What’s a Norman Hilton?
He first learned “St. Grottlesex” style from his New England pals at Princeton in the late 30s. Then, after the Navy in WWII and earning a Harvard MBA, he started Norman Hilton Country Jackets, using his grandfather’s New Jersey clothing factory, and pretty quickly became the leader in off-the-rack Ivy League tweeds. Suits came along in the early 50s, the Country Jackets name went away, and the Norman Hilton label was legendary.
He was, he would say, an overnight success, but it was his love of the craft that made the time seem to fly, because in fact it took years. Always, always, he insisted on three things: 1) nothing but the best – fabric, tailoring, finishing; 2) the silhouette of the jacket should comfortably follow body lines; and 3) the most elegant possible image in marketing.
Today, a Norman Hilton garment, available only through Nick Hilton Princeton, represents the same great taste in cloth, excellence in fit, and quality of workmanship as the original. There is no other American-made product that is tailored with the same care and expertise. The typical custom-made garment in this collection takes six weeks to produce and costs $2000 and up.
The Norman Hilton Country Jacket line has been revived recently, offering our ready-made and on-line customers the authentic quality of Made in America, fine quality tweeds and comfortable fit as what made Norman Hilton that legendary name in quality men’s clothing. Norman Hilton ready-to-wear jackets retail for $700.
Nick Hilton - Reflections 