BROOKS BROTHERS

[Matt Deckard]

Brooks Brothers: Beverly Hills

It is a well known fact that Southern Californians who wear suits in public, whether it be in the center of LA or the outskirts of Malibu, will be looked at as an oddity from another planet. Those you newly meet ask if you are on your way to a job interview, store employees ask if you are coming from a wedding and coworkers ask if you are going to relax. During the course of this day I will not be going to an interview I will not be attending a wedding and I do not need to relax. I wear a suit and tie because it makes me comfortable and the better the fit the more comfortable I am. This day I am going to Brooks Brothers in Beverly Hills.

Harbored in the middle of a street that is overwhelmed with shops selling the latest trends is a store which by it’s name should resonate with all men as the place that epitomizes the standard attire for the man on the street for over one hundred years. Oddly enough on the walk from the car to the store I was the only man I saw wearing this attire.
Inside you are greeted by tables covered in ties. Brooks Brothers as always is heavy with striped ties and I have several. The building is broken into several sections, to the left are men’s sports jackets and odd trousers, to the right is women’s clothing, in the back are shoes and accessories and upstairs are the men’s suits and children’s clothing. I head straight for the Sports jackets.

Probably the only attire outside of ties that I buy from BB is their linen handkerchiefs and sports jackets. I used to be a big fan of their shirts and their trousers; they are nice trousers, though the fit for me is not quite correct; too low for my waist and they don’t make them any higher. The shirts have really nice patterns, though the fit for me is too boxy and the collar leaves too much tie space for my liking. The jackets on the other hand are classic. The armholes may be a little low like all modern jackets, though the styles and patterns are right out of the 1930’s and 40’s. They’re no longer the best on the block when it comes to quality, though when you need a sturdy sport jacket with a timeless style this is the place to go.

The suits are another story. BB is the place where the suits for North by Northwest are rumored to have been bought for Cary Grant and I was hoping to find something along that vein when I got upstairs. I was disappointed to see that the 2 button models were stuck in the 1980’s style with a low button stance and wide semi curved lapels and the 3 button suits were very modern having narrow lapels with a strong curve to the cut, as if they just took 2 button models and added a third button (I know they didn’t do that), not attractive to my eye. Regardless of being tall or short the pants all had the same rise, only the off the rack suit jackets were sold longer or shorter -- Disappointing.

Downstairs again I wonder through the shoes and the accessories. The shoes are made by Alden and are top of the line. They only have “D� widths in stock and say they can order your size if you want (disappointed about the availability of sizes though they are quality shoes). Belts and handkerchiefs and scarves and socks, all of the highest quality. Even hats, though they are Borsalino made and obviously a low grade felt when compared to some of the hats I have seen by today’s other hat companies.
I decided to leave before checking out the women’s section.
It is nice walking around a store built around classic men’s fashion, even if it now carries women’s wear as well. Overall I was a bit disappointed with the shop. I expected a little more from this palace In Beverly Hills. Gone are the days where they had custom tailors on staff. the tailors replaced by Made to measure salesmen. The suits are made for drape rather than fit and the patterns are bland and designed to blend into the background of a political convention. I checked out their fabrics used for made to measure though they were so paper thin and I wouldn’t expect a suit made that light to last a year under the strains I’d put it through.

I like the store; I don’t like the direction toward blandness it has taken. Sadly enough I have to say that Ralph Lauren is more “classic Brooks Brothers� than Brooks Brothers. I left a bit jaded and knowing that the only thing I’ll be buying from BB for awhile will be sport jackets the occasional tie and linen handkerchiefs.

[PADDY]

Matt's quite right, often you wear a suit and folk look at you as if you have just stepped out of your art deco chromed space craft! fresh from the planet Zoot (as in suit! LoL).

