Apologies for my rambling. The following is not necessarily coherent, but I hope I provide some subjective, personal insight.

From my perspective, the best years for Brooks would be the 50's to the mid/late 80's. From having to wear proper clothes for university (the 50's) to the point where business casual and other forms of slobitude set in, there was, at a minimum, a notion that one would have to learn how to dress in order to present oneself. It was a magical 25 year run where the features, details, and quality were available for those who so desired.

I started high school with the Jesuits in 1974. First order for my dad was to drag me down to Brooks for a flannel blazer. At school there was a dress code, grooming code, behavior code, code code, etc. Clip on ties earned the wrath of those who knew how to tie a tie. Yes, as a teenager one felt uncomfortable about having to get dressed to impress. But, the sage parental advice ("At some point you will need to look proper.") eventually rang true. Peer pressure, parental pressure, and codes did a great deal to reinforce all of this. It also fueled the clothing business.

But it wasn't just Brooks. Brooks, Press, Cable Car, Vaughn at Sather Gate, and George Good did decent business through those years. Press retreated back east, Vaughn faded away by the end of the 80's, and I am not sure if George Good is still around, though it was still around into the late 80's. Good was notable for having survived the tumult in Berkeley, despite Berkeley's reputation as a patchouli scented, tie-dyed Nirvana. There were quite a few profs who dressed in the style we all know and love. (I bought a few McGeorge Shetlands at Good.)

As many others have pointed out Brooks has always offered blended fabrics. The first shirt I swiped from my dad was a Brookscloth (65/35 white, broadcloth) button down. One of my first tropical weight suits was a Brooksgate worsted/polyester blend (3/2 darted). In both cases, the fabrics and construction were very good. For whatever reason, you would notice the difference between a Brooks blended fabric as opposed to another retailer's. Others on this board have found the wash and wear items to be quite acceptable.

I mentioned in another post that the seductive nature of Brooks was that the top of the line offerings were beyond compare. Makers suits and shirts had quality. Gather your pennies and dimes, wait for the day after Xmas sale, and life was good.

A greater awareness of all cotton and pure wool fabrics set in around 1980. I use this date because I can only recall my peers and others who started to insist on pure cotton shirts but not before this decade began. The 70's were a cultural and sartorial wasteland in some respects. Cotton/poly blends bore the brunt of the criticism. When you saw someone wearing a cheap OCBD made with poor blended cloth (pilling, etc.) you knew that there was an alternative. And Brooks was one of the keepers of the magical secret of this alternative. Then again, when you went to the store, you had to specify 100% cotton, as Brooks was just as willing to assume that a blend would provide good service. You could not go to other mainstream retailers and simply ask for a 100% cotton shirt without the risk of possibly being told by the clerk that such an item did not exist.

I suppose that those of us who only wore the 100% cloth felt a bit elitist (you were always sure to check out what others were wearing on campus), but I always pointed out that anyone could march right down to Brooks, buy the item, partake in the wrinkled and breathable communion, and become part of the cognoscenti. Lands End and LL Bean were beginning to assume a greater place in the clothing landscape at this time as well. Lands End was a bit of an unknown quantity, but it offered items that met the criteria. Bean's heritage, of course, is in outdoor sports, but it offered some incredible items, e.g. their corduroy trousers.

Somehow I managed to to miss the period (late 60's to early/mid 70's) when disco lapels (4" and wider) were the rage. I've come across these in thrift and vintage shops and usually bypass them. Most of the hunting/outdoor items from LL Bean rated a pass as the Elmer Fudd look wasn't popular among the majority of college students, or at least not in Berkeley.

In Andyland, here, other places, you'll notice that there are posters who place a high value on Brooks items that were from years gone by. Items from the 50's to the late 80's weren't much different. I am hard pressed to think of any other retailer who commands this nostalgic affection.

I now mention GTH colors and embroidered items of buffoonery. If you peruse the catalogs in the link I provided in the other post, the winter catalogs always had a section of warm weather items for those who habitually take a winter vacation in warmer climes. Red, yellow, green, baby blue blazers! Poplin trousers to match! These have always been around. I have never been tempted in the least to wear them. They just don't look good on those of us of the Asian persuasion. It should also put to rest the notion that Ivy, Trad, Prep is the exclusive domain of the WASP subculture.

So, from blended fabrics to wide lapels to GTH embroidered monstrosities, it's testimony that Brooks was able to change its offerings according to the prevailing tastes of any given customer and keep its sales figures steady during this time. Should I be diagnosed with terminal cancer, I'm not sure if I would disperse the old Brooks items in my wardrobe for the sake of humanity or ship them off to The Smithsonian for the sake of posterity.

That's my view.

Last edited by farrago (2010-09-13 17:59:10)

Good.  Everything seems to be back to normal. 

Your posting is one of the most informative I've seen, and I knew only an American poster could deliver the goods in quite that way.  I can never forget being passed the Bosworth biography of Montgomery Clift around 1978/79 and reading those two magical words, 'Brooks' and 'Brothers'.  I have never really found excitement like I do when buying and handling a Brooks shirt.  Some psychologist says such an experience can be better than sex.  At the age of (almost) 51 I might well accept celibacy in return for an Aladdin's cave of Makers and 346.

Around 1955-65.