Brook's Brothers Catalog - Christmas 1983
Mercer & Sons - Young Putz Designers Need Not Apply
The 80's Weave
Soft is key
Unlined Collar
When I started working for Brook's Brothers sometime in the mid-80's, I had only been a customer since the early 80's. There were few stores and since my father wore an army uniform to work every day... Well, lets put it this way, there was no passing down of the Golden Fleece.
As an employee of Brooks, I had plenty of their button down oxfords. And without getting too sentimental, they are today only a whisper thin cotton strand of what they once were. This decline, according to many including long time Brook's employee, Tom Davis, started shortly after I became a customer. The unlined collar became lined because someone at Brooks thought it 'looked better' according to Tom.
Mercer & Sons went to work in 1982 to correct the changes being made to the Brook's oxford and they do the shirt better than anyone I've come across. Not that I've stopped looking. The shirt weighs in at a thumping 13 ounces. And the weave is a dead ringer for the old Brooks oxford. The collar is perfect. Unlined and easy in appearance. That was the whole point of the collar before some git at Brooks decided it needed to be lined. Most likely a Californian.
The shirt's made in Maine. Score 1 point. The shirt's authentic to it's history and hasn't been screwed with by some putz designer. Score 2 points. The quality of the manufacture is top of class. Score 3 points. The shirt is not a good value. Score 0 points. Three outta four ain't bad. These are expensive. $90 and up. But they're the best out there and compared to what some designers are getting, $150 and up, they may indeed qualify as a damn good value.
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