# It's here, the new J Press.



## Liquiriza (Dec 25, 2012)

Inspired by the ivy league culture of Secret Societies, our YORK STREET flagship store provides a clubhouse like, exclusive and historic vintage feel, to our sophisticated customers.

https://www.jpressonline.com/yorkst

Featuring the new "Economiser" 3/2 jacket:


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## Faust (May 1, 2012)

The lapels on the ""Economiser" look a bit off to me. I suppose it is vintage.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Looks a bit short/open. Doesn't that middle button close rather high?


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Yeah, because all we need are more tiny collars and jackets.


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## Trad-ish (Feb 19, 2011)

Prices seem inordinately high if they are chasing a younger demographic.


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## wrwhiteknight (Mar 20, 2012)

I think the jacket looks very sharp. The lapels do hit kind of high, but I think it is a distinct look that you will see on some modern Napoli stuff, so I'm a bit confused as to how it is vintage, or maybe it's all just coming back around.

I agree that it is tres cher. But, remember that they catering to the tastes of the younger demographic, but to the wallets of the ivy league parents; they can afford it.


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## Umpire (Nov 7, 2007)

.........


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## hockeyinsider (May 8, 2006)

The prices are higher than mainline J. Press!


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Umpire said:


> .........


Yeees?


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## HL Poling and Sons (Mar 24, 2006)

I see they co-opted my club's motto for their "The Shop" section. Classy.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

"Hey, kids, now you can dress just like Dad!! Send in 5 box tops and 2000 dollars to..." I can't keep the phrase "imitation clothes" out of my head when I see this stuff.


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## Liquiriza (Dec 25, 2012)

Jovan said:


> Yeah, because all we need are more tiny collars and jackets.


As they say in Italy, a centimeter saved, is a euro earned.

What is depressing in about these collections is that in about 10 years all this clothing will look incredibly dated, similar to wide collared shirts from the 1970s.


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

Face it, the short Thom Browne look is here to stay, it's a legit fashion choice and we can all be glad that they bothered to separate it from the regular merchandise and put it in its own little corner. Now we don't have to wince while we browse through the standard items. In truth, this stuff can look sharp on younger folks. I feel, now in my mid 30s, that I am exiting that age range, but I don't dismiss it. All of this is fine by me.


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## AldenPyle (Oct 8, 2006)

Danny said:


> Face it, the short Thom Browne look is here to stay, it's a legit fashion choice and we can all be glad that they bothered to separate it from the regular merchandise and put it in its own little corner. Now we don't have to wince while we browse through the standard items. In truth, this stuff can look sharp on younger folks. I feel, now in my mid 30s, that I am exiting that age range, but I don't dismiss it. All of this is fine by me.


I think this is right.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

I think that calling it the "Economiser" is an apt description. They saved a lot of material on that one. It looks like it has been through the laundry and shrunk about 3 sizes. The jacket doesn't even begin to cover the model's rump. And the sleeves look tacky. Curse this trend!


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

Inspired by Secret Societies? Hmm. Let's delve.

First off, the only secret societies worth joining are Wolf's Head, Scroll and Key, Book and Snake and, of course, Skull and Bones. Unless you're a member of one of these clubs, there's no way of knowing what they wear because they are, after all, secret, and you can't peer through the windows of the clubhouses because they don't have any windows. A few things are well-rumored or known, however. First off, members tend to be very rich, and Press seems to have that covered with their pricing points for this stuff. Secondly, the initiation ceremony for at least one of these societies involves lying in a coffin while engaging in, um, self abuse. No word on how stain-resistant these fabrics might be, but I'll assume that J. Press, having usually thought of most everything, has thought of this. Lastly, I imagine it is only a matter of time before we see the York Street shop offering t-shirts emblazoned with "I Stole Geronimo's Skull."


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Who knows. At least the dress shirts are sized correctly. No such luck on the OCBDs (which have tiny collars anyway). I could maybe get behind the suits if they just made the damn skirts longer.


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## dalek (Jul 3, 2011)

hockeyinsider said:


> The prices are higher than mainline J. Press!


