Brooks Brothers: Company Info

Brooks Brothers is the most important men's clothier in American history. In 1818, Henry Sands Brooks founded the company, which enjoyed an immense reputation for almost two centuries. In 1845, BB introduced the first ready-to-wear suits in the USA. They were loved by those who had become wealthy during the California Gold Rush six years earlier. They did not have time to wait weeks for the fruits of a tailor's work. Henry Sands Brooks died in 1833 and the management of the company passed into the hands of his son Henry Junior. Twenty years later, his children inherited the management, and Brooks Brothers finally became a true brotherly company, as the name suggests. At that time, the Golden Fleece symbol was adopted as the BB-logo. The image of a sheep hanging from a ribbon had been a common symbol of British wool merchants for centuries.

In 1865, US President Abraham Lincoln ordered a coat from Brooks Brothers for his inauguration. The lining was hand-knit with an intricate pattern of a hawk and the words “One country, one destiny.” Sadly, Lincoln was wearing the same coat when he was assassinated. In 1890, Francis G. Lloyd, a senior partner at BB, visited England and brought back ties made from silk foulard. They were soon copied into the company’s collections and were immediately adopted by customers. Many of the patterns are still used in BB ties today.

John Brooks, grandson of the original founder, made clothing history in 1896 when he introduced the button-down shirt. He was inspired by a visit to England, where polo players wore shirts with collars that were held up by buttons. This is still the main reason why the button-down shirt is not very formal. The Brooks Brothers button-down shirt is still one of its best-selling products. In 1904, BB introduced the Shetland sweater which was copied from the sweaters of the island of the same name. The style quickly became an American classic.

In the 1920s, the legendary company's influence continued to grow. BB introduced the Repp tie, an American version of the British regimental stripe. Mirrorin the original, the Repp tie had stripes running diagonally from top left to bottom right. Within thirty years, Repp became synonymous with Brooks Brothers and the Ivy League style. In the 1920s, the Madras pattern also found its way to Americans when the company brought it to its collections from India. In the 1930s, seersucker, a wrinkled cotton fabric, was introduced as a dressy alternative in USA. It was welcomed by the public as a major clothing innovation, and remains the ideal fabric for hot summer weather. In 1949, Brooks Brothers expanded into women's clothing, and in the same year, company president John Clark Wood was the first to introduce argyle socks to the USA. In 1965, the legendary English company Peal & Company went bankrupt. The loss was great as Peal had made shoes for Lord Wellington, Fred Astaire and Winston Churchill, among others. BB acted quickly and bought the company and its assets as part of its concern.

In the early '80s, Brooks Brothers enjoyed a renaissance of Ivy League and prep styles. The company sold more Shetland sweaters and button-down shirts than ever before. In 1988, however, something terrible happened. Nearly two centuries of elegance and quality men's clothing had to give way: the company was sold to the giant chain Marks & Spencer in the name of capitalism. The decline continued when BB established its first outlet stores in 1991, where clothes were sold to the masses. They became the fastest growing part of the company for a long time. In 2001, Brooks Brothers ventured into the world of digital tailoring. The customer's body was scanned with a laser. In the same year, the company was sold to the Retail Brand Alliance chain, and management decided to return suits, ties and shirts to the center, along with new material combinations.

In 2003, the company celebrated its 185th anniversary, but the company has not been a top-tier clothing manufacturer for a long time. Most of the production has been outsourced to low-cost countries, production batches are huge, and almost nothing is finished by hand. Prices have remained high. The exception is the Golden Fleece-collection of suits, which is still handmade in America, and there is little room for criticism.