Generations of Style

-1-

THE FIRST

years

MISSION STATEMENT - TO MAKE & DEAL ONLY IN MERCHANDISE OF THE

BEST QUALITY· S WINE RU NN I NG LARGE I N THE STREE T S · THE CORNER

OF CATHARINE AND C HERR Y STREETS ADVENTUROUS ENTREPRENE UR S

COMMERCIAL HUBBUB THIS HOU SE WAS THE P I ONEE R I N THE

READY - MADE CLOT HI NG TRADE I N THIS COUNTRY MARAUDER S

PAY A V I SI T TO BROOKS BROTHERS WE' R E NO T JU ST FOR THE RI C H

BUT FOR THE S U CCESSFU L MAKERS AND MERCHANTS I N ONE A TALL,

F I ERCE OLD GENTLEMAN W I TH U NCLE SAM WHISKERS THE STANDA RD

MASCULINE C I VIL COSTUME A WHOLE PH I LOSOPHY OF DRE SS

POLO S HIRT CONl-' I NED STYLES, NO EXAGGE RATIO NS OR FAS HI ONS

.Yellcra{iollJ'!!IV{y!e

IT 'S ALL ABOUT THF. C LOTH I NG

THE FI RST HUNDRED YEAR S 1S

e have no idea of Henry Sands Brooks' expectations when he opened
the doors of his new clothing emporium on April 7, 1818, but he was
certainly forward-thinking enough to articulate what would today
amount to a ((mIS. SI.On statement» :

if"To make and deal only in merchandise the best quality, to sell it at ajair priflt only,
ifand to deal only with people who seek and are capable appreciatina such merchandise."

A hundred years later, those involved in Brooks Brothers would continue to refer
to this statement as "the only principle ." It would serve as both map and compass
as the company grew to b ecom e the single greatest influence on men's fashion
in America.

Henry S. Brooks could hardly have imagined such a legacy. N ew York City in
1818 burst with opportunities, but few, if any, saw male apparel as one of them .
Manhattan hardly held the pre-eminent position as America's sophisticated com-
mercial center that would characterize it in later decades. In fact, if Henry Sands
Brooks had a moment to r ead the newspaper the day he opened his store, he
would have seen headlines addressing a far more pressing issue : a proposal before
the City Council to outlaw "swine running large in the streets." Indeed, New
York's cramped lanes and alleys were described in one contemporary account as

,,i16 T H E fi RST IHINDltED YEA RS

BROO KS CL OTHIN G STORE. CATHARINE 5T.N .Y. 1845 THE ORIGINAL STORE
AT 116 CHERRY STREET
Henry Sands Brooks purchased this
buiIJina!or 51],000 and opened hisfirsl
cloth/no store at this site April 7, 1818.
Prior to this illustration, Brooks had been
joined by his brother David roJorm
"H.&JJ.H. Brooks &(0." Henry Sands
Brooks'so ns would rename it "Brooks
Brothers"in 1850.

THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS 17

V IE W OF NE W YO RK HA RBOR

FR OM BATTER Y PA RK

PR OM EN A DE , 1 8 29

"I walked lI'ir_h n!'y wifeJor un hour bifarc

dinner at rhe BatltTy. IVhat a beawifu/

SpClt it isl The noblc bay with the opposite

shares oj8rook!rn and Sraren Is/and,

if'·we.ls CI'C!)' descrip'ion,from thc

1Il!II,uppointcd Lil'erpool packets to the

little market craft. oh·e lifo and anima·
tion to a prospecl unexcclled b)· an)' city

in the world."

- "Diary or Philip Hone," ,829

"the dirtiest in the United States." LI nder such cond itions, Not all of New Yor k's comm ercial potenti al was driven by trans-
aCCjuiring and supporting a sto re selling men 's fine ry wou ld Atl an tic trade. In that same year, John Jacob Asto r'sA mcrican
seem unlikely to rank high on the city's "to do" List. Fur Company opened a trading post on Lake M_idligan at a poi nt
that would later be the site of MiJ waukee, laun ching this promi-
NewYor k City's popu lation - around I2f ,000 ~ had recently nent New Yorker toward his own vast for tu ne. The city, in shor t,
placed it ahead of Boston, sti ll well behind Philadelphi a. W hile was growing its own brand of leaders, and Henry Sands Brooks
New York was briefl y the country's first capital, new ly independ ~ was to be one of them .
ent America looked e1sewhere for its leaders: to the New England
Adamses or the array of candidates named Jefferson, Monroe and Li ttle is know n of Mr. Brooks. He was th e son o r David Broo ks,
Washington in Virginia. However, NewYork 's bustling seaport a Conn ecticut phys ician, himself the heir o r an English fami ly
was Cjwckly pos itioning the ci t)' as a comm ercial power. Regular whi ch had come to the town or Stratrord on Long Island Sound
transatlantic commerce - a "Packet" ser vice to Liverpool - had [50 years before Henry's birth . tn 1747 , Dr. Brooks moved to
only begun the year before Brooks opened his doors. The corner Manhattan and took up practice at Cathar ine and Cherry, the
of Catharine and Cherry Streets - where Brooks located rus site on which rus son would eventually open his clothing store.
empor ium - led straight to the "horse rerr)," to Brooklyn . Four
months after the shop opened , the Savann ah, the fi rst Am er ican Brooks was 46 years old when he went in to the clothing business,
ocean-going steamshi p, was launched a rew blocks away. and was said to have previously been occupied as a provisioner.
Supplyi ng goods to seafarers, fur trader s, and other adventurous
entre preneurs co uld make a man a very good li Ving, but more

1 8 THE FIRST HU ND R ED YEARS

The ubiquitous and hazardous pig in early New York.

CHRONOLOGICAL MAP OF
BROOKS BROTHERS STORES
(lift) This map, created in 1925,

ifillustraus the misuJtion Brooks' stores

as Ne!l' York's population expanded
]rom the early seaport northward toward
Central Park.

SWINE RUNNING
LARGE IN STREETS

if(top rishr) Manhattan in thefirsr half
ifthe 19th centw), was a city extremes.

While the wealthy and prqfossional classes
lived comJoTtab~' and dressed stylishly
(c:ften in c1othinafrom Brooks Brothers) ,
the cramped lanes rj'lower Manhattan
were populated with swine runnina wild
in the streets.

THE WATERFRONT OF THE EAST
RIVER AT CATHARINE SLIP, 1851
(bottom riahr) Brooks Brothers' store
f aces Catharine Market, one block inf rom
the river.

THE FlRST HUNDRED YEARS 19

c- im por tantly, it placed Brooks at the center of the commercial
hubbub where every co nversation embraced the comi ngs and
o go ings of goods. Those with who m Brooks dealt o n a daily basis
<'" possessed long.established relationships w ith the suppli ers

.C orand merchants Great Britain, an associatio n that wo uld serve

c;. c.. Brooks well in his new clothing business. So it was not by hap-
penstance that Brooks located rus new store at the center of
' . /~ these energ ies and aspirations.

l j '. '". Brooks was a dapper man and well traveled . Apparently, his pre-
vious occupation had often taken him to London on buyi ng trips.
, Legend has it that he was prompted to begin his career as a hab-
erdasher by his many friends. Brooks was "known particularly
HENR Y SAND S BROOK S' for his colorful waistcoats .. . . Since the bul k of hi s trans-Atlantic
FIR ST ACCOUN T BOO K luggage consisted of ful filled requests fo r friends who wan ted
materials, coats, waistcoats from abroad, it was a natural step
This page cJthe account booi: Jocumcnu to go into the business professionally."

Broolu'first "rnmsaaion": Q loon to It might have been hi s reputation as a dandy that initiated his entry
"Daniel " terrelL ifHolI's N«It"jor £JO. into the clothing business, but dandyism could hardly have sus-
tain ed it. Henry Brooks' first entry into his account book wasn 't
1 0 T H E FI RS T H UNDRED YEARS a sale at all , but a loan in the amount of £ 10 made to a "Daniel
Merrett of Hows Neck." From his first transaction, Brooks was
building relatio nships with people who no t o nly appreciated
the quality of what they were buying, but who would soon
retur n fo r mo re .

Henry was later (tempo rarily) joined by hi s younger bro ther,
David, to form a company named H . & D.H. Brooks and Co.
Befo re Henry Sands Brooks died in 1833 , he brought in his sons
- Daniel H. , John , Elisha, and Edward - and indoctrinated
them tho roughly in his way of doing business. The offspring
changed the company's name to "Brooks Brothers" in 18so .

