Case Study: Brooks Brothers on the Cutting Edge

The Old Brooks Brothers

When I was growing up on Long Island, every year around Labor Day my mother would drive me into Manhattan for our yearly purchase at Brooks Brothers—a blue serge suit for “dress-up” occasions, such as the first day of school, church, dancing class, weddings and funerals. As a kid, I found the decor of the 10-story flagship store at Madison Avenue and 44th Street stuffy, with its dark wood paneling, heavy glass merchandise cases and the immaculately tailored salesmen who were so unctuously attentive. For over a century, Brooks Brothers has been New York’s premier emporium for men and boys to buy suits and related accessories—shirts, ties, socks and shoes.