Brothers did not make an off-the-rack black suit. The idea that this was because [[Abraham Lincoln]] wore a [[bespoke]] black Brooks [[frock coat]] when he was assassinated by [[John Wilkes Booth]] is a myth. It is not clear if this policy was the result or cause of the traditional American fashion rule that black suits in daytime for men are proper only for servants and the dead.<ref>[[Amy Vanderbilt|Vanderbilt]], ''Complete Guide to Etiquette'' (1956)</ref> |
Between 1865 and 1998{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}, Brooks Brothers did not make an off-the-rack black suit. The idea that this was because [[Abraham Lincoln]] wore a [[bespoke]] black Brooks [[frock coat]] when he was assassinated by [[John Wilkes Booth]] is a myth. It is not clear if this policy was the result or cause of the traditional American fashion rule that black suits in daytime for men are proper only for servants and the dead.<ref>[[Amy Vanderbilt|Vanderbilt]], ''Complete Guide to Etiquette'' (1956)</ref> |
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| Brooks Brothers logo | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Clothier |
| Founded | Manhattan, 1818 |
| Headquarters | Madison Avenue, Manhattan, New York |
Key people | Founded by Henry Sands Brooks Now owned by Claudio Del Vecchio |
| Products | Men's and women's Luxury Clothing |
| Parent | Retail Brand Alliance |
| Website | brooksbrothers.com |
Brooks Brothers is the oldest men's clothier chain in the United States. Founded in 1818 as a family business, the privately owned company is now owned by Retail Brand Alliance, also features clothing for women, and is headquartered on Madison AvenueinManhattan, New York City.
On April 7, 1818, at the age of forty-five, Henry Sands Brooks opened H. & D. H. Brooks & Co. on the northeast corner of Catherine and Cherry streetsinManhattan. He proclaimed that his guiding principle was, "To make and deal only in merchandise of the finest body, to sell it at a fair profit, and to deal with people who seek and appreciate such merchandise."[1] In 1850, his three sons, Elisha, Daniel, and John, inherited the family business and renamed the company "Brooks Brothers."
In its early history, Brooks Brothers was most widely known for introducing the ready-to-wear suit to American customers. In the late nineteenth century, Brooks Brothers tailored many distinctive uniforms for elite regiments of the New York National Guard, as well as uniforms for New York state troops during the Civil War.[2] These contracts for uniforms were notorious as an example of corruption in how they were obtained and the poor quality of the clothing delivered, the uniforms often having been made of pressed rag so that they fell apart in the first rains.[3]
The Golden Fleece symbol was adopted as the company's trademark in 1850. A sheep suspended in a ribbon had long been a symbol of British woollen merchants. Dating from the fifteenth century, the image had been the emblem of the Knights of the Golden Fleece, founded by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. In Classical Greek mythology, a magical flying ram, or Golden Fleece, was sought by Jason and the Argonauts.
The last member of the Brooks family to head the company was Winthrop Holly Brooks, who ran the company from 1935 until its sale in 1946, when the company was acquired by Julius Garfinckel & Co. Although Winthrop Brooks remained with the company as a figurehead, after the acquisition, John C. Wood became the director of Brooks Brothers. Just prior to that, Wood had been the carrier of the papers for the Dumbarton Oaks Conference.[4] Under the leadership of Wood, Brooks Brothers became even more traditional.
By 1969, ten Brooks Brothers stores were in operation and located in Manhattan, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C., as an integral part of the retail conglomerate Garfinckel, Brooks Brothers, Miller & Rhoads, Inc., that held the company until 1981 when it was acquired by Allied Stores.
Brooks Brothers was acquired by the British firm, Marks and Spencer plc, in 1988. In 2001, Marks & Spencer sold Brooks Brothers to Retail Brand Alliance ("RBA"), now known as The Brooks Brothers Group, a company privately owned by Italian billionaire Claudio del Vecchio (son of Luxottica founder Leonardo del Vecchio). Beside Brooks Brothers, RBA comprises Carolee, a designer of jewelry for department stores and specialty stores. In 2007 RBA sold its high end women's brand Adrienne Vittadini.
