J.Crew, the quintessential clothing label is so much more than apparel. It’s been the go-to fashion pieces from its roll-top sweater to sequined ballet flats for around 40 years now. Starting off as a catalog, it has morphed into a collection of brick and mortar stores, a popular internet presence, and seemed to reach its apex during the Obama administration with fashion retail icons like Mickey Drexler and Jenna Lyons at the helm. But what is the exact story of J.Crew? Fortunately, fashion journalist, Maggie Bullock gives us the skinny in her extensive book The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew.
It was the early 1980s, and being preppy was all the rage. Lisa Birnbach’s The Preppy Handbook was a huge bestseller (didn’t matter it was satire). Muffy and Chip were layered in polo shirts (often with popped collars) and had dock siders on their feet. Being a prep was all about the Ivy League and being a total WASP. And even if you went to a state university and your last name was Esposito you could still look like a prep. All it took was the right uniform.
Like today, preppy clothes weren’t exactly hard to find. You could find khaki trousers and polo shirts at places like LL Bean and Land’s End. And if you were looking for a more elevated and stylish, and not too mention much more expensive fashion of prep, there was Ralph Lauren.
Arthur Cinader, already a successful business man with his catalog Popular Club Plan