I wear a suit, sometimes a waist coat too (depending on the frosty weather), shirt, silk tie (not the cleverest thing in the classroom with paint and pens!) and English patent leather brogues! Oh yes, and a splash of EDT, which often brings the response, OH Mr Middleton, you smell niiiiiiice!! (but that's just from the kids!!).

At lunch time, on the odd occasion I do manage to escape for a brisk walk into town, I'm very aware of eyes cast in my direction. I stand out in a world where suits just are not being worn (more likely it's nylon track suits and baseball caps and pierced nipples!). And 'yes,' I can feel uncomfortable with the attention because the town is economically deprived, high crime, high drug abuse..etc, and I do feel like a target at times! This is a land where people are afraid to smile, and the wrong eye contact can lead to violence. ( I know, what is the world coming to? or has it always been like that really..?).

(It does make it more of a treat though, at the end of the day, when I get to drive home into the countryside to my little cottage near the sea)

So 'why' do I dress up in this neolithic landscape where nastier versions of Fred and Barney roam around with their pet dino? Because it makes 'me' feel good to look smart and it's part of me being 'me.' I wouldn't wear a fedora in this environment, that would be courting disaster frankly, but the rest continues. Maybe I'm a latter day missionary, bringing the light of vintage civility to this 'heart of darkness!'

Get this..! last week, two men in their shell suits (nylon track suits) and baseball caps made a bee-line towards me in the street. I really thought I was being set up for an ambush, bit my lip and prepared to stand my ground and not make it easy for them. Then one of them said: "Could you give us a job mate!" Maybe he associated the way I dress with being affluent, or in a position to offer him work. I suggested where he could go to find something (as my pulse rate raced!), but it has got me thinking about dressing appropriately to the environment (sadly). You can stand out for the wrong reasons and make a target of yourself I guess.

But, do I want others to dictate 'how' and 'what' I dress in? I'm the very one who encourages my kids at school to think independently and express themselves for themselves! I need to think that one over. But as things stand, I do seem to be a creature from another era and in some eyes, another planet! But hopefully, a nice creature, if nearly extinct :-)

[GearHead]

Yes, Brooks Brothers is sadly a shell of its former self.
I've worn BB shirts for awhile now and just bought some new ones to replace my 10 year old shirts.
They are definately not the same. The cut is different and the quality is not there.
We have to dress in a busniess fashion at work but are not required to wear ties anymore. The only people you see wearing ties in the office are the sales people and that's only when they're going out to meet clients.
I usually were some nice wool pants with a BB shirt in the winter and on the occasion that I put a tie on I get looks from my co-workers.
I think they think that I have ajob interview at lunch or something.
Forget about it when I wear a sportscoat also.

Erick

[Mr. Rover]

I got a Brookease Size 16 blazer when I was around 13 for someone's Bar Mitzfah or wedding. It was a bit big, but now it fits pretty well, especially in the shoulders. For 15, I'm on the thin side so the size 16 boys' cut still fits me allright. The fabric is wayyy light compared to a 1940's Curlee Clothes suit I just bought.

[The Mad Hatter]

If you want the classic Ivy League look, try J. Press:

http://www.jpressonline.com/

Based in New Haven, Cambridge, New York, and D.C. , its most obvious shortcoming is that - for some reason - it has no store in Princeton. .

[Canadave]

Originally Posted by The Mad Hatter

If you want the classic Ivy League look, try J. Press:

http://www.jpressonline.com/

... its most obvious shortcoming is that - for some reason - it has no store in Princeton. .

Nor does it have a web site.

David

[Matt Deckard]

Originally Posted by Canadave

Nor does it have a web site.

David

They do have a catalog full of tweed jackets and striped ties. Very ivy league indeed. When I went to BB I was looking for more of that Cary Grant in North By Northwest or James Stewart in Vertigo look. Very man about town.

[The Mad Hatter]

Nor does it have a web site

I don't understand what you mean.

It's website is right here, just like I posted:

http://www.jpressonline.com

Just click this link.

