Brooks Brothers

Brooks Brothers carries genuine weight as the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in the United States, founded in 1818, and that heritage is a real part of the appeal. Whether it is worth it today depends on what you want: the classic, relaxed fit and the brand's invented staples remain its strengths. Shoppers chasing the most modern, slim silhouettes sometimes look elsewhere, so it pays to know which house style suits you.

The two are intertwined: Ralph Lauren actually began his career as a salesman at the Brooks Brothers Madison Avenue store, and Brooks Brothers later sued Polo Ralph Lauren to retain its rights to the original polo button-down collar shirt. Stylistically, Brooks Brothers is the older, traditional American clothier, while Ralph Lauren built a broader aspirational lifestyle look. If you want the originator of preppy staples, Brooks Brothers is the source.

Brooks Brothers is famed for introducing the ready-to-wear suit to American customers in its early history, and for the original polo button-down collar shirt it fought to protect in court. These innovations defined American business dress. Pairing those with its near-two-century history is what makes the brand a cornerstone of classic menswear.

The natural starting point is the original button-down collar shirt, the staple Brooks Brothers is most closely associated with and the one it sued to protect its rights over. It captures the brand's traditional, preppy identity in a single garment. From there, its ready-to-wear tailoring, a category it helped pioneer in America, is the logical next step.

Henry Sands Brooks opened H. & D. H. Brooks & Co. on April 7, 1818, at the age of 45, on the corner of Catherine and Cherry Streets in Manhattan. His guiding principle was to make and deal only in merchandise of the finest body and sell it at a fair profit. That 1818 founding makes it the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in the United States.

Henry Sands Brooks started the business in 1818, and in 1833 his four sons, Elisha, Daniel, Edward and John, inherited it. In 1850 they renamed the company Brooks Brothers, reflecting the brothers who then ran it. The name has carried through every change of ownership since.

The Golden Fleece, a wooly sheep suspended in a ribbon, was adopted as the company's trademark in 1850. The image had long been a symbol of British woolen merchants and dated back to the fifteenth-century Knights of the Golden Fleece, founded by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. In the mid-1990s executives briefly removed the logo from its cotton knit polo shirts, but it was later restored.

Yes. In the mid-nineteenth century Brooks Brothers outfitted President Abraham Lincoln and considered him a loyal customer. At his second inauguration he wore a coat specially crafted by Brooks Brothers, its lining hand-stitched with an eagle and the inscription 'One Country, One Destiny'. He was wearing that coat and a Brooks Brothers suit when he was assassinated.

As of 2025, Brooks Brothers is owned by Catalyst Brands, alongside names including JCPenney, Aeropostale, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand Jeans and Nautica. The brand began as a family business and has passed through several owners over its history. Today it also licenses its name for eyewear, fragrances and a home collection.

In September 2007, then-CEO Claudio Del Vecchio unveiled a high-end men's and women's collection called Black Fleece, with New York menswear designer Thom Browne as its first guest designer. It met enough success that a stand-alone boutique opened on Bleecker Street in the winter of 2008. The line used a confusing sizing range, such as size 'BB 0', and was discontinued in 2015.

Treat the original button-down as the long-haul staple it is meant to be: wash it gently, avoid harsh heat, and press the collar so the signature roll stays clean. Classic cotton shirting rewards careful laundering and only improves with thoughtful wear. Looked after, a well-made oxford is exactly the kind of durable basic the brand built its name on.