By this time, NewYork 's population had reached 630,000 and
was doubUng every I S years.T he Erie Canal had opened up
the middle of the continent, making New Yo rk the undisputed

THE SONSOF
HE NRY SANDS BROOKS

(lift to riohr)
Edward Sands Brooks, 1821-1875

Partner, 1842- 1875
Elisha Brooks, 1815- 1876

Parmer, 1836-1876
Daniel H. Brooks, 1809-1884

Partner, 1833- 1879
John Brooks, 1813-1899

Partner, 1834- 1874

commercial center ofAmerica. Movement - both sea\vard finan ces and their energi es, it took som e dOing .... The practice
and weshvard - defin ed the life o[NewYork, and the sons of of having one's clothes made also d emand ed patience and ready
Henry Sands Brooks capitalized on it. In 1849, th e store cash, both of whi ch were in short supply among everyone but
announced in the Morning Courier &..NelV York Enquirer that it the well-to-do."
had on hand "a large stock o[ ready- made clothing, suitabl e for
the California Trad e." If one were rich, one retained a tailor capable of turning out fine
garm ents; if poor, one depended upon the many local seamstresses
DEMOCRATIZING AMERICA N DRE SS who made rough garments intend ed to endure for many years.
Basic clothing was so expensive and hard to come by that it
That early adverti sem ent suggests one of the keys to Brooks \vas common practice to have apparel patched and otherwise
Brothers' early success : r eady- made clothing. Adventurers and reworked , eve n dismantled so that new garments could be cre-
m erchants setting out for Sacramento or Singapore couldn't wait ated from the assorted pieces.
[or outfits to be custom made. ThaUt was possible to buy virtu-
ally an entire vvarclrobe ready- made - and one of high quality Access to ready-made garm ents, therefore, changed the lives of
at that - presented an enormously attractive proposition. a large portion of the population. While there is no exact docu-
mentation, most historian s agree that Brooks Brother s was, if not
It was also something of a novelty. Prior to mid -ce ntury, all the first, at least among the first to ofTer ready-made clothing. And
clothing was made by hand, regardless of economic statu s. In her it was a distinctly American phenomenon: "Off the rack" cloth-
ing was w1h eard of in Europe at this time. The company didn't
if"Clothes, Character, and the Promise America,"Jenna Weissman simply fall in line with other stores selling ready-made apparel,
but rather continued to be guided by their fOW1der's m otto: "To
Joselit states that, before ready- made clothing, "Assembling and make and deal only in m erchandise of the best quality." An 189 1
maintaining a wardrobe \vas by no m eans easy. A drain on their

TH E FIR ST HUNDRED YEARS 2 1

LOWER MANHATTAN ,
MID · 19TH CENTURY

These ilitmraliQm' quire! liwrl/J1y portray

'1the "carriaoe trade rom which came

many oj8rooks ' cor!>' cusromers.

l i '!' (I . \ I , W .\T 1"1< tl , 1 'I' ( E I '\ .I ~I(.

22 THE FI RST HUNDR ED YEARS

book entitled "History and Commerce oj'Ne nl York"cJcscribes the day, it has reached a co mmanding posi tion among similar estab~

co mpany's prc ~e mjnent status: "This house was the pioneer in lishments· IThe companyJ has 78 persons employed on the

the ready made clothing trade in this country, and th e so und premises, and upwards of fifteen hunclred elsewhere in the man ~

judgment,marked executive ability and perfect facilities or its ufacture of clothing .... In one word, it is a mod el establi shm ent,

founders ... have long ago secured for the fine clo thing of their and as such contrast favorably with any in the country. Ever y

manufacture the national reputation of being fuJly equal ofcustom variety of Clothing is kept co nstantly on hand for sale." In other

mad e ....The firm make [sicl the finest clothing in the world." words, the Brooks brothers were doing exactly what Henry

Sands had wished them to do.
Despite Brooks' growing reputation for fine ready-made apparel,

New York's upper class gentlemen remain ed attached to custo m ORNAMENT S OF BROADWAY
tailoring.The elite held to the conviction that, whi le Ameri ca

was very good at ta ming the \-Vest, it was no good at all when it Brooks Brothers' dose relatio nships with their customers

cam e to setting fashion trend s. For that, one must look east. rCGuired , of course, that th eir store remain prox imate to them .

Speci fi cally, onc looked to London, where the likes of Georgc At first, the corner of Cherry and Cathar ine was ideal, laying

Bryan "Bcau" Brummell ( 1778- 1840) co nt inu ed to set th c stan~ close by "Quality Row" and other neighborh oods housing the

danl s for wcll ~drcssed gentlemen on both sid es of the Atlantic. professional and mo neyed classes of Manhattan. But tlle popula-

(To note but o ne small example, Brummell was well known tion was expanding north and westward, and lowcr Manhattan

for achi eving the exquisite fit of his glm'es by having o ne tailor was becoming increasingly less fashionable.

construct the fingers and another the thumbs.)

As a result, in 18.n the company added another store at the corner

Brooks' custom department responded to this predilection. From of Grand Street and Bl'Oadway. opening what a contemporary

his ea rli est days as a clothier, Henry Sands Brooks knew that it account in Valentine's ,Hanual dcscribes as "the largest establish ~

) wasn't eno ugh for Brooks Brothers to turn o ut clothing that o nly ment of its kind in the wo rlcl.""This magnifice nt warehouse,"
looked British. To exceed hi s custome rs' ex pectatio ns, the gar~
exclaims Valentine's, "is o nc of the most substantially built, ele ~
I ments must in every possible way be British, a standard which
gantly furni shcd, and co nspicuous architectural ornaments of

rC(luircd that hi s clothing be constructcd of high ~(l uality European Broadway. The who lc area co mprised in its five floors is 100,000

matcrial s. To achjeve thi s, Brooks ca rlyon built relation ships with square feet .... Nearl y all th e wa lls and lofty ceilings are frescoed

the best Engl ish and Scottish merchants and mills. Thus began in a style or consummate e.icga ncc .... [On the first floor] so me

th e long association ben\'een Broo ks Brothers and the British tWellt)' strong and highl y o rnate iron pillars support the lofty

sa rto rial tradition. fTescoed ceiling. and along the walls at intervals rise immense

By mid-century, Brooks Brothers was an established and cven mirrors, six by tweke feet in dimensions, framed in elabo rately
es teemed men's clothier. The 1849 "Stranger's Guide to the Cit)' carved black wa lnut . ... The chandeliers and gas~fixtures are
of ewYork" said of Brooks Bro th ers, "Commencing in a mod ~ of the richest and heaviest descri ption, and were supplied from
crate way, upon a safe and sure foundation, the enterprise From the facto ry or Messrs. T ilTa ny & Co . . . . [On the second floo rJ
t ime to time has been gradually enlargcd, until , at the present rises a pagoda, fiftee n feet in diameter by thirty feet in height.

THE I' IRST HUNDRED YEAn:; 2)

BROOKS BROTHERS GOES TO WAR

MILI TARY UNIFORMS L
(ncar riOh/) " cadeL's uniformfram the
Brooks Archil"cs: (for riOhL) PresiJen!
TI!eodore RoosCI"cll in his cus/om-madc
Brooks uniform; (bdon~ uniformsfrom
a Brooks ctltalOfl.
CIVil WA R
(opposite pane) An ordc~for CiI'il II'cIr
un!lorms addresscd to Brooks Brothers
from Qyartcrmasur General Chester JI.
Arrhur. who would laICr becomc lire 21s1
president ofdle. United SW/e!.

Some historians contend that Brooks Brot.hers began making mili -

<1tary uniforms [0 ojJset the loss trade JIIith t.he South during the

CiI'il War, but the uuth is that by t hat. time, the company was
already well knownJor its cllstom- and ready-made military apparel .
Officers donned Brooks' dress uniforms as early as the Mexica n War
(1847- 1848), and Civil War Genera ls Gram, Sheridan, Haaker
and Sherman also outfitted themselves at. the s[Ore at. Grand and

ifBroadway. While serving as Qyartermast.er General New York

State,future U.S. President Chester A. Arthur ordered massh'e amounts

i fmilitary clothinBjrom Brooks Brochers. The company contin ued

[0 prOVide uniforms t hrouBh the FirS[ and Second Y!lorJd Wars.

2 + THE FIRST HUNDllED YEARS



BROOKS BROTHERS STORE, At the time of the Civil War, the original emporium remain ed
BROADWAY AND GRAND STREET open as wel l. In fact, the store was vandalized during the 1863
Draft Riots. Harper's Weekly reported, "From the first of th e ri ot
(lOp) This ornate tmporium was bUiltjor clothing appeared to be a great desideratum among the roughs
Brooks Brolhm in J957 and hausN the composing the mob. On Monday evening a large number of
firm until 1970. marauders paid a visit to the extensive c1othing.store of Messrs.
Brooks Brothers .... Here they helped themselves to such arti-
LI NCO L N'S FU N ERAL CORTEGE cles as they wanted, after which they might be seen dispersing
in all directi ons, laden with their ilI.gotten booty." (The night
(bollom) A depiction ifAbraham Lincoln's after this attack, the Grand Street locati on was guarded by a boy
of about 13, Francis Lloyd, who wouJd later become preSident
jl/nerol COrltae as it palStd the Siort April of Brooks Brothers until his retirement in 1920.) No solid reason
was given for the ransacking, except, as noted above, the fact
25,1965. Brooks BrothrrsflcII'thefla8 that Brooks was by thi s time well know n as th e outfitter of
01 ha!f-su~ffon the riShl. Ont million choice for many northern regiments, and thus resented by the
Ntw Yorkers viewed fhe procession. "roughs" threatened with conscription.

