Today Brooks Brothers announced the rennovation of the third floor at its 346 Madison Avenue flagship. The floor is devoted to the brand’s sportswear, and the abundant decorative knick-knacks pay tribute to golf:
tennis:
sailing:
… and even surfing:
The changing rooms are designed to have a locker-room feel:
… with lots of vintage photos:
While cozy corners feel like a clubhouse — or living room:
A chill may still be in the air, but when it comes to merchandise, spring is here:
Including polos — with two-tone logos for interesting three-color combinations of fabric and logo — in 37 colors and both slim and regular fits:
The third floor also includes a golf simulator based on the course at St. Andrews, for whom Brooks is the licensee of an apparel collection:
I’ll need to work on my swing if I ever want to take home one of these:
Here’s some more info in the company’s own words:
Brooks Brothers unveiled a redesign of its third floor as part of a multi-year, top-to-bottom renovation of the company’s 10-story 346 Madison Avenue flagship.
The centerpiece of the 11,875 square foot sportswear floor is a state-of-the art, full-scale indoor PGA Tour simulator (by aboutGolf©); thought to be the first system of its kind in an apparel retailer environment.
Players are able to choose from a selection of courses most notably those of St. Andrews Links including The Old Course, The New Course and the Jubilee Course. Once the course is selected, players have a choice of playing on a driving range, practice mode or perfecting their short game as part of the 3-D experience, all while using Callaway clubs and balls provided.
Brooks Brothers has a long history with the world of golf, having created its first golf collection in 1890. In March 2010, Brooks Brothers and St Andrews Links entered into a long-term worldwide co-branding partnership with Brooks Brothers designated as an “Official Partner of St Andrews Links.” The first St Andrews Links collection launches this season and is now available at Brooks Brothers stores nationwide.
— CHRISTIAN CHENSVOLD
And you thought it would be a restaraunt. I like the carpet but I love the fireplace and chairs.
The restaurant is a possibility for next door when the women’s store moves onto the second floor.
Ah yes….that age old Ivy League sport of surfing.
Well I’m the founder of Ivy-Style.com and I surfed for six years, so there’s one connection.
Also:
http://www.ivy-style.com/haole-spirit.html
For those of us of a more sedentary nature, the armchairs and fireplace will allow us to ignore the other stuff.
Tough to be sporting when you’re cut off at the neck.
@Christian
Not a lot of surfing happening in New England/the Northeast.
Obviously historically surfing is a tad less preppy than squash.
But I think that post is one of the most interesting on this site when it comes to shining light on the popularity of the Ivy League Look during the heyday and how it was portrayed in pop culture.
I may have found the connection, Gents: Surfing and Yachting are both done on water.
@ Scooby — actually, surfing is enjoying quite a renaissance in the NYC metro area, particularly in Long Beach (virtually my backyard) and the Rockaways. I believe New York Magazine has actually run a couple of features on this phenomenon, and perhaps the NYT as well. On quiet mornings you can actually stroll along Long Beach and see dozens of surfers testing the waves. As an interesting aside, these surfers are actually doing very well in competition against “big wave” riders, because the unpredictable nature of wave patterns along the south shore of Long Island better equips them to handle less-than-optimal waves.
Honestly, I don’t think any serious surfers will be headed to BB to stock up on gear, just as I think that most of the BB sportswear offerings, while VERY nice, won’t be snapped up by serious practitioners of many of the sports on display. Just my opinion.
Surfing comes from Hawaii, which was visited in the 19th century by a large number of Protestant missionaries from New England. Many of them stayed on. See, for example, the wikipedia entry on Hiram Bingham III, who was born in Honolulu and graduated from Andover, Yale and Harvard. He went on to discover Machu Picchu and serve as a US Senator from Connecticut. His father, Hiram Bingham II, was also born in Hawaii and also graduated from Yale.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Bingham_III
I don’t know if the Binghams were surfers.
Unlikely that the Binghams were big surfers, since Hiram Bingham the First was staunchly Calvinist and viewed many of the native customs, including surfing, as indecent.
http://www.surfingforlife.com/history.html
But who knows? Perhaps his grandson was a bit of a rebel and rode some killer waves in his time.
Pathetic.
The next step will be for BB to discontinue regular (full-cut) shirts, navy blazers, and repp ties, I guess.
Just a tad alarmist.
A BB Hoodie.
There goes the neighborhood
I’m amazed at the negativity.
More men’s store accoutrements like the ones you offered here are much needed. A gentlemen’s store with comfort and panache – All they need to do is offer up a bourbon in crystal glasses in those green chairs next to the fire while they bring out the latest shirts and ties.
Surfing, not surfing, I could give a shit. But the clothes suck.
I knew someone would chime in with stories about their small cadre of surfers. You can do a Google search on “Surfing in (insert place here)”
and find some die-hard nut surfing in Greenland or Iceland or wherever.
The point is…If NY Magazine is has actually “run a couple of features on this phenomenon” of NY surfing, based solely on it’s mere existence, well then obviously it’s a novelty or oddity. Certainly not an institutional everyday thing like in CA or Hawaii.
If a random Ivy league guy goes to Hawaii and surfs, that doesn’t make surfing an Ivy League or New England tradition.
And John Kerry windsurfing the calm Nantucket sound ain’t exactly the stuff of Ivy League “surfing tradition” material…
But hey, if BB wants to design nantucket reds boogie boards for the prep-school set, so be it.
