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#26 2017-10-18 23:50:53

Horace
Member
Posts: 6432

Re: J.Press Website

So much good stuff to reply to. 

Just two strands I'd like to comment on (for now).

1) One of the things Berkeley:  gets at with O'Connell I was thinking for Press.  Why not just have Press continue old school.  There are a lot of business where you aren't going to get rich but you're going to do ok (on your own terms).  I've been talking to a lot of guys about this lately.  Sometimes it feels like your just a fucking employment agency (basically making what you need to make to pay employees and keep the the thing going) with some modest growth.  This doesn't have to be a charity thing.  But I don't see huge growth for Press.  Maybe I'm wrong.  Again, costs have gone up esp in NY and DC and New Haven real estate.  Don't know if they own the building in New Haven (they probably should have when they could in Connecticut but...).

2)  Prep schools:  that whole culture is dead.  Or in last gasps (which is being charitable).  With democratizing of education and a lot of newly rich coming in and wanting this for their children, no one aspires to that old WASP look like they used to.  It used to be they'd assume the look.  Don't think that's happening.  DC may still be a pipeline from Cambridge and New Haven, but it's probably right that they're dressing like Zuckerberg now.

3) O'Connells was one of those "Regional" Andover Shops.  Buffalo before the evacuation of industry had a ruling caste of professionals.  That's one in a lot of cities.  Guys who would be sent away to college and come back and run things.  And it didn't even have to be an Ivy League place.  They'd go to Indiana or Iowa or Michigan or wherever and the look would be there.  And be wherever they ended up (Buffalo, Cleveland, Tulsa, etc).

A lot of other interesting changes to be talked about some other time.  Like sales.  I'm curious how many guys go into Brooks when there isn't a sale.  When there is, I'll buy a half dozen new white shirts or a dozen boxers or whatever.

I haven't bought from O'Connell in a long time, but hell, they had all that dead stock just sitting there.  Probably thought it was worthless.  And then the internet comes along.

As for Brick and Mortar and death -- what's interesting to me is all these high end niche web guys who are starting to branch out into the stores.  You have to hit the right demographic I guess, but they seem to want to have a physical presence.


""This is probably the last Deb season...because of the stock market, the economy, Everything..." - W. Stillman.

 

#27 2017-10-19 01:58:30

MCM Geography Teacher
Member
Posts: 443

Re: J.Press Website


'Bill Murden becomes the hero of the day as he rescues a confused duck.'

 

#28 2017-10-19 07:25:13

Coolidge
Member
Posts: 1192

Re: J.Press Website

 

#29 2017-10-19 08:38:54

stanshall
Member
From: Gilligan's Island
Posts: 12991

Re: J.Press Website

As long as lawyers still wear suits and ties to court there will always be a need for a J. Press.  I hope.

The upside is that even though it's not as mighty and as quietly self-assured as it used to be, having been rocked by a succession of calamities, J. Press still delivers some usable goods, which is gratifying because I support the place and want to see it do well, it's a draw of sorts for the town of New Haven.

Over the years I have acquired quite a lot of J. Press clothing, still have tons and have worn out four times as much again, these days I still have many J. Press ties, shirts, trousers, walk shorts, scarves, socks, sweaters, and belts, I wear them all the time, and I used to have J. Press sport coats, suits, and blazers, but I outgrew them and moved on to having them made for me.

But if I had to kit myself out at J. Press today, moving fast because things sell out quickly in my size, I could do it and it would be fine, there's more than enough decent stuff there to make a go of it, a reasonably good but narrow selection of Pressidential and Presstige suits, Pressclusive sport coats, and patch-pocket blazers.

In particular, this fall I would like two emblematic ties; a knit bobcap; a pair of boxers; a Shaggy Dog sweater; a pair of marled Fair Isle socks; and maybe a few other bits and bobs.

There are enough acceptable suits, sport coats, blazers, shirts, and ties there to outfit a young lawyer well.

The outerwear offerings are a bit skimpy, that section truly needs improvement, the Barbour stuff should be secondary, not the focus of the collection.

The shawl-collar tuxedo has not been offered for years at any of my places, that needs to be remedied, Press really should drop the sad notch lapel tuxedo.


