# Brooksgate? Can Someone Enlighten Me?



## Northeastern (Feb 11, 2007)

I recently made an eBay purchase of a BB 2 button Glen Plaid suit. It's a nice looking ensemble, and I'll gladly wear it but I'm not familiar with the label.

The jacket says "BROOKSGATE" on the inside. I have Brooksease suits, but I've never heard of this line. Can anyone tell me more about the line? Is it still sold? Was this suit worth the whopping $29.99 I paid for it?

Thanks


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## 3button Max (Feb 6, 2006)

*brooksgate*

Wasnt Brooksgate for younger men -slightly smaller sizes- bought some Brooksgate trouisers at the old downtown Brooks (before their mall idiocy) but then I was smaller and younger then.


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## VOLUNTEER (Jul 23, 2006)

"Brooksgate" was a department at Brooks the was positioned between boys and "346" in their merchandising strategy. The clothing was less expensive, less constructed (i.e. fused) and more shaped than its other lines. There was at least a six in drop between jacket and trouser size and most jackets were darted. It was a great value for the younger customer (or the slender older customer) and a valuable step in moving the Brooks client on to 346 and ultimately 'Makers" as income and physique changed over the years. In their infinite wisdom, Marks and Spencer saw fit to eliminate Brooksgate.


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## Northeastern (Feb 11, 2007)

Thanks for the info.


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## rojo (Apr 29, 2004)

The Brooksgate line was introduced in the early 1970s. Because this line was sized for and marketed toward younger men, the name was chosen to indicate that it was the "gateway" into becoming a lifelong Brooks customer. The buttons on Brooksgate blazers were adorned with the gates to Buckingham palace. The Brooksgate name proved a somewhat unfortunate choice, because shortly after the line was unveiled the Watergate scandal broke. 

This was followed by Watergate's innumerable namesakes, including skategate, Iran-Contragate, and Monica Lewinsky-gate.


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## bd79cc (Dec 20, 2006)

I used to have a Brooksgate 3/2 polyester/wool blend darted blazer late HS/early college. It was a great jacket, perfect for the tall lean me of the time, with exactly the dodgy shaping and construction characterized by Volunteer.
Brooks replaced this jacket with an all-wool undarted number that fit/looked the same way. 

The Brooksgate shirts were of a flimsier grade of OC than the standard Brooks OCBD shirt, had slightly longer collars and cuff barrels, and had no center box pleat at the yoke (either two small pleats, one near each yoke/sleeve juncture, or no pleats at all). They required heavy starching from the laundry to hold their shape for any length of time.

I and my college roommate discovered that the Smithies liked us in Brooksgate a lot better than they liked us in Makers. With them it was all about the cut! Result: the roomie and I would impress each other by wearing our Makers during the week, then we'd impress the Smithies on the weekends with our Brooksgate. Talk about Dress For Success!


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## steedappeal (May 10, 2004)

*There once was a time...*

I fondly rememeber Brooksgate as my entry-point into Brooks since I was too slim to wear anything by J. Press!


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## Tom Buchanan (Nov 7, 2005)

steedappeal said:


> I fondly rememeber Brooksgate as my entry-point into Brooks since I was too slim to wear anything by J. Press!


Steedappeal,

Unfortunately, I still fit into this category with many of Press' items.

Has J. Press ever considered carrying a line for thinner men? Is there not enough demand? I assume that the Japanese market may require a thinner cut?

Thanks.


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## wrwhiteknight (Mar 20, 2012)

I just picked up a Brooksgate cream colored blazer for $4.99. Very strange jacket, but I will make great use of it in the spring. Fully-fused, but with very soft shoulders and almost no structure. Although no fabric content is listed, I'm almost positive it is all cotton. The jacket also has a large instruction panel about how to wash it, and it can be machine washed and dried; very strange again. I'll post pictures later.


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## Ekphrastic (Oct 4, 2009)

..._and_ dried? Have you tried it?


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

rojo said:


> The Brooksgate line was introduced in the early 1970s. Because this line was sized for and marketed toward younger men, the name was chosen to indicate that it was the "gateway" into becoming a lifelong Brooks customer. The buttons on Brooksgate blazers were adorned with the gates to Buckingham palace. The Brooksgate name proved a somewhat unfortunate choice, because shortly after the line was unveiled the Watergate scandal broke.
> 
> This was followed by Watergate's innumerable namesakes, including skategate, Iran-Contragate, and Monica Lewinsky-gate.


You forgot that the biggest irony was Nixon being one of the high-profile customers.



bd79cc said:


> I used to have a Brooksgate 3/2 polyester/wool blend darted blazer late HS/early college. It was a great jacket, perfect for the tall lean me of the time, with exactly the dodgy shaping and construction characterized by Volunteer.
> Brooks replaced this jacket with an all-wool undarted number that fit/looked the same way.
> 
> The Brooksgate shirts were of a flimsier grade of OC than the standard Brooks OCBD shirt, had slightly longer collars and cuff barrels, and had no center box pleat at the yoke (either two small pleats, one near each yoke/sleeve juncture, or no pleats at all). They required heavy starching from the laundry to hold their shape for any length of time.
> ...


I thought you were trying to impress blacksmiths for a second.


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## wrwhiteknight (Mar 20, 2012)

Ekphrastic said:


> ..._and_ dried? Have you tried it?


 No, I washed it in the machine on warm, and then chickened out and hung it to dry.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

For all you know, it could have already been tumbled dry by the previous owner!


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

There is some wonderful branding history in this thread, even for those of us who remember Brooksgate when it was 'new' and we occasionally bought some of it. I had quite missed the Watergate connection.


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