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Hi everyone, welcome back to The Ivy Letter Frayed Collar. The name change still feels so weird — glad to be moving forward, but it still gives me pause every time I see the new getup.
J. Crew just launched its A/W 2023 lookbook, and seeing as they’re a fan-favorite, I thought I’d break down what I like from it. Doing these breakdowns is always a treat, so expect a few more of them as our favorite brands continue to release their fall lookbooks.
Brendon Babenzien, J. Crew’s current menswear director (and Supreme alum & owner/founder of prep-inspired streetwear brand Noah) has done some really great work for the crew so far, especially in terms of re-introducing some of the subtleties of menswear that got forgotten during the slim-fit-everything era.
Last year’s (Babenzien’s debut) A/W offerings were really great, spurring many publications to declare that J. Crew was back — this year’s lookbook continues to build on that momentum and includes some tasteful callbacks to many of the prep/ivy details we all know and love.
The Good
Last year’s big item was the giant fit chino. We finally broke the hold of slim fit over the male populace, only for the pendulum to slam itself in the opposite direction at mach 5 — people were unironically wearing JNCOs for a good couple of months (before realizing they looked like idiots).
Thankfully, we’re RETVRNing to more regular/straight fits. Who woulda thought that the middle ground would look best?
Anyway, this caption was supposed to meander to this year’s item being the giant-fit oxford. Some really solid details here, namely a vastly-improved collar roll. J. Crew is known for having some of the wimpiest collars in the game, so really anything would be a vast improvement. Still, the promo pics look promising.
Also note a box pleat WITH a locker loop (hell yeah), double pleats on the cuffs, and a button on the back of the collar (hell no). Interested to see how the fit plays out for these - my favorite-fitting shirts are J. Crew’s slim oxfords (where I size up one size to an XL), so hopefully the TTS giant-fit works well.
I’m also holding out hope for some more giant fit corduroy products. Cords should be nearly comical in their sizing imo, so it’s a perfect fit.
The details on this Italian cotton brushed suit are ripped straight from Take Ivy. Unstructured, a 3/2 roll, patch pockets, and are those swelled seams? Looks fantastic as a piece that’s actually meant to be used instead of mere decoration for the one time a year that you actually need to wear a suit.
I think this is fun and it’s a solid step towards making tailoring accessible. It really seems that there’s lots of guys (even outside of our menswear niche) that want to dress up and wear suits, etc., but are either immediately browbeaten by people whose obsession over details borders on compulsion, or they get talked down by being made to feel embarrassed for trying.
There’s a really small window of opportunity to make suiting cool again, and this is hitting it in my opinion. Compare to the recent (failed) attempts of some brands to try and make suiting a streetwear/skating statement.
The Kenmare Italian corduroy DB suit also looks great. Wide (for J. Crew) peak lapels really elevate this one for me.
Ludlow Irish Wool Polo Coat - no notes here, really cool coat. I hope it makes its way to the sale section next summer so I can snag one at 50% off lol.
Also this model looks a lot like Lea Seydoux
This coat seems like it won’t be for sale, which is a damn shame. Vintage J. Crew barn jacket. They are offering this chore jacket from their Wallace & Barnes collection though - I have a blue one from a couple years ago that is really well-made.
That said, these suede ropers in partnership with Hambleton are hella cool. I have absolutely no use for cowboy boots but I really want these guys.
The Interesting
Western yoke wool overshirt with suede patches looks really cool. Not sure who the market is for this stuff, but it feels like every fashion brand is trying to shoehorn western stuff into their catalogue recently.
Looks like they’re making their own trench coat. Trenches are a cool heritage piece but seem to exist more as a concept than something to actually be worn. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve seen a trench in real life (the trench coat flasher trope obviously hasn’t helped this).
Pretty decent-looking harrington with a paisley corduroy shirt. Perhaps a couple of pieces to monitor.
Trying a little too hard to bring back the 70’s with this one, but it’s fine overall.
The Ugly
This sweater vest is so bad. If I see someone wearing this in public I’m mugging them (this is a joke for legal reasons 🙄).
”I’m really into dungeons and dragons”-ass fit
POV: You’re seconds away from hearing the word “intersectionality“ 30+ times
Anoraks in general are really cool pieces, but this one sucks ass.
As always, thanks for sticking around and listening to my thoughts about clothing.
I’d love to hear your thoughts/comments on this lookbook, so feel free to comment here or drop me a DM on Instagram.
Until next time!
That one sweater gives off Freddie Krueger vibes
After ignoring J. Crew for about 8 years (they got into an ugly "we're Uniqlo but...not" phase) it's great to see some real character and life back into the clothes. A thought that's occurred to me is how much inspiration they seem to be pulling from Drake's these days.