Last edited by katon (2011-12-23 13:20:29)

... And it all mainly was traditional, just not traditional in America.

I wish the public at large understood fit, and what can be altered on a shirt, jacket or trouser to make it fit in such a way you don't need m2m or bespoke. I mean why take a shirt back because the sleeves are too long? There is a lot of scope as to what can be changed as I'm sure everyone on here knows, this guy today thought I was taking the piss when I said his sports jacket could be altered to fit.

My point is that the ignorance undermines the idea of well tailored RTW when it comes to the big, department store tailoring. And the knock on effect is these companies get away with murder when it comes to fit and quality. Just look at those preppy blogs for instance. As long as it's got the logo, that's enough.

Last edited by Oo Bop Sh'bam (2011-12-23 13:14:51)

The 'Brooks Customer' who wanted a traditional unchanging style and was prepared to pay a bit extra for high quality and good service has all but gone.  Few men want or understand these things now.

The situation in the UK is no different where chains like Dunn & Co have gone and you are hard pressed to find a traditional mens outfitters shop outside major cities.

All Brooks Brothers are doing is trying to survive in a changed market. On the positive side, when I have shopped in their stores in the US I have found the service and the clothing they are selling is still superior to most other companies, albeit that not much of the stock interests me personally. The sales people are great and there are still many who have been with the company for years, although you do sense a wish to retire on their part when you speak to them!

The London BB branches don't carry the full range (e.g. US made shirts) so there is even less to interest. But when I have bought or tried on the odd thing in Regents Street or the City I have found the staff to be polite, attentive and knowledgeable about their stock, which puts them several notches above the competition.

I've got a Burtons crombie coat hanging up under the stairs. It weighs a ton and the quality is peerless, it must be forty years old at least.

Look what has become of Burtons; selling appaling tat to 18yr olds. There's a company that saw which way things were going and repositioned themselves ahead of the game. I suppose they adapted better than some of the names like Dunns. Hornes were another lot that went by the way.

Last edited by katon (2011-12-29 23:35:50)

Another bump for a Brooks related thread.

I wonder if they still have all the old patterns etc...

There must be lots of tailors and cutters and seamstresses who would work for them, back in the old days before M&S put the last nails in the BB coffin...

Is it really impossible these days to produce rtw clothes of that quality?

Or maybe the old customers are more amenable to changing with the times and just buying what's on offer?  Perhaps they're far less discerning than Stan the Man?  For every guy that goes in and questions the presence of darts and has to explain that a sack is something other than that thing the salesman's lunch is in, they probably make 350 sales to unquestioning consumers.