Crombie is one of the oldest brands in the world,
Founded in Scotland in 1805, Crombie has been the choice of Royalty; Queens, Kings, Prime Ministers and Presidents across three centuries.
Beginning as a cloth mill, at Cothal on the banks of the River Don, Crombie quickly became known for the quality of our cloth in natural colours, reflecting the colours of the Scottish Hills, in tweeds and tartans in wool, cashmere and vicuna.
Crombie rose to prominence as the most eminent of Scottish mills. Believing no one could match it in terms of quality, John Crombie set off by horse for London to visit the finest Royal tailors who embraced and highly valued his fine Scottish cloth.
Crombie’s reputation grew rapidly around the world and Grandholm Mill, on the banks of the River Don in Aberdeen, where Crombie moved to ,would become the largest and most famous mill in the UK.
In the early 1800’s, Thomas Glover, who became known as the Scottish Samurai, sailed to Japan, representing Crombie, to introduce the Japanese to the fine cloth. He became friends with the Emperor and before long Crombie was established as the first western brand to be big IN JAPAN. GLOVER WOULD become known as the scottish samurai, and would go on to be a founder of the Mitsubishi Corporation and inspire the story of Madame Butterfly.
Crombie was in such demand in Paris that even when the city was under siege, a letter arrived at Crombie office in London sent by hot-air balloon by a concerned customer seeking assurance he would still receive his delivery of prized cloth.
The Crombie Coat
In the 1800’s Crombie provided tailors with labels to sew onto finished bespoke coats made from crombie cloth.
The label became a sign of prestige. customers would demand a “real” crombie.
CROMBIE BECAME SO WELL ESTABLISHED THE OXFORD DICTIONARY ADDED THE WORD, THE DEFINITION READING:
“CROMBIE – USED TO DESIGNATE A TYPE OF OVERCOAT, JACKET ETC. MADE BY J&J CROMBIE LTD.”
READY-TO-WEAR CLOTHES WERE MADE FOR THE MILITARY AND EMBRACED BY NEW GENERATIONS.
CROMBIE WAS NOW OVER A 100 YEARS OLD AND THE NEXT CENTURY WAS TO SEE CROMBIE COATS BEING EMBRACED BY HOLLYWOOD FILM STARS, PRESIDENTS, HEADS OF STATE AND THE ROYAL FAMILY.
Crombie also has a unique connection to British youth culture as shown by The Beatles who chose to wear Crombie coats as a sign they had made it in 1964.
The aspiration to own a genuine Crombie has been a right of passage from the Soho Mods of the 60’s, to 1970’s suede-heads, through the eighties 2-Tone movement and into the 90’s and beyond with the rise in interest in heritage and iconic menswear.
Over time crombie has held warrants for many members of the royal family and in THE 1990’S CROMBIE WAS AWARDED THE ROYAL WARRANT BY HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES.
Into the 2000’s, SPRING SUMMER COLLECTIONS WERE INTRODUCED FOR THE FIRST TIME, ALONG WITH NEW CATEGORIES: ACCESSORIES, LEATHER GOODS, RAINWEAR, AND SPORTSWEAR SOLD IN THE BEST DEPARTMENT STORES AROUND THE WORLD.
2022, UNDER NEW custodians, CROMBIE CONTINUES to uphold the legacy created by john crombie selling the best quality coats and clothng collections internationally.
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