J.Crew’s Latest Drop Includes a Subtle Update to Its Most Iconic Shirt

How do you update a product as tried and true as J.Crew’s Secret Wash shirt? You take it out west, it seems.

J.Crew introduced the Secret Wash shirt in 2005, and it quickly became a signature product of the New York retailer — if not the signature product. (In the early 2010s, a joke circulated online suggesting every man in New York City owned one in navy gingham.)

The name refers to the lightweight 100 percent cotton two-ply fabric that undergoes a “secret wash” formula to create a soft, lived-in feel.

Over the past twenty years, it has come in various fits but always in an oxford-style button-down with a single breast pocket — that is, until a westernized take on the Secret Wash shirt subtly popped up in the retailer’s newest batch of releases.

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Making the preppy-western connection

The Secret Wash Western Shirt comes in three colorways — solid white, light-blue gingham and pink gingham — each equipped with pearl snap button enclosures.

The New York retailer has tapped into the fact that, even though pearl snap western shirts commonly feature in denim, the style stands as the counterpart to oxford-style shirts in modern western culture.

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Check out any rodeo, and you’ll likely see most contestants and spectators wearing cotton pearl snap western shirts in the same colors and textures that the Secret Wash shirt has used for years. J.Crew is utilizing that connection to shuffle the cowboy classic into its collection of preppy Americana.

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J.Crew Secret Wash Western Shirt

• $90 at J.Crew

More highlights from J.Crew’s February Collection

Now in his fourth year at the helm of J.Crew Men’s, Creative Director Brendon Babenzien is really hitting his stride. His mid-century American influences and the brand’s 1980s-rooted prep seem less of a juxtaposition and more of a seamless vision.

This first drop of 2025 presents the kind of one-stop shop that J.Crew Men’s used to be at its 2010s peak, where you can find both basics and novel one-off pieces for a little bit of flair — such as a navy cashmere v-neck sweater alongside a “hairy” plaid alpaca cardigan.

Beyond the Secret Wash Western Shirt, here are five other highlights.

A twill chore coat in classic blue

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Wallace & Barnes Lightweight Twill Chore Jacket

• $198 at J.Crew

J.Crew Men’s sub-brand Wallace & Barnes has made a variety of chore coats over the past decade, but this is the first one to nail a critical historical feature. It comes in the distinct “French blue” color that marked the uniform of French railroad workers who first popularized the jacket in the late nineteenth century.

A midweight cashmere boatneck sweater in stripe

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J.Crew Midweight Cashmere Boatneck Sweater

• $198 at J.Crew

A boat neck is a wide, oval-shaped neckline first used by sailors to put on and remove shirts easily. J.Crew took this striped nautical design and fancied it up with cashmere.

A V-neck cardigan sweater featuring an alpaca blend

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J.Crew Alpaca-Blend V-Neck Cardigan

• $398 at J.Crew

Many elements come together perfectly to make this sweater so much fun. There is a bold, large-gage plaid, a hairy texture, a soft alpaca blend fabric, and a grey border to keep things grounded. It is the kind of vintage-inspired piece that defines the new J.Crew Men’s look.

A garment-dyed field jacket

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J.Crew Garment-Dyed Field Jacket

• $268 at J.Crew

J.Crew added a luxurious wrinkle to this surplus-inspired M51 field jacket by switching out the traditional drab canvas for a sateen fabric. The sturdy weave has a rough side, which emulates canvas on the exterior, and a silky-soft side on the interior.

A garment-dyed twill overshirt

J.Crew

J.Crew Garment-Dyed Twill Overshirt

• $128 at J.Crew

Fans of J.Crew’s chamois workshirt will welcome this warm-weather counterpart, which has a virtually identical look but is made of breathable cotton twill. Unlike the chamois, this fabric has three percent elastane.

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