Chin up, America - You still have Zach.
There are still some good items in their range, staple garments that they have been selling since the boom years, but overall most of it is not much better than what Brooks Brothers are offering.
God help us if Zach's time machine breaks down.
J Press in Cambridge is my favourite clothes shop in the world that I have visited. I haven't visited The Suit Room yet.
Give my regards to Denis Black... And then to Charlie a short stroll on.
Quite a stink over this.
Can't see why.
I'm rather proud of certain guys at J. Press for saying that they know better than the product that they are currently expected to sell as J. Press salesmen.
In my book they are the REAL J. Press loyalists.
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- I would try to have the same conversations at Brooks, but who is there still left there who feels as strongly about classic American style ?
My son is in Hanoi and having a suit made with several fittings. He followed my advice - SOFT shoulders - otherwise his shoulders will look like the Hulk's.
The 110th anniversary silk heritage three patch 3/2 sportscoat on their website looks absolutely slayin imo.
J. Keydge do indeed supply J. Press.
Last edited by Hard Bop Hank (2012-05-21 04:01:39)
I only know for sure because they have a habit of sending out group emails without hiding the other recipients.
Another famous quote from J. Press off the record is that their jackets "look like they have wings".
But a recent visitor to NYC said that everywhere was just as bad. He only praised a very few bits by Ralph Lauren and Jack Spade in the entire (RTW) city... I checked them out & even they were shite !
Jack Spade was especially awful. Clock this little stinker:
http://www.jackspade.com/Charles-3-Button-Sportcoat/P2RU0515,default,pd.html?dwvar_P2RU0515_color=318&start=7&cgid=clothing-suits-and-sportcoats
It would be interesting to learn a little more about the history of the slack jacket.
I wouldn't be surprised if J.Press had been selling unstructured/ unlined casual jackets before they were supplied by J. Keydge.
Is it an American thing, originally, or a European invention?
Chris Hardy recently had a nice Italian slack jacket in the H&J group, can't remember how old it was...
Thinking about it, I could imagine that the unlined, unstructured slack jacket might be as old as the sack.
Which, again, comes from France ca. 1840s/50s, as far as I know...
Great thread! I have to say I am rather impressed with my one micro-check shirt from modern J.Press. The ties cut the mustard too. Some vintage jacket herringbones and one I got from Woofboxer are superior to any of the vintage Brooks I have. Of course, that's not a definitive sample.
I think the good thing about this thread is that it shows that Press aren't actually doing anything 'wrong' - They just aren't doing Traditional American Style / Ivy League Style anymore / just now in the US. They are doing a Europeanised update on their heritage.
The more constructed shoulders are deliberate as are the stiffer shirt collars.
Not sure why Press as a company have been so coy about this officially. All they've done is to be criticised for no longer doing things 'properly' anymore.
They should have included in their recent rebranding an updated mission statement that said they weren't your Grandfather or Father's J. Press anymore and made that a selling point.
Brooks also made a disaster of their dropping of Traditional American style by not being explicit about it. They equally dropped the old Ivy/Trad/Whatever USP to make money. Fair enough, they are a business afterall. But the failure to say we're still Brooks, but we're not the Brooks you know and to sell that as a positive has harmed their reputation. Same with J. Press. Unless you tell people what you're actually up to so they can judge you fairly people will just find the move from American to more European styling on behalf of these brands looking them losing the plot.
So don't 'blame Canada' afterall - If Press wanted Natural Shouldered jackets and shirts with soft collar rolls they'd have them made up there. It's not the manufacturers working for these companies who have made this change, it's the companies themselves.
They just ain't doing kosher American anymore. They want to make some money instead !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOR38552MJA