The 50 Greatest Menswear Brands of All Time

The greatest menswear labels of all time, as chosen by the fine gentlemen behind Put This On.

50 Greatest Mesnwear Brands of All Time

50 Greatest Mesnwear Brands of All Time

50 Greatest Mesnwear Brands of All Time

When Complex asked us to put together a list of the top fifty menswear brands, we were hesitant at first. After all, Put This On is about practical advice and guidelines, not brands. And what the heck is "menswear," anyway? We thought about turning the assignment down.

Then, of course, we changed our minds.

After all, what's more fun than arbitrary ranking? And what a wonderful chance to spend some time with the history of menswear! So we took the gig.

We had to narrow our terms a bit. We decided that for our purposes, "menswear" meant tailored clothing and the accoutrements thereof. So no Levis and no aloha shirts. Magnum PI be damned. We'd include a few token shoemakers, but mostly focus on the clothes.

Once we got there, we had to address the issue of "classic" versus "designer" mens clothes. We decided to split the difference. Our focus would be classic (as it is at Put This On), but we'd include designers who'd influenced the broader movement of style. And we'd consider the past alongside the present, though perhaps with a little bit of bias towards the latter.

Here's our result. Fifty of the greatest menswear brands of all time—ranked on their significance, influence, beauty and quality. With a healthy dollop of the arbitrary. Presenting: The 50 Greatest Menswear Brands of All Time.

Nudie Cohn

nudie cohn

Loro Piana

loro piana

Abercrombie & Fitch

abercrombie fitch

Knize

knize

Sulka (Amos Sulka & Co.)

sulka shirt

Thom Browne

thom browne

Fruit of the Loom

fruit of the loom

Ascot Chang

ascot chang

Salvatore Ferragamo

salvatore ferragamo

Ermenegildo Zegna

ermenegildo zegna

Kiton

kiton

Florsheim

florsheim shoes

Cordings

complex image not available

Bill Blass

bill blass

Hugo Boss

hugo boss sign

Tom Ford

tom ford

J. Press

complex image not available

Alden

alden shoes

Gucci

gucci store

Mackintosh

complex image not available

Aquascutum

aquascutum

Burberry

burberry store

Borsalino

borsalino

Versace

versace store

Lacoste

lacoste store

Barbour

barbour

Comme des Garçons

cdg

Issey Miyake

issey miyake store

Yohji Yamamoto

yohji yamamoto

Cluett, Peabody, & Co.

complex image not available

G.H. Bass & Co.

complex image not available

Tommy Nutter

tom nutter

Ozwald Boateng / Richard James

ozwald boateng

The Royal Navy / The US Navy

the royal navy

Harris Tweed

harris tweed

Turnbull & Asser

turnbull asser

Huntsman

hunstman

Chester Barrie

chester barrie

Rubinacci

luca rubinacci

Henry Poole

henry poole

Anderson & Sheppard

anderson sheppard

Hedi Slimane for Dior Homme

hedi slimane

Helmut Lang / Jil Sander / Prada

prada

Calvin Klein

calvin klein

Brioni

brioni store

Gieves & Hawkes

gieves hawkes

Pierre Cardin

pierre cardin

Armani

giorgio armani

Brooks Brothers

brooks brothers

Ralph Lauren

ralph lauren store

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