Attended a private US high school in the early 2000s, and Jcrew was definitely one of the popular brands at the time (when we weren't in uniforms) - usually paired with Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Abercrombie, Perry Ellis, and Birkenstocks or Dr. Martens (in classic brown leather, not the crazy colors/materials today)... seeing tube socks with Birks come back definitely reminded me of hs. 😅 I remember guys getting either Jcrew or Banana Republic suits as their first "work" suits for college back then too. I haven't really gone for the brand after college; I feel the quality of materials and fit dropped and still hasn't gone back to what it was. Lots of fabrics blended with synthetics and lower quality cashmeres/wools now - there's definitely more competition today in the brand/retail space that can do it better for a similar or lower price. 10/10 for styling and aesthetics, though - I still have some of those old catalogs.
Love that they weren’t afraid to showcase their clothes in outfits that look kind of silly. Gives the impression that they’re go-to pieces, the first things you reach for whether you want to look put together or not.
Brilliant...As a teenager of the 90's I vividly remember receiving these J. Crew catalogs (parodied by Seinfeld as J. Peterman) mailed to my older sister. I loved looking through them. Although admittingly they weren't the style of clothing for most teenagers wore at the time and it was pricy. But yeah the pictures were great , everyone was having a good time and smiling in seemingly everyday life settings. I think a lot of other companies tried to emulate their catalogs. This is quite nostalgic . I remember going to a J. Crew store here in NYC at South Street Sea Port.
I can imagine they were thrilling! We didn’t have anything like that in the UK. Other brands Definitely tried emulating it but didn’t quite capture the same magic. Thanks for watching!
Love J. Crew, they’ve really made a huge comeback these days. The basics are perfect and reasonably priced if you catch a sale. Also the Wallace & Barnes workwear line is high quality, I have pieces that have lasted many many years with heavy use
J Crew and Banana Republic both in financial difficulty,but continuing on. j Crew also owns Madewell,which has excellent basics as well. I truly hope these brands survive,as they fit me extremely well off the rack. Love the catalogues!
James, I love your videos so much. Your calm, comfy yet very articulate demeanor is so smoothing to me. And your mindset which manifests in your style reviews is so close to mine. I don’t comment often, but I want you to know that you are a very dear friend and true inspiration. Thanks for your work.
This is my favourite video of yours James - been really getting into preppy/Ivy League stuff recently so this has come at a great time for me. These catalogues look perfect, would love to get my hands on some
This is one of the more interesting vidoes I've seen on your channel. I grew up during they heyday of J.Crew so it has a lot of resonance. That being said, I would very much enjoy any additional videos about other brands, what made them magical, and their mark on the fashion world. Thanks James.
Really loved this video. Mix of interesting story, well researched and well told, and of course the fantastic J Crew visuals is elite. Cracking stuff !
I really enjoy your videos like these! Have you considered doing one on Ralph Lauren? I just discovered the brand and have been binging the runway shows. My favorites so far are autumn/winter 2022 and spring/summer 2023. The women’s and men’s styles were equally outstanding!
I think my favorite and beloved J Crew era was the 2002 to 2007. Their catalogs were beautiful and I wished I kept them. I didn’t care for the Jenna Lyons era but everything before that was so wonderful ❤
I read Maggie Bullock's book last year (and love it); your video was a really nice companion. Have been wearing J.Crew since my teen years and wish I'd kept those '90s catalogs.
Great video, James. You always do a great job covering the heritage of an item, or in this case a company. I was a little surprised you didn’t mention the hiring of Brendon Babenzien, as the brand has kind of “reinvented” itself with products like their Giant fit chinos.
Thank you man! Oh I didn’t even think to mention that, I was too busy looking at their older pieces haha. Great point though, they’re certainly having a revival!
I love J.crew. Touching on what you said about their bankruptcy, J.Crew in recent years became too preppy and in my opinion it was hard to find everyday basics, at least for me. It gives very much "Daddy's money on Daddy's yacht". The outlet version (or Factory store as they call it) I find is better in that sense. you have less options, but I've found better everyday staples there than at the ''real story".
This video especialy the catalogue give me ideas and inspiration as fashion enthusiast and a photographer with new perceptions creating styles..... And yes those vintages catalogues were gems dor those "effortless " Look and simple but attractibt color combo.....