Not as bad as J.Press Japan, where a Shaggy Dog costs as much, even through it is made in China. But you can get a 6" tall Yale dog embroidered on the front if you want! I found a really great made in Japan emblematic when I was over there last, but at 15,000 yen, it was about $200 USD at the time (November, now $160 with the recent changes in exchange rate)


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

I believe that the brothers at the head of the new brand are very talented in their own right. The clothing they make under their own label is very desirable for that type of customer. Who, on the other hand, is going to want to shop at J.Press? It's a niche brand even among its demographic so you can assume that any pent up demand is from people like myself who would love to shop there but find themselves put off by the quality of many of the items and the poor cut of most of the tailored goods. So with slightly less fan-fare they could simply introduce one more line of true natural shouldered sacks, well made slightly tapered khakis, and a slightly trimmer shirt fit and they'd be well on their way to more relevance. 

If Ralph Lauren couldn't make a go of it with Rugby I fail to see how this could end any better.


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## efdll (Sep 11, 2008)

I can see why so many gents in this forum have gravitated away from BB and J Press. Yes, that no-longer-so-new look is well established, but everything comes round. And, in any case, ignoring fashion trends is a virtue here. Stay virtuous.


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

It's just the J. Press version of Black Fleece. I don't find that particularly shocking.

The secret society comment on their website threw me off too, until I realized that they are, I think, referring only the interior design / architecture of their new store.


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

Just to hit you over the head with it, a couple of screenshots:


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## Uncle Bill (May 4, 2010)

Danny said:


> Face it, the short Thom Browne look is here to stay, it's a legit fashion choice and we can all be glad that they bothered to separate it from the regular merchandise and put it in its own little corner. Now we don't have to wince while we browse through the standard items. In truth, this stuff can look sharp on younger folks. I feel, now in my mid 30s, that I am exiting that age range, but I don't dismiss it. All of this is fine by me.


Well put.


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## 127.72 MHz (Feb 16, 2007)

Danny said:


> Face it, the short Thom Browne look is here to stay, it's a legit fashion choice and we can all be glad that they bothered to separate it from the regular merchandise and put it in its own little corner. Now we don't have to wince while we browse through the standard items. In truth, this stuff can look sharp on younger folks. I feel, now in my mid 30s, that I am exiting that age range, but I don't dismiss it. All of this is fine by me.


Yes indeed it is here to stay. (And I for one support it!) It serves as a everyday reminder of what passing-fad trendy clothing looks like. For retailers who market this kind of thing my wish is that they market extensively so I can know straight away where I do not wish to do business.


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

efdll said:


> I can see why so many gents in this forum have gravitated away from BB and J Press. Yes, that no-longer-so-new look is well established, but everything comes round. And, in any case, ignoring fashion trends is a virtue here. Stay virtuous.


I haven't gravitated away from Brooks Brothers, they've gravitated away from me. I can't imagine what I'd think if I'd been shopping there longer. As it is in the 10+ years I've shopped there the quality of almost everything but shirts and ties has fallen off. Tailored goods are a crap shoot. Casual pants were until recently all non-iron and now the must-irons are sub-J.Crew in quality. They're chasing money down all sorts of weird boulevards.

As for Press, I've tried repeatedly to gravitate toward them. The clothes don't measure up. Just yesterday I thrifted another sack - probably from the 80s, but possibly older) and the construction in the chest and shoulders is simply softer and more natural. There's very little padding at all. Current Press, as far as I'm concerned, does NOT have a natural shoulder. They have a "sloped" shoulder, but it's not soft and it doesn't follow the natural contours of the shoulder. That's not what I want in a sack coat (or any coat) and was forced to seek out the modern equivalent with other makers. I'd be eager to return to Press for many reasons, their selection of OTR fabrics for one is fantastic, but until the construction of the jackets change they'll remain my supplier for big thick sweaters and not much else.


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## Thom Browne's Schooldays (Jul 29, 2007)

Trip English said:


> If Ralph Lauren couldn't make a go of it with Rugby I fail to see how this could end any better.


This.

Though I wonder... if the J.Press Japan organization is as big as it sounds maybe they're just relabeling that stuff and selling it here as York Street. 
All they really have to lose is the actual store costs, a small promotion budget (tumbler and paid bloggers seem to have that covered), and the damage to their reputation.


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## msphotog (Jul 5, 2006)

Hmmm...My first thought is that a $950. Jacket given the name "The Economiser" is...well, Ironic to sya the least!


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## Chevo (Jan 3, 2013)

It seems to me that some fashions today can only be worn by small-framed light weight men. Those day for me, are gone.


