Can you spot the presidential hopeful?
According to the seller unloading it on eBay, this J. Press sign was salvaged from the 44th Street store when the company moved to Madison Avenue.
It was originally listed for $2,500, but, as it didn’t have any takers, was relisted yesterday with an opening bid of $499 and buy-it-now of $700. — CC
On this Valentine’s Day, we’ll honor the occasion with an example of the humor — in this case, mildly bawdy — that has always played a role in the Ivy League Look.
Case in point, the above vintage suspenders with matching sock garters from J. Press. They’re currently for sale on Etsy, where the seller claims they date from the ’30s and is asking $250 for them. (Continue)
In the reliably lively commentary on the last post, commenter “Oxford Cloth Button Down” called attention to a couple of four-button jackets in the latest York Street collection. As divisive as York Street is, the jackets will no doubt fan the flames of distaste.
But what appears as another case of youth-market flippancy actually has its roots in the J. Press archives. When I first saw the York Street jackets, I was reminded of a post I wrote back in 2009 about a 4/3 roll jacket from J. Press featured in a 1952 issue of Gentry:
The Gentry article calls the 4/3 a reference to the 1920s, and I think there is a specter of ’20s influence at work in the York Street jacket. With its half belt, flapped breast pocket, and military-style pointed pocket flaps, it looks like a cropped, nipped version of a half-Norfolk shooting coat.
All this thinking of 4/3 jackets has me wondering how a traditional four-button coat would be received today if it was re-released by J.Press, unaldulterated, as it was in 1952. Is it an obscure classic that deserves a comeback, or an abomination that needs to stay dead? Cast your vote. — ZACHARY DELUCA
Zachary DeLuca is a freelance writer who also operates Newton Street Vintage. He was recently appointed Ivy Style’s assistant editor.
J. Press sent out a mailer today introducing its new spring items. It’s business-as-usual with the main brand — for better or worse. The jacket above looks straight from a vintage catalog. Tough to tell what the shoulders are like, however, without in-person inspection.
But certainly what you’re most interested in, you anonymous hate-reading snarkers, is York Street. I shouldn’t be encouraging you, except that so much of York Street feels not like the younger brother of the main brand, nor even a distant cousin, but a totally random stranger — possibly an extraterrestrial. (Continue)
You’ve probably seen the recent trailers for “Monuments Men,” in which George Clooney and Matt Damon play a special unit during World War II assigned with recovering works of art stolen by the Nazis.
The movie opened this weekend, though the rating at Rotten Tomatoes is rather low. If anyone’s seen it, let us know. I watch almost everything at home, but was thinking I’d see this one in the theater.
The movie is based on a true story, and many of the real Monuments Men were Ivy guys, such as Mason Hammond of Harvard, captured here later in life:
In other movie news, James Franco stars in “Maladies,” which was filmed a couple of years ago but just getting a release later next month. Franco plays a washed-up soap-opera star (rim shot — thank you very much), who decides to start writing. The movie is set in 1960s New York, and the trailer has Franco looking a trifle trad, in blue buttondown and what looks like knit tie. He’s pictured below in white butondown and matching shaving cream:
And here’s the trailer: