Today J. Press sent out an email blast promoting its new spring collection. When I landed on the site, I saw that York Street was no longer there. Previously Press had operated two sites, one for York Street and one for the main collection. The site is now integrated, which makes a lot more sense.
York Street’s replacement is called J. Press Blue, described thusly:
J.Press Blue is our newest collection in the J. Press brand. J. Press Blue represents a modern evolution of the long established J. Press heritage. The collection is more modern, with an updated, youthful flair. The new line is a direct descendant of J. Press heritage, inheriting the appreciation for fine tailoring and quality fabrics. It has slimmer fit with an adventurous use of fabric and prefect details.
J. Press Blue is the embodiment of the J.Press man, who experiments with and tests the boundaries of his more traditional fashion sense.
What’s odd — and something always has to be odd — is that Press removed York Street and added Blue with hardly any Blue items. There are almost as many lifestyle shots (four) as products (seven).
Even the spring collection, the main point of the email, includes just 11 items, three of which say “image coming soon.” Here’s one of them:
Obviously more will be coming, but given that a bone-chilling freeze is finally hitting the Northeast after an otherwise mild winter, they could probably hold off a bit longer with the spring promotion until there’s actually a full collection to show. — CC
So this is still different from J. Press “Blue Label” exclusive to Japan? http://www.jpress.jp/collection/
I was hoping it would be that, but I guess not.
Yikes. Not a fan. Really…a skateboard?
There are two more “J.Press Blue” items under the suits category.
When did the “J.Press man … experiment with and test the boundaries of his more traditional fashion sense?” That must have been before my time.
Not before your time, Ward Wickers: after. As far as J. Press Blue is concerned, your time is over.
If the plaid coat above is Blue as well as blue, it doesn’t look so bad to me, at least as far as cut goes. It looks more or less like the current J. Press Canadian offerings, unless I am missing something. The shoulders may not be perfect but are not too bad, and while I suppose it could be too tight or short, I can’t tell that from this picture. I’m not crazy about the tie from what I can see, and if that is a tie bar, it is being worn too high. Someone needs to tell the youngsters that tie bars are not bling, like a nose ring, but practical items that, if worn, should be hidden when the jacket is buttoned. The various shirts at the link seem overpriced and generally pretty awful, although the skate dude is a pretty good indication that mine is not the demographic they are trying to appeal to. I just hope they continue to offer a selection of the good stuff. BB is very nearly a wasteland except for some shoes, a few shirts and other odds and ends. I hope Press does not go down the same road.
Jacket above is standard collection.
Why the skate dude? Why Herb Tarlick’s tie? Why?
Will
@Charlottesville
You’re right, tie bars should be hidden…..in a drawer!
Let your tie do what it’s supposed to do: hang. A tie, after all, is only a latter-day scarf.
“the skate dude is a pretty good indication that mine is not the demographic they are trying to appeal to”
Charlottesville — you can’t skate? Dude, you gotta get hoppin’ I picked up skating two years ago and have gotten extreme on the rails. I could smoke that JPress kid, no prob. I’ll take him at the nearest half-pipe with my fav trick: a Caballerial (that’s a 360 ollie while footin’ it fakie). And, I’ll wear my madras shorts, Guccis, and a Lacoste polo and look better doin’ it, too.
@Ward
How long did it take you to find a good skateboard lingo website? ;oP
Lentil soup at lunch today. I’m gonna go blast a dookie.
Later
Considering the fact that J. Press thinks that this is a regimental stripe tie, one can hardly be surprised by skateboarders:
http://www.jpressonline.com/raw-silk-regimental-green-pink-purple-blue-salmon-gold-silver/
Christian — Thanks for the clarification.
Will — Your tie comment is apt. I note that my wife refers to my (very nice, I think) J. Press madras sport jacket as my Herb Tarlick coat. No telling what she would make of that shirt and tie combination.
Bags — I tend to agree with you, but there is photographic evidence that some pretty snappy dressers wore them in the 50s and 60s, at least on this side of the Atlantic, so I won’t dig my heels in too deeply. The current high-rise tie clip, however, is a would-be hipster abomination, like the “fedora” with a half-inch brim and gunboats worn sans socks.
Mr. Kirkston — I’d have to check the official records, but I believe that is the tie of the Royal Rainbow Fusiliers.
Ward — You are totes amazeballs.
That multicolored raw silk striped tie may not be particularly “regimental” but it’s not a bad looking item.
I guess we’ve now been given free license to use any word to mean anything we want.
There is a delightful irony in Onward’s misspelling of the word “perfect,” given that it modifies “details.”
@ Seve: I prefer a micro scooter.
I wonder if this will mean that the present Bleecker Street location will start to carry the full line since the Madison Ave location was never replaced..;
In my humble opinion, all J Press ever needed was a slimmer fitting version of what they already had. As a slight 38R, I’d be happy to buy and wear things from J Press other than the ties and accessories I already have and enjoy, but I don’t want to spend $700+ to look like I stole something from a barrel shaped, portly middle aged man. While purists may demur, I think there is nothing wrong with a well fitting sack.
I think J. Press would profit greatly from something of this sort–if it is what I think it is. Entry-level tailoring and pricing. A lot of younger guys, no matter what their taste, don’t want to pay more than $700 for a decent suit.
http://www.jpressonline.com/j-press-blue-1/
Any clue as to where these suits are made?
Blue is obviously a reference to Yale (where it all started), no doubt because the New Haven store is (sadly) no longer on York Street.