Rogers Peet
Historic American men's clothing retailer remembered for early innovations in garment labeling, pricing, customer guarantees, and retail advertising.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Rogers Peet was an American men's clothing company founded on November 6, 1874, and associated particularly with the development of modern retail practices in men's apparel. Based in New York City, the company sold men's clothing including tailored and ready-to-wear garments and became a recognizable part of the city's commercial culture. Although detailed information about its ownership structure, store network, and financial performance is limited, the company is notable for introducing customer-facing practices that were unusual or relatively progressive for nineteenth-century clothing retail. Among the practices associated with Rogers Peet were attaching labels that identified the fabric composition of garments, displaying fixed prices instead of relying primarily on bargaining, offering customers their money back when they were dissatisfied, and using illustrations of particular merchandise in advertising. These measures made the shopping process more transparent and helped shift apparel retail toward standardized information, clearer pricing, and stronger consumer assurances. In an era when clothing purchases could depend heavily on personal negotiation and the buyer's ability to assess materials, such practices provided a more consistent retail experience. By 1877, the business was headed by William R. H. Martin. The available historical record does not establish a complete succession of executives or describe every stage of the company's corporate development, but Rogers Peet's reputation endured well beyond its founding period. Its name appeared in popular culture, including Cole Porter's 1919 song "I Introduced" and the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls, where the retailer was invoked as a symbol of respectability, conservatism, and cleanliness. These references indicate that Rogers Peet had become sufficiently familiar to audiences to function as a shorthand for established, reputable men's clothing retail. The company also left traces in twentieth-century visual culture. A Rogers Peet green delivery vehicle appears in a street scene in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's. This surviving image provides evidence of the brand's delivery and physical retail presence during the period, although it does not by itself establish the extent of the company's operations at that time. Rogers Peet ultimately disappeared as a retail business. The last Rogers Peet store closed in the mid-1980s. The brand is therefore best understood as a defunct historic American menswear retailer whose lasting significance lies less in contemporary product lines than in its contribution to the evolution of fixed-price, information-rich, customer-oriented clothing retail in the United States.
History
Rogers Peet was founded in New York City on November 6, 1874, as a men's clothing company. The surviving historical accounts emphasize the retailer's operating methods as much as its merchandise. In the nineteenth-century apparel market, Rogers Peet was associated with practices designed to make clothing purchases more understandable and predictable for customers. Garments carried information about fabric composition, helping buyers identify what materials they were purchasing. The company also marked merchandise with prices rather than making negotiation the central mechanism of sale. It further offered money back to customers who were not satisfied and used illustrations of particular products in its advertising. Taken together, these practices represented an important shift toward a more standardized form of retailing. Product information, displayed prices, satisfaction guarantees, and merchandise-specific advertising reduced some of the uncertainty that could accompany clothing purchases. The record does not establish that Rogers Peet invented each practice independently or that it operated these policies in exactly the same form throughout its existence, but the company is specifically remembered for associating them with men's clothing retail. By 1877, William R. H. Martin headed the business. The available references do not provide a full list of founders, later executives, owners, or corporate transactions, and there is insufficient evidence to reconstruct a complete organizational history. Nevertheless, Rogers Peet developed a durable reputation in New York and became recognizable beyond the immediate retail setting. Its name was used in popular entertainment, including Cole Porter's 1919 song "I Introduced," in which Rogers Peet appeared among well-known names. The retailer was also mentioned in the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls, whose song "Marry the Man Today" presented it as an example of something respectable, conservative, and clean. The brand remained visible in the physical landscape of mid-century New York. A green Rogers Peet delivery vehicle appears in a street scene in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's. This appearance is a cultural record of the company's delivery identity, though the available source does not provide enough information to describe the vehicle fleet, logistics operation, or number of stores. Rogers Peet eventually ceased trading. The last store closed in the mid-1980s, after which the brand became defunct. No reliable information in the supplied sources documents a formal acquisition, bankruptcy, liquidation process, or successor brand. Its historical importance therefore rests on its role as an established American men's clothing retailer and on its early promotion of fixed prices, garment composition labeling, customer refunds, and illustrated product advertising. These features helped associate Rogers Peet with a more transparent and service-oriented model of apparel retail, while its appearances in songs and film preserved its name in American popular culture.
