# I hate to be one of the whiners... [BB]



## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

...but what is going on? [see bottom of the page linked here]:

https://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatSectionView.process?IWAction=Load&Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=675


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## Beefeater (Jun 2, 2007)

Give me an effin' break . . . wow.


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## GentlemanGeorge (Dec 30, 2009)

There goes the neighborhood.


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## Andy Roo (Jan 25, 2007)




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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

Brooks Brotha.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

They gave me a t-shirt once, included without explanation in an online order. A rather complicated logo, "BB, est. 1818," some other guff and scrolls and flourishes. I added it to the gym rotation, which also includes one touting a fly-fishing shop in Seattle and my favorite, a t-shirt that advertises the organic pickles grown by the nice Jewish kids at Camp Isabella Freedman. 

The only thing I'd wear in the collection under discussion is the sweat shirt, and that only at gunpoint.


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

Something to wear under my black Anderson Little Blazer with its silver buttons. 

Cripes. I got out just in time.


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## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

Looks like a page out of Polo. I imagine everyone here will continue to buy brooks so long as we can still get the basics we like. But this way they can possibly grab a few more people, as well. Will it end up coming back to bite them? We'll see. It didn't work out for Tommy, but sure did for Ralph


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## JakeLA (Oct 30, 2006)

Patrick06790 said:


> They gave me a t-shirt once, included without explanation in an online order. A rather complicated logo, "BB, est. 1818," some other guff and scrolls and flourishes. I added it to the gym rotation, which also includes one touting a fly-fishing shop in Seattle and my favorite, a t-shirt that advertises the organic pickles grown by the nice Jewish kids at Camp Isabella Freedman.
> 
> The only thing I'd wear in the collection under discussion is the sweat shirt, and that only at gunpoint.


I'd buy one of those organic Jewish pickle shirts in a heartbeat.

The BB shirts are annoying, but none of us would even know they existed if the OP hadn't linked to that page. What annoys me is they have a zillion different styles and colors of this crap but the OCBDs come in, what, three colors and one stripe?

My favorite thing on that page is the "limited edition" polo shirt that comes in a gold-colored box for $98. That is some lame-ass marketing. That said, Brooks today grosses less than Jessica Simpson's clothing line, so I guess they have to do something.


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## maddog (Jan 10, 2011)

Some of the polos with pockets even have logos on them. As far as I know not even Ralph will do that.
The worst thing on there is definitely the hooded sweatshirt with "BROOKS BROTHERS" printed on the front in big letters. Yuck.
The unfortunate thing is that, as a college student very much in the market for polos, I would probably buy a few of those (at very reasonable prices compared to RL) if they didn't have the logos.


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## Charles Saturn (May 27, 2010)

What's the expression, when pigs fly? A BB hoodie with logo? Mon Dieu.


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## Orgetorix (May 20, 2005)

Oh, look. Another BB gripe thread. Yay. Hasn't been a new one of these in what, several hours at least?


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## EastVillageTrad (May 12, 2006)

Trip English said:


> Something to wear under my black Anderson Little Blazer with its silver buttons.
> 
> Cripes. I got out just in time.


LOL! Well played.


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## KenR (Jun 22, 2005)

There was a time when Brooks never put their label on the inside jacket pocket because it was not discrete enough...


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## Brooksfan (Jan 25, 2005)

I believe if Brooks can offer these items they should be able to have basic stock of classic 3r2 suits and jackets, and as one poster said, a few more options in must-iron OCBDs. To wit, the old "blazer stripe" which was a fairly thick white stripe against blue oxford, a blue/navy and or burgundy/navy oxford tattersall, and university stripes in pink, grey, and yellow. We don't need the orange, green, purple, aubergine and turquoise. Just things that we've worn over the last 40 years and would wear over the next 40 if we're fortunate to survive and they would offer them. Just this reporter's opinion.


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## Larsd4 (Oct 14, 2005)

Brooks Brothers to me is a source for great OCBD's and repp ties. That's pretty much it.


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

Orgetorix said:


> Oh, look. Another BB gripe thread. Yay. Hasn't been a new one of these in what, several hours at least?


