From mentions in literary works by F. Scott Fitzgerald to a slew of pioneering brick-and-mortars in New York, New Haven and Washington D.C., J.Press has plenty of history. The brand was founded in 1908 by Latvian immigrant Jacobi Press. Initially just a tailoring shop in New Haven, J. Press ascended the ranks of the elite thanks in no small part to its proximity to Yale University. I’m not afraid to state, though, and the brand would probably agree, it’s sort of stayed there; grown, surely, but it’s a label on those on the inside are aware of.
“J. Press has always been a little under the radar. You had to be in the know to know J. Press,” Todd Snyder says. He worked with the brand, which was family owned and operated until 1986 (when Japan’s Onward Kashiyama company bought it), on a collaborative collection comprising 48 pieces — a healthy dose of Snyder’s style applied to J.Press’ aesthetic and vice versa, too. “So, we were excited to partner with them and take some of their classics and give them a little attitude. We also have taken some of our more modern pieces like our chore coat then ‘J. Press-ified’ them by designing them in Harris Tweed.”
Snyder used the collaboration as an opportunity to distance even J.Press from the Ivy aesthetic. Sure, there are Oxford cloth shirts, duffle coats, Sack Suits, chinos, tweed suit separates and the ilk, but they’ve been revamped with alterations like an all-over orange camo print, new colors, new patterns, distressing and hand-done repairs. For those familiar with the New Haven-born brand, this collection checks all of the boxes. But for those first-timers out there, Todd Snyder introduces consumers to an icon made over for the modern man.
Todd SnyderSpectator Coat
Todd Snyder
