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subscribe to style file blog via RSSJ.Crew For Mad Men
August 24, 2010 3:18 pm
This morning, J.Crew opened the doors at its latest Men’s Shop on a northerly stretch of Madison Avenue. The store is the latest in J.Crew’s experiments with curated-to-the-hilt menswear boutiques, following on the heels of its Tribeca Liquor Store and Soho Suit Shop. Some of its just-so stock—like a wide selection of obscure Japanese menswear magazines and atmospheric Smiths 7″ records—seem a little out of place on the Upper East Side (though given that many of those Tokyo-based publications have made a fetish of the preppy lifestyle, perhaps it’s just a case of things coming full circle).
The label’s nattier clothing and accessories options, on the other hand, feel like a much more natural fit. The Fall ‘10 J.Crew collection was one of the strongest yet, and it’s bolstered here by uptown-only exclusives. Those include luggage and accessories from Swaine Adeney Brigg (including a flask-handled umbrella—who said anything about water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink?), shoes from England’s Crockett & Jones, vintage Levi’s, and a cashmere version (here for the first time) of the best-selling Ludlow suit. (Menswear creative director Frank Muytjens was wearing the jacket as he toured goggle-eyed editors around the space today.) The inspiration for the two-story space, with its knotty pine walls and moldings, was a centuries-old farm in the Swiss Alps. I got more “cabin in the woods” than “chalet on the slopes,” but maybe I’m just more of a downtown guy, more familiar with the liquor stores (and Liquor Store) of the world. Uptown, they know from ski retreats.
J.Crew Men’s Shop, 1040 Madison Ave., NYC, www.jcrew.com.
tags: Frank Muytjens, J.Crew
