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.

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!

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...

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.

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.