The dome is surmounted by a Globe Clock, with four dials, From 1870 to 1874, Brooks operated from a temporary location
which in the evening is illuminated from the inside by gas· light, on Union Square, after which the company again moved north·
thus showing the tim e to all poi nts throughout the floor. The ward to a perman ent site at Broadway and Bond. That same year
'Narks ofthis clock arc situated beneath it, and operated by a ( 1874), the original Cherry Street store was closed, reflecting
pecuUar process." Brooks Brothers was doing well , indeed . the abandonment of lower Manhattan as the center of the city's
activi ties. By thi s tim e, NewYork boasted a million inhabitants,
Refl ecting its swelling business as a maker of military uniforms, Central Park had already provided diversion to alm ost a ge nera·
Brooks counted among the patrons of its new mercantile palace ti on of New Yorkers, and Fifth Avenu e reached as far north as
Generals Grant, Sherman, Hooker, and Sheridan. President ssth Street.
Uncoln bought a silk-lined overcoat at the Grand Street store
and worc it for his second inauguration . He was wearing it again Like the Grand Street store, the edifice at Broadway and Bond
five weeks later when he was assassinated. was custom-designed for Brooks and described as "a magnificent
building." However, for reasons never madc dear, internal docu·
ments noted that the Bond Street store "was deemed poorly
located ancl was given up a mere ten yea rs later." Thus, in 1884,
five years after the death of Daniel Brooks, the last survi ving son
of th e fo under, Brooks Brothers moved farther upto·wn to

26 THE FI RST H U ND IlED YE .... IlS

BROOKS BROTHER S STORE ,
BROADWAY AND 22N O STREET
1884 - 191 5

THE CI VI L WAR DRAFT RIOTS
AND THE SACKING OF BROOKS
BROTHERS
(lift) This drawlngfiom the AUBIJSl I.
1863. Leslie's Illustrated nCII"Spapcr
shOll'S the mobs pi!foring the ori9inoJ score.

Broadway and nnd Street. Situated diagonally opposite the famo us In the 50 years from 1880 to 1930, American culture grew
Flat-Iron Building and just south of Madiso n Square in a fashion- increasingly fluid . Class and background no longer so strictly
able shopping distri ct, the business remained there fo r 32 years. determined the social and economic fabric of the city. Two groups
in particular - a rising industrial eli te and a swelling immigrant
W E'RE NOT JU ST FOR THE RI C H population - were permanently alteri ng the cultural dynamics
BUT FOR THE SUCCESSFUL not only of New York, but of Am erica in general. Further, both
groups qui ckly began to associate appropriate, quality clothing
Whil e it is certainly true that with each new location, Brooks with social and economic mobility.
Brothers continued to make itsel f available to the wealthier
e lements of New York's population, they were never Brooks' Brooks Brothers saw their potential cUente1e increase conSiderably
only custo mers. after the Civil War, as entrepreneurs in manufacturing, rai lroads
and oil began to infringe upon the status of the old-time land-
holders, merchants, military men and bankers. While the old

THE FIRST HUNDRED YEAR S 27

establishm ent could bar these new businessmen &om their clubs NEW LEADER SH IP
and hom es, it couldn't prevent them from patronizing the estab -
lishment's most favored haberdasher, These arrivistes might not Many businesses can claim "we're a fami ly," but few, if any, took
have been able to boast comparable bloodlines, but they could it as literally as Brooks Brothers. During the last quarter of the
quite readily don comparable apparel. 19th century, four of Henry Brooks' grandsons entered the busi-
ness in various capacities, most of them working their way up
Similar thinking prevailed among the immigrant population , alongSide employees w ith whom they would associate for years
For the sons of Italy, Ireland and much of the rest of Europe, it to come. It became clear t hat the continuing health of the busi-
took little to convince them that the road to success \.vas more ness depended upon loyal, consistent leadership, and not all of
easily trodden in a pair of good shoes and a well-cut suit. As one it had to be named Brooks. At first , the grandsons formed a part-
Eastern European immig rant wrote in 19'7 ,"1was fo rever nership with six of the oldest employees, Then in 1903, these
watching and striving to imitate the dress and the ways of the gentlemen inco rporated, installing Francis Lloyd - the boy
well-bred American merchants. A whole book could be written who had stood vigil against maraud ers at Grand Street 40 years
on the influence of a starched collar and a necktie on a man before - as pres ident, Frederick Brooks, a grandson, was
who was brought up as I was," appO inted vice -president.

In fact, not only did this immigrant population find ready-made THE EX CELLENCE OF THE WORKMA NS HIP
clothing a key to their acceptance and mobility, they also con-
tributed greatly to the industry itself. Thousands of immigran ts O ne cannot overestimate the impo r tan ce of Brooks as makers
found their first jobs in the ready-made clothing factori es whi ch of its own clothing. As the company's founder became known for
seemed to sprout overnight in NewYork 's emerging garment the quali ty of what he wo re, he created the sam e expectations
district. "Said to employ more people than the sprawling steel among his early customers. The Brooks descendents continued
mills of Pittsburgh, the motorcar plants of Detroit, or the to fulfill those expectations by first acqUiring fabric from the best
slaughterhouses of Chicago, the ready- to-wear industry, head- woolen mills and the most skilled silk , linen and cotton weavers
quartered in New York City, altered America's access to and atti- that the British Isles could ofTer, Only from these materials could
tude toward dress." Well into the 20th century, Archie Summ ers, they assemble the finest clothing. Take, for exam ple, Brooks'
the manager of Brooks Brothers' shirt facto ry in Paterson, N.J. , oxford-doth shirts, which the company introd uced to Am erica in
inter viewed potential seamstresses and cutters as they stood in the last quar ter of the 19th century. Mere novelty wasn 't enough:
line at Ellis lsland . Brooks knew that those shirts were only as good as the cotton
weave from which they were made. After a Brooks representative
By democratizing dress, ready- to-wear garments paved the road discovered the cloth in England around 18]5" , the company took
toward social stability and financial prosperity, increasingly, the development several steps further, working with the Scottish
Brooks Brothers becam e synonymous with the best such apparel manufacturer D&J Anderson to create its own excl usive oxford,
money could buy. In the 1980s, the company ran an advertisement which the mill call ed "Cloth # I ." And erson continued to supply
which read, "We're not just for the rich but for the successful." Brooks' oxford Cloth for another 70 years, and even today Brooks'
The claim was just as true a hundred years earlier. oxford shirts are derived from that same weave.

28 THE FIRST HUNDR ED YEARS

MAK ERS AND M ERC HANTS

From the company'sjoundine, Brooks
Brothers distinguished itselfrhrouuh
the excellent workmanshipjound in both
its custom- and ready-made clachine.
Beine bath "Makers and Merchants"eave
Brooks absolute control over its rif[erings,

ifand ensured its customers the hiohest-

quality apparel.

Being their own maker gave them control over every garment, quite as high in public estimation as that which is made to order."
from its base materials to the final product. Further, by making Further, the company began to be known as the place one could
its own clothing, the company avoided paying others to do so, thus go to obtain ready-made items that were then unobtainable else-
enabling the company to pass this saving on to their customers. where except on custom order. Undoubtedly Brooks' reputation
Being "makers and merchants in one," therefore, allowed them as a maker of fine ready-made clothing ensured their success
to offer consistently built, high-quality apparel at prices which at a time when custom tailoring was beginning to lose ground.
hardly exceeded what competitors were asking for inferior goods.
Given the growing importance of Brooks as a manufacturer, the
Capitalizing upon these advantages, Brooks Brothers' ready- choice of Francis G. Lloyd, described as "a tall, fierce old gentle-
made department grew steadily throughout the last half of the man with Uncle Sam whiskers," for company president was all
century. One article from late in the century extolled, "The the more prescient. Many of the design blocks still used for
Brooks Brothers were among the first merchant tailors who paid printing Brooks ties were selected by Lloyd on his frequent buy-
particular attention to the excellence of the workmanship which ing trips to England.
now-a-days causes Ready Made Clothing to rank nearly if not

THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS 29

By this time, Brooks had also become known for its creative
selection of ties, the most famous of 'which was the Foulard,
which Brooks Brothers introduced to America around 1900.
Clearly, Lloyd's decades of servi ce had provid ed him 'with a deep
understanding of the Brooks customer, who had grown by this
time to expect that if Europe offered anything new worth wear-
ing, they would find it first at Brooks.

