Photo by Muffy Aldrich
The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Sunday, March 26, 2023

The New Yorker Review of “The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J. Crew”

A reader sent this review, written by New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu, of the book “The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J. Crew.”

One of my earlier statements on this blog was " J. Crew is a company that non-preppy people think of as preppy.  J. Crew was born out of opportunistic marketing towards people 'from away' rather than any DNA forged in producing great clothes."  

This has saved me some time over the years, as it has allowed me to assume anyone who conflates J. Crew with preppy is safe to ignore.  However, others may find this article, and the referenced book, useful and/or entertaining.
J. Crew's prowess was in marketing to people 'from away', including using Wheeler Island (which is amongst the islands that five generations of my family grew up spending time on and around and shown in this picture I took back in the late 1980s) for one of their earliest catalog covers.  

...And Wheeler Island from last week.  


15 comments:

  1. J Crew was ok when Mickey Drexler was in charge

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  2. J. Crew was never preppy. I can't believe some editor greenlit a whole book on this.

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  3. Thanks for sharing this great read. I worked at J. Crew in the Drexler/Lyons/Muytjens era as a freelance set and window display builder. Over long days of painting or setting up showrooms in their HQ, I'd see them from time to time going over designs, and occasionally hear Mickey Drexler's intercom musings and encouragements broadcast to the offices. It was quite a fun job, even if the hours were irregular. J. Crew might have been a contrived imitation from the start, but they're now 40 years old. At this point they're only imitating themselves.

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  4. Hard to believe they lasted as long as they have!

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    1. Two things: 1. A lot of their competition is gone, 2. Heavy discounting

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  5. Is Wheeler Island the same island where John Archibald Wheeler had his place? I visited there in the 1980s but I remember it being bigger.

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  6. I agree completely with your "earlier statement". Yet, when my son was at Groton in the early oughts, it was the most popular source of student clothing...students (or families) whom you'd not have expected to embrace the brand.

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  7. It's fair to say J. Crew isn't preppy overall, especially in its later, trendier incarnation. But traditional dressers have always been able to find useful pieces there; I don't think it needs to be a target of comprehensive disdain. My 18-year-old son has taken to wearing my old J. Crew barn jacket, which needs some buttons replaced but has held up well through almost 30 years. And I've more recently bought some decent J. Crew chinos.

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  8. Thank God for the review, which spared me from having to read the book.

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  9. I wear a pair of their patchwork madras shorts and a pair of their khakis (frayed cuffs, knock-around trousers) that are at least 20 years old each. They're good quality. I haven't shopped there in years.

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    1. The quality has fallen off significantly since the 80s/90s. They use terrible fabric blends and every sweater seems to pill on the first wearing. I've given up on them.

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  10. I recommend the Instagram page LostJCrew. Lots of terrific posts and comments from designers and other JC staffers. In the 80s and 90s they had some great items made in USA, England, and Italy. Quality, reasonably priced, classic clothes.

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  11. The list of companies who have kept Ivy/trad/prep relevant to the mass American public- the public that shops at malls and isn't measuring the length of the collar points on their button downs - over the past 30 years or so isn't long. It's L.L. Bean, J. Crew, and maybe Orvis.

    J. Crew has been a tremendous force in maintaining the cultural relevance of traditional post-war American clothing. Without them I think joggers and hoodies would have already fully overtaken the American aesthetic.

    And sure, J. Crew doesn't nail all the details internet clothes horses love to obsess over. But take a look at their marketing from last fall (the best they've done in a decade), and I think most of us will see the Ivy/trad/prep aesthetic influence pretty clearly.

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  12. Wow. Contempt like that isn't very preppy.

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  13. Jcrew has been inner city for decades.. That said the chinos used to be decent

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