[The Mad Hatter]

On closer inspection, it seems that just right now they have only a front page, the online catalogue is off line.

I don't know why - I ordered a bow tie from them online about a month ago. I would presume that they will be back up shortly.

[Mycroft]

I don't know what to think of Brookes Brothers, they have been bought and sold so many times in the last ten years that they have either lost themselves or found themselves in a wierd way. I like their ties still, though they are bit consevitive in some cases.

[Matt Deckard]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

I don't know what to think of Brookes Brothers, they have been bought and sold so many times in the last ten years that they have either lost themselves or found themselves in a wierd way. I like their ties still, though they are bit consevitive in some cases.

I like the classic tie designs myself, though I don't like how theirs are the only ties I have owned which have become worn looking toward the tip within their first year.
I think Brooks Brothers has hope. They have been getting better over the past couple of years. Problem today is that clothes don't fit, and when you try on a suit and it feels like a straight jacket I think any body would go runnig back for their t-shirt, sweat shirt and jeans. If fit and tailoring return to the forefront I think style and class will follow and Brooks Brothers should be leading that charge. They should start by manning their stores with custom tailors. They have a body scanning device at their NY store, that is a start for getting a fit right.

[AlanC]

I quite like Brooks ties, and a couple I have are among my favorites. They compare well with more expensive ties, IMO. They can often be found in excellent to new condition in thrift stores, which is where most of mine came from. Their bow ties are first rate, too. And I'd really like to get a pair of their Peal monkstraps.

[Mycroft]

I heard that about their ties in thrift stores.

[Matt Deckard]

Hey Paddy, someday you'll have to take some pictures of the average joe on the street in their local wears so we can get an idea of what is considered daily attire in your neck of the woods.

Where do you buy your suits?

[Matt Deckard]

Here we go.

Now that's what I like to see.

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatS...Section_Id=225

[Vladimir Berkov]

Brooks did sort of get off track. It is getting better though, and most of the faults to be found are part of our age's general sartorial malaise rather than something they are particularly doing wrong. Simply put, Brooks needs to put things on the racks that it can sell.

For instance, Brooks's signature American sack suit/natural shoulder look is unlikely to change anytime soon. If anything, if they want to go back to their roots they will only stress this look more. Perhaps in the 1920's and 30's Brooks also sold clothes with the then more fashionable English drape, but I am not sure. Perhaps someone here who has seen a period catalogue knows?

Today the English drape look with the suppressed waist and high armholes is simply not fashionable in America. In fact, I can't think of anybody in the States that provides it (if anybody does know please tell me.)

Same with the wools they use. As much as I like vintage styles, it is entirely understandable why almost nobody wants heavier wool suits anymore. We have heated and air-conditioned virtually every space we are ever in so the extremes of temperature that made thicker wools so essential are almost non-existant. In addition, few men wear suits on a truly regular basis meaning that they need neither very sturdy suits nor a large variety of suits. Most men if they need a suit at all, want one suit they can wear all year round, and this means they need a lighter-weight wool.

It is sad though, because it means that those of us who really enjoy wearing suits and take pride in their drape, color and pattern are left with few choices at any price. Even vintage suits don't solve the problem, due to sizing and damage concerns.

[Kentucky Blues]

Those shoes are incredibly expensive...there's a store near me that has a pair of (irregular, most likely) Stacy Adams black and white wing tipped spectators for $24.99.....I couldn't imagine spending $300 something....

[Vladimir Berkov]

Shoes really are one of the places in your wardrobe where quality really does cost money. It costs a lot of money to construct a top-quality shoe with excellent materials and thus they cost a lot of money.

This doesn't mean that all expensive shoes are of excellent quality of course, there are plenty of shoes out there where you are paying for a name or a fashion statement.

[Wild Root]

These are for me! I want some! Total 1930's!

Root.

[Kentucky Blues]

I wouldn't mind a pair of those either, rob, though I'd also like a pair in brown and black....