J. Press is a traditional men's clothier founded in 1902 on

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

's campus in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

by Jacobi Press. The brand also has stores in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 1974, the Press family sold the rights to license J. Press for the Japanese market, making it the first American brand to be licensed in Japan.''New Flagship Updates J. Press''
''DNR'', 2007-5-7. Retrieved on May 30, 2007. In 1986, J. Press was acquired by the Japanese apparel company Onward Kashiyama, who had previously been his licensee for 14 years. Japanese licensed distribution is roughly six times larger than the American-made J. Press. J. Press is currently part of the Onward Group (Onward Holdings, Ltd.).

Style

Jacobi Press immigrated to the US from Latvia in 1896 and founded the company six years later. Since its founding, J. Press' clothing has remained much the same. For example, the company produces the vast majority of its off-the-rack

jackets A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...

in the traditional "three-button sack" style rarely found today in America, and for the most part, only produces plain-front

trousers Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and ...

, for which the company suggests a traditional 1"

cuff A cuff is a layer of fabric at the lower edge of the sleeve of a garment (shirt, coat, jacket, etc.) at the wrist, or at the ankle end of a trouser leg. The function of turned-back cuffs is to protect the cloth of the garment from fraying, an ...

. Fabrics are generally subdued, except for traditionally bright-colored items such as casual

and

sweater A sweater (North American English) or pullover, also called a jumper (British English and Australian English), ...

s. Its

neckties A necktie, or simply a tie, is a piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat, and often draped down the chest. Variants include the ascot, bow, bolo, zipper tie, crava ...

bear traditional repp stripe, foulard, and paisley motifs. They also carry scarves and ties featuring motifs and colors for

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...

schools, including

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

Society. J. Press dress overcoats are of

lambswool Lambswool is wool which is or shorter from the first shearing of a sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in t ...

, cashmere, or

camel hair Camel hair specifically refers to the fur from the body of a camel, but more generally refers to the fibre (and cloth) that may be made from either pure camel hair or a blend of camel hair and another fibre. Camel hair has two components: ''guard ...

, or of herringbone tweed with a velvet collar in the Chesterfield style. J. Press is said to carry on a traditional Ivy League style of men's clothing. J. Press caters most to an old-fashioned preppy subculture that eschews popular culture trends. The company makes an effort not to outsource the production of its clothing to

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

or to use synthetic materials in its line.

Stores

The New Haven store was originally built in 1863 in the

French Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts, which uses elements of many different historical styles, and also made innovative use of modern materials, such as i ...

as a residence for Cornelius Pierpont, a prominent local grocer. It was irreparably damaged by Winter Storm Nemo in February 2013; the company is temporarily renting a store at 260 College St., across from the Shubert Theatre. In 1912, the company opened a store in New York “appropriately equidistant from the

and

Harvard Club Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan cler ...

s.” In May 2007, J. Press moved to 380 Madison Avenue in New York City, which closed indefinitely in 2014. On March 1, 2013, J. Press opened another store in New York located at 304 Bleecker Street, which carried a sub-label of the brand called “J. Press York Street,” that was described by the ''New York Times'' as “a faint outline of the original.” Designed by Shimon and Ariel Ovadia of the clothing brand Ovadia & Sons, York Street was geared towards a younger audience. After four seasons, Shimon and Ariel Ovadia left York Street and it was merged into mainline J. Press and renamed “J. Press Blue.” In October 2017, J. Press closed the York Street store and opened a new store in midtown Manhattan, in the same building as the

Yale Club Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. The store was expected to generate 25% of U.S. sales. J Press has been constructing a new larger four story retail storefront at the original 260 York St., New Haven location.New Haven Independent: October 2019: J Press is developing a new storefront in it traditional location
/ref> J. Press formerly had branches in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

(closed in August 2018 after 86 years),''Harvard Square Icon J. Press to Close Cambridge Store''
/ref>

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

J. Press (Official U.S. website)
Clothing brands of the United States Clothing retailers of the United States American companies established in 1902 Clothing companies established in 1902 Retail companies established in 1902 Companies based in New York City Suit makers 1902 establishments in Connecticut 1900s fashion

Style

Stores

See also

References

External links