THE BROOKS TI E The impact and influence of this garment cannot be overestimated.
The May 7, 1938 , issue of The Nell' Yorker stated, "The real trade-
Many Brooks tie desians, such as mark of Brooks Brothers is not the Golden Fleece which appears
on their advertising and letterheads; it is the Brooks Number
those shown here, were selected by One sack coat. Brought.up to date every year or so, it neverthe-
Francis C. Lloyd upon hj~' man)' less hasn't changed essentially in half a century. The coat has been
copied time and time again by other tailors, but the true Brooks
if\'isic.s to Eng/and. Many these fanati c insists upon the natural shou lders, the distinctive roll
of the lapels, the straight lines, the general uncompromising
are stiIJ Ilsed today. sloppin ess of the genuine article .... The Number One line
remains ... a whole philosophy of dress."

BROOKS THE INNOVATOR It \-vas also just prior to the turn of the century that Brooks
Brothers introduced what would become the Single most imi-
Certainly the earliest and most enduring of Brooks' innovations tated item in American clothing history: the button-down shirt.
is its famous Number One sack suit. Offered in a four-button How Brooks "discovered" it typifies the process by which many
version by 1900, and a three-button after 1918, the sack suit was of the company's innovations came into being. John Brooks, a
characterized by unpadded, "natural" shoulders, modest lapels grandson of the founder, was on one of hi s many visits to England.
with a buttonhole on the left, soft-front construction, a center While taking in a polo match, he noticed that the players wore
back vent, and straight-leg trousers. Simply put, the company a shirt designed specifically for their sport. The item featured
added quality, styling and, hence, respectability to the baggy a soft collar which buttoned dovvn to prevent it from flapping
jacket and full trousers adopted by men in general earlier in about during play. Mr. Brooks brought the shirt back to NewYork,
the 19th century. What clothing historian Anne Hollander refers where soon thereafter a version of it was being made in the
to as "the standard masculine civil costume" evolved into the Brooks factories.
Brooks' sack suit . Brooks has continued to offer it - with 'what
amounts to quite incidental changes - for over 100 years. The button-down collar has been such a standard feature of
men's dress for so long that today it is difficult to comprehend
how "revolutionary" Brooks ' innovation was. Heretofore, men

30 THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS

SPECIALTY DEPARTMENTS
Ea rly on, Brooks became knownJor irs
specialty departments, inc/uJino livery as
lI'el/ as spartino and ridino aear. frlany
lifelona Brooks customers were introduced
to rhefi rm throuah the Boys' Department.

THE FIRST HUNDRE D YEARS 3I

THE DETACHABLE COLLAR
(abol'e) Commonplace a century ago, the
detachable collar, as shown here, and irs
matchina detachable cl!ffi JIIould qUick!!

sire way to the soft collar and c!!.IJs ojthe

"Polo Shirt,"first brouahtfrom Enaland
to America by John Brook5.
SWEATER, CIRCA 1915
(riaht) By J 920, in addition to its
famous Shetland sweater, Brooks Brothers

ifalso fjJered a rarie9' sweaters in

unusual desians and ,% rs.

3 2 THE FI R ST HUNDRED YEARS

purchased their shirts separate fro m the collars and cuffs. Made Club- all a stone's throwaway_ This elegant lo-story building
of a stiff linen, these items, while pleasing to the eye, were was again especially designed and built for them , this time by
uncompromising against the skin .The soft collar and cuffs found La Farge & Morris, the latter of whom served as the consulting
on what Brooks originally called the ('Polo Shirt" were both more architect for the Queen Mary.
agreeable to the touch as well as easier to laund er. Men didn 't
instantly abandon detachable cuffs and collars, but within a few THE FIR ST HU NDREDYEARS
years one might more likely find them in the attic than the bureau.
At the end of World War I, Brooks Brothers was nearing its cen-
Brooks' ofTerings in sui ts, ti es and shirts during this period gives tennial. One wonders how many Amer ican companies of any
the lie to the fTequent misconception that classicism and innova- sort could have said that. Much had happened, much had been
tion are mutually exclusive.The fact that one may still purchase lear oed, and many patterns were now set in place.
a Brooks sack suit and button-down shirt confirms that v.then
new ideas are governed by good taste rather than fashi on trends, First, the co mpany had articu1 ated a philosophy of dress and
they have staying power. defined its desired customer. This from "The Development of
Male Apparel," one of Brooks Brothers' array of instructive "little
BrooksI innovations hardly ended there. Among the other more books" printed dur ing this era: uP resent day fas hions have vast ly
remarkable garments introduced by the company during this changed from those of older times, when beauty, color, and fre-
period was the Shetland sweater. O riginally, the wool was hand- quently gross exaggeration , "'''ere the order of the day. To excite
spun in peasant cottages, which allowed it to absorb the odors of attention by anything at all remarkable in the way of color or
breakfast and dinner. On damp days, consequently, those stand - texture is considered both vulgar and ridiculous. Too lavish a
ing nearby the wearer of a Brooks Shetland might detect the di splay of jewelr y stam ps a man at once as 'oat quite a gentl e-
fa in t smell of smoked herring or cabbages. By 19 12, the process man,' and silks and sati ns for a man 's attire, except as linings, are
had been refined , after which, no surprise here, wo men couldn 't things of the past . [Today ] want of color is th e keynote of correct
buy enough of them. fashion .... [H[e seeks to di sp lay hi s good taste in dress by the
perfect lines of ms garm ents an d by the quality of the material
ONE FINAL MOV E necessary to preserve these rather than by any thing exaggerated
or obtrusive."
In the summer of 19 15", after three prosperous decades at
Broadway and 22 nd, Brooks Brothers und ertook its fifth move Brooks had learned that those attracted to its merchan9.ise v.'eren't
in 97 years, relocating to its present flagship at 346 Madison merely the SOcially prominent and we ll -heeled. Business was
Avenue ("Cor. 44th St.").This location placed it, not COincidently, just as robust among those for whom owning a quality wardrobe
in a neighborhood which had recently become the preferred Signified their aspirations. They may not yet have "arrived ," but
location for NewYork's most prominent social organizations, their appearance indicated their intentions to do so. To confirm
including the Harvard and Yale Clubs and the New YorkYacht

THE F I RST HU ND R ED YEARS 33

BROO KS BROT HE RS STORE , thi s, the co mpany conducted a sur vey of deliveri es in Manhattan
346 MAOI SON AVENUE ove r a peri od of 12 months, and to th e surpri se of so me mem-
bers of the fi r m, rhel-e was nearly as much business carri ed to
Tht 14-6 "'oJiw n An~nUt builJing the less amuent upper west side as to Park Avenu e and eastward .
11m bUlltJor Brooh Brothi!rt In 1915
and Is lodofsfloglhip start. ccond, they wcrc"makcrs and merchants" of an exclusive Hn e
o r clothing. From a little book simply called "Brooks Brothers"
]4 THE F I R ST H U N OR EI) YE An S ( ' 90 1): "We arc not wholesalers and ha\·e no agents; the result is
small lots, confi ned styles, no exaggerations o r fas hions_" This was
simply a much more elegant way ofsaying,"We make great d othes
and se ll them at fair prices_ To own them, you must come to us."

Th ird, they were illllovators. A Brooks cxecutiv of the Fifti es

once claimed, "If we were thoroughly conser vati ve, we'd be dead."
That was already COll1mon knowledge by 1900. Fo ur th, the
company und erstood that their success depend ed upon building
and ma intai ning stro ng, lasting relationships. The strong rela-
tionships with their customers were o nly the end produ ct of
o Uler equa lly important associati ons - particularly with their
Euro pean suppli ers_

And finally, their success depended on loyal employees with a
deep und erstanding of Brooks' products and culture: "Fro m the
Ci\fil War days it has always been the policy of the Brooks famil y
whil e remaining in control of the business to associate with
themselves in its management and in partial ownership men who,
through early apl)renti ceship and long trainin g in th e establish-
ment , have become as much imbued with the spirit of the ho use
as they themselves." These gentlemen wo uld contribute g reatly

iWto the company's contin uing prosper ity.

ESTABLISHED 1818

~. ,
( ~91=~t!ijj(~
I 8I 8 frutlrmin~ fiirnh14in9 fottb5.

Catharine & Cherry c.%essrs. BROOKS BROTHERS announce
Streets
the Completion of their

ONE HUNDREDTH YEAR

as Merchants in

the City if New York

dpnl 7, I9I8

A 'P hotographic Catalogue and
c:/fn Illustrated 'Booklet Commemor at ing this Centenary

will be sent on request

BOSTON SALES·OFFICES NEWPORT SALES·OFFICES
TREMONT COR. BOYLSTON. STREET 220 BEL LEV U E A v E N U E j

A BROOKS M IL ESTONE
Brooks Brothers celebrates its centennial.

