There are not many second-hand clothes shops that achieve legendary status.

For almost 80 years D&K Rosen has been a haven of sartorial elegance for the dapper gentlemen of Brighton and anyone who has spent a few years in the city knows of the store or its shopkeeper, David Rosen.

But the second-hand outfitter's has now closed for the last time.

The shop was sold last month and developers intend to knock it down and build another shop or office with three flats and a studio apartment above it.

In its heyday the shop had hats piled up in the window, coats and suits hanging outside and boots everywhere.

Whatever item of clothing you needed, be it a fez, jodhpurs, military jacket or starched collar, Mr Rosen had it.

Buttons and cufflinks, underwear and socks, single-breasted, double-breasted, morning suit, dress suit or even Napoleonic battledress, you name it, it was there.

Walking down Queen's Road from the station it was hard to miss the shop, tucked to the left down Church Street on the edge of North Laine.

For many years it was thought Mr Rosen, whose father, John, and grand-father ran the shop before him, was the inspiration for the "Suit You, Sir" sketch in the Fast Show.

Mark Williams however, who played one of the tailors in the comedy show, debunked that rumour in an interview with The Argus a couple of years ago.

Mr Rosen himself never saw The Fast Show so says it does not mean anything to him.

But myth aside, Rosen's is firmly entrenched in Brighton folklore.

It is believed the building has been in the Rosen family for 150 years.

It was a barber's shop and then a gentlemen's outfitters before David Rosen's grandfather opened the second-hand shop in 1918.

It passed to son and then grandson.

The sight of David Rosen or his father standing outside the shop, a measuring tape around his shoulders, is a childhood memory for many.

But David Rosen's own son will not be taking over.

Behind the dusty windows, one pair of brown leather shoes remains and the measuring tape lies on the table.

The floor is strewn with paper and a sign which reads "Breeches, tail jackets, tail suits in stock".

Iain Laws, manager of Cissy Mo in Church Street, bought his first suit at Rosen's when he moved to Brighton six years ago.

He said: "Mr Rosen was amazing at finding what you wanted.

"I walked in and told him I was after a single-breasted three-button suit and within minutes he was back with a selection.

"It was £80. It's a fantastic suit, made in Paris. I still wear it. I seem to remember he got me to buy a shirt and tie too."

Paul Wrede and Eddie Iwanczuk, of Clocktower Cameras a few doors down, got to know Mr Rosen well.

Mr Wrede said: "His bread and butter used to be shirts, T-shirts and vests.

"But because of cheap High Street shops he couldn't compete. He was only making money from the top-end jackets and military items."

For comedy performer Brian Mitchell, the closure is symptomatic of a changing city.

He said: "He was an eccentric and entertaining shopkeeper.

"It was impossible to go in and walk out with the object you actually wanted.

"A friend of mine went in recently and Mr Rosen tried to sell him a sideboard.

"He'd just gone in to get a tie.

"There was an amazing selection of stuff. I know many people who were crestfallen when it closed.

"It represented an old Brighton which has now gone.

"It used to be a place full of eccentric people and shops like that. It's not as much fun now."

Phil Graves, of Graves Jenkins estate agents, oversaw the sale of the shop.

He said: "I'm Brighton born and bred and I've been passing that shop all my life.

"It's a bit of Brighton trading history, which will soon be gone forever.

"I remember as you walked down Queen's Road you would glance down Church Street and there'd be this guy with a tape measure round his neck. His father was the same."

Mr Graves said developers were considering calling any future building in its place Rosen Court after the store.