Generations of Style

------------------' ,~~~''d - - -

THE GOLDEN flEECE REVERED
Thl$ Brooks Brothers wCJtcrcolor. paineed
by KOji KaneJo. jJ 0 prime rxamplc oJfhe

JOfX1nrse adoration ofthe Golden Fluet.
ofAn Icon Brools clothing since irs cQr~'

)'Nf'$, its re-emcryencc oftcr a briifsal>.
bodeo/II'os applQuJN bJ' fhccl'cr-Ia:ral
Joponese po/rons.

1 5"8 HE RITAGE RE STO RED

"FIELD OF DR EA M S" Finally, they'r e building a m erchant-driven company focused
once again on the customer - not the imagined custom er, not
Virtually all the changes described in this chapter took place in the customer they wish they had , not the customer who needs
an astonishing 18 months. While early returns look promising, hot-flash marketing to tell them what to buy, but the customer
the final vote can 't be tallied until mid-decade. One senior exec- who understands Brooks'much vaunted "value proposition."
utive r ecently noted, "It's not fixed, and we're not half way "Brooks Brothers didn't need a new customer - they needed
there, but we understand." And, said another: "O ur approach has to please their O\vn customers," remarks customer / owner
a little of the ' Field of Dreams' logic behind it, If you build it, Del Vecchio. One of the key misconceptions which prompted
they will come." the mission drift of the Nineties was that the previous owners
"were looking a~ the customer they wanted but forgot the
Just what, exactly, are they trying to build? First, they're building
a Brooks based on heritage, longstanding values and a coherent iWcustomer they had."
identity. It took a lot of study to arrive at that deep understand -
ing of Brooks at its core, but from that understanding grew a
dear determination: "Brooks Brothers can be rebuilt because its
fowldation is soud."

Second, they're building an organization committed to quality.
Executing upon quality-based strategi es takes time, and Retail
Brand Alliance understands the value - and necessity - of
patience. The return of the com pany to private ownership is, of
co urse, a huge advantage: "We can work for our customers, not
our sharehold ers," says Del Vecchio. "We can be patient."

They're building a brand, not a museum. While it is tempting
to speak of RBA "going back to the old Brooks," the truth is that
they 'r e building a "ne,;v" Brooks based on r eliable values and
standards incorporated into a very sophisticated understanding
of technology and 21 st centur y business reality. "There are basi-
cally three functions in this store : merchandising, planning and
technology / production," one leader explains. "Finally, we've
got them equally balanced. This gives the company solidity and
continuity. We can now build upon successes and evolve product
rather than scramble about looking for the next potentially
profitable item."

HERITAGE RESTORED 159

EPILOGUE

Throughout its remarkable history, Brooks Brothers' success has been built on high quality, great
value, and extraordinary customer relationships. As the new leadership crafts the company 's future,
Brooks Brothers' major challenge isn 't overcoming jeans and T- shirts; it 's regaining trust. The com-
pany went through a major identity crisis, and among r etailers of a certain age, nothing is morc
lethal than forgetting who you are.
In the last decade or so, many loyal custom er s felt that Brooks Brothers had betrayed its heritage,
and convincing them of Brooks' determination to return to tradition will require both hard work
and patience. It 's a tricky task to move backward and forward at the same time.
Former Brooks President John C. Wood once said , "When we think we're right, ,;ve go at it in .
depth. We try to run this thing with courage." The sam e, one thinks, will continue to be asked of
Brooks' ne,,·/ lead ership.
Someone recently remarked , "Claudio's the guy that Henry Sands Brooks would want to own
this business."That 's a pretty bold claim. Let's take a look ba ck at Mr. Brooks' "mission statement"
to see how the "new" Brooks Brothers is measuring up:

if"To make and deal onlj; in merchandise the best quality, to sell it at aJair prifit only, and to deal
ifonry- with people who seek and are capable appreciating such merchandise."

At Brooks, as always, things are evolving.