By this time, the character rithe company
H"osfi rmlj' in place, and thase rc lues
would ouiJa Brooks towardf urther success
in irs second cent lllJ'-

i,,T H E F IR ST HUNDRE D Y EA R S 35



I

THE BROOKS
BROTHER ' S TIE

THE BROOKS TlE-
ALREADY FAMOUS FOR BOTH

EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY &
EXTRAORDINARY VARIETY

IN COLOR & DESIGN

IWN MAKE N ECK W EAR
.glish ~triped Re p Silk.
· block printed foulard s

other fine materials
'ide chtlicc of designs



BROOKS BROTHERS In

THE JAZZ AGE

A CENTURY OLD AND GOING STRONG BEAGLING AMERICAN

WORTHIES KARNAK OXFORD BAGS WE'RE NOT IN THE FASHION

BUSINESS - WE'RE IN THE CLOTHING BUSINESS· SIMULTANEOUSLY

TRADITIONAL AND INNOVATIVE. ODD JACKETS AND 000 TROUSERS·

NEWBURY STREET THE ROADMAN EXPANSION ... FINALLY!

!/eael<(lI irNIJ"f'I'J{y!o

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CLOTHING

THE JAZZ AGE 39

he end of World War I marked the end of an era, as many of the com-
fortable truths embedded in America's Victorian past were left on the
battlefields of France. The boys who sailed off to fight the Huns were
dutiful, God-fearing, industrious-and also perhaps a little naive and parochial.
The American doughboy came home a winner, not diminished but emboldened
by the experience . If they could save Europe, then anything was possible. Thus
empowered and confident, America would henceforth forge its own destiny.

The future did indeed look rosy - and different. In I920, women won the right
to vote. In many other ways, people sensed an expansion of their capacities: the
Model T Ford could now get you anywhere, and the first round-the-world flights
took place in "World Cruisers" made of plywood, spruce and linen canvas. We
knew more, and we knew it faster when the first radio station went on the air
November 2, I920. America might not have b een sure of its direction, but it was
quite certain it could run under its own power.

Armistice ushered in the true beginning of the American Century, and post-war
expectations were rapidly changing the face of America . The boys who took
France from the Germans found it difficult to retreat to the family farm. For the
first time more, Americans lived in cities than in rural areas. There was a growing
sense that the energies fueling America's uncertain but exciting future would be
more likely found in the Big Apple than Boise.

,

4 0: T H EJA Z Z AGE

i

,,

THE JAZZ AGE! 4'

BROOKS AS EVIDENCE? 92 THIS SIDE OF PARADISE Brooks - by now a fixture of New York 's landscape - rem ained
quite sure of its direction : straight ahead . A century o ld and
In 1945, an e.tcerptJram F. Scott "Don't ask me-same old things, I suppose. A going strong, Brooks Brothers had become an American m etaphor
FitzseraJd's "This Side of Paradise," month or two in Lake Geneva-I'm counting on you to fo r those who aspired to be par t of this new ly ambitious and
written in 19 20 , 11"C1S used as evidence be there in July, you know-then there'll be Minneapo- confident America. The novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald , for example,
in a Brooks BrOlhers court case asainst lis, and that means hundreds of summer hops, parlor. are peopled with earnest heroes who hailed from the Midwest
California competitor "B rooks C/othins." snaking, getting bored- But oh, Tom," he added but who came to play in the racy world of NewYork via Princeton
Fitzserald's riference to Brooks Brothers ~ddenly, "hasn't this year been slick!" or Yale. Invar iably, they wor e Brooks. Hemingway sneered at
dotnins helped them win an i nj unction . \ / "No," declared Tom emphatica1Iy, a new Tom, the Brooks wear er in "Th e Sun Also Rises," proving that even dis-
I( clothed by Brooks, shod by Franks, uI've won this gnmtled ex- pats, if they wanted a ready shorthand for mainstream
game, but I feel as jf I never want to play another. Ameri can ambition, drew upon th e Brooks m etaphor.
You're all right-you're a rubber ball, and somehow it
suits you, but I'm sick of adapting myself to the local Brooks itself had und ergo~e a subtl e id entity shift . For m uch of
snobbishness of this corner of the world. I want to go its history, the company played upon the strong British flavor of
where people aren't barred because of the color of their its cl othing, furnishings and materials. After the war, however,
neckties and the roll of their coats." Brooks began to identify itself as uniqu ely an d authentically
Am eri can. The clearest example of thi s shift may be fo und in the
"You can't, Tom," argued Amory, as they rolled "littl e books" which Brooks had been publishing since before
along through the scattering night; "wherever you go 1900. Those from that period r efl ected the company's Anglophile
now you'll always unconsciously apply these standards sensibility, describing the rul es of polo or "beagling," then detail -
of 'having it' or 'lacJting it.' For better or worse we've ing Brooks' complet e line of polo, riding or hunting attire. In
stamped yOUj you're a Princeton type!" 1920, however, Brooks circulated a little book called "American
Wor thies," which didn 't address clothing at ali , but the American
1/ Well, then," complained Torn, his cracked voice Jis.. character :"Certainly nothing should com e amiss whi ch directs
ing plaintively, "why do I have to come back at all? the thought of present day Am ericans to the worthy characteris-
I've learned all iliat Princeton has to offer. Two years tics o f the found ers and m en of substance of the earlier days of
more of mere pedantry and lying around a club aren't our Republi c ...." This notable shift signifies more than a public
going to help. They're just going to disorganize me, r elations "spin ." New York by this tim e stood as a world capital
alongside Paris and London, and the clothing produced stateside
conventionalize me romplete1y. Even now rin so rival ed the best Europe could offer.

spineless that I wonder how I get away with it.II
'~ Oh, but you're missing the real point, Tom," Amory

interrupted. "You've just had your eyes opened to
the snobbishness of the world in a rather abrupt man·

nero Princeton invariablY glv.. the thoughtful man a

social sense."
"You consider you taught me that, don't you?" he

asked quizzically, eying Amory in the half dark.

Amory laughed quietly.

"Didn't nil

iCase No. ~5"'&O -

~~:.:.;1U:no==,~:::::"..--=\c.:.;~=_vs. ,~ c..w:."N,oIoCO

_-.lp:..:G:::.f;:..:..:......_ _ EXHI BIT _ •..2.0.,.0'--_ _

Date.. .... No. _.._ _ _ IDENTIFICATION

Dist.Dete3..:.!_~:.=!.~. No. .....~Q...... IN EVIDENCE

~'lDi~):~a~~.;;t of Calif.
.. _ Deputy Clerk.

42 T H E J AZZ AGE

BROOKS BROTHERS IN LITERATURE

By the 19205, Brooks Brothers was so readily associated !Vith the " THI S S IDE OF PARA DI S E"
American male identity that its cloc.hina became both a powe1ul BY F. SCOTT FITZG ERA L D

ljterary metaphor and a usiful shorthand to delineate character. (fIJI lift)

In F. Seo" Fitz8erald's "The Great Gatsby" (1925), mueh is made "A PPOIN TMEN T IN S AMARR A"
BY JOHN O' HARA
ofjay Gar.sby's silk shirts, whichfor the knowing reader sent a sia- (ntal lift)

nal: Weadon a silk Lie indicated Boad taste, but silk shirts? Mr. THE JAZZ AGE 43
Gotsby was tryinS too hard. A aeneration late" in novels such as
"Appointment in Samarra,l'!John 0' Hara repeatedly dressed his no-
account sharpies in loud colors, wide Japels and padded shoulders;
and his 800d8uys, the upper middle-class, wealthy and blue-blooded
creations with whom he laraeIy identified, were invariably dressed
in Brooks. In private life, O'Hara IVOS so punctilious about Brooks
tai ]orina t hat. he importedJabricsfrom Allen Solly &...Compa ny
in England to befashioned in Brookl JVorkrooms. O' Hara was also
addicted to Brooks' button -down shirts, ordering buttons to be sewn
also on the back ofcollars cyter thatfeawre went out offoshion.
Brooks dothing also served as vital character points in Somerset

Mauaham's 'The Razor's Edge,"J.P. Marquand's "B.E's Daughter,"

and many other literary works. Mary McCarthy's short story, "The
Alan in the Brooks Brother Shirt," proVides literature's most vivid
example as the author juxtaposes the lifestyles, ambitions and intel-

iflects the conservative steel industry executive, Bill Breen, with a

bohemian character, Mea, with whom hefalls in love.