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## halbydurzell (Aug 19, 2012)

Absolutely agree with Jesse Thorn here:

https://vnderstated.com/post/42433780904/putthison-breathnaigh-j-press-york

Outside of the 6th grade school boy uniforms, some of this stuff is pretty offensive. It's not like people are still getting shot and killed over red and blue bandanas or anything, right? In reality, the ivory tower of York Street the designers are imagining isn't all that far away from east New York. Let's hope their chauffeured town cars don't ever break down near the Marcy projects.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

msphotog said:


> Hmmm...My first thought is that a $950. Jacket given the name "The Economiser" is...well, Ironic to sya the least!


Not the actual name, just a joke about how they skimped on fabric.


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## dalek (Jul 3, 2011)

Thom Browne's Schooldays said:


> This.
> 
> Though I wonder... if the J.Press Japan organization is as big as it sounds maybe they're just relabeling that stuff and selling it here as York Street.
> All they really have to lose is the actual store costs, a small promotion budget (tumbler and paid bloggers seem to have that covered), and the damage to their reputation.


the York St. stuff is very different than the J.Press Japan stuff, which is almost all made in China. It's also very Japanese, which is both very descriptive and vague. When you look at it, you can see how very different it is than the U.S. stuff. The York St. collection is very different than both. .

Onward is a pretty big company. Their latest annual report, which covers up to the end of Q1 2012 is here.

For those that don't speak Japanese or want to throw it in Google translate, Onward had 149,984 million yen in sales, and a profit of 5,039 million yen. These numbers translate to around 1.6B in sales and 54M in profit using the current exchange rate. It would have been around 64M in profit using the proper exchange rate from last year.


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## msphotog (Jul 5, 2006)

Jovan said:


> Not the actual name, just a joke about how they skimped on fabric.


I did wonder why I didn't see that name on the website, but I do get the joke:icon_smile_big:


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## K Street (Dec 4, 2007)

halbydurzell said:


> Absolutely agree with Jesse Thorn here:
> 
> https://vnderstated.com/post/42433780904/putthison-breathnaigh-j-press-york
> 
> Outside of the 6th grade school boy uniforms, some of this stuff is pretty offensive. It's not like people are still getting shot and killed over red and blue bandanas or anything, right? In reality, the ivory tower of York Street the designers are imagining isn't all that far away from east New York. Let's hope their chauffeured town cars don't ever break down near the Marcy projects.


Good grief. We're accusing them of selling gangwear now?!?!


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## halbydurzell (Aug 19, 2012)

K Street said:


> Good grief. We're accusing them of selling gangwear now?!?!


Well..yeah. Because they are. Also, they ripped this idea off:


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

... or maybe they really ARE just t-shirts meant to look like bandanas.


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## Blessings (Nov 6, 2011)

Jovan said:


> ... or maybe they really ARE just t-shirts meant to look like bandanas.


Maybe to some people, but they could have at LEAST thrown in another colour besides red and blue given the gang connotations that those two bandana colours have signified. It seems silly that Jpress would have red/blue bandana print t shirts in the first place.

In other thoughts, JPress Japan looks like what should have been done with the York St collection. Even if a lot of it is made in China, use that as an excuse to drop the price so that younger people can afford it, and they become interested in the brand. Many of the cuts appear more "youthful" without compromising what I think of as "Jpress".


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## katch (Jun 11, 2012)

I have told myself that there is no point to get tailored clothing from Jpress. I will be purchasing a Southwick 3 button patch poicket sack @ LS Men's Clothing by Izzy sized perfectly for me (not short) for $300 less than off the rack. I'm willing to pay a bit more than sale prices for a perfect fit. I'm tall and thin so fit is always an issue for me.


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## halbydurzell (Aug 19, 2012)

Blessings said:


> Maybe to some people, but they could have at LEAST thrown in another colour besides red and blue given the gang connotations that those two bandana colours have signified. It seems silly that Jpress would have red/blue bandana print t shirts in the first place.


This. I'm going to go with ignorance (ala Mark McNairy's "manifest destiny") over purposeful controversy baiting on the designers part. But mainly, yes, I have no idea how these shirts connect to J.Press in any way? They should have re-released that dope J.Press logo crewneck sweater from the mid-90's if they wanted the street style kid's money. Hell, I'D buy one of those!


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## K Street (Dec 4, 2007)

No. Gangs do not design, manufacture, and market their clothing colors or patterns. They appropriate them from unwitting, respectable sources. 

