J. Pressing Onward

By Matthew Longcore

Corduroy and Press – my goals for New York Fashion Week – turned unexpectedly into Covid and Paxlovid, causing me to miss the much anticipated J. Press Fall/Winter Runway Show on Thursday, September 11. The show took place at the Explorers Club on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. As an architectural historian, I was eager to visit the six-story Jacobean Revival mansion on East 70^th Street. The clubhouse library – with its exquisite dark wood paneling, grandiose fireplace, and beautiful stained glass windows – looks like an Ivy League common room and is the perfect setting for a fashion event featuring Ivy style clothing.

This event was the first public appearance of Jack Carlson as the new Creative Director and President of J. Press and the designer behind the collection. I received a personal invitation to attend the fashion show and was very much looking forward to it. Unfortunately, when my bad cold turned out to be something worse, I realized that I would be missing out. Not being able to attend was a crushing disappointment. Fortunately, the fashion show was covered extensively by the media, allowing one to experience it vicariously. From all reports, it was a terrific event which I am profoundly sorry to have missed.

Jack Carlson told The Financial Times, “My plan is to make J. Press a standard bearer for American menswear and Ivy style, and a much more well-known brand nationally.” There is certainly an inner circle quality about J. Press which makes it a brand that exemplifies the idea of “if you know, you know.”  Making the brand more widely known is a worthy goal. For this goal to be achieved, a new generation must discover J. Press. FashionBeans states, “For a label long associated with tradition, this is a statement: J. Press isn’t just preserving Ivy style—it’s rewriting it for a new era of ambitious men.”

Carlson is astute in observing that Ivy and Preppy clothing, which are timeless and never go out of style, have been experiencing a resurgence of popularity. As reported in GQ, he noted, “It’s definitely a great time for prep. And that feeling was part of what made me decide to take on this challenge. This is a good time for J. Press.”

Menswear blogger Ebrima Santos Sanneh suggests that J. Press aims for the “sweet spot between prep and Ivy” and  FashionUnited reports that Carlson’s vision for J. Press is “A colourful, luxurious celebration of Ivy style at its best, rooted in American and British craftsmanship and the subtle codes, details, and idiosyncrasies of the J. Press uniform.”

With its Fall/Winter 2025 collection, J. Press offers items in the new and exuberant colors and patterns that Jack Carlson is infusing into the brand, as well the muted colors that are historically associated with Ivy League style. Some of the new items are bright and bold and in Jack’s own words “slightly irreverent.” Much of the new Fall/Winter collection, however, lands in the Ivy Style heritage of tradition and elegance. The clothing and accessories are made in the United States, England, Scotland, Canada, or Japan; each item is proudly labeled with its country of origin. The items all feature beautiful fabrics, exquisite tailoring, and are manufactured to the high quality standards J. Press has always been known for.

I am a traditionalist, but I enjoy a splash of color. We all want to express our individuality, and the trick for me is to stay traditional without disappearing into the crowd. I was hoping to wear these orange wide wale corduroy pants to the event at the Explorers Club with a navy blazer, a white OCBD shirt, and my Harriman Cup Crossed Flags Club Tie featuring the flags of the University of Virginia in orange and Yale University in blue – all from J. Press.

The tie was created for the 41^st Annual Harriman Cup sponsored by J. Press which was held on September 6 this year. I had the pleasure of attending this event, despite the fact that Yale lost to Virginia.

There are a few colorful accessories I would like from the new collection such as these tartan wool bow ties. I like both the tan, red, and green, perfect for the upcoming holiday season, and the gold, red, and green which would pair well with my orange pants.

Another item is a schoolboy muffler which has the colors of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences where I did my graduate work in archaeology at Yale. It would provide just the right touch of color and warmth on a grey winter day.

As you can see from the Fall/Winter 2025 Lookbook, these mufflers come in a variety of patterns. To peruse the 800+ items in the new collection, click here for New Arrivals. This is a splendid sartorial feast with everything an Ivy Style aficionado could possibly hope for.