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Brooks Brothers Blues
The men’s clothing company, established in 1818, filed for bankruptcy today. I have two short anecdotes about that company that create for me the nostalgic sweet pain that comes from life as you age.
When I was a teenager my Dad had a prescription to Esquire magazine that I perused each month. I found a few articles that held my interest because they were avant- guard but mostly I looked at the ads. It was the Vanity Fair for metrosexual males long before that concept took birth. When I was about fourteen I was captivated by a Brooks Brothers ad featuring a bright blue blazer; not a navy blue blazer, but bright blue. I had to have it. I cut out the ad and begged my mother to buy me a blazer that color. Amazingly enough, she found an inexpensive sport coat the same color from a K-mart or similar store and replaced the white plastic buttons that came on the coat with brass buttons and I was as happy as I had ever been. Unfortunately, this happened in the midst of my adolescent growth spurt or I would still have it today.
A few years ago I was invited to a high society wedding on Nantucket Island. As I settled into my plane seat for the trip, I reviewed my suitcase packing and realized I had packed everything except for a necktie. My connection from Charleston to Boston went through Detroit I think. I hiked throughout the massive system of terminals and found only one store that sold ties. Brooks Brothers. It was a small store and had 4 or 5 styles of ties which were all the same color, navy blue, and gold diagonal stripes which only differed in the thickness of the stripes. They all looked way too mundane for my tastes but I had no choice. So I bought the one that looked best to me and paid $85 for the insipid tie! I have never spent that much on a tie. Wouldn’t you know it, but I got more compliments on that tie that weekend than I have ever received.
I doubt if I will ever buy an $85 tie again, but I wish Brooks Brothers the best. They served this country well.
Published in General
I always wear a sports coat on weekdays (and Church) as I have found the extra pockets handy for sunglasses, reading glasses, etc.
Also, it covers up my holster bulge so I can carry pretty much the same way every day…
I grew up in Forest Hills Gardens. It may have been a local bit of jargon. I learned it originally from my older brother, but it was in common use among the kids I grew up with in the Gardens and adjoining areas around the Westside Tennis Club.
Slouching towards Gomorrah.
I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man in the front pew wearing Crocs.
I remember watching TV when I was younger (much younger), and I always watched the credits ate the end of the shows. It struck me that most of the male actors wore suits provided by Botany 500, another defunct company.
True–and when wardrobes were given away (Price is Right), they were from Botany 500.
Prescription, subscription… I learn something every day.
This. This. This. Perfect explanation.
[One minor error…photos and details from 9/11 are of the One Liberty Plaza shop (since closed), not the 44th Street location (also, never a 5th avenue location).]
Our son had a small sojourn at boarding school. Sent him off with BB button downs. Of course.
Indestructible boxer shorts for my husband.
Good grief! I certainly didn’t notice any BB wokeness in Charleston last fall. It will be sad when my shirts, khakis, and boxers wear out. That camel hair overcoat, which does actually attract compliments from the ladies, may become a BB heirloom.
Maybe his doctor told him to read it