J. Press does not need to vet its t-shirt designs or colors for possible gang connotations. It shows no lack of judgment on their part that they do not kowtow to lowlifes.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Plus I really doubt anyone in those bad parts of the city are going to be wearing ANYTHING J. Press, let alone a silly bandana t-shirt (which is all they are, silly).


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## halbydurzell (Aug 19, 2012)

K Street said:


> No. Gangs do not design, manufacture, and market their clothing colors or patterns. They appropriate them from unwitting, respectable sources.
> 
> J. Press does not need to vet its t-shirt designs or colors for possible gang connotations. It shows no lack of judgment on their part that they do not kowtow to lowlifes.


Well then I'm looking forward to their S/S 13 swastika swim trunks. Don't let history push you around York Street! Also, you're saying Mr. Snoop Dogg (nee Lion) is wearing this shirt just because he liked the pattern?












Jovan said:


> Plus I really doubt anyone in those bad parts of the city are going to be wearing ANYTHING J. Press, let alone a silly bandana t-shirt (which is all they are, silly).


It's more likely some kid wearing this shirt on a coke bender stumbles out of a Bushwick warehouse party at 2am and walks three blocks in the wrong direction. Hey! At least blood stains blend in easily with a red shirt!

I'm derailing this thread so this will be my final two cents and then we can all get back to making fun of their Wes Anderson kiddie clothes again: I think it's important to point out dumb, offensive and potentially dangerous things like this. I know it's fun for fashion designers to imagine these shirts will only ever be worn by white folks on private beaches but cultural insensitivity is not akin to GTH pants. J.Press doesn't need this negative attention. J.Press also doesn't need to be making t-shirts. These shirts are the dumb frosting on the bad idea cake that is York Street right now.


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## Clay J (Apr 29, 2008)

I personally think that the $68 tank top is the funniest thing they are offering. If you can afford that as a young person, they can have it. Reminds me of these "biggie" coats: https://gothamist.com/2011/03/22/teen_chased_killed_over_marmot_mamm.php


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

halbydurzell said:


> Well then I'm looking forward to their S/S 13 swastika swim trunks. Don't let history push you around York Street! Also, you're saying Mr. Snoop Dogg (nee Lion) is wearing this shirt just because he liked the pattern?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You are taking this way too seriously, my friend. And that's saying something coming from the resident "politically correct" guy. :icon_smile_big:


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## halbydurzell (Aug 19, 2012)

Jovan said:


> You are taking this way too seriously, my friend. And that's saying something coming from the resident "politically correct" guy. :icon_smile_big:


Fair enough. Everyone's entitiled to their own opinion. I'm not tyrying to be the PC police, I just think, at worst, they're courting controversy and attention which is the opposite of trad ethos (of which J.Press once represented the zenith). At best, they're being thoughtless and ignorant about the larger cultural issues at play which, in my opinion, is also the antihesis of trad (you know "Authenticity • Stewardship • Graciousness."...the Muffy stuff). I respect that this is a clothing forum so I'll ease off on the politics.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Perhaps that energy is better directed at things like the Urban Outfitters t-shirt that basically promoted eating disorders? Funny enough, I knew the model who wore it for their website catalogue in high school.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

halbydurzell said:


> Fair enough. Everyone's entitiled to their own opinion. I'm not tyrying to be the PC police, I just think, at worst, they're courting controversy and attention which is the opposite of trad ethos (of which J.Press once represented the zenith). At best, they're being thoughtless and ignorant about the larger cultural issues at play which, in my opinion, is also the antihesis of trad (you know "Authenticity • Stewardship • Graciousness."...the Muffy stuff). I respect that this is a clothing forum so I'll ease off on the politics.


Perhaps it's just an homage, like "Washington Redskins!!"


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## SLeiber (Apr 27, 2012)

Trip English said:


> I haven't gravitated away from Brooks Brothers, they've gravitated away from me. I can't imagine what I'd think if I'd been shopping there longer. As it is in the 10+ years I've shopped there the quality of almost everything but shirts and ties has fallen off. Tailored goods are a crap shoot. Casual pants were until recently all non-iron and now the must-irons are sub-J.Crew in quality. They're chasing money down all sorts of weird boulevards.
> 
> As for Press, I've tried repeatedly to gravitate toward them. The clothes don't measure up. Just yesterday I thrifted another sack - probably from the 80s, but possibly older) and the construction in the chest and shoulders is simply softer and more natural. There's very little padding at all. Current Press, as far as I'm concerned, does NOT have a natural shoulder. They have a "sloped" shoulder, but it's not soft and it doesn't follow the natural contours of the shoulder. That's not what I want in a sack coat (or any coat) and was forced to seek out the modern equivalent with other makers. I'd be eager to return to Press for many reasons, their selection of OTR fabrics for one is fantastic, but until the construction of the jackets change they'll remain my supplier for big thick sweaters and not much else.


