J.Crew's lucrative new market: Men who want to dress like men

Where did classic clothing go? When did the standards become niche?

All J.Crew had to do was offer the standards. Just bring them back. No frills. No extra synthetic garbage added. Just give us the classics.

When did the basics become so hard to find that you could only get your hands on them if you were brave enough to venture down some dark alley on a cold rainy night? Next to the dumpster, past the broken-down truck, there’s a small window. Don’t tell anyone.

“You got OCBDs? What’s the collar roll like?”

“I’m looking for wide-wale cords. I haven’t seen them in years.”

“What do I owe you?”

This is what it was like. Well, you didn’t really lurk down a dark alley on a rainy night, but you did need to know where to look, and it wasn’t easy. It was off the beaten path. Over the years, it became a Herculean task just to get your hands on a pair of 100% cotton chinos with no stretch added. Is that so much to ask? As company after company moved toward athleisure and synthetic, stretchy slop, the standards became an endangered species.

J.Crew seizes the day

Amidst all this, there was an opportunity waiting for the right company to come along and bring back the classics. The formula would be simple. Offer them straight. Offer them standard. Offer them at some kind of reasonable price. There was a $100 bill sitting on the ground just waiting for someone to pick it up. J.Crew grabbed it.

Before J.Crew decided to seize the day, it was struggling.

Five years ago, the company had strayed far from its original mission. It was lost. Its clothing was unimpressive and uninspiring.

But over the past couple of years, J.Crew has been in the process of rehabilitating its brand and bringing back the classics slowly but surely. It is returning to its roots. It is returning to tradition.

The J.Crew golden era was the mid-'80s through the '90s. There is a fantastic Instagram account — @lostjcrew — that posts photos exclusively from the catalogs released during this glorious era. It’s a perfect aesthetic archive. Take some time and compare the photos on @lostjcrew with the photos in J.Crew’s new advertising campaigns. The connection is clear as day.

Young people running on the beach. The waves crashing on the shore. A cottage, sand, waves, style. The beautifully down-to-earth imagery that characterized the golden era of J.Crew lives again. Simple, classic, American style. The dark ages have been deleted. New J.Crew is old J.Crew.

OCBDs: Against the slim-fit menace

Peruse J.Crew, and you will be pleasantly surprised. It currently offers a giant-fit Oxford shirt. The sizing reminds you of those beautiful roomy-fit Oxford cloth button-downs that were everywhere in the '90s. An oversized yoke that falls off your shoulders. Worn untucked with jeans on a Saturday afternoon. They disappeared one day, and slim fit took over. Grim. Bringing back the full-fit Oxford OTR is a clear rejection of the totalitarian slim-fit menace.

Choice chinos

When it comes to chinos, J.Crew currently offers six different fit options. Skinny, slim, athletic tapered, straight, classic, giant. The classic fit and the giant fit are the interesting offerings. These are the options to keep your eye on. These are the return pieces. These full-cut chinos give us what we have been waiting for: classic-fit chinos with no stretch offered at a reasonable price.

Sweater swagger

The sweater selection is robust. Preppy colors. Simple, beautiful, cashmere crewnecks. Chunky cotton knits. It offers a shocking number of sport coats. It even has a 3 roll 2. Rugby jerseys. 100% cotton polo shirts. Earthy barn jackets and suede penny loafers made by Alden. This is classic. This is standard. This is great. This is the kind of clothing that should be easy to find off the rack.

Is everything perfect at J.Crew? Of course not. You can always find something wrong. It’s easy to be a critic of everything and everyone.

The collar points aren’t long enough. The pants aren’t made in the USA. The rise isn’t high enough on the chinos. Okay, fine. Whatever. Perfection isn’t the point. It’s not going to happen. Forget it. Let it go. It’s about direction. That’s what all life is about. J.Crew is making clear moves in the right direction. It is offering the old classics again. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

It has decided to lean hard into the '90s throwback, and it is working. The styling in the ads is relaxed, nonchalant, and comfortable. The imagery is beautiful and aspirational. Joyful and nostalgic.

Permanent style

In a recent Instagram post titled “Chinos Through the Generations,” J.Crew fully embraces the intergenerational nature of classic style — handed down from father to son. The photos look like they could have been taken 30 years ago. This is all very intentional. The entire J.Crew Instagram account is becoming almost indistinguishable from the @lostjcrew account. Nature is healing.

Who knows how long this trajectory will last? Trends are fickle. Two years, five years, or 20 years. Who knows? However long it lasts, it is a welcome development and an encouraging sign. J.Crew was down for the count for a while. To see a brand come back in such a strong way should give us hope. Other makers who are currently going through their dark ages may too come back again one day. It’s not over till it’s over.

The formula was so simple. So easy. All J.Crew had to do was offer the standards. Just bring them back. No frills. No extra synthetic garbage added. Just give us the classics. The nostalgia. The '90s. That’s what it did. It picked up a $100 bill.