BROOKS' POLO SHIRT But if' the Twenties was all about thrOWing ofT the shackl es of'
Victo ri an conformity, why would Brooks Broth ers, the stawl ch
The bunon-down collar Polo shirt , which traditionalists, benefi t from this liberated mindset? The answer
Brooks introduced to America around begins by addressing a common misconception: that Brooks'
' 900, became cnormolU'lj' popular du rins classicism froze it in tim e. The truth is that Brooks' fashi on
fheJa7.7. Ase. was always changi ng - albeit subtly and tastefully - and that
the company was, as noted in the previous chapter, a leader in
innovation .

I On that fTenzied morning in 1918 , those rowdy soldiers traded
their uniforms for, among other items, arm loads of button-down
I collar "polo" shirts, sti ll considered in some circles a rather
daring choice .The young F. Scott Fitzgerald not only documented
__ J•~__________ the "Jazz Age," but also expressed it in his dress : He rai sed eye-
brows by being one of the first "celebrities" to eschew the
J AZZ ATTIRE starched collar for the Brooks' button-down shirt."The whole
iss ue of the soft collar is much broader than a mere matter of
fashi on and taste," ,vrotecolumnist HeY',,'ood Broun in 1923 .
"It is an inevitable symbol. Just as a woman is apt to change her
wh ole attitude toward life when she bobs her hair, so it is with
the man who turns down his coUar. Once he has found stimula·
tion in one act of rebellion, he is likely to go further."

In 191 8, three years after moving to Madison Avenue (two Post-wa r sar torial experimentation also demanded an ex panded
blocks from Grand Central Termin al), Brooks got an unex pected color palette. By the mid-Twenties, notes a historian, "IMenJ
taste of post-war exuberan ce from some of its soldier-customers could purchase a great many things, including colored shirts.
returning from the war. A few weeks after the Armistice, Brooks 'Times have changed,' observed the Satu rday EveninB Post ... ,
Brothers received a wire from Plattsburg reading: "PLEASE applauding the way color had emancipated modern man . A
ARRA N GE TO OPEN STORE T OMORROW AT EI GHT glimpse in to the wardrobe of the well -dressed man ,,,'ould make
THIRTYWH ENWEARR IVE GRAND CEN TRAL." Ther e were the 'explorers of Tut-ankh-Amen's tomb green with envy.'"
a number of signatures, all famil y names in the ledgers for gen- (This reference to the Egyptian king has further resonance:
erations, and the doors were open when the contingent arrived. Brooks' original "white" oxford cloth was actually called "Karnak,"
Contemporary accounts said ,"It was like a very large football to suggest the off-whi te linen found in the Tombs of Karnak.)
squad coming into the locker room after taking a tough game, with Having oITered their button-downs in pink just after 1900 and
uniforms tossed to the floor and the tailors slowly going crazy." additional colors within a few years, Brooks stood at the forefront.

44 THE JAZZ AGE

•if:.

TOPPED IN STYLE

As rhcsc prelim/nUl)' catalog photo8TOphs
will attest, Brooks Brothers' hats, like so
many ifrhcir oorments, exhibit a knack
Jar nwintoinina afine balance ciftradi -
lion and innol'lJtion, style and closs.

THE JAZZ :\GE 4 5"

CASUAL WEAR J
Ilmericans durina the 7i1·emies enjoyed
increasinB amounts ifleisure time and
souaht more coloiful and less reslrictive
clothina ta accampany them dulina irifor-
maloutinas. In response, Brooks intro-
duced innorati;·e desians in jackets and
trousers, sold as separaus.
STOCKINGS AND VEST S
The mid- 7iFenties aave rise to abundant
choices in wardrobe. Items slIch as these

ifsocks and vests in a multitude colors

and patterns were alllhe raac.

46 THE JAZZ AGE

Perhaps predictably, post-war exuberance drove some "Jazz Age" the Thirties, the company's Presi dent Winthrop Brooks articu-
dressers tmvard fashion far beyond Brooks' offerings.The "sports" lated Brooks ' confidence in steering a middle ground: "And right
of the era wouldn't dream of being seen in their gin joints with- here let me say a word about conservatism. It does not m ean, as
out loudly colored socks and ties. The National Association of so many believe or affect to believe, a stubborn refusal to di scard
Retail Clothiers and Furnishers also complained of men appear- what is old and outworn, nor an old fogeyish prejudice against
ing in public in baggy "flapping" trousers and other loose garments innovations of any kind . It really means a determination to retain
reflecting a literal rebellion against "stuffed shirt" conformity. what has been tried and proven to be good, and to refrain from
By 1927 , The New York Times was sOWlding the fashion alarm, th e exploitation, simply because it is new, of what is essentially
distressed that such unconventional garments were passing cheap and silly."
beyond fad and into the mainstream. (Ironically, baggy trousers
weren't an American invention, but a then -current British Wli - For many, the baggy pants and elongated silhouettes then the rage
versity fad: "Oxford bags" - which Brooks Brothers refused to were indeed "cheap and Silly," and Brooks maintained, as long it
sell- were voluminous, pajama-like garments measuring 20- had, that, "We're not in the fashion business .We're in the clothing
26 inches at the bottom.) business." Despite the flamboyance of the Jazz Age, a great num-
ber of the populace left their jazz at the night club and hung their
Examining such cutting-edge trends, historians often discover dependable sack suit in the wardrobe. "Except for movie heroes
that "traditional" Brooks had already been there and done that. and matinee idols, men nowadays scorn the deliberate struggle
Brooks cOWltered the Twenties' rage for color and flamboyance for beauty," claimed The New York Times in 1926. Reflecting thi s
not by abruptly changing its current merchandise, but by dipping sentiment, Brooks' 1922 catalog stated that its purpose "is to fur -
into what they had offered earlier. The folIo·wing description of
th e period supp lies an apt example: "Not long ago reports from cfther within broad lines correctness the idea of indiViduality in
Princeton indicated that some campus trade was going to com-
petitors specializing in exceSSively flamboyant merchandise. Men's Clothing." Holding confidently to a middle groWld - being
After a council of "..rar a delivery truck was loaded with stock, Simultaneously traditional and innovative - Brooks remained
a good salesman put in charge and off they went to give Nassau a slave not to fashion, but to its own high standards.
the works .... Princeton seemed convin ced that Brooks had
the stuff, and Brooks, remembering the blazers, the screaming NEW PRODUCTS
neckwear and socks with which they made the Nineties gay and (AND NEW BUYERS FOR OLD ONE S)
have kept up to date, wondered how anyone could get the idea
their stock lacked color." Sometimes, even when Brooks wasn't innovating, its customers
were. A perfect example is the Polo Coat, which Brooks intro-
While the above is an admittedly extreme example, it does illus- duced into America from England around 1910. The earliest
trate how Brooks' sure-handedness and self-confidence allO\ved version was white, sporting white pearl buttons and full belt.
the company to steer a steady course even during period s of Immediately popular, the coat later appeared in gray, then camel.
Widespread experimentation. In a letter to custom er s written in Then something odd began to happen: Girls from fashionable
private schools - Miss Porter's in particular - began buying
them in Brooks' Boys' Department, and soon the garment

THE JAZZ AGE 47

q; THE LITTLE BOOKS

International From around 1900 until the earty 7iventies, Brooks Brothers produced
a Jorae number ,!!~'Jjtt!e books," Some WeTe historical ("Chronicles:
TROPHIES
A Record of Sundry Happenings at Brooks Brothers, 1818- 1.909").

ifand others i'!fOrmative: lists BolfresorLS, spartino rules, seasonal

schedulesJoryachLina or colleaeJootball. Surprisina/Y, byfar the

foreest number of Brooks' litc.le books are instructional and adViSOry.

"Goina to EUI0pe."Jor example. apprises t.he novice traveler on what

'!!to expect - and what. course, [0 wear - when trove/ina abroad.
ofIInreat many t his lJ'pe deal with the rules ojappropriate dress.

Concerning eveni ng wea' , one booklet recommends, «ifeconomy be

necessary. c01fi ne it to day wear." While no one kn olVs why Brooks

decided to ojJer these books, this instructional bent suaaests that the

firm's customer base had expanded by che end ojthe 19th cenwry,
and that much ojAmerica's new wealthfrom that periodJound such

IP.rules and advice helpful. AJter all, one doubu chaL Moraon needed

La be told what to packJar a Iroyaae [0 Europe.