As of 2011, there were 210 Brooks Brothers stores in the United States and 70 in other countries, including Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Dubai, France, the United Kingdom, Chile, Canada, Italy, Mexico, and Greece. In 1998, Brooks Brothers launched its official website. United States flagship stores are in Manhattan, Chicago, Boston, and Beverly Hills.
Although most of Brooks Brothers' clothing is imported, many of the firm's suits, sport coats, shirts, and some accessories are manufactured in the United States. Many of its mid-range "1818" line of suits are manufactured at Brooks Brothers' Southwick plant in Haverhill, Massachusetts. All Brooks Brothers necktie silk is woven in England or Italy, and the ties still are “cut and piled” at the Brooks Brothers’ tie factory in Long Island City, New York; many of its shirts are manufactured at its shirt factory in Garland, North Carolina. Brooks also has a series of books on etiquette and manners for ladies and gentlemen. Its higher end label is the Golden Fleece line which features suits that are hand tailored in the United States.
In September 2007, Brooks Brothers' CEO, Claudio Del Vecchio, announced the unveiling of a new high-end collection of men's and women's wear named Black Fleece. Del Vecchio announced that the first star guest designer for the new collection would be New York menswear designer Thom Browne.[5] Black Fleece received so much critical and commercial success that Brooks Brothers opened a stand-alone Black Fleece boutique on Bleecker Street in the Winter of 2008.
In 2008, the company began an extensive renovation of its flagship store at 346 Madison Avenue and in January 2009 closed a smaller location at Fifth Avenue and Fifty-third Street in Manhattan. Brooks Brothers had planned to close store #124 in West Nyack, New York, on March 27, 2010, due to slumping sales.
In 2010 Brooks Brothers will be closing its current and long running location in Edison, NJ, which is the call center and online customer service location and will re-open in Enfield, CT.
Although today many people consider Brooks Brothers a very traditional clothier, it is known for having introduced many clothing novelties to the market throughout its history as a leader in the industry. In 1896, John E. Brooks, the grandson of Henry Sands Brooks, applied button-down collars to dress shirts after having seen them on English polo players. In addition to the aforementioned (ready-made clothing in 1859 and the Button-Down Dress Shirt in 1896), other firsts Brooks Brothers brought to America include: English Foulard Ties (introduced by Francis G. Lloyd in the 1890s before he was made president of the corporation); The Sack Suit (1895); The Pink Dress Shirt (before 1900, it became a sensation in the postwar period to go with charcoal-gray suits); The Shetland Sweater (introduced in 1904); The Polo Coat (about 1910); Madras (introduced from India via Brooks Brothers to the public in 1920); Argyles (in the 1920s, Brooks Brothers became the first American retailer to manufacture argyle socks for men); Light-weight Summer Suits (the first lightweight summer suits made of cotton corduroy and seersucker were introduced by Brooks during the early 1930s); Wash-and-Wear Shirts (in 1953 the store pioneered the manufacture of wash-and-wear shirts using a blend of Dacron, polyester, and cotton that was invented by Ruth R. Benerito, which they called "Brooksweave"); and the Non-iron Cotton Dress Shirt (1999).[6][7]
Between 1865 and 1998[citation needed], Brooks Brothers did not make an off-the-rack black suit. The idea that this was because Abraham Lincoln wore a bespoke black Brooks frock coat when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth is a myth. It is not clear if this policy was the result or cause of the traditional American fashion rule that black suits in daytime for men are proper only for servants and the dead.[8]
Through the middle of the twentieth century, when men generally wore full suits much more than now, "a Brooks Brothers suit" might even be mentioned to suggest the wearer's ordinariness. A popular book on evolution suggested that a Neanderthal man might pass unnoticed if he went out wearing the suit.[9]
Ralph Lauren started out as a salesman at the Brooks Brothers Madison Avenue store. In a famous lawsuit against its former employee, Brooks Brothers managed to retained its rights to the iconic "original polo button-down collar" shirt (still produced today), in spite of Lauren's Polo trademark
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Brooks Brothers has dressed generations of families, prominent and less famous, as well as political leaders, Hollywood legends, sports greats, and military heroes.
