In an exclusive interview, J.Crew's lead designer shares the story behind the iconic suit that defined a new century of men's suiting. From its humble beginnings in a small room inside the company's offices to its eventual popularity, the suit's design was a labor of love that required years of research and development.
should be. It was the first off-the-rack suit to combine a slim, pretailored fit with fine Italian fabric at a price that a recent college graduate could afford.
But how did abest known for its wildly popular women’s clothing come to define a new century of men’s suiting? I spoke with its lead designer, J.Crew’s former senior vice-president of menswear,What was the state of menswear when you first joined J. Crew back in 2004? When I started in the industry in the late ’80s, early ’90s, suits were big; they were happening. Hundreds of brands were doing tailoring.
Then came casual Friday, and grunge, and that pretty much killed the suit. When I joined J.Crew, menswear didn’t really exist. There was the— a good friend of mine — was the womenswear designer at that time, and she’s very talented and hard to compete with. But whentook over as CEO, he had a mandate to make menswear cool and relevant, so he brought me onboard to chip away at that together.
Until that point, brands of this size always had dual-gender stores. And for J.Crew, the men’s section at the time was often in the basement. But Mickey was intent on a men’s-only store as being the way to get our men’s line noticed. That’s how we came up with the idea for the, along with his friends Andy Spade and Anthony Sperduti, who were legends and still are.
We created a little room inside our offices and started collecting and sorting the vintage magazines, books, Alden shoes, all the references that the store would later popularize. Looking around at that room, I knew I needed a cool suit to anchor the collection. Our suits at the time were oversized and frumpy — like a boring version of Brooks Brothers.
JFK Sr. was on our moodboard, along with Sidney Poitier, so I knew I wanted something that had that mid-century ’50s, ’60s vibe.was happening then, and I remember studying the neckwear and accessorizing, and everything from the tie bar to the perfectly folded pocket square really showcased that moment. I wanted to capture that in something that was a little more form-fitting.
Not skinny or super shrunken; I wanted it to look current and wearable and not feel like a costume. And because I used to work at a men’s haberdashery in Des Moines, Iowa, I knew how to make patterns, I knew how to adjust fit and the drape, so I started working on it with our suit factory in Mexico, Confecciones Europeas. It took about a year to develop.
Traditionally, American suits were very much about the “sack suit,” which is not as form-fitting as other styles — it doesn’t have so many darts through the chest, so it’s less shaped through the center. I thought that was interesting, but I was looking for something different. I knew I wanted a narrower lapel, but it was difficult to figure out how to get it to roll the way I wanted it to.
Then it came to me: We should do a three-to-two roll, which is a three-button suit where the cool way to wear it is to use only the middle button. But the top button is still there, so you can do the two top buttons for that higher stance — like JFK often did, or you could just do the middle and get that perfect lapel roll.
I knew we didn’t want things to look super elongated, just a little shrunken in the body. And I wanted a natural shoulder with a higher armhole. So it needed to be a little narrower in the chest, and the besom pocket had to be proportional. Back in the ’50s, chest pieces were hand-stitched into the fabric, not fused or glued, so we wanted to use stitching, too.
And I wanted decorative pick stitching on the lapel, which makes a jacket look just a little more finished. Getting all these proportions right was challenging at the time because it was new. Of course, once you come up with the blueprint, then it’s easier for everyone to come along. But we spent a lot of time studying what came before us to develop that blueprint.
Every detail was unearthed from these vintage garments I was buying from thrift shops, both here and in Europe. Everything from Savile Row to ’50s Brooks Brothers and Southwick. I got a lot of it at this store that used to be on Portobello Road in London called Old Hat, and my friend Graham Cassie has an amazingthere, too. At one point, I even found a suit custom-made for Henry Kissinger, with his name in the lining and everything.
But we would just rip these garments apart and study every construction detail. It makes me excited just thinking about it. Once you dissect a garment, you can really get a sense of how a person made this. How did they get this roll on the shoulder?
How did they create this perfect buttonhole stance? It’s like someone’s handwriting, especially when you’re looking at a handmade garment or a Savile Row garment. I will never meet this person, but seeing the work he or she does makes me feel like I did. Mickey Drexler used to say it was all about the mills, and he was willing to invest in that.
The sharkskin cloth we sourced fromwas key for us. It’s 100 percent wool, made with a specific weave that gives it a muted sheen that has an authentic mid-century vibe without looking artificial. Polyester was coming into fashion back then, but we didn’t want that. The Liquor Store opened in August of 2008, and we knew we had a hit within the first week.
We were carrying Alden shoes, Thomas Mason shirts, and this shrunken new kind of suit that was selling out in all the model sizes but had no name. I remember all of us got in a room and said, “Well, what are we going to call this thing? ” So we started ideating on a bunch of names: the Tribeca suit, the Liquor Store suit, the Squire suit. But Ludlow just stuck.
It’s a street in New York City, and it just felt right. So we started marketing around that name. And then, three years after I left, they opened the Ludlow store six blocks away, which helped solidify what the Ludlow became.magazines and vinyl records — and the Ludlow epitomized that whole thing. It was being at the right place at the right time.
And it wasn’t expensive; the value was there. Especially in the beginning, when we were making it in America, with some parts being made in Mexico. When you think of the icons of J.Crew, it’s definitely the rollneck and the barn coat, and the Ludlow became one as well. It’s hard to do that.
Some of it’s been watered down over time, but the intent we put into the original design is still there: Italian fabric, made in an affordable way. You can reverse-engineer the pattern and make it in China with Chinese fabric, but it won’t feel the same. Anything with fashion has to evolve; it has to change because people get bored. As soon as everybody has it and everybody’s wearing it, they want something else.
I would say the Ludlow definitely needs to be more relaxed. Thesuit we make under my own brand now is more tapered than slim, with a bit more ease built into the fit. More broadly, we’re starting to see things become oversized and more relaxed. It’s kind of going back to the ’80s, which is what theembodies.
It’s not an exact copy of the ’80s style, but an evolution of it. It’s got this exaggerated lapel and notch placement with an even softer shoulder that fits slightly off-shoulder. And then theis somewhere in between. They’re all made from Italian fabrics in Italy or Portugal, and they start at under $1,000.is turning so many guys on to double-breasted suiting.
I love wearing my Wythe double-breasted as a suit, but I’ll also wear the jacket with jeans and a T-shirt and loafers with socks. One of my favorite jackets we did last year, which we’re bringing back next fall, ismade in Italy from 100 percent cashmere Loro Piana fabric. It looks great today, and it’s something you’ll want to hold onto forever across trend cycles, which is how I’ve always thought of tailoring. Everything comes around.
, from Paris, is cool. When I set out on my own, I wanted suiting to be the anchor of my brand, and it’s now the best category for our business. Suit sales are up 30 percent from last year, and last year was 30 percent higher than the year before. But I’m also just excited to see more guys in suits all around.
I feel like all boats rise with the tide, and it’s nice to see others experiencing similar success. Come to Todd Snyder. Or another store that resonates with you.
But helping guys dress better is why I do what I do. Finding a great brand is similar to finding a barber. When you find one you trust, that makes you feel confident, you stay with them forever. Same with a tailor.
That’s why I wanted to have a tailor in our store, because that’s such an important relationship to have. We didn’t have that at J.Crew, and I always wish we did. Dialing in the fit is how you give a guy the confidence to pull something off. And if he likes the way he looks, he’s going to come back over and over again.is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape.
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J.Crew Men's Suits Fashion Design Slim Fit Pretailored Italian Fabric Mickey Drexler Andy Spade Anthony Sperduti
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