Vancouver has never dared compare itself to New York, and yet, within the shadow of Hotel Vancouver – a kind of Plaza Hotel for Alberni and Burrard – a block-long Big Apple has taken shape. It’s here, alongside Tiffany & Co., Calvin Klein and Betsey Johnson, that iconic menswear retailer Brooks Brothers, the bastion of American business attire and Ivy League casual, has opened its first Canadian location.
For nearly 200 years, Brooks Brothers has dressed presidents, from Lincoln to Obama, royalty (both the Hollywood and European varieties), robber barons and Madison Avenue Mad Men. It invented the button-down collar and introduced chinos, Shetland sweaters, argyle socks, madras prints and seersucker suits – all tagged with the company’s Golden Fleece logo – to North American men.
In keeping with its venerable history, the 11,000 square-foot Vancouver store basks in an Upper East Side gentlemen’s club atmosphere, awash in mahogany veneer, brass chandeliers, antique-style fixtures, Oriental rugs, leather club chairs and a wood-carved fireplace. In a nod to Vancouver’s West Coast vibe, casual Country Club wear, as well as the high-performance ProSport collection, is displayed prominently at the front. But it will serve the fashion-forward, too: Thom Browne’s edgy Black Fleece capsule collection arrives in mid-August.
1026 Alberni St., 778-331-3394, BrooksBrothers.com
Image courtesy of Mr. Noded.