Clarke Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Barry Fitzgerald, Nina Foch and Maria Riva, are among a long list of Hollywood celebrities who obtained special attention during the 1940s at Brooks Brothers in Manhattan and they catered to executives in the emerging television industry such as Fred Friendly and Edward R. Kenefick of CBS.[10]
Andy Warhol was known to buy and wear clothes from Brooks Brothers. According to Carlton Walters: "I got to [know] Andy quite well, and he always looked bedraggled: always had his tie lopsided, as he didn't have time to tie it, and he never tied his shoe laces, and he even wore different colored socks, but he bought all of his clothes at Brooks Brothers..."[11]
Brooks Brothers is the official clothier of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra[12]
Brooks Brothers supplies clothes for the television show, Mad Men. In October 2009, Brooks Brothers created a limited edition "Mad Men Edition" suit with the show's costume designer.[13] Chuck Bass and Nate Archibald on the Gossip Girl TV series frequently wear clothes from Brooks Brothers.[citation needed] The young stars of Slumdog Millionaire were all dressed by Brooks Brothers for the 81st Academy Awards.[14] Many on the television show Glee wear Brooks Brothers.[citation needed]
Brooks Brothers frequently is sought out by costume designers in Hollywood, dressing stars in such films as, Ben AffleckinPearl Harbor, Gene HackmaninThe Royal Tenenbaums, and Will SmithinAli.[15] The company produced made-to-measure period costumes for Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters.[citation needed] George Clooney wears Brooks Brothers throughout the film Up in the Air and scenes were shot in a Brooks Brothers airport store.[citation needed] The men of the film The Adjustment Bureau wear Brooks Brothers.[16] In November 2011, Brooks Brothers announced that it had designed a custom wardrobe for Kermit the Frog for the movie The Muppets.
At his second inauguration, United States President Abraham Lincoln wore a coat specially crafted for him by Brooks Brothers. Hand stitched into the coat's lining was a design featuring an eagle and the inscription, "One Country, One Destiny". He was wearing the coat when he was assassinated.[17]
United States President Ulysses S. Grant began his association with Brooks Brothers during the Civil War, when he ordered tailored uniforms for the Union officers in the American Civil War.[citation needed]
President Theodore Roosevelt was fond of Brooks Brothers' clothes: he even ordered his dress uniform for the Spanish-American War at Brooks.
Many more presidents, including Herbert Hoover, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush (who, however, when accused of being a Brooks Brothers Republican, revealed that he was wearing a J. Press suit), and Bill Clinton were known to wear Brooks Brothers clothing lines.[18] Barack Obama wore a Brooks Brothers coat, scarf, and gloves during his inauguration in 2009.[19] Vice President Joe Biden frequently shops at Brooks Brothers in Washington, D.C.[citation needed]
French former president Jacques Chirac also buys his shirts at the Madison shop and by selling.[20]
Stephen Colbert, of the Colbert Report and formerly of the Daily Show and Strangers with Candy, has all of his suits for the Colbert Report supplied by Brooks Brothers.[citation needed]
James Thurber refers to Brooks Brothers shirts in some of his short stories. Kurt Vonnegut also refers to a Brooks Brothers suit worn by the main character in his book, Jailbird.
In the novel, Junkie, by William S. Burroughs, an addict trades what he claims is a Brooks Brothers jacket for two caps of heroin.
Richard Yates not only wore Brooks Brothers clothing throughout his life, but he often referred to the brand in his writing, notably in A Good School, in which one of the characters tries to hang himself with a Brooks Brothers belt.
Bret Easton Ellis refers to clothing from Brooks Brothers worn by Patrick Bateman and his colleagues in his controversial novel, American Psycho.
The lead character Lestat de LioncourtinAnne Rice's Vampire Chronicles often describes himself to be wearing suits by Brooks Brothers.
Novelist W.E.B. Griffin often has included mention of Brooks Brothers military uniforms, Dress uniform and Dress Mess uniform in particular, in his best-selling Brotherhood Of War and The Corps book series.