Yes you're right, I know this comes up about every 5 seconds, but I thought these garments were remarkable, even among a bunch of other ugly stuff.

It looks to me, given the sheer volume of items on the website that their suppliers overseas are just offering them a ton of stuff and BB is saying "'ok' slap our logo on and give it to us, what do we have to lose?"

It's a pretty goofy assortment of items these days. I have detected a change even in the last 18 months. 4-5 years ago I thought they were really strong, great collections. Not so much anymore. Of course the standards are still great, OCBD, polos, etc.

I hadn't even caught this one, on the second page of that section. ???:

https://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCa...lor=BLACK&sort_by=&sectioncolor=&sectionsize=


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## statboy (Sep 1, 2010)

And the sweatshirt hoodie thingy is a cotton/poly blend. Is that normal for hoodies?


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

Danny said:


> ...but what is going on? [see bottom of the page linked here]:
> 
> https://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatSectionView.process?IWAction=Load&Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=675


Oh, whine away, Danny, it's well deserved. The kids running Brooks won't be happy until they drag it down to the same level as every other mass-market retailer.


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## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

statboy said:


> And the sweatshirt hoodie thingy is a cotton/poly blend. Is that normal for hoodies?


I doubt those who wear them know or care whether or not they are a blend...or what the difference is. "Blended _what_ dude?"


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## Pink and Green (Jul 22, 2009)

My attitude has always been that these silly affectations will fade with time and they'll hopefully embrace fully their traditional money makers. Of course goods of substance cost more, and screen printed T's can be higher margin since the "name" supplies the value.

Not every grand old company can be bought by people who respect tradition (J. Press). The irony here is, the parent company keeps Press in it's pure incarnation here, and sells things like those we gripe about in this thread in Japan!

How odd.


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## MikeDT (Aug 22, 2009)

Seems to be case of... 'OMG!! Brooks is selling logo'd and branded hoodies!!! The sky is falling, end of the world!!!'

TBH I have no problem with BB selling hoodies. After all isn't the hoodie a classic American garment? Think Sylvester Stallone in the 'Rocky' movies.







A classic American garment.


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

MikeDT said:


> The sky is falling, end of the world!!!'


Darn right!!! :icon_viking:


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## Himself (Mar 2, 2011)

I hate this crap too but I don't care unless it winds up displacing the classic stuff that I like, which I'm afraid always happens. Remember when the company called Abercrombie & Fitch made real clothes?


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## zarathustra (Aug 24, 2006)

Danny said:


> Yes you're right, I know this comes up about every 5 seconds, but I thought these garments were remarkable, even among a bunch of other ugly stuff.
> 
> It looks to me, given the sheer volume of items on the website that their suppliers overseas are just offering them a ton of stuff and BB is saying "'ok' slap our logo on and give it to us, what do we have to lose?"
> 
> ...


Dear Sir:

Thanks you for bringing this to my attention. I now own a great mermaid shirt and sweatshirt to wear on those crisp mornings walking the dog.


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## fiddler (Apr 19, 2010)

Himself said:


> I hate this crap too but I don't care unless it winds up displacing the classic stuff that I like, which I'm afraid always happens. Remember when the company called Abercrombie & Fitch made real clothes?


I remember that, they went bankrupt didn't they?


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

Something like that, they were too good for this world. Their midtown store had a flycasting pool on the roof. Sold the name when they were liquidated.


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

Somebody kick the crap out of me, I'm a doofus.


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## Liberty Ship (Jan 26, 2006)

BB is in line to be the new Abercrombie and Fitch.


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## JakeLA (Oct 30, 2006)

Cardinals5 said:


> Somebody kick the crap out of me, I'm a doofus.


Is this one of those "hippy" kids I read about in the Saturday Evening Post?


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## 10gallonhat (Dec 13, 2009)

Liberty Ship said:


> BB is in line to be the new Abercrombie and Fitch.


People who wear Abercrombie and Fitch won't be in a Brooks Brothers store in the first place and will never even know that these polos/hoodies exist, so I don't think it's a big deal. All of BB's current customers will ignore the ugly merchandise and Brooks will be forced to stop making it.

That being said, the plain t-shirts are actually very comfortable.


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## Uncle Bill (May 4, 2010)

A simple solution, just don't buy it. I go into the Toronto BB outpost underneath Royal Bank Plaza on a regular basis and none of this stuff that's griped about on this thread is merchandised. My guess it's an online experiment what will last for one season and wind up in the outlet stores.


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## nerdykarim (Dec 13, 2005)

I think this is actually a pretty well-designed item. If I can get it for around $40 on sale, I might pull the trigger.


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## 10gallonhat (Dec 13, 2009)

nerdykarim said:


> I think this is actually a pretty well-designed item. If I can get it for around $40 on sale, I might pull the trigger.


Would have been a nice item if they removed that stupid design ... or at the very least, shrunk it down to logo-size and put it over the left chest as opposed to right in the middle.


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## srivats (Jul 29, 2008)

Cardinals5 said:


> Somebody kick the crap out of me, I'm a doofus.


Untucked shirt tails below a sweater/hoodie makes me rage. I can't believe even BB would do this ... they should know better.


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## srivats (Jul 29, 2008)

This just in: BB has a one day 'flash sale' for BBBF -- reminds me of Yoox. Ugh!

https://www.brooksbrothers.com/blackfleece/flashSale.tem


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## 1WB (Sep 25, 2008)

srivats said:


> This just in: BB has a one day 'flash sale' for BBBF -- reminds me of Yoox. Ugh!
> 
> https://www.brooksbrothers.com/blackfleece/flashSale.tem


Yes, but let's be honest: aren't you relieved that it's on BF rather than something you want? I know I am, because I can't afford to buy anything else right now! 75% off or not.


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## jimmyfingers (Sep 14, 2010)

Not surprised as these items are popular right now. Probably an effort to increase conversion rates. For examples, Polo aims to have each customer walk out with at least 3 items.

Some people are brand crazy and will buy these because they say 'brooks' I see more and more people talking/wearing Vineyard Vines and I assume that this is an attempt to regain some of these lost customers. These items look like something Vineyard Vines would sale in 2011.


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## fiddler (Apr 19, 2010)

No comment...


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

Somebody's ready for casual Wednesday.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
Alas, an example of GTH, gone bad, methinks!


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

Perhaps we've failed to recognize an accomplished fisherman? 

Or has that joke petered out?


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

^^^

HA!! No, still good.

Swap out a blue blazer and boat shoes and I'd wear that....


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## Scott Anderson (Nov 20, 2008)

Brooks Brothers is now owned by an Italian Company whose foundation is in eyewear. They are savvy brand collectors and astute brand extension experts. Their game plan will be to max out the brand without gutting it but they will be making changes and some big ones. They are research driven as all large brand consortiums are, but as an Italian company, they respect a sense of unique style within their brands. Brooks is going to be changing more in the next few years than it probably has in the last 25, so nothing would surprise me. I've had the pleasure of living and working in Italy and I speak fluent Italian (the Anderson-Little designer is Italian in fact) and they do LOVE clothing and take style very seriously. 

I actually remember the A&F in Manhattan and there isn't even a starving ghost of that store in today's brand. BUT A&F went out of business and Brooks Brothers is plugging along, so the trick is to extend the brand without disenfranchising the base. Unless your base is small and thrifty and your target is large and spendy. Then you roll the dice and take your chances. This is the gamble that destroyed Anderson-Little. Woolworth decided to compete with Zayre and KMart and and invested heavily in Woolco. They had a variety of brands including Anderson-Little and when Woolco failed, it dragged the entire company and all its divisions with it--including profitable ones like Anderson-Little. And for the bonus round, what is the corporate successor to Woolworth? Answer and you'd never guess...Foot Locker. See the nifty things you learn when you launch a decade long trademark fight with a dead company to get your family's name back. Funny thing, I like Foot Locker but they don't have a lunch counter 

Oh, and you can wear whatever you want under my Black Blazer with silver buttons because I just want you to be happy in your fine American made Blazer produced by a family owned company even if it's just to make fun of it. I have a sense of humor about Anderson-Little it's just really, really small


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## Flip Richards (Mar 31, 2011)

hookem12387 said:


> I imagine everyone here will continue to buy brooks so long as we can still get the basics we like.


It's time to put our feet down and just _stop_ with this. Who would ever want to find themselves associated with the coarse look/lifestyle they promote? It sullies your look. "Brooks" has been going sour for a long time, and I think they have finally spoiled it. "Brooks" is not trad.

There are plenty of good serviceable OCBD's on the Exchange and ebay to keep any of us comfortably stocked for their rest of our natural lives. There is no longer any excuse at all to patronize or solicit "Brooks" for anything.


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## Flip Richards (Mar 31, 2011)

eagle2250 said:


> ^^
> Alas, an example of GTH, gone bad, methinks!


It's a confusion of Preppy and Trad. Trying to mix both together simply does not work.


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## Charles Saturn (May 27, 2010)

Flip Richards said:


> It's time to put our feet down and just _stop_ with this. Who would ever want to find themselves associated with the coarse look/lifestyle they promote? It sullies your look. "Brooks" has been going sour for a long time, and I think they have finally spoiled it. "Brooks" is not trad.
> 
> There are plenty of good serviceable OCBD's on the Exchange and ebay to keep any of us comfortably stocked for their rest of our natural lives. There is no longer any excuse at all to patronize or solicit "Brooks" for anything.


Why would I care if Brooks is "TRAD" if I like the shirts they make. I don't think you get it. Its a menswear company, not a sports franchise. And some of the sales people at my local franchise are very helpful, which I appreciate.


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## Steve Smith (Jan 12, 2008)

Charles Saturn said:


> Why would I care if Brooks is "TRAD" if I like the shirts they make. I don't think you get it. Its a menswear company, not a sports franchise. And some of the sales people at my local franchise are very helpful, which I appreciate.


Exactly. Like any good company, they are trying to grow and survive. I don't understand the need to take it so personally when they make an item or line which one doesn't like.

I have met people in rural North Carolina who speak reverently of "Mr. Del Vecchio". From their point of view, he saved their jobs at a time when most US textile jobs had already gone away. So if BB wants to market a hoodie that doesn't work for me, I'll give them a pass and continue to wear their OCBD's with no hard feelings.


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## Orgetorix (May 20, 2005)

Scott Anderson said:


> Brooks Brothers is now owned by an Italian Company whose foundation is in eyewear. They are savvy brand collectors and astute brand extension experts. Their game plan will be to max out the brand without gutting it but they will be making changes and some big ones. They are research driven as all large brand consortiums are, but as an Italian company, they respect a sense of unique style within their brands. Brooks is going to be changing more in the next few years than it probably has in the last 25, so nothing would surprise me. I've had the pleasure of living and working in Italy and I speak fluent Italian (the Anderson-Little designer is Italian in fact) and they do LOVE clothing and take style very seriously.


This misinformation crops up every now and then. BB's parent company, RBA, is not a part of the Luxottica group. The owner, Claudio Del Vecchio, is the son of the Luxottica founder and worked for the Luxottica group in the past, but he owns RBA (and BB) on his own now, with no business ties to Luxottica.

This doesn't mean he didn't learn the same business approach that his father's company uses, but it is an important point nonetheless, because it means BB's strategy is not necessarily identical to Luxottica's. Del Vecchio has undoubtedly brought important business experience to BB, but I've talked with several people who know him firsthand, and they all say he has a true passion for BB's history and character in its own right.


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## Flip Richards (Mar 31, 2011)

Charles Saturn said:


> Why would I care if Brooks is "TRAD" if I like the shirts they make./QUOTE]
> 
> Perhaps; it is fine for a person to enjoy and appreciate the new transformation that is Brooks. That being said, if it is Trad you are after, then you can't order indiscriminately from new Brooks. They have expanded well beyond what is the backbone of this fora.


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## Joe Beamish (Mar 21, 2008)

The only place from which I would "order indiscriminately" would be OC. Just throw darts at the catalog and wait for whatever comes in the mail. 

Except for OCBDs; I must get them from BB. They are perfect.


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