@@JamesLeung yes they definitely took a hit as a company, but I’m also glad they’re in business because some products are still affordable, and the still have good designs occasionally!
Unconventional perhaps, but in a good way. Attention-grabbing, thoughtful, and very well put-together and presented imo, certainly gave me something to chew on 🙂
@@JamesLeung I like it, I think the cuts can be off sometimes though. The shirts are sometimes a bit too long. The wide pants can be either not wide at all or very wide. Overall I think they're my favorite brand of 2023
do you know who the photographer was? for the next generation, bruce weber did something very similar ("hey, models, just play catch! don't even look at the camera"), although trying to be much sexier, for abercrombie.
@@JamesLeung abercrombie catalogues are fantastic, one day i'll have them all. there's a doc about them (about the brand) on netflix. the whole abercrombie thing is SUPER homoerotic, and it it jus just flew well above the alpha male types that use to buy there.
@@JamesLeung i was browsing the site just the day before your video dropped, couldn't believe the coincidence - specially because you don't talk about this kind of stuff. to my dismay, they don't have shops in the uk, i was sure they did.
Yes, they came back in ‘21 or ‘22. They had really gone downhill around ‘17 or ‘18; quality really decline but prices stayed the same. They lost me as a customer until late last year, I had gone in, picked up a few items and it’s been my go-to ever since.
It's funny. Here in America, they closed all of their brick and mortar stores and now, slowly, is the rise of the JCrew brick and mortar outlet store. Terrible quality, terrible fits, leaning into an Abercrombie market, I think...
@@JamesLeung Postscript - The outlet by me just opened so I went to investigate. It's fine. It's plain. It's as if you told Old Navy to copy Banana Republic. Cheap price point, but all in that boxy American assless fit.
The downfall of J. Crews quality is something to be studied. They also took the route of having J.Crew factory stores which are seen as an outlet of items but in reality the clothes are cheaper and have less quality than the original brand. I the quality along side the “coastal elite” look declining a bit, they were destined to fail.
Would be amazing if you tried recreating some of their styles using vintage shopped clothing
That’s such a good idea! Thanks
Or try to replicate these vintage look with new clothes 🤔🙌
@@JamesLeung Looking forward for that socks over jeans and pyjama-vest looks 😅
Attended a private US high school in the early 2000s, and Jcrew was definitely one of the popular brands at the time (when we weren't in uniforms) - usually paired with Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Abercrombie, Perry Ellis, and Birkenstocks or Dr. Martens (in classic brown leather, not the crazy colors/materials today)... seeing tube socks with Birks come back definitely reminded me of hs. 😅 I remember guys getting either Jcrew or Banana Republic suits as their first "work" suits for college back then too. I haven't really gone for the brand after college; I feel the quality of materials and fit dropped and still hasn't gone back to what it was. Lots of fabrics blended with synthetics and lower quality cashmeres/wools now - there's definitely more competition today in the brand/retail space that can do it better for a similar or lower price. 10/10 for styling and aesthetics, though - I still have some of those old catalogs.
Check out old A & F catalogues. Like J.Crew but sexual. It's aboút the lifestyle not the buttons.
Love that they weren’t afraid to showcase their clothes in outfits that look kind of silly. Gives the impression that they’re go-to pieces, the first things you reach for whether you want to look put together or not.
Absolutely!!
This is probably the best video you´ve made so far. Well done!
Thank you! Enjoyed it very much 😊
Totally agree! Really unique amongst the fashion videos. Would absolutely love to see more.
Haha the down on the farm look! Great video man. Really enjoyed it
Hah the workwear trend has always been there! Thank you mate.
Brilliant...As a teenager of the 90's I vividly remember receiving these J. Crew catalogs (parodied by Seinfeld as J. Peterman) mailed to my older sister. I loved looking through them.
Although admittingly they weren't the style of clothing for most teenagers wore at the time and it was pricy. But yeah the pictures were great , everyone was having a good time and smiling in seemingly everyday life settings. I think a lot of other companies tried to emulate their catalogs. This is quite nostalgic . I remember going to a J. Crew store here in NYC at South Street Sea Port.
I can imagine they were thrilling! We didn’t have anything like that in the UK. Other brands Definitely tried emulating it but didn’t quite capture the same magic. Thanks for watching!
Love J. Crew, they’ve really made a huge comeback these days. The basics are perfect and reasonably priced if you catch a sale. Also the Wallace & Barnes workwear line is high quality, I have pieces that have lasted many many years with heavy use
I’ll definitely have to try them out! I’ll check that brand out, thanks for the suggestion 😊
J Crew and Banana Republic both in financial difficulty,but continuing on. j Crew also owns Madewell,which has excellent basics as well. I truly hope these brands survive,as they fit me extremely well off the rack. Love the catalogues!
Great to see them continuing even if they’re not as big as they once were. I’d love to get my hands on some of the catalogues!
James, I love your videos so much. Your calm, comfy yet very articulate demeanor is so smoothing to me. And your mindset which manifests in your style reviews is so close to mine. I don’t comment often, but I want you to know that you are a very dear friend and true inspiration. Thanks for your work.
This is one of the nicest comments I’ve ever had. Thanks so much, appreciate you a lot!!
This is my favourite video of yours James - been really getting into preppy/Ivy League stuff recently so this has come at a great time for me. These catalogues look perfect, would love to get my hands on some
Thank you mate! Yeah I’d love to get some as well, pure inspiration l!
This is one of the more interesting vidoes I've seen on your channel. I grew up during they heyday of J.Crew so it has a lot of resonance. That being said, I would very much enjoy any additional videos about other brands, what made them magical, and their mark on the fashion world. Thanks James.
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for watching! I’d love to do more videos like this as it was really interesting, do you have any suggestions?
Really loved this video. Mix of interesting story, well researched and well told, and of course the fantastic J Crew visuals is elite. Cracking stuff !
Thanks so much man, glad you enjoyed it!
I really enjoy your videos like these! Have you considered doing one on Ralph Lauren? I just discovered the brand and have been binging the runway shows. My favorites so far are autumn/winter 2022 and spring/summer 2023. The women’s and men’s styles were equally outstanding!
Loving this style of video bro, knits showing up is a bonus :)
Haha yes, will be going into more detail about that soon!
Dude is effortlessly rolling a joint. Talk about chic 😂😂😂
🤣
@@JamesLeung Isn't he looking at a shell or clam digging?
I think my favorite and beloved J Crew era was the 2002 to 2007. Their catalogs were beautiful and I wished I kept them. I didn’t care for the Jenna Lyons era but everything before that was so wonderful ❤
I read Maggie Bullock's book last year (and love it); your video was a really nice companion. Have been wearing J.Crew since my teen years and wish I'd kept those '90s catalogs.
That’s great, I need to pick it up! Yeah they’re beautiful catalogs I want to get some from eBay!
loved the video. gotta get my hands on some of those catalogs
Thank you! Yes I was thinking the same haha, lots on ebay!
These also really remind me of the Jack Wills Handbooks circa 2009-2011ish. See if you can find any images online and let me know if you agree
Totally! I totally forgot about Jack Wills existed haha. You’re spot on though. Hope you’re well mate!
@@JamesLeung really well, cheers! And enjoying the regular content from you as always buddy
Really interesting topic
Yeah I loved reading into it. Thanks for watching!
I got and held on to those catalogs like they were magazines... They definitely nailed the aspirational yet attainable style.
Do you still have them? Would be so cool if you did!
Thats somethig out of the box content yet very simple. Keep it up
Thank you for watching!
No worries that this video has less views. It is really great, one of my favourites!
Ahh thank you!! I loved making it
I would love to see a video on Brooks Brothers, another heritage American brand, and why not? Polo Ralph Lauren.
I remember being a teenager and pouring over the jcrew catalogue and mail ordering from them. Fun times.
Did you keep any??
Yes, more!🌷
🙏
Truly loved this video. Super interesting. Thank you!
Thanks so much for watching mate!
Great video, James. You always do a great job covering the heritage of an item, or in this case a company. I was a little surprised you didn’t mention the hiring of Brendon Babenzien, as the brand has kind of “reinvented” itself with products like their Giant fit chinos.
Thank you man! Oh I didn’t even think to mention that, I was too busy looking at their older pieces haha. Great point though, they’re certainly having a revival!
This is fascinating! Thanks for making- would love more like this 😊
Thank you! 🙏
I love J.crew. Touching on what you said about their bankruptcy, J.Crew in recent years became too preppy and in my opinion it was hard to find everyday basics, at least for me. It gives very much "Daddy's money on Daddy's yacht". The outlet version (or Factory store as they call it) I find is better in that sense. you have less options, but I've found better everyday staples there than at the ''real story".
