So true. In the words of The Trad “Not as good as it was, better than it will be”
The Brooks Brothers Time Machine - 1980s Deadstock.
It’s generally agreed that the end of the line for Brooks Brothers began when Marks & Spencer took over the company in 1988. (Brooks was charged with being an arrogant and remote institution but that is matched only by M&S whose arrogance and business practices led in part to the decline of the British manufacturing of staple clothing items – a story for another day). Since then, there has been the steady deterioration and loss of their own stylistic confidence to the point where Brooks is no more than a ghost of its former glory. Whilst other brands feign a ‘heritage’ that was never really that important – they just managed to survive mostly by luck – Brooks can claim a heritage and influence that rivals Savile Row or Milan on twentieth century menswear. A history not to be sniffed at, and certainly not to be squandered by the current crop of owners who are only one step up from M&S in their misunderstanding of this once great institution.
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