Posted on 07/08/2020 5:51:35 AM PDT by C19fan
The coronavirus pandemic has now claimed one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious retailers. Brooks Brothers — pioneer of the polo and uniform of the polished prepster — filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, as it continues to search for a buyer.
The retailer, which is more than two centuries old, boasts of having dressed 40 U.S. presidents and countless investment bankers. Early to the office-casual look, it became known for its crisp oxfords and jaunty sports jackets. But rent had become a burden, and the pandemic torpedoed a sale process that began in 2019.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
I agree with you. Brooks Brothers shirts are the best. I have nine or ten in my closet. Haven’t worn them much lately but have decided to do so, in part because I am becoming weary of the slobification of society.
Not surprised with so many working remotely from home now - who needs it?
I had my husband drive me through town yesterday and was shocked at all the “for lease” signs up - restaurants, mostly, but other businesses as well.
LOL, I did the same thing. After a full day in the suit, first thing I did getting home was change into some comfy relaxed clothes. And I just hated the full suit in summer 90 degree weather. Made no sense.
Ditto for the teaching profession where I am.
When I entered, it was very conservative as far as dress - we were told we were the face of the working world and to be an example of behavior and dress in the workplace.
How that has changed over the years - complete slobification. I now see teachers come to work in old sweats, torn or stained clothing, flip flops, wrinkled Hawaiian shirts, and worse.
I was glad when the dress restrictions became more casual as I had to move around a lot at my job and am on my feet almost the entire day.
I miss it, though, and I think it’s become far too casual - along with people’s attitudes. There was a better workplace environment when teachers dressed better. There have been a number of moves to bring back dress requirements but the teachers’ unions strongly oppose them.
“I am going to guess the company has been stripped of assets, highly in debt, paid special dividends to the private equity firm, massive executive bonuses...And blaming COVID-19 for bankruptcy.”
Bingo. Typical corporate raiders.
During the Civil War, Brooks Brothers made thousands of coats & trousers for New York State militia regiments and hundreds of thousands coats & trousers for the Union Army.
Suits are an outmoded style of dress that impose added cost but no value, and they all will eventually disappear except for rare occasions and as costumes.
I used to buy nearly all my shirts from them. I’d usually wait for their twice annual sale. The quality was very high and they looked better than most other products on the market. It might cost me triple to shop at Brooks Brothers but they lasted more than 5 times longer.
They sourced from many places around the world. Little more than a decade or so they started a lot of chinese PRC sourcing. I figured I could get Peoples Republic of China quality elsewhere and stopped buying though still have some old shirts in good condition.
Brooks Brothers makes the best off-the-rack dress shirt out there, and they hold up very well. They made a cherished old blazer of mine that still looks damn good. Business casual has turned everyone into slobs. Helluva shame.
Out with the old, well dressed, people who took pride in their appearance and in with pants down to your ankles and underwear showing. I knew we were in for trouble when I started seeing over ten years ago shirt tails out everywhere including exclusive country clubs, then cutoffs and tees in fine restaurants, call me old fashioned, but people take no pride at all anymore in their appearance.
This is a pity.
I have lots of BB clothing and with the exception of a few Irish/English sweaters they are all made in the USA.
Imported fabrics, sure but USA labor and jobs.
Back when I wore suits to work, the important thing was getting the suit adjusted by the store’s tailor to fit perfectly, including proper hemming of the pants.
This cannot be done with “social distancing”.
Tom Landry wore Brooks Brothers suits on the sideline. He must be wincing in his grave.
Since I come from Blue collar roots I had very little idea of good clothing, so my first suits were from Sears, now that is cheap.
Joe A Banks was an upgrade for me. However, I started buying their Executive collection which to me looked very good. I also loved their “Trio” suits (jacket 2 different pants) which we great for my standard 2 day travel meeting.
But since I’m an engineer I wouldn’t know fine clothing if it hit me in the face.
I have a huge closet full of Brooks Brothers clothing- suits, shirts, ties, polos, etc. They were my standard business clothes for my entire career. Now that I am retired I go to the Boot Barn (western wear). I guess I went from BB to BB......
I work in a very casual office where I am the most formally dressed person there. I always wear slacks with a long-sleeved dress shirt, usually a button-down. Because it is so hot here, I occasionally wear a short-sleeved button-down, but I never wear polo type shirts to work. I always wear slacks with a long-sleeved dress shirt to church, and a blazer and tie if the weather is cool. It is sad to see people in public in attire better fitted for their backyards.
R. C. Van Tuyl -- CEO of Shearson, Hammill -- always brought his personal bottle of gin into the executive dining room for lunch at 14 Wall.
Clutched it tightly, like a football.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.