| Brooks Brothers |
Article Index for Brooks |
Website Links For Brooks |
Information AboutBrooks Brothers |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BROOKS BROTHERS | |
| clothing brands | |
| clothing retailers of the united states | |
| companies established in 1818 | |
| luxury brands | |
Brooks Brothers is the oldest surviving men's clothier in the United States , founded in 1818. The privately owned company is owned by Retail Brand Alliance, a spinoff of Luxottica , and is headquartered on Madison Avenue in New York City . HISTORY On April 7 , 1818 , at the age of 45, Henry Sands Brooks opened H. & D.H. Brooks & Co. on the Northeast corner of Catherine and Cherry Streets in New York City , where the South Street Seaport now stands. He proclaimed that his guiding principle was, "To make and deal only in merchandise of the finest quality, to sell it at a fair profit and to deal with people who seek and appreciate such merchandise." {Link without Title} Connie Glaser: Tradition, flexibility key to retailer's longevity: bizwomen.com, 2007 Interestingly, the company's very first transaction was a loan to one of Brooks's friends. In 1850 , Brooks's sons;Edward, Elisha, Daniel, and John, inherited the family business, and renamed the company "Brooks Brothers". In its early history, Brooks Brothers was most widely known for introducing America to the Ready-to-wear Suit . In the late 19th century, Brooks Brothers tailored many distinctive uniforms for elite regiments of the New York National Guard . 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 woolen merchants. Dating from the 15th century, it had been the emblem of the Knights Of The Golden Fleece , founded by Philip The Good , Duke of Burgundy . In ancient Greek mythology, a magical flying ram, or Golden Fleece, was sought by Jason and the Argonauts. The last member of the Brooks family to head the company was Winthrop Holly Brooks, who ran the company from 1935 until its sale in 1946 , when the company was acquired by Julius Garfinckel and Company. After the acquisition, Brooks Brothers's director was John C. Wood, who was known for having supposedly made Brooks Brothers an even more traditional men's clothier. By 1969 , the ten Brooks Brothers stores in operation were located in New York, Chicago , Boston , San Francisco , Pittsburgh , Los Angeles , Atlanta , and Washington, D.C. Though today many people consider Brooks Brothers a very traditional clothier, it is also known for having introduced many clothing novelties to the market. In at Brooks. Ralph Lauren , when his name was still Ralph Lifschitz, started out as a salesman at Brooks's Madison Avenue store. He was granted the right to use the Polo trademark from Brooks Brothers, which retained its rights to the iconic "original polo button-down collar" shirt still produced today. Brooks Brothers was acquired by the (a designer of women's clothing and accessories). NOTABLE CUSTOMERS Brooks Brothers has dressed generations of families, prominent and less famous, as well as political leaders, Hollywood legends, sports greats and military heroes. Andy Warhol was known to buy and wear clothes from Brooks Brothers. According to Carlton Walters: "I got to 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..." [http://www.warholstars.org/warhol1/5serendipity.html Patrick S. Smith, Warhol: Conversations about the Artist Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1988 p. 340. Brooks Brothers is the official clothier of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra www.jazzatlincolncenter.org/about/news/060615-news.html Brooks Brothers is frequently sought out by costume designers in Hollywood, dressing stars in such films as Ben Affleck in '' Pearl Harbor (movie) '', Gene Hackman in '' The Royal Tenenbaums '', and Will Smith in Ali . 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." United States President Ulysses S. Grant began his association with Brooks Brothers during the Civil War, when he ordered tailored uniforms for the Union officers in the American Civil War . Many more presidents, including Herbert Hoover , Theodore Roosevelt , Franklin Roosevelt , John F. Kennedy , Richard Nixon , Gerald Ford , George H. W. Bush , and Bill Clinton were known to wear Brooks Brothers clothing lines. 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. James Thurber refers to Brooks Brothers shirts in some of his short stories. TODAY Currently, there are 170 Brooks Brothers stores in the United States and 70 scattered throughout , whereas before the 1990s virtually all of its clothing had been made in the United States, Western Europe , and Canada . The symbol of the Golden Fleece is Brooks Brothers's Trademark . It consists of a sheep suspended in a ribbon, which was the symbol of Flemish wool merchants in the 15th century and later traditionally had been a symbol of British wool merchants. In ancient Greek mythology, a magical ram's skin, or Golden Fleece, was sought by Jason And The Argonauts . SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS REFERENCES |
|
|