BROOKS BROTH ERS

Broadway, cor. '2. 2nd Str,'<'t

N E"VV Y 0 R }\

48 THE JAZZ AGE



MISS PORTER'S SCHOOL,
EARLY TWENTIES

ofAll the students in this class photO[lraph

are proud!J wearinB Brooks Brothers' "Polo
Coat," purchased in the Boys' Department

(note the riBht-co-lift buttons). Brooks
introduced the Polo COal to America

around 19 Jo. By the 1irenties, it was

standard wear on most eastern campuses.

became a mainstay of the finishing school set. This pattern would of a single thread of silk, but only the middle mile is worthy of
be repeated later, when women pilfered the Men's Department a Brooks tie. Most of the Brooks ties, even today, are hand sewn
for pink button-downs and the Boys' for Bermuda shorts. with a slip stitch, which gives the tie a natural, durable spine and
allows the tie to give under the pressure of the knot, thus ensur~
TheTwenties also saw Brooks establish other trends, the most ing it will always remain flat on the wearer. (There is a lady at
lasting of which was the introduction of the repp tie. The the Long Island City factory who has been doing that slip stitch
striped pattern - said to be a reversal of the British regimental for 50 years.)
tie - had caught the discerning eye of Mr. Lloyd not long
before he left the presidency. By the Fifties, the repp tie became As with all Brooks clothing, form follows function. When
synonymous with Brooks and the "Ivy League Look." encountered lying on a store table, a Brooks tie hardly appears
extraordinary: The stitching on the back is somewhat irregular
Perhaps this is an apt moment to address Brooks and ties, which (that lady isn 't a machine, after all), and it feels rather insubstan-
formed - alongside its steady comrades the button-down shirt tial. That's because Brooks ties aren't made to look pretty on
and sack suit - the core of the business. Throughout its history, tables, but handsome when cinched comfortably about the neck.
Brooks has manufactured its own ties, thereby ensuring both That slip stitch acts as a stabilizer: Holding it at one end, the tie
high quality and proper performance. Many comparries boast can be drawn up like a purse-string - a nice party trick, per-
of their lOa-percent silk ties, but not all silk is the same quality: haps, but not the point. The stitch ensures that whatever abuse
A Single cocoon of the silkworm produces roughly three miles one heaps upon the tie, it won't twist or torque. Even after the

50 THE JAZZ AGE

rowdiest of evenings, hang it on a doorknob, and tomorrow THE "REPP " TIE
morning it looks new. Thus, the Brooks tie acquires its own (abore) The word "repp" orJ8inaud in
built-in fastidiousness. fhe 181h cenwlJ and is dt:rll·edJrom a

"000" I TEMS corruption ifthe Funch wordfo r"fib."

During the Twenties, Brooks customers were loo king for proper & r!J n«.ware was ifun creaud. li.e
but more comfortable clothing to accompany leisure activities. the present-doJ upp tle.from a close!J
In response, Brooks' catalogs of the period began to feature "Odd wOl'en ribbedfabric. This ribbing provtd
Jackets" and "OddTrousers" - that is, less formal, sporti er pants especlal!J op,/or striped ,Ies and Ofher
and jackets designed to complement one another.The term "odd," gortMnuba:oWlt the ribbing ron across the
append ed to either "jacket" or "trouser," remained part of the fobric and stabilized ,he striped design.
Broo ks lexicon - fa miliar to both salesman and customer - lEISUREWEAR
well into the Fifties. Modeled after Brooks' go lfing attire from In l~ TIt"t'ntia. Brooks greol" expanded
the turn of the century, Brooks' richly textured and patterned
jackets - often of tweed or chevio t and accompanied by solid- iu line if'eisureM'eor. Shown here is
colored Aannel trousers - provided endl ess new options for
weekend and trave l wear. Brooks was soon adding to their line Brooks'famow "Noifol. )0'.6."as well as
of summ er clothing by introducing madras and new styles of swlm"'eor and othrr casual opparrl. tfftrn
beachwear to the American buyer. (Some new styles resulted In madras. which thr componJ introducrd
from less savory sources. During the Twenties, one of the clerks to America durinS this perloJ.
explained to a customer who was puzzled by a new line ofatypi -
cal felt hats, jaunty affairs with swooping brims, "We have a new THE JA ZZ AGE S I
kind of customer these days, sir - since prohibition .")

EXPANS I ON . .. FINALLY!

Despite being over 100 years old and immensely successful,
Brooks Bro thers had always seemed uninterested in expanding
outside Manhattan . Prior to theTwenties, the company had
established only o ne outpost, a seasonal operation in Newport,
opened in 1909 . Not much is made of it in any Brooks literature,
but one suspects that the store was never intended to make much
money. Rather, the Newport shop served as a kind orrraveler's
Aid for th e yachting set: always at the ready with a pair of white

assured of ample business after 16 years testing the market, built
their first full-size store on Newbury Street in 1928 That store
still remains a feature of the Back Bay.

SEASONAL STORES NEWPORT BRANCH THE ROADMAN
Brooks Brothers:ftrst ventures outside
Manhattan were these two seasonal stores. 220 BELLEVUE AVENUE-1909 Noting Brooks'move to Boston, several banks approached the
Both Newport (openr:J in 1909) and firm with proposals to back additional branch stores throughout
PALM BEACH BRANCH the country and were turned away rather coldly. But Brooks'
Palm Beach (1924) served the social elite lack of interest should not be mistaken for sluggish thinking.
while they "summered" ar "wintered" in PALM BEACH AVENUE, SOUTH-I 92 4 By the Twenties, the company served customers in every major
thesefashionable resort towns. U.S. city through another of its innovations: the traveling repre-
flannels when a misfortune beside the Vanderbilts' pool rendered sentative. Brooks dispatched its first "roadman" in 1903, making
a previous pair inoperable. At any rate, a few years later, as it the first retailer in America to establ ish such a program.
changing tastes and more rapid travel options prompted the (That roadman's name, by the way, was David Guiry. He would
Ne·wport set to season farther afield, Brooks decamped as well. become the manager of the Back Bay store and serve Brooks
A second seasonal operation opened in Palm Beach, Fla., in for five decades.) By the late Twenties, roadmen were spending
December 1924; the Depression prompted its demise in '933. 18 days in Chicago every six months; 15 in San Francisco and
Boston was taken more seriously. As base camp for the Brahmin Los Angeles; 14 in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington;
establishment and home to Har vard and other elite colleges and 12 in HartICord and Providence; and so on. Many 0 f Brooks'
prep schools, a Boston store would have seemed, to use modern senior officers spent some part of their early years as traveling
parlance, a slam dunk. Yet Brooks - always preferring a toe- representatives, and the experience served them handsomely.
in-the-water over the cannonball from the high dive - remained
characteristically deliberate. The company set up a small sales SETTING A RECORD
office there in 1912.These sales offices - Brooks would repeat the
practice elsewhere, even on Wall Street - \vere intentionally Innovation . Compelling and original clothing lines of remarkable
modest: Set in small quarters on the upper floors of office build- quality. Creative approaches toward customer service and con-
ings, they amounted to little more than a permanent trunk show. tact. Gradual but sensible expansion. At the end of theTwenties,
Such was the case with the Boston sales office, until the company, these elements combined to make Brooks more successful than
ever. The company has never felt comfortable discussing num-
bers - reflecting itsWaspish nature, Brooks probably thought it
bad taste - but it is known that its sales volum e in T929 reached
over $6,500,000: a company record. Such success provided
Brooks the momentum it would need in the next two decades,

q;as it faced the Depression and, eventually, anotberWorldWar.

52 THE JAZZ AGE

MADISON AVENUE COR. FORTY-FOURTH STREET THE ROAD MAN
NEW YORK Brooks Brothers was oll1'o)'s dedicored
to seflrlna irs customers. no mOUer where
A Representative of BROOKS BROTHERS the), /il'cd. Thisodl"(!rtbcmentJrom che
Thirties illusuares how essential the
will visit the following cities during the NTro l'cllna Reprcscnrarirc." was to rhe
coming season with Samples and Brooks hcritl18c.
Model Garments

ANNAPOLIS CHICAGO WJwn Henry Sands Brooks opened Brooks
Carve! Hall Brothers' first shop in 1818, it required 23
February 8 Hotel La Salle days to travel from Boston to Savannah.
March 22 Feb. 17 18 19 20 Today on e can go from New York to Los
26 Angel es in le ss than 16 hours. Changing
tt.aryil 24 tt.r.Mar. 17 18 19 20 methods of tralisportKlion 118ve exerted a
14 16 16 17 profound influence upon our business. They
ATLANTA ay 12 13 14 16 have made it possible, for instance. for OUI"
June 12 13 14 travelling representatives to visit every part
of the United Stotes...building our customers
The Piedmont CINCINNATI from a few New Yorkers to tens of thou-
sauds of men and hoys all over the country.
February 24 26 N etherlaruL.Plaza
3 F ebruary 14 16
April 2
May 12 13 March 14 16
~ril 18 19
BALTIMORE 12 ay 21 22
26
South.,,, Hotel 30 CLEVELAND
Feb. 10 11 28 Hotel Stati.,·
Mar. 24 25 18 Feb. 28 Mar. 1
tt.ril 28 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 1
ay 26 27 27 May 9 10
June 16 17 6 June 2 3

BmMINGHAM 4
22
Tutwiler Hotel 24 COLORADO SPRINGS
20 The Antie,·s
February 26 March 24 25
April May 6 6
4

BUFFALO COLUMBUS
Hotel Statler
March 3 Deshler-Wallick
February 10 11
ril 21 March 28 29
t t .a y 23
June 46
June 19

ROADMAN ITINERARY NEW YORK ' BOSTOI'(
By the lou: 7il'enrics, roodmcn m,',e
foil. DISON AYEN UE CORNEll fORTY.fOUIlTH STIIEET
dsiting dries coas/to coast. InJacl many NU :YB£R ONI! ....ALL ITIIE£T . NUl YOIt"

ifBrooks'senior rdficcrJ spent some parr NE WBlIRY con. BERKELEY STRECT . BOSTON
iftheir earlyyears as tral·e/ina represt.'n-

talil'Ci, and ,hc experience serred them

handso mc~'.