@Farmer Jones
This is hardly a matter to be taken lightly.
I really don’t even want to think about what will be the next step after BB hoodies.
Costumes. Not your father’s BB-alas.
@Richard Meyer
“Alas”.
That sums it up quite nicely.
@ Scooby — may I commend your psychic powers regarding someone chiming in with “their” small cadre of surfers. Sorry, I can’t lay claim to them. Don’t know any of these surfers and have never surfed myself. I was just bringing something to everyone’s attention, that’s all.
I think that even in HI or CA surfing’s not the “institutional, everyday” thing you claim it to be. Why, you make it sound like positively everyone’s taking regular sick days at work and hitting the waves in these two states. Very “Baywatch”, if you ask me.
As for surfing not being an Ivy League or New England tradition, well…. every tradition started *somewhere*, and most things we take for granted as tradition nowadays were probably considered downright heretical when they were first introduced. It’s not our place to determine what is traditional and what’s not. What might seem odd to us may not be so odd to our sons.
And as for that example of the random Ivy League guy who heads to HI to surf, I say kudos to him. At least he’s thinking for himself and doing what he wants to do. It’s a sad, sad life when you have to have fun based on some odd notion of what your “traditional” interests should be. There’s a fine line between being traditional and being completely humorless about anything new.
Short story is, I couldn’t care less if BB sells bathing trunks and hooded sweatshirts to capture a greater and younger audience. They still sell lots of clothing that I love, and I will continue to shop there as long as they do. You mention the “prep-school set” — well, where do we think this whole “Ivy” style started?
Finally, to all — my apologies for the long-winded spiel but this unwillingness to embrace anything new, or to accept any evolution of a style we all love, gets very tiresome after a while. Lighten up, guys.
@Peter
Lighten up indeed…
Nice long-winded bloated attempt to put words in my mouth and defend something against which there is no defense, really.
You clearly have reading comprehension problems.
Leave it to the know-it-all, seen-it-all New Yorker to tell Californians what is an institution in their own state. I hear you just discovered guacamole in NYC. It’s considered such the novelty that the NYT wrote a piece about it!
Reminds me of a certain magazine cover “New Yorker’s view of the world”.
That’s a funny magazine cover indeed.
I do think you like argument for its own sake though, Scooby.
@Christian
Got bored with the English. They have too many sad mental disorders.
I could tell. You’re like a knight and the Holy Wars are over. We must find a new battle for you — a noble one.
@Christian
I hear there may still be a lone “christian” fighting a “holy war”. I think he should just let them have their desert wasteland. The fight is all they’ve got. Take it away from them and they’ve got nothing but their fantasy.
I too enjoy a good duel.
Or at least an absurd one…
@Peter – ” surfing is enjoying quite a renaissance in the NYC metro area, particularly in Long Beach (virtually my backyard) and the Rockaways.” I assume you just moved to New York? People have been surfing on Long Island in large numbers for decades; you just need to know where to look. While hardcore surfers are out all year long; during summer months surfers tend to congregate on the fringe away from protected beaches. Lastly, no one mentioned Montauk; but the surf is considered better than anything to be found in California and at times comperable to the average HI surf.
@Kevin
“the surf is considered better than anything to be found in California”
oh please, you’re embarrassing yourself now.
They hold the Mavericks big wave surf contest in CA.
“waves can routinely crest at over 25 feet (8m) and top out at over 80 feet (24.4m)”
Got any 80ft waves on Long Island?
Hey guys – grew up on Long Island, and spent a few years in Santa Monica, CA. The beaches on Long Island kick the crap out of the SoCal beaches.
Once again….any 80ft waves off Long Island?
Check the surf reports over the last few days. Something like 3-9ft. at Montauk. Facts don’t lie.
Oh dear – it looks someone has thrown up in that shop. The word that springs to mind is – tacky!
I believe i shall by-pass it thank you
@ Kevin — I’ve lived in the NY metropolitan area my entire life and have lived on Long Island in particular for the past 29 years. So I’m *slightly* familiar with the area. My apologies for not mentioning Montauk, and yes, you are correct, the surf there is supposed to be very good. Not being a surfer myself, but that’s what I’ve heard.
And @ Scooby — no, I don’t have reading comprehension problems, nor did I attempt to put words in your mouth. Clearly you have issues with any opinion that differs from your own, hence my advice to lighten up. Deep breaths now, there’s whole big world outside of this ridiculous surfing argument… life’s too short to be a troll….
It’s amusing to me to see people debate the “tradliness” or lack thereof of surfing. These type of discussions illustrate how some use the Ivy image (it’s laws and bylaws) as the guidebook to their lives. Are people really that self aware and insecure?
Is surfing trad enough?
I don’t know, but I heard Patrick Moynihan used to hit the waves in his patch Madras trunks.
Yeah, but Moynihan is not technically a WASP.
But I think Jan from Jan and Dean was a Choatie and a Presbyterian.
hmmmm….I’ll have to gather more evidence (hearsay) and get back to you on this one.
@ Abdullah — Bravo!!
@Peter
Give it up buddy. Quit arguing an argument that you lost from the very beginning.
Um, OK. You know, they have meds for that…
@Peter
I guess you would know. You seem to be off of yours…
I’m only posting this so you will get annoyed at not having the last word. 😀