Brooks Brothers Turns 200

On April 7, 1818, after bidding $15,250 at an auction for a building on the corner of Catherine and Cherry Streets in Manhattan, former grocer and devoted dandy Henry Sands Brooks opened H. & D. H. Brooks & Co. He eventually left the company to his four sons, who, in 1850, renamed it Brooks Brothers. From dressing 40 U.S. presidents to turning us on to argyle and tweed, the country's oldest retailer has left its distinguished mark on nattily dressed men everywhere. As Rizzoli celebrates the label's 200th birthday with the new book Brooks Brothers: 200 Years of American Style, we look back at its finest moments.