Brooks Brothers:
The First 132 Years

There is only one haberdashery in the world that is able to boast that they had retained the patronage of both Thomas Jefferson and Andy Warhol: Brooks Brothers.

“The story of this fabulous establishment began in April, 1818, when Henry Sands Brooks, then at the mature age of 46, opened the first store at Catharine and Cherry Streets with a capital investment of $17,000. Brooks immediately struck up a brisk trade with seafaring men who frequented that portion of the city.”

“Records of the house show that while Henry Brooks broke with tradition on almost every score when he pioneered in the clothing trade, there was one custom of the times that he followed religiously. Whenever an able seaman purchased an outfit, Brooks, like all other clothing merchants, would reach behind the counter and offer him a deep drought of rum — on the house.”

During the summer of 202, Brooks Brothers filed for Chapter 11; the attached columns present the first 132 years of the firm.

Click here to read about men’s formal wear during the late Forties