As somebody who respects your opinion and WAYWT fits, I'm curious what brands you have begun to gravitate towards if you find yourself unimpressed with BB and Press


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

Largely Ralph Lauren. Aside from some iconic offerings from other brands they provide the best fit and quality I've found for reasonable money. Not everyone agrees on the parameters of "reasonable money" but for me I'm comfortable with it. That being said I buy much less than I did when I was starting out. I picked up a new sport coat over the holidays, but otherwise I haven't bought a stitch of clothing in some time. I still pop into some stores from time to time, but RL is about the only place that usually impresses me.


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## hockeyinsider (May 8, 2006)

In my opinion, I don't see this version of J. Press lasting more than a year or two. If Rugby Ralph Lauren couldn't succeed, I don't think this will.


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## Sir Cingle (Aug 22, 2009)

I would imagine that most of York Street stuff will only be on display in the New York store. Given the name of the collection, some pieces will have to appear in the New Haven branch. But I can't see Yale undergraduates buying this stuff: it's too expensive. I don't think this line would appeal to the DC or Cambridge clientele either. The New York store has carried far more of the collaboration stuff than the New Haven branch, and I'm sure this will be true with York Street. With all the trust-fund hipsters around NYC, apparently there's a market for this kind of thing. Heck, Gant does well in NYC, whereas it seems to have flopped in New Haven.


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

My impression - perhaps better referred to as an assumption - is that the York St. stuff is to be sold exclusively, or nearly so through the new store being opened for that purpose on Bleeker: the same one designed to give the credulous the sense they're in a tomb.


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## jshastings (Jul 30, 2012)

I happen to really like this stuff... and hopefully they can avoid the mistakes Rugby made (ie. garish, awful, unrealistic styling). It seems like the demographic they're targeting is early twenties. While, generally, we're an especially cash-poor demographic, I can say from experience that clothes are something that people my age at schools like mine will pay lots for. Almost everyone on my campus wears a Barbour when the weather permits, even though theses are exceptionally impractical for american university students (who don't regularly go game hunting). Also, the claim that the clothes are too expensive to sell fails to consider where J. Press fits in compared to other retailers. On the _lowest _end of the spectrum, brands like JC Penney, under the direction of Nick Wooster, has put out designs that might appeal to the well-put-together college student at unbelievably low cost, but has done so at the expense of quality. No one I know would wear those clothes, but might wear something that looks exactly like it, made of better materials and perhaps manufactured domestically. J. Press could meet these criteria. 
FWIW, I think it's a good start and I can see myself and my friends shopping here.


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## Himself (Mar 2, 2011)

katch said:


> I have told myself that there is no point to get tailored clothing from Jpress. I will be purchasing a Southwick 3 button patch poicket sack @ LS Men's Clothing by Izzy sized perfectly for me (not short) for $300 less than off the rack. I'm willing to pay a bit more than sale prices for a perfect fit. I'm tall and thin so fit is always an issue for me.


Thanks for the tip!

I love/hate J. Press as much as anyone, but it's branded gear like any other for which we pay a premium.

For me, the value of this forum is advice on stylish, quality goods, whether from a thrift store, or a fancypants boutique like J. Press. Or tailors in Manhattan who source factory direct and charge for their labor and overhead, minus global advertising budgets and high street digs.

The rest of this discussion makes me feel like I'm 21 again, out drinking with high school friends who worked at the mall (instead of going to college).


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

jshastings said:


> I happen to really like this stuff... and hopefully they can avoid the mistakes Rugby made (ie. garish, awful, unrealistic styling). It seems like the demographic they're targeting is early twenties. While, generally, we're an especially cash-poor demographic, I can say from experience that clothes are something that people my age at schools like mine will pay lots for. Almost everyone on my campus wears a Barbour when the weather permits, even though theses are exceptionally impractical for american university students (who don't regularly go game hunting). Also, the claim that the clothes are too expensive to sell fails to consider where J. Press fits in compared to other retailers. On the _lowest _end of the spectrum, brands like JC Penney, under the direction of Nick Wooster, has put out designs that might appeal to the well-put-together college student at unbelievably low cost, but has done so at the expense of quality. No one I know would wear those clothes, but might wear something that looks exactly like it, made of better materials and perhaps manufactured domestically. J. Press could meet these criteria.
> FWIW, I think it's a good start and I can see myself and my friends shopping here.