TH EJA ZZA GE 5"3



SPORTING
BOOTS and SHOES

BROOKS

FOOTWEAR

FOOTWEAR FOR EVERY
OCCASION - FOR

RElAXATION AND All
MANNER OF SPORT. YES,

EVEN COWBOY BOOTS



CR'f.Jtel•

- 3-

THE CHALLENGE oJ CHANGE

BROOKS BROTHERS

s

THE DEPRESSION SEERSUCKER AND SHETLAND LOUD AS THE LAW

ALLOWS ROOSEVELT'S NEW DEAL UNT I L T H E BOYS CAME HOME,

AMER I CA LEARNED TO DO WITHOUT A RETURN TO G L AMOUR

RUDOLPH VALENT I NO HUMPHREY BOGART THE ELEGANT

SONOR I T I ES OF GLENN M I LLER BROOKS EVEN BROOKS I ER JOHN C.

WOOD· THE R IT Z · YOU DON'T CHANGE THE OATS ON A W I NNING H ORSE

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CLOTHING

THE C HA LLENGE OF C HANGE 57

espite Prohibition, the raucous Twenties were hardly known as a
period of great self-denial. Jazz Age Manhattanites found ways to satisfy
every need - and stylishly, at that. But the stock market collapse of
October 1929 - or perhaps it was just exhaustion - changed all that. As America
entered the Thirties, one thinks of Noel Coward's lovely, melancholy song "Poor
Little Rich Girl" with its signature line: "Cocktails and laughter, but what comes
after ... ?" With eight million souls out of work by 1931, no one quite knew.

In the earlyThirties, as if to buck up the nation's morale, NewYork City erected
three muscular emblems of continued world leadership: the Empire State
Building, Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center. Hollywood, now in full
and glorious production, flexed its muscles as well, providing some badly needed
escapism. "Somehow or other, performers like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers,
Benny Goodman and his clarinet, pianist Fats Waller and his mountainous humor,
made people forget the mess they were in, if only for a moment."

In contrast to the Twenties, fashions of the following decade reflected a greater
sobriety, as if America finally decided to take off its party hat and grow up.
Women abandoned the page-boy bobs of the Twenties in favor of a more mature
pose - in Hollywood, gamine Louise Brooks was out, and the lustrous and
womanly Jean Harlow was very very in.

i,58 THE C H A LLE N G E OF C H AN G E

•

SEERSUC K ER SUITS

MADISON AVE, COR. 44TH STalfT, Nrw YORK
NEWBURY COR. BU KEU Y STun. BOSTON

S EER S UCKER
In the ear!y Thirties, Brooks Brothers
brouaht seersucker to America.

Piaured above is thefrom and back

ifCOI'eT a Brooks caralos dedicated

to nell' seersucker items.

,

THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE 59

STACKE D & IN SIDE·OUT

The 34 6 Madison Al'enue st ore in the

of1930S rel'eais Brooks' trademark

displayino suits in stocks on lon%bles.
The sllies wue incenrionallyfo lded par-

tially inside out to tel'eol thefine Slitcnino

and craftsmanship tffthe norment.

Men 's clothing reflected this "act your age" sensibility. At the of complaints. The pr ice tags were qUickly removed and the
onset of the Depression , Outlook magazine stated: "Men 's suits returned to the long tables which had been their home for
clothes are well enough as they are. They are concealing, they over a ce ntu ry.
have pockets ap lenty, they are of material heavy enough to retain
a press and refrain from bulging. They are, mostly, dark j there- This might be the apt time to discuss Brooks' odd habit of di s-
fore , they are inconspicuous and do not sho w spots .... They do playing their suits not on hangers and racks but rather stacked
not flap, wilt, look funny, or get in the way, at least not much ." o n long tables with the jackets folded , partially inside-out, 10 to
' 5 garments high.That's the way Henry Sands Brooks displayed
While Brooks Brother s' clean lin es and natural understatement them, and no one seemed in a burry to alter this obviously
matched th e mood of the country, Brooks, like most businesses, ineffi cient practice. (Perhaps, ""hen it co mes to blind allegian ce
struggled during the Depression . tn September '930 , a year after to tradition , Brooks and its customers deserve one another.)
the stock market crash, the company noted prices in its advertis- Customers chose a suit jacket from the pile, a sales associate would
ing for the first time. It also abandon ed form in 1932 , when deftly snatch the desired jacket from the pile without disturbing
the sacred Brooks sack coat was displayed in the windows for the rest and then locate matching pants from the back room. This
the first tim e in history - and with pr ices attached. Brooks practice would be retained until the mid -Sixties.
loyalists - always more conservative than Brooks itself - were
scandalized that "their" store would stoop to such unseemly
aggressiveness. They swooped into the building voicing a torrent

60 THE C HALLENGE OF C H ANGE

NUMBER TWO SUIT

In the Thirlles, nrooks nrothcrs be9un
subtle extensiOIlS ifits t.radit-ional sack
suil. Pictllred here is the Number 7il"o
suit. as lI'el/ as a /norcjlued double·
breasted model popular in the period.

SEERSUCKER AND SHETLA N D its appeal. Much o f the leisure clothing prior to this per iod
remained heavy and, hence, uncomfortabl e for summer use.
The tr ials of economj c declin e prompted Brooks to offer new Those lighter fa brics whi ch were available proved either difficult
styles. At the he ight of the Depressio n, the co mpany mad e what to maintain or wo re o ut easily. Brooks discovered that cotton
o ne writer ca ll ed "a ghastly concession to hard times" by intro- seersucke r, on the o ther hand, was light, washable and extraor -
d uci ng the N umberTlvo suit, which reatu red square, padd ed dinarily durab le. Gaining quick acceptance, the seersucker suit
shou ld ers, a fitted waist and emphasis on the double- breasted became a staple fo r the slimmer wardrobe, and has remained
mod el. At the first signs of economi c upliFt. the model was so ever since .
mod ified to'vva rd a mo rc co nservative styUng.
Whi le Brooks d id Virtually nothing to attract the fem ale cus~
So me of Brooks' new offerings proved mo rc las ting than the tomer, women continued to avail themselves o f a wider speclTull1
"N umber Tvo'O." Given that air conditio ning remain ed largely a o f Broo ks garm ents. O ne suspects that th e co mpany was, in fact,
fantasy, the post-war demand fo r coo ler and mo rc co mfortabl e creating apparel for womCJl - they just wouldn 't admit it. For
leisure clothing continued into the Thir ties j as these departures example, in theTwenties the company cer tainly noticed that their
from traditional sobriety gained in creased acceptance in social Shetland sweaters - which could then be found o nly in white
circles, demand even ex panded. In response, Brooks developed and natural wools - were fa lling into the hands o f the opposite
Amer ica's first full line of co tton seersucker sui ts and cotton sex. It could not be me re coin cidence that by the Thirti es, these
cords. Like madras, the Brits first discovered silk seerslicker in sweaters could be found in 27 colo rs. Po lo coats and boys' gloves
India d uri_ng the Raj , but it wasn't its Britishn ess that provided

THE CH .... L LE NGE OF CH .... NGE 61



CLARK GABLE

BROOKS BROTHERS CUSTOMER

KNOWN TO WEAR:
CLARK GABLE INSISTED UPON BROOKS BROTHERS CUSTOM SUITS BECAUSE NO READY-MADE SUITS

COULD FIT HIS PHYSIQUE: A 44-INCH CHEST & 32-INCH WAIST.
BROOKS BROTHERS' READY-MADE OXFORD SHIRTS, HOWEVER, FIT HIM PERFECTLY,

HE WAS DEVOTED TO THEM.

C LA R K GAB L E was among America's most famous actors of the Thirties and Forties.
Gable will be remembered forever for his portrayal of Rhett Butler in "Cone With the Wind,"

'I'M & © ~oo3 The Estate orClark Gable c/o Warner Bros. ConSllmer Products. Licensed by Global Icons, LLC. All Right... RescT\'cd.