1990-present

This is Henry, the new mascot unveiled by Brooks Brothers, and who already adorns $50 t-shirts. Henry is named for Henry Sands Brooks, who founded the company in 1818. That was a long time ago, so it’s a futile exercise to imagine how old Henry would regard new Henry. He’d probably be more concerned with …

  Some of you may remember one of my smaller web projects from a few years back called MasculineInteriors.com. I’ve always enjoyed decorating my apartments and really liked working on the site. In the end it proved too narrow a topic — or perhaps too broad. It was purchased, but looks like the owners never …

The fall of Brooks Brothers wouldn’t be complete without a drawn-out denouement of ignominy. And so the $27 billion Del Vecchio family is being sued by a former Hong Kong investor (suggesting perhaps globalism just isn’t good for American companies). Reuters reports:  The billionaire Italian family that until recently owned Brooks Brothers has been accused …

Greetings, gentlemen, and hope that wherever you are your spring has sprung. We’re long overdue with a catchup on all the news in Tradsville. We’ll start with something rather salacious and really quite incredulous. We’ve known that Alden has done phenomenally well over the past decade, indeed apparently well enough to misplace $30 million. Former …

After yesterday’s post on George Will, a reader sent in this column on Brooks that the trad columnist wrote for the Washington Post back in 1997, when the appearance of buttondowns in odd colors were enough to spark fear of the end times. Will opens his lament with: Yes, yes, we have been told. Philosophers …

Do not let this post mislead you, for the necktie is not dead but will rise again. Happy Easter, everyone. * * * Amid the egg hunts, chocolate bunnies and flower bonnets, how can the menswear aficionado add some style to Easter Sunday? How about dyeing Easter eggs, but with the unique twist of transfering …

I will try to write this without vulgarity and profanity. Partly because someone’s son might read this. Partly because, well, it is a gentlemen’s site. Lived off of Lands’ End buttondowns for most of my career, back when they made a wide variety. Wore Brooks blazers, suits, ties, accessories, and even one pair of wingtips, …

Today the New York Times has a lengthy feature on the abandoned Brooks Brothers warehouse we posted about earlier this week, along with a summary of the present situation of the company. The Times writes: The office attire segment of retailing as a whole was battered last year as many Americans worked remotely, ditching entire …

After a two-Manhattan lunch with the guys, I would occasionally go and sit with “my guy” at Brooks Brothers and go through swatches and order up a couple of MTM suits. One of the tailors, Sal, an impeccably-dressed Italian gentleman, would measure me. Pick-stitching, working sleeve buttons, pen-pocket, mid-break, no break, 1 5/8” cuffs, etc. At …

Yesterday I realized that Brooks Brothers is gone and it gave me a real sadness. A year ago this weekend, on a sunny day much like today, I took one of my nephews into Brooks Brothers and showed him around. I told him that one day I would buy him something there, when he was …