Do what you want, but avoid the jackets unless they correct the skirt length. I don't care how young or trendy you are, wearing a jacket that is only as long in the body as it is in the sleeves makes you look like you're wearing women's clothing.


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## Ekphrastic (Oct 4, 2009)

^ Listen to Jovan and save yourself from future pain. Your jacket must cover your butt.


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## Liquiriza (Dec 25, 2012)

jshastings said:


> I happen to really like this stuff... and hopefully they can avoid the mistakes Rugby made (ie. garish, awful, unrealistic styling). It seems like the demographic they're targeting is early twenties. While, generally, we're an especially cash-poor demographic, I can say from experience that clothes are something that people my age at schools like mine will pay lots for.


As I told my girlfriend, when I went to Cornell, the only people who dressed Ivy League were the professors, and most of them didn't dress that attractively.

IMHO J Press is making the same mistakes that RL Rugby made, which is to be cheaply made, garish and awful. Ralph Lauren, who is not stupid failed with this concept. ANF also failed with this concept a few years before RL tried it (Ruehl 925). Brooks Brothers has also failed with this concept (the "Red Fleece" collection). The idea of "ANF for grownups" does not work, because the ANF clothing does not precede anything that mature people would wear.

In JPress's case it is bad because JPress has a noble heritage. Not a fake heritage a la Ruhel 925, nor a heritage of constant Gatsby-like reinvention a la Ralph Lauren (nee Lifshitz).

A sociologist could probably have a field day with fact that a Japanese company is hiring Sephardic Jews (the Ovadia brothers) to imitate the latter WASPish styles of an Ashkenazi Jew (Ralph Lauren) who got his start with the styles of Brooks Brothers/Latvian Jew (Jacobi Press) making clothing for the WASP elite at Yale. ic12337:


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Ekphrastic said:


> ^ Listen to Jovan and save yourself from future pain. Your jacket must cover your butt.


I try to save others from the mistakes I've made in the past... but I'm still young yet. I'm bound to be doing other things some people deem unwise!


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## inq89 (Dec 3, 2008)

I have a personal angst for the new wave of prep labels. 

It's true some college students are willing to pay good money for clothes, but unfortunately I think what Rugby, FlatIron, and now York St have in common is that they try too hard in meeting the youth at our fashionable extreme, instead of defending their traditional label and pulling us in to it; where we would all be in just a few years. They feel they need a Junior brand to get us to become life long fans, and the mindset is that we eventually move up to Senior. But why not just attract us to Senior in the first place? All of my friends, including myself, would much prefer paying our loan borrowed money for the actual brand and not it's subsidiary that I'd be embarrassed to own in a decade's time. The majority of customers who would buy York St. or FlatIron are the traditional young men who would buy from J Press and Brooks Senior to begin with. So I'd rather go to the original brand and cut out the adolescent. I see these college-targeted brands honing in on the high schoolers who just a few years ago wore American Eagle and Abercrombie. They serve as a place header, but ultimately training wheels for adulthood clothing.

York Street does appear to be a little more true-to-form than Flatiron and certainly Rugby. A few complaints: taking a look at their shirts and polos for example. $85 for a bandana t shirt? $90 for a non-logo polo shirt probably made in China? College students are herdfolk...they should've at least offered the Bulldog on thechest to compete with frat-kid favorites Whale, Skipjack, and Golden Fleece. However I will admit I do like York Street's suits and sport coats (but of course, just a bit too short). But they're the most grown up and well tailored attire out of the entire collection. 

Yes I know JPress has to evolve to survive. And just like the choir, I just don't like the direction it's going.


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## Tom Buchanan (Nov 7, 2005)

It is clear that J. Press has upset their Karma and set off seismic shifts in the trad forces.

https://www.muffyaldrich.com/2013/02/j-presss-building-on-york-street-has.html

Now the whole York Street building is unsound.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

God don't appreciate messing with the classics!!


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## Youthful Repp-robate (Sep 26, 2011)

Tom Buchanan said:


> It is clear that J. Press has upset their Karma and set off seismic shifts in the trad forces.
> 
> https://www.muffyaldrich.com/2013/02/j-presss-building-on-york-street-has.html
> 
> Now the whole York Street building is unsound.


Anybody else ever read "The Ship That Died of Shame" by Nicholas Monsarrat?


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## AncientMadder (Apr 21, 2011)

Did anyone order something from York Street? 

Lots of steep discounts on the site right now. I'm tempted by the madras and gingham shirts at $40.


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## Reldresal (Oct 13, 2011)

AncientMadder said:


> Did anyone order something from York Street?
> 
> Lots of steep discounts on the site right now. I'm tempted by the madras and gingham shirts at $40.


I did a lot of looking around the site. Those seem to be the only worthwhile items. There is a nice looking chambray sport coat, but it appears to be way too short. Pity.


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## Serenus (Jun 19, 2009)

inq89 said:


> But why not just attract us to Senior in the first place? All of my friends, including myself, would much prefer paying our loan borrowed money for the actual brand and not it's subsidiary that I'd be embarrassed to own in a decade's time.


Simple business model: planned obsolescence. In six years the kids will need to retool their wardrobe.

For many of them, they will have to retool much sooner, as all those pounds gained through beer binging and "wings" start to accumulate.


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## Pale_Male (May 20, 2013)

AncientMadder said:


> Did anyone order something from York Street?
> 
> Lots of steep discounts on the site right now. I'm tempted by the madras and gingham shirts at $40.


Bought a scarf, tote, and cricket sweater. Some shirts are quite tempting at super-sale price.


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## leisureclass (Jan 31, 2011)

I was just in the Cambridge store today to look at the sale. A surprising amount of non-North American products. Not just the YS, which all seems to be imported.


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## efdll (Sep 11, 2008)

No need to comment on the Economiser butt shot. But the frontal one makes the model look like he has wide hips and fat thighs. Or maybe he just has wide hips and fat thighs. No problem with a guy who looks like a girl, I'm all for gender bending and all that. But a guy model who looks like an ugly girl? Maybe that's liberating and I'm missing the point.


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

halbydurzell said:


> This. I'm going to go with ignorance (ala Mark McNairy's "manifest destiny") over purposeful controversy baiting on the designers part. But mainly, yes, I have no idea how these shirts connect to J.Press in any way? They should have re-released that dope J.Press logo crewneck sweater from the mid-90's if they wanted the street style kid's money. Hell, I'D buy one of those!











(1970)

L.L. Bean was a fan of bandanna-print shirts back in the 1970s; J. Press may have been trying to revive that look, without realizing that the meaning has changed since then.


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## Youthful Repp-robate (Sep 26, 2011)

katon said:


> (1970)
> 
> L.L. Bean was a fan of bandanna-print shirts back in the 1970s; J. Press may have been trying to revive that look, without realizing that the meaning has changed since then.


Honestly, I'm quite sure they were 100% aware of what they were doing. They may have been calling back to something from a '70s LL Bean catalog, but there is no way they were so oblivious as to be unaware of the baggage there.


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## Pale_Male (May 20, 2013)

efdll said:


> No need to comment on the Economiser butt shot. But the frontal one makes the model look like he has wide hips and fat thighs. Or maybe he just has wide hips and fat thighs. No problem with a guy who looks like a girl, I'm all for gender bending and all that. But a guy model who looks like an ugly girl? Maybe that's liberating and I'm missing the point.


You're missing a lot of points. While I don't like the short jackets and find them unflattering to all, the youngsters love 'em. I think they look worse the more athletically-built the wearer, but the same is true for the narrow-shouldered Trad sack and slim-cut trousers.

I like the models. They're really young & beautiful and actually look like they could be Yarvton students -- and that's the market, not 50-something fat lawyers and accountants. And from a marketing perspective, it makes more sense for the 50-something to want to look like Sebastian Flyte. How many 20-somethings really want to look like schlubby lawyers & accountants? i'd say the guy is wearing his ugly sister's jacket, since this "style" really looks like a woman's coat. He's real purdy -- as was Paul Newman -- and looks like a "Eli", or "Yalie," from Central Casting [Whiff who rowed on the Freshman Crew]. Maybe I think all this because he could be my younger brother, and I'm madly in love with myself.

He, and the other models, are also appealing to the "Guys who fancy Guys" market. There's a lot of that going around these days -- some even get married and live happily ever after. That's what's liberating.


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