Have to admit that my interest in Brooks declined during the M&S years.

My Brooks are in the earlier style. I stopped buying Brooks at all in '89. Absolute latest.

T.L.

Edit: To be clear - I last bought tailored wear from Brooks back then. Since then there have been more than a few shirts, etc.

Last edited by Terry Lean (2006-11-06 11:25:53)

What I'd like to get is copies of those Japanese magazines mentioned on AAAC that delineate the changes to Brooks & others coats and suits.

As I think Miles started this thread as a way to gather info. on the permutations of Brooks cuts (I believe one was started for Press as well), I should like to correct an error that I read either here or someplace else that Brooksgate was only available as a 2 button job.  I have a few Brooksgates left and one is 2 button dart and the other is 3 button sack.  Both with flat front trou.  The 2 button has more of a drop than the 3 button.  If Brooks wrote the curriculum (a claim I would dispute), as it has been claimed, than certainly it's more expansive than previously thought.

Found a few old little mailings that I'll post some of the text of to help out the archive.

In the meantime, though it's well known that the No. 1 sack suit is a variation, with minimal changes, on something that's been around since the late 19th-c, there was also a No. 222 -- a 2 button jacket with pleated trousers.  Pleated trousers were eventually done away with, and were replaced with plain front, and that 2 button suit was called the No. 3.  There never was a No. 2 suit, as far as I know.  But there was the 2 button that arrived sometime in 1960's.  I assume without the pleated trouser.

There was also Boys Department and University Club.  (The latter before Brooksgate).  I'm pretty sure Brooksgate came in both 3 and 2 button models, but I could be mistaken.  I have one Brooksgate suit left.  I gave away others.  I'll check on this.  The drops were more substantial (7 inches) than the Makers or Own Make.

You'll recall that in Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, the character gets his suit in the Boys Department at Brooks because it was essentially the same as the Men's sizes, but far less expensive.


edit:  while one source claims that there wasn't a No. 2, another official source ( the Brooks history <<Generations of Style>>) states that "In the Thirties, Brooks Bros. began subtle extensions of its traditional sack suit.  PIrctures here is the Number Two suit, as well as a more fitted double-breasted model popular in the period."

And that No. 2 looks from the pic to be a wider lapelled, oddly notched, more fitted in the waist, with patch lower & chest pockets.  2 button even, at least it appears so.

Last edited by Horace (2007-02-03 04:23:38)

'University Club' or 'University Shop'? I honestly can't remember now... (Calvados again) But, yes, pre-Brooksgate.

And, yes, 'Golden Fleece' arrived very shortly after all the 'Wardrobe' etc., labels in the M&S years.

The 222 suit is new to me - Thanks.
I'd offten wondered about the missing Brooks Numbers in suits & rep ties...

M&S was 1990 I think. '89 we were all talking about it & I think early '90 the deal was in all the papers.
There was a No 10 tie too as I recall.

I like it neat at room temperature in a tulip shaped class half full.
Sip it slowly & let your hands warm the glass a little if you like.
It's nice in good coffee too or out of a hip flask on a chilly day.
Keep it in a cupboard - no need to put it in the fridge.
All it is is apple brandy, very nice after a meal.

Never had that, any good?
I'd treat it the same as Calvados maybe.
I once had Apricot Brandy - not the sweet stuff like Cherry Brandy etc. - but proper brandy made from Apricots. It was Spanish/North African I think.
An interesting taste.

Last edited by Terry Lean (2007-02-03 09:05:31)

From the fall 1966 catalog: "Basically the (redesigned) No. 2 model closely resembles our classic No. 1 model. However, it incorporates many small but important details that give slimming lines and added comfort, including slightly fuller chest, more waist definition and redesigned collar and armholes."
    The catalog also offered 346 suits that look like the No. 1 but for 25% less cost.
     University Shop suits came in sizes 36 to 44 and went for about 1/2 of the regular offerings. An offering for teens and early 20s.
     "346" was probably offered for the 20 -30 crowd. My first Brooks suit was a "346" bought when I was in my twenties, in the early 80s

Last edited by tom22 (2007-02-08 20:07:03)

So the gold on blue collar label is all pre M&S?

My winter flannel blazer...patch, patch & flap...has that  label reading

Brooks Brothers
Makers
Est. 1818.
Made In U.S.A. of Imported Fabric

Does that = "own make"?

Two "346" suits...one only says
Brooks Brothers
"346"
Dry Clean Only

the other beneath that has

"Made In U.S.A. of Imported Fabric"---a later version?

Madras jacket--Just Says
Brooks Brothers
Dry Clean Only

on same label...that doesn't say makers, but is it own make anyway?


This stuff reminds of Cadillac in the 80s and how they kept switching model names, confusing everyone and hastening the brand's decline.

Last edited by Coolidge (2007-02-08 08:28:48)