Arrow

Shop Arrow

The first detachable collar was designed in 1820 by housewife Hannah Montague, who realized that separating the collars from her husband's shirts would make them easier to launder. The idea was built upon by Ebeneezer Brown in the 1850s, when he began manufacturing collars en masse at his store in Troy, NY. Brown's general store eventually grew into Cluett, Peabody & Co. In 1885, the company coined the brand name Arrow for its collars. As American fashion trends shifted over the next several decades, Arrow adapted with the times. Detachable collars began to go out of vogue in the 1920s, so the brand started to focus on attached-collar shirts. In the 1950s, it was one of the top manufacturers of crisp white shirts, and in the '60s and '70s, it made more flamboyant, colorful patterns. By the '80s, a trend was emerging among young urban professionals, and the brand found a niche that would stick for the next few decades.

In 2004, the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH) purchased the Arrow brand from Cluett, Peabody & Co. Under new ownership, Arrow has expanded upon its global distribution model. Today, the brand's clothing is sold in more than 120 countries, and there are more than 300 Arrow stores around the world. The company still primarily caters to men, but it also has lines for children.

Babies & Kids Merchandise

Products

The selection of Arrow clothing for kids is relatively limited, but it does include several options for special occasions. You can find dress pants for boys in both black and khaki. Tops include collared button-down shirts as well as polos. Suiting options are also available, and full outfits might include a blazer, vest, and tie in addition to a shirt and pants. For girls, the Arrow selection mostly includes clothes that might be worn as part of a school uniform. You'll find pleated skirts, which can be paired with the brand's solid polos, button-down shirts, and/or cardigans. Uniform shorts are also available for both boys and girls to wear to school when the weather gets hot.

Older boys can wear men's sizes, and Arrow has a much wider array of apparel and accessories for men. Formalwear options are fairly similar to those in the kids' collection, though shirts and ties are available in more colors and patterns. The brand also has options that are a little less formal for men, including plaid shirts, long-sleeved tees, henleys, sweatershirts, pullovers, and more.

Swap.com's Rating of Arrow

Arrow is a classic brand that still has roots in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its clothing options have progressed with the times to some extent, but the brand mostly focuses on formal apparel that is essentially timeless. Kids' clothes can be hard to come by because they aren't sold by department stores, but you can often find good deals on these types of apparel when you purchase them secondhand. Luckily, when it comes to quality, Arrow has well over a century of history behind it, so it has certainly earned its great reputation. We give Arrow 4 stars out of 5.