Brooks Brothers

{{For|the English pop duo|The Brook Brothers}} '''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 Avenue]] in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]]. ==History== 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 Street (Manhattan)|Cherry street]]s in [[Manhattan]]. 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." In 1850, his three sons, Elisha, Daniel, and John, inherited the family business and renamed the company "Brooks Brothers." [[Image:Brooks Clothing Store, Catharine St. N.Y. 1845.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The first Brooks clothier store, at Catherine Street in [[Manhattan]], 1845]] In its early history, Brooks Brothers was most widely known for introducing the [[ready-to-wear]] [[suit (clothes)|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. 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 . 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 [[Duchy of Burgundy|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 [[Garfinckel's|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]]. Under the leadership of Wood, Brooks Brothers became even more traditional. [[File:Brooks Brothers 1969 logo.png|thumb|230px|Brooks Brothers logo, ca. 1969]] By 1969, ten Brooks Brothers stores were in operation and located in Manhattan, [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]], [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[Atlanta, Georgia|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 [[United Kingdom|British]] firm, [[Marks and Spencer plc]], in 1988. In 2001, Marks & Spencer sold Brooks Brothers to Retail Brand Alliance ("RBA"), a company privately owned by [[Italy|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]]. ===Today=== As of 2011, there were 210 Brooks Brothers stores in the United States and 70 in other countries, including [[Japan]], [[China]], [[Taiwan]], [[Dubai]], [[France]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Chile]], [[Canada]], [[Italy]], [[Mexico]], and [[Greece]]. In 1998, Brooks Brothers launched its [http://www.brooksbrothers.com official website]. United States flagship stores are in [[Manhattan]], [[Chicago]], [[Boston]], and [[Beverly Hills]]. [[Image:BrooksBrothersBevHills.jpg|thumb|left|Brooks Brothers store on [[Rodeo Drive]] in [[Beverly Hills]], [[California]]]] 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]]. 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. [[File:Brooks Bros 11 E44 jeh.jpg|thumb|44th Street]] 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. ==Clothing innovations== 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, invented the button-down dress shirt collar after having seen the non-flapping collars 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). Between 1865 and 1998{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}, Brooks Brothers did not make an off-the-rack black suit. This policy was unrelated to the mistaken idea that the policy was because [[Abraham Lincoln]] wore a [[bespoke]] black Brooks [[frock coat]] when he was assassinated by [[John Wilkes Booth]], however, this concept often is stated as the basis for a traditional American fashion rule, that black suits for men are proper only for servants and the dead. Of course that is irreconcilable with the tradition of tuxedos. The proper explanation is that a gentleman would never wear black before evening. His formal daywear would instead be [[morning dress]], which is grey atop and pinstriped abottom. [[President]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]] was fond of Brooks Brothers' clothes: he even ordered his dress uniform for the [[Spanish-American War]] at Brooks. 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. The introduction of a sports jacket being worn with slacks that complemented, but were not matched to them became popular and acceptable even in business wear. ==Notable alumni== [[Ralph Lauren]] started out as a salesman at the Brooks Brothers [[Madison Avenue]] store. He was granted the right to use the [[Polo Ralph Lauren|Polo]] trademark from Brooks Brothers, which retained its rights to the [[iconic]] "original polo button-down collar" shirt still produced today. ==Notable customers== {{refimprove|section|date=March 2011}} [[Image:Brooks Brothers window.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A display in a Brooks Brothers store]] 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. [[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..." Brooks Brothers is the official clothier of the [[Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra]] 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. Chuck Bass and Nate Archibald on the ''[[Gossip Girl (TV series)|Gossip Girl]]'' TV series frequently wear clothes from Brooks Brothers.{{cn|date=March 2011}} The young stars of ''[[Slumdog Millionaire]]'' were all dressed by Brooks Brothers for the [[81st Academy Awards]]. Many on the television show ''[[Glee (TV series)|Glee]]'' wear Brooks Brothers.{{cn|date=March 2011}} Brooks Brothers frequently is sought out by costume designers in Hollywood, dressing stars in such films as, [[Ben Affleck]] in ''[[Pearl Harbor (movie)|Pearl Harbor]]'', [[Gene Hackman]] in ''[[The Royal Tenenbaums]]'', and [[Will Smith]] in ''[[Ali (film)|Ali]]''. The company produced made-to-measure period costumes for Denzel Washington's [[The Great Debaters]].{{cn|date=March 2011}} [[George Clooney]] wears Brooks Brothers throughout the film [[Up in the Air (film)|Up in the Air]] and scenes were shot in a Brooks Brothers airport store.{{cn|date=March 2011}} The men of the film ''[[The Adjustment Bureau]]'' wear Brooks Brothers.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. United States President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] began his association with Brooks Brothers during the Civil War, when he ordered tailored uniforms for the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] officers in the [[American Civil War]].{{cn|date=March 2011}} 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. [[Barack Obama]] wore a Brooks Brothers coat, scarf, and gloves during his inauguration in 2009. Vice President [[Joe Biden]] frequently shops at Brooks Brothers in Washington, D.C.{{cn|date=March 2011}} French former president [[Jacques Chirac]] also buys his shirts at the Madison shop and by selling. [[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.{{cn|date=March 2011}} [[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 (novel)|Junkie]]'', by [[William S. Burroughs]], an addict trades what he claims is a Brooks Brothers jacket for two caps of heroin. [[Richard Yates (novelist)|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 Lioncourt]] in [[Anne 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. ==See also== *[[J. Press]] *[[Paul Stuart]] *[[Brooks Brothers riot]] *[[Ralph Lauren]] *[[Thom Browne]] ==External links== *[http://www.brooksbrothers.com Brooks Brothers Official Web Site] *[http://www.visit5thavenue.com/brooks-brothers Brooks Brothers, Rockefeller Center, New york City] {{coord missing|New York City}}