This video especialy the catalogue give me ideas and inspiration as fashion enthusiast and a photographer with new perceptions creating styles..... And yes those vintages catalogues were gems dor those "effortless " Look and simple but attractibt color combo.....
Same here! They give me so much inspiration. Thanks for watching
Awesome! Loved it!
Thanks!
Please do more videos like this! 🙏
I’d love to!
love this style of video
Glad you liked it, thank you ☺️
J.Crew 👍🏾👍🏾💯⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jcrew is still a functional business despite the 2020 bankruptcy
I’m glad about that! Looks like they have greatly reduced their physical stores which is understandable. I like the look of their stuff!
@@JamesLeung yes they definitely took a hit as a company, but I’m also glad they’re in business because some products are still affordable, and the still have good designs occasionally!
I remembered being drawn to jCrew because I thought fitted clothes meant slim clothes on my slim frame.
Banger!
Thank you!
I think you found a niche in going over vintage catalogs!
Haha, it was a fun one!
Great video :), what’s the sweater you’re wearing?
Thank you! It’s from wings of liberty 👍
@@JamesLeung tyyy
What's the jumper you're wearing
It’s from wings of liberty, sold out now unfortunately
That was actually fire
Thank you!
What a lovely sweater you're wearing. Where is it from?
It’s from Wings of Liberty!
@@JamesLeung many thanks!!
Unconventional perhaps, but in a good way. Attention-grabbing, thoughtful, and very well put-together and presented imo, certainly gave me something to chew on 🙂
Thanks so much for the kind words!
What do you think about Abercrombies recent shift?
I really like it! How about you?
@@JamesLeung I like it, I think the cuts can be off sometimes though. The shirts are sometimes a bit too long. The wide pants can be either not wide at all or very wide. Overall I think they're my favorite brand of 2023
They went downhill after the creative director Jenna Lyons departed
Yes it seems so!
In the 1990s J Crew and Victorias Secret were the two catalogs you liked to see in the mailbox L0L
Haha for sure!
so white i had to put my shades on! ahahahhaha
😂
do you know who the photographer was?
for the next generation, bruce weber did something very similar ("hey, models, just play catch! don't even look at the camera"), although trying to be much sexier, for abercrombie.
Sorry I’m not sure! Sounds very similar though
@@JamesLeung abercrombie catalogues are fantastic, one day i'll have them all. there's a doc about them (about the brand) on netflix. the whole abercrombie thing is SUPER homoerotic, and it it jus just flew well above the alpha male types that use to buy there.
didn't j. crew come back from bankruptcy, even scoring an it item, the giant chinos?
Yep I believe you’re right!
@@JamesLeung big fit. like, literally.
@@JamesLeung i was browsing the site just the day before your video dropped, couldn't believe the coincidence - specially because you don't talk about this kind of stuff. to my dismay, they don't have shops in the uk, i was sure they did.
Yes, they came back in ‘21 or ‘22. They had really gone downhill around ‘17 or ‘18; quality really decline but prices stayed the same. They lost me as a customer until late last year, I had gone in, picked up a few items and it’s been my go-to ever since.
I thought the story was that Ralph Lauren was a rip off of JCrew, and then once Ralph Lauren became popular JCrew then copied their designs.
Well done. What might have helped was some instruction on how to buy a hoodie.
😘
It's funny. Here in America, they closed all of their brick and mortar stores and now, slowly, is the rise of the JCrew brick and mortar outlet store. Terrible quality, terrible fits, leaning into an Abercrombie market, I think...
That’s a shame to hear!
@@JamesLeung Postscript - The outlet by me just opened so I went to investigate. It's fine. It's plain. It's as if you told Old Navy to copy Banana Republic. Cheap price point, but all in that boxy American assless fit.
The downfall of J. Crews quality is something to be studied. They also took the route of having J.Crew factory stores which are seen as an outlet of items but in reality the clothes are cheaper and have less quality than the original brand. I the quality along side the “coastal elite” look declining a bit, they were destined to fail.
Ralph Lauren is still cooler. But they are very similar.
I mean, it’s not a competition. I love both brands but I don’t need to logo embroidered on all my clothes.
Charities got J crew items
Charities get items from everywhere.
would love more vids in this vein
I’ll definitely do some more! Thanks for watching