Brooks Brothers, Fall 2008

The Brooks Brothers Fall 2008 catalog (vol 1) came today. From this I learned

-- The Brooks family has grown. A red-haired and square-jawed, Irish-looking fellow has muscled out the slender, TV anchor-looking guy for the prime spots with the leading ladies. The cheerful, somewhat creepy old party guy is back. So is the Obama lookalike, but they put him in some of the ugliest casual clothing. In one picture, it appears that his shirt is causing him pain. There are a number of new women. There are more children.

-- Everyone has longer hair. The grown men have more on top (except the bald guy). The children have raggy, unwashed hairdos that remind me of the early 80s. The dog of the season is the Afghan, slendy and shaggy.

-- The cordovan shoes are up to $598. The Peals are $488.

-- All the sportcoats in this catalog are the cheaper "Imported" (China? Jordan?) sportcoats. I can't find one over $398.

-- 1818 suits are $898 / $998, with $1098 fancy-fabric options in Fitzgerald and Madison. The Regent suit is only offered in a navy double stripe. The regent-fit brookease-like separates line, Suiting Essentials, is prominent at $420 + $178. I can't find Brooksease in the catalog, at all.

-- There seems to be not so much emphasis on tailored clothing. There are a lot of casual items in this volume of the catalog. Many pages look like they could have come out of a Lands' End catalog.

As far as "imported" goes, I have seen some jackets identified this way and then found the garment marked "Made in Italy". They yada yada'd over the best part.

I didn't find anything interesting or fun in the fall issue except the ladies are pretty. I recently saw an older BB suit from I think around the 50's and all the pants were double forward pleated and very nice heavy wools. The pants don't appeal to me and the jackets I found to be flat. Same with the suits they didn't seem anything special in the fall issue. Last years GF 3 Piece flannel was awesome along with the DB flannel gray suit.

What's up with Black Fleece. Will they have a new guest designer, or another Thom Browne collection?

Originally Posted by porcelain monkey

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What's up with Black Fleece. Will they have a new guest designer, or another Thom Browne collection?

I'm fairly sure Thom Browne is staying.

I love the fall catalogs. I'm glad to hear that the creepy old guy is back.

By the way, Thom Browne is doing Black Fleece until 2011.

http://www.dnrnews.com/site/article.php?id=2094

Dewey, great summation. I'll miss the TV anchor and his slightly younger blonde wife.

Worth noting, they're introducing a slimmer fit Advantage chino, called the Milano. The website shows a pleated pant, but in the catalog its plain front. Too trim for me, I'll stick with the Clarks, but some here might be interested. There are two Regent suits in the Newbury store, a mid-grey 2 btn peak and the navy stripe that's in the catalog. Along with the grey flannelly Fitzgerald, there's a real "Mad Men" feel to it.

Nothing really grabbed my eye, I must say.

Originally Posted by jasonsun

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I'm fairly sure Thom Browne is staying.

yes

Everything is now up their website, including the catalog. I'm looking forward to another Jezebel commentary...

Uh, $698?

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatP...or=Dark-brown#



http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatP...dy-brown-green



http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatP...or=Dark-brown#

I see that some of the Black Fleece items are on sale at 50% off, does anyone think they will be discounted even more than that or even end up at the BB outlets?

Originally Posted by chorse123

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Uh, $698?

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatP...or=Dark-brown#

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatP...dy-brown-green

http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatP...or=Dark-brown#
I think it's a pricing mistake, or they are using someone else now for the made in England shoes. The other ones are $528, and the boots are still under $600.

Unimpressed.