"bow wow wow yippie yo yippie yay"

 

#30 2017-10-19 09:34:34

Berkeley_Breathes
Member
From: Crabapple Cove, ME
Posts: 4519

Re: J.Press Website


"The only comment a gentleman’s outfit should generate is that he is properly dressed for the occasion" - Calvin Trillin

 

#31 2017-10-19 15:35:12

GIZhou007
Ivy Original.
From: Brisbane Australia
Posts: 685

Re: J.Press Website

Japnese J Press, when I was in Japan clothes shopping,  is often grouped with other up market stores inside a larger store.  The quality and cut were impressive, very old school, and priced fcompetiively or the market.  Japan is a very conservative society so suits rule.  Even the low end of the market is better finished than many high end stores in the United States and Australia, with better material.

 

#32 2017-10-19 19:54:05

Berkeley_Breathes
Member
From: Crabapple Cove, ME
Posts: 4519

Re: J.Press Website


"The only comment a gentleman’s outfit should generate is that he is properly dressed for the occasion" - Calvin Trillin

 

#33 2017-10-19 22:56:25

Babbling Brooks
Member
Posts: 683

Re: J.Press Website

The word to focus on there is care..... caring about something makes all the difference in how the whole process is executed and then how it's received by the consumer


You can play a shoestring if you're sincere.

 

#34 2017-10-21 15:50:41

mhalat
Member
Posts: 381

Re: J.Press Website

 

#35 2017-10-21 17:08:12

Berkeley_Breathes
Member
From: Crabapple Cove, ME
Posts: 4519

Re: J.Press Website


"The only comment a gentleman’s outfit should generate is that he is properly dressed for the occasion" - Calvin Trillin

 

#36 2017-10-21 20:19:32

stanshall
Member
From: Gilligan's Island
Posts: 12991

Re: J.Press Website


"bow wow wow yippie yo yippie yay"

 

#37 2017-10-21 20:51:54

Berkeley_Breathes
Member
From: Crabapple Cove, ME
Posts: 4519

Re: J.Press Website


"The only comment a gentleman’s outfit should generate is that he is properly dressed for the occasion" - Calvin Trillin

 

#38 2017-10-21 22:14:13

stanshall
Member
From: Gilligan's Island
Posts: 12991

Re: J.Press Website


"bow wow wow yippie yo yippie yay"

 

#39 2017-10-22 03:48:56

woofboxer
Devil's Ivy Advocate
From: The Lost County of Middlesex
Posts: 7959

Re: J.Press Website


'I'm not that keen on the Average Look .......ever'. 
John Simons

Achievements: banned from the Ivy Style FB Group

 

#40 2017-10-22 07:16:24

Patrick
Member
Posts: 2646

Re: J.Press Website

Never mind any of this. Soon we will have SmartClothes, self-wearing. Just click the app on your phone and the day's appropriate wardrobe materializes on your body. This will free up so much time for taking a photo of your breakfast and posting it on social media!


Otter : Take it easy, I'm pre-law.
Boon : I thought you were pre-med.
Otter : What's the difference?

 

#41 2017-10-22 11:11:38

stanshall
Member
From: Gilligan's Island
Posts: 12991

Re: J.Press Website


"bow wow wow yippie yo yippie yay"

 

#42 2017-10-22 12:32:00

woofboxer
Devil's Ivy Advocate
From: The Lost County of Middlesex
Posts: 7959

Re: J.Press Website


'I'm not that keen on the Average Look .......ever'. 
John Simons

Achievements: banned from the Ivy Style FB Group

 

#43 2017-11-11 10:22:51

Berkeley_Breathes
Member
From: Crabapple Cove, ME
Posts: 4519

Re: J.Press Website


"The only comment a gentleman’s outfit should generate is that he is properly dressed for the occasion" - Calvin Trillin

 

#44 2018-01-30 01:38:44

Horace
Member
Posts: 6432

Re: J.Press Website


""This is probably the last Deb season...because of the stock market, the economy, Everything..." - W. Stillman.

 

#45 2018-01-30 07:49:51

stanshall
Member
From: Gilligan's Island
Posts: 12991

Re: J.Press Website

update: finally got the knit bobcap in dark green, a very nice item, waited for the sale, combined it with an old store credit, basically they almost ended up paying me to get it, it's nice and I wish I'd had it when I lived up north.


"bow wow wow yippie yo yippie yay"

 

#46 2018-07-31 13:22:16

Berkeley_Breathes
Member
From: Crabapple Cove, ME
Posts: 4519

Re: J.Press Website

Resurrecting this thread to say - I've ordered from J. Press only twice in the last year or so, everything J. Press offers can be bought at smaller businesses that I'm happier supporting - Quoddy, Mercer, Michael-Spencer, City Boxers, O'Connell's, etc...