- 1961
Delivery vehicle appears in Breakfast at Tiffany's
[1]A green Rogers Peet delivery vehicle is visible in a street scene in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.
- 1950
Mentioned in Guys and Dolls
[1]The retailer appears in the lyrics of "Marry the Man Today" from Guys and Dolls.
- 1919
Referenced in Cole Porter's "I Introduced"
[1]Rogers Peet is mentioned in Cole Porter's song from Hitchy-Koo of 1919.
- 1877
William R. H. Martin heads the company
[1]William R. H. Martin is identified as the head of Rogers Peet.
- 1874
Rogers Peet is founded
[1]The men's clothing company is founded in New York City on November 6, 1874.
Final store closes
[1]The last Rogers Peet store closes in the mid-1980s.
Products and positioning
Established, reputable American men's clothing retailer with a focus on tailored and ready-to-wear apparel.
Menswear · 1874
Men's clothing
Rogers Peet's core business was men's clothing retail. The available historical material identifies the company broadly as a men's clothing business rather than documenting a complete catalog of individual garments or labels.
Tailoring
Tailored suits
Tailored suits are associated with Rogers Peet's reputation as an established men's clothing retailer. The supplied sources do not specify construction details, cuts, fabrics, or named suit collections.
Ready-to-wear menswear
Ready-to-wear garments
The company sold ready-to-wear clothing alongside its tailored menswear offering. Its practice of marking garments with prices and fabric information was particularly relevant to this standardized retail format.
Outerwear
Coats and outerwear
Coats and other outer garments are included among the clothing categories associated with the retailer, although the available sources do not identify specific models or product names.
Brand decisions
1874
Adopts transparent apparel-retailing practicesStrategyBackground
Rogers Peet operated in a nineteenth-century clothing market in which bargaining was an established practice and customers had limited standardized product information.
Action taken
The company became associated with garment labels identifying fabric composition, displayed prices, money-back assurances for dissatisfied customers, and illustrations of specific merchandise in advertising.
Aftermath
These practices became central to the company's historical reputation and helped characterize it as a more standardized and customer-oriented men's retailer.
- Ceases retail operationsOther
Background
Rogers Peet remained a historic American men's clothing retailer into the twentieth century, but the supplied sources do not explain the commercial circumstances of its closure.
Action taken
The last Rogers Peet store closed in the mid-1980s.
Aftermath
The company became defunct; no successor ownership or surviving operating brand is identified in the supplied material.
Recent events
- 1961
Rogers Peet delivery vehicle appears in Breakfast at Tiffany's[1]
Other
A green Rogers Peet delivery vehicle can be seen in a street scene in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.
- 1950
Rogers Peet is mentioned in Guys and Dolls[1]
Other
The song "Marry the Man Today" in Guys and Dolls named Rogers Peet among things characterized as respectable, conservative, and clean.
- 1919
Rogers Peet appears in Cole Porter's "I Introduced"[1]
Other
Cole Porter's song from Hitchy-Koo of 1919 referenced Rogers Peet in a comic list of familiar names and partnerships, reflecting the retailer's public familiarity.
- 1877
William R. H. Martin heads Rogers Peet[1]
Leadership change
By 1877, William R. H. Martin was identified as the person heading the men's clothing company.
- 1874
Rogers Peet introduces transparent pricing and garment information practices[1]
Other
The company became associated with fixed garment prices, fabric-composition labels, customer money-back assurances, and advertising that illustrated specific merchandise.
Last Rogers Peet store closes[1]
Other
The final Rogers Peet store closed in the mid-1980s, bringing the company's retail operations to an end.
Sources1 sources
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