[6 0 EPILOGUE



NOTES, Ac KNOW LED G EM E NTS

AND IMAGE CREDITS

NOTES

"PAGi1 "The Brooks look": Washino[on POSf. AJaaazine, November 20,1977.
'0 "known particularly ror his": Geol·ge Plimpton, "Fashion Is aTradition at Brooks Brothers," Genrlcman's Qyartcr!.v,
April 1959.
" "Assembling and maintaining": j enna Weissman josclit, A Peifect Fit; Clolhes, Charaaer. and the Promise

'8 tifAmerica, p. 9·
l8
34 "1was rorever watching"; Abraham Cahan, The Rise ifDGI'id Le"insky, 1917, p. 110; in j oselil, P.3.
44 "Said to employ more"; joselit, p.20.
"From the Civil War": From an in-house publication , circa '915.
44 "It is an inevitable symbol.": Heywood Hale Broun. "Tbe Hard-Boiled Collars orPalm Beach," Literary Diaest ,
47 May S, 1923 p.56 ; in j oselit , p.89.
5' "lMenJ could purchase"; joselit, p.8.
58 "Not long ago": From unpublished draft of a 1938 NelY Yorker article in the Brooks Archives.
60 "We have a new" : The New Yorker, May 7, 1938.
6" "Somehow or other"; NickYapp, 1930. "Decades of the 20th Century" series, Konemann, 1998, p.9.
73 "Men's clothes are"; Oudook. August 14. 1919; in joselit , p.89
80 "For five long"; NickYapp, '940 , "Decades of the 20th Century" series, Konemann, 1998, p.6.
8, "When he arrived": Frank Whitbourn , Mr. Lock ojSt. James SUCCI, Hei nemann , London, 1971. pp. [76-77 .
8.
84 "huge new housing project.s": jan Morris, Manhattan 45, johns Hopkins University Press, 1986, p. 8.
88
"[B]y June 1945": Morris, p.9.
9' "under-tile-counter business": The Nell' York Times, August ]0, 1956 .
9" "the zipper in the rront": Plimpton, p.66.
99 "proudest moments was"; Th e j.!'c111 St reetJourn al, july 23. 1992.
' 03 "felt slightly alarmed": Nell'sweek. December 4, [989.
'03 "Though visibly exhausted": The New )'Ork Times, August 8, 1960.
003 "the esoteric world": II'cJrcheslu Sunday Telegram. january 18, 1976.
10 4- "When Brooks fi nally"; 110shinaLon Past MagaZine, No,·ember 20, 1977.
"7 "Brooks has endured": W:uhinaton Post MagaZine. November 20, 1977.
"7 "European men": VOBue, April 1978.
"0 "Behind its gleaming granite": Boston Globe Maga Zine. April 4-, 1982 .
"The top fl oor"; Baston Globe ,lIagazine. April ...., 1981.
", "badges of communication": Alan Flusser, Dressina the Man, HarpcrColl ins, 1001, p......
"Today, when fashion": j osciit, P.5.
'" uWe're not just a UK": Newsdoy, February 18, 1988.
"The life-style change": Daily News Record, November 3.1989.
'" "There was always that feeling": The New York Times, No\'cmber I. 1989.
'" "\rVc can't r un our": Business lI~k, june 21. 199].
"To cut cost.<j:": Business lI'1.>ek, june 21,199].
'lO "we don 't show them": Dai9' Neil'S Record, November 1[, 1998.
' 3' "Last month on Manhattan 's": Los Angeles Times, July 12 . 1999.
'3' "Gone are the mature"; Los Angeles Times, j uly 21, 1999.
'34 "Many of the shirts"; Fort une Jllagazint, September 7. 1998.
"The consensus is": Business, December 1989 .
' l4 "But they've shown": The Wall Street Journal Europe, No\'ember 2], 200 I.
'3> "[Since then] they've tried": The 1-1'0 /1 Street Journ al Europe, Nm'ember 23, 1001.
'H
'10

162 NOTES, AC K NOW l.ED GEMEN T S AND I MAGE C REDITS

ACKNOWLEDG EM ENTS

No history of Brooks Brothers has been ,..vritten since 1943. Two indi vidual s in particular contributed
to this long.overduc enterpri se: Bruce Weindruch of The Histor y Factory, who made it his personal
mission to preser ve Brooks' history, and Claudio DelVecchio, whose vision of Brooks Brothers
respects the essential link between the company's proud heritage and its co ntinued success.

I would further like to acknowledge my extreme indebtedness to Edward P. Turco) whose extraor-
dinary knowledge and deep understanding of both Brooks Brothers and the clothing business in
general made this book pOSSible. Ed bas many friends, and those va luable relationships opened
many doors for me. My thanks to Liz Haldeman, Brock Haldeman, and Jill Mjsawa of Pivot Design,
whose hard work and creativity made this book beau~ful.

Many former Brooks Brothers luminaries - AshbelT. Wall , Wil li am V. Roberti, Ved Bandhu , Peter
Newman, Guido Cozzolino , Joe Mancini, Frank Reilly, Steven Solop, and Frank Drummond -
were kind enough to spend hours sharing their hands-on history of the company.

In Lond on , the graciolls RayrnondT.H. Jones was extraordinarily ge nerali s with his time and
materials, providing inSights reaching back over a half centllry. Valuable London background also
came from Ri chard Stephenson of Lock Hats, as wel l as Alan K.P. Smith, Vin ce McGinlay, and
Christopher Littmoden . Stateside, Andrew Drechsel, Martin , Jay and Todd Greenfield, Mario
Mannarino , and Leonard Logsdail prOVided me wi th an und erstanding of what goes into the making
of fine apparel, and Bruce Boyer's knowledge of costume history greatly informed the illustrated
costum e gatefold.

I' m grateful to Eraldo Poletto, Joe Dixon, Lou Amendola, Doug Shriver, Tom Davis, Charlie
Goldstein , Nick Pollito, Ed Young, Megan MeGettrick, Fannie Chan, JefF Blee, and Willie Brokmann
for taking time from their busy Brooks Brothers responsibilities to give me valuable information
about the co mpany, both past , present, and future, and to Mindy Novack, who handled the myriad
rights clearances. Foremost among those at Brooks, I'm indebted to Geri Corrigan and Mark
Shul man for both their inSight and support.

The staff of The History Factory aided this end eavo r greatly. Finally, my thanks to my wife,
Gail Pearce, who was generous and patient enough to read and comment on many drafts as the
project went forward.

- J O H N W ILLI AM COOKE

NOTES, AC KNOWLEOGEMENTS ANO IM AGE CRED IT S 1 63

IMAGE CREDITS (

All other images arc courtesy of the Brooks Brothers Archi,-es

(top left) Photognlph No. NWON$- III -SC-8975 1;"Colonci Thcodorc Rooseye lt, 15t Ca,'alry, U.S . Volunteers, ca. 1898";
War Department, Records oCthe Office ofdtc Chief Signal Officer, Record Group III; Natio nal Arch i n~s and Reco rds
Administration-Still Pictures 01,-i5ion (College Park)

of+2 From This Side Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald (New York: Scribner, 1920), used by permis~i oll of Scribne r, an imprint

of Simon & Schuste r Adult Publishing Group. repl-intcd by pe rmission o f Harold Ober AswcialCS Incorporated
43 (from left to right) Fro m Th is Side cifParadisc by F. Scott Fitzgerald (New York: Scribner, 1920), used by permission o f

Scr ibne r, an im print of Si mo n & Schuster Adult Publishing Gro up; He llmann /CORBl S, re pri nted by per missio n o r
Harold Obcr Associates Incorpo rated; Photo courtesy or tbe John O' Hara Pape r s, Special Collections Deparlmc nt ,
Pennsylvan ia State llni\'cr sity; © CORBIS .

crSo Photo courtesy o r Miss Por ter's School Archi ves, Farmingt on,

S4 Photo by Wo rsingcr Photo /Courtesy o r Brooks Brothe rs Arcru\·e.s
S6 Photogra ph No. N LR-PHOCQ-A-482236.s-9(69); "Fran klin D. Roosevelt, C hurc hi ll, and Stalin at the Livadia in Ya lta ,

02/0911945""; [tem from Coll ection FDR-PhO CO; N:ltio nal Archives and Records Administration -Franklin D. Roosevelt
Library (Hyde Park)

6J ™ & © 200] T he Estate o r Clar k Gablc c/o Warne r Ik os. Consume r Pro ducts. Licensed hy G lohallcons, LLC.

All Rig hts Re.ser\·cd .
64 Courtesy or Ya le Llni\'ersity Special Collections and ManuscriptArchi vcs
6.s- Photo cou rtesy o r Raymo ndT. H. Jo nes
67 Library or Congress, Prints and Photographs Division jlC. USZ62-90]!71
69 Photo by Wo rsingcr Photo/Cou rtesy or Brooks Bro thersA rchi\'cs; (both) Photo counes)" of Jam es Lock & Co. Ltd .
70 (lert) Photo by Hans van Nes/Counesy of Brooks Broth er~ Archivcs
71 Photo by Hans \'an Nes/Courtcsy o f Brooks Brothers Archives
72 (left) Photo hy Worsingcr Photo/Cou rtesy or Brooks Brothe.rsArchi \"es
n T he appearance o r Fred Astaire is granted by a speciallicensc rrom Mrs. Fred Astaire, Beverly Hills, California.

All Rights Resen ·cd .

78 Photo by Philippe Hal sman © Philippe Halsman Stud io/Time Life Pictuf'cs/Getty Images
81 © Time Lire Pictures/Getty Images

89 lO 200] Lee Lore nz rrom c.lT toonbank.com . All Rights Rescn ·cd.

97 © Bettm:mn /CQRBlS

10 1 Photo cou rtcsy o f Timothy Grce llJield~Sanders
109 Pho to courtcsy of Raymond T. H . Jo nes

110 Pho to © Eilio H Kil ufman

1 64 NOTES....C KN OWLEOGEMENTS AND I MAG E CRF.I)ITS

I'AGE " 9 Cl O"l\'id Lees/COR BIS
121 (both) Courtesy of Mark.<j: and Spencer Image Archh·c

126 Illustration to Alanna Cavanagh/i2iart.com

128 (fl·om left to .·ight) Courtesy of Gerald R. Ford Library; National Archi ves and Records Administration- Franklin D.
Roosc,·c1t Librar),; (0 I3cttmann /CO RBI S.

129 Photograph No. NW DNS- II -13-3546 ( Photograph Matthew Brady); "Abraham Lincoln, ca. 1860- 186)";
War Department , Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Record Group III ; National Archi,·es and Records
Administration -Still Pictures Diyision (College Park)

132 © The New Yorker Collection 1971 Charles Saxon from canoonbank. com . All Rights Reser ved; © The New Yorker
Collection 1952 Charles E. Martin from cartoonbank .com. All Rights Reserved; © The New Yorker Collection 19 J4.

James Stevenson from ca rtoonbank .com. All Rights Reserved.

113 Cl The New Yorker Co llection 198] Leo Cullum from canoonbank .com. All Rights Reserved.

136 Courtesy of Keith Major/ Lincoln Jazz Center Orchestra

144 Cutty McGill 200J

14.8 Q C utt)' McGill 2003

IS4 Photo courtesy o f Scan Hemm erle/Contact Press Images

I ») Photo courtesy ofStcl'cn Hirsch

I S8 Courtesy of Ko ji Kaneda

Illustrated I-listor}' of Brooks Brothers since lS18
Illustration Alanna Ca\'anagh/i2iar l.com

NOTES, A CKNOW L EDGEM ENT S AND I MAGE C RED I TS 165





,"I ".

e· , ..

~

.• •

•• -

•

'"••

-. \

• ..

x• •