I have excellent old J. Press stuff but I've been consistently disappointed in my recent purchases... The graph check shirt I made a thread about months ago which had a messed up collar button, very poor quality control... And recently a pair of oxford boxer shorts, I'm planning a comparison thread about boxers so I won't go into detail about their quality as boxers but I ordered uni stripe and they came solid white...

I've already said goodbye to present-day LL Bean because of the quality... The same can now be said for J. Press. When there are other excellent companies making the same products, it seems quixotic to keep dealing with a company that has a storied heritage but can't get the little things that matter right. I'm glad they're fixing their natural shoulders and making themselves a pretty location here in NYC, I'm sure it'll keep the commenters at Ivy Style who miss the old Brooks Brothers happy... but it's not enough for me.

Both of these products were made in USA, by the way...


"The only comment a gentleman’s outfit should generate is that he is properly dressed for the occasion" - Calvin Trillin

 

#47 2018-07-31 15:43:35

stanshall
Member
From: Gilligan's Island
Posts: 12991

Re: J.Press Website

/\  I hope they read your post and do a better, more organized job of things ... I've only ordered one item in the past couple of years, see above, I loved it, it was made in England ....

but when they dumbed down their website, went to some overseas production, and did some other things like stop carrying certain things, and certain sizes, I kind of gave up on them ...

I've got enough clothing to last for years, any important new stuff for me would be custom anyway, and J. Press could turn things around by simply hewing to their own archives and insisting on quality control, they could strive for excellence, but it's just a corporation, and not real people, which is managing and which lacks flavor ...  place became classic over the 84 years the Press family had it, though there were a few egregious missteps along the way .....

I still want them them to do well, the shop is good for business in New Haven ....


"bow wow wow yippie yo yippie yay"

 

#48 2018-07-31 15:56:23

Berkeley_Breathes
Member
From: Crabapple Cove, ME
Posts: 4519

Re: J.Press Website

Great comment stan... And don't get me wrong, I don't want to see J. Press die. But they are a large company now. Brooks Brothers has said goodbye to the Ivy standbys (other than BB #1 repp and, I suppose, the OCBD), so J. Press is the Big Company of Ivy, and it shows in contrast to the more human faces of traditional clothing. The bigger a company gets, the more it has to expand to remain profitable, and the more it expands, the wider its appeal must be - that's the vicious cycle that destroyed Brooks Brothers. J. Press has largely resisted that by not starting outlets and only really expanding into Japan, but the other consequence of getting larger is more slips 'twixt the cup and the lip (like quality control), and more opportunities to sink money into things (like websites) that don't really need it, while other things languish (like, well, quality control).

Walking into J. Press here in NYC has that old-school feel. If only the rest of the company did as well. And don't even get me started on these boxer shorts - as I said, I'll post a comparison soon of all the USA oxford boxers I have (a lineup which sadly must exclude the imported offerings from Brooks) - but for $36, getting the wrong color is the least of my issues.


"The only comment a gentleman’s outfit should generate is that he is properly dressed for the occasion" - Calvin Trillin

 

#49 2018-08-01 05:41:01

woofboxer
Devil's Ivy Advocate
From: The Lost County of Middlesex
Posts: 7959

Re: J.Press Website


'I'm not that keen on the Average Look .......ever'. 
John Simons

Achievements: banned from the Ivy Style FB Group

 

#50 2018-08-01 05:56:26

woofboxer
Devil's Ivy Advocate
From: The Lost County of Middlesex
Posts: 7959

Re: J.Press Website

I must say I've used J Press mail order a few times and never had any problems, maybe you were just unlucky BB?

A lot of their stuff is made by other people and available at other outlets, always been the case though, I'm talking casual jackets, outerwear, shoes and so on.

Tailored stuff, trousers, shirts, neckwear, knitwear etc is made made to their specification by clothing manufacturers and their house label sewn in.

The disincentive for me is that J Press prices are a bit on the high side and, I can't really evidence this, but I get the feel that they have gone up significantly in the last couple of years. Generally I only buy things in the J Press sales when it is marked down by 40-60%, I've had some excellent bargains from them over the years. There have been occasions when I've been in their shops and I've paid full price because the item was irresistible, like those white bucks!

I've never had any issues with quality.

Overall I'm a big fan.


'I'm not that keen on the Average Look .......ever'. 
John Simons

Achievements: banned from the Ivy Style FB Group

 

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