Fashion - Men’s Fashion Articles

"Founded in 1818 when Manhattan was a seacoast town of less than 125,000 population, the store has kept some of the country’s (and the world’s) most noted personages in shoes, socks, pajamas, shirts, ties, hats, and suits. And some — their identity is a well-kept secret —in nightshirts and tasseled caps!"

"Diplomats and prize fighters, dukes and bankers, Cabinet members and theatrical luminaries stroll every day through the ten-story building on Madison Avenue. The sight of Secretary of State Dean Acheson trying on a new overcoat, or Clark Gable testing a new pair of shoes, or the Duke of Windsor undecided between a red or green dressing gown causes scarcely a flurry. The reason is simply that the store itself is a national legend, as noted in its own right as any of its patrons."

The attached five page article lays out the first 132 years of Brooks Brothers. It is printable.

This illustrated column points out a number of interesting historic facts about ties in America; most notably that up until 1865 the preferred form of neck wear in the U.S. was a pre-tied bow that fastened in the back. In the 1920s the United States became the premiere manufacturer of men's neckties - a record that was comfortably held for some time afterword.

Click here to read about the fabric restrictions imposed on
the American fashion world during the Second World war.

"No one completely personified English qualities in attire than the Prince of Wales...Whatever he chose to wear was considered correct and in good taste and was accepted by millions of others in America and elsewhere. Following are a few of the styles that can be traced right back to the Duke of Windsor, either because he wore them first or was responsible for their spread..."

-they include such fashion innovations as the Panama hat, the spread collar and brown buckskin shoes among others.

More articles about the Duke of Windsor can be found on these pages.

The attached men's fashion article was written at a time when American leisure wear was going through it's birth pangs and slovenly attire was on the rise all over the fruited plain; it was thoroughly appropriate for the editors of GENTRY MAGAZINE to print this article which not only examined the clothing philosophy of the Beau but also paid heed as to which actors portrayed him on screen (oddly, there was no mention made whatever as to who the various costume designers were).

"He dressed simply, without ornamentation. What was it then that set him apart so ostentatiously from the crowd? What made him the best dressed man of the century? The answer lies not, as history has decided, in his clothes. It lay entirely in the way he wore them."

"His boots were said to be polished with champagne, but they were restrained in pattern...Brummell never took less than three hours at his dressing, and he often dressed three times a day."

Click here to read a Vanity Fair article celebrating the great dandies.

"You are entirely wrong in imagining that we pay no attention to the way men dress...The truth is that while we may say nothing, we do not in the least consent, and we find, messieurs, that for some time now you have been very much changed, and for the worse."

Click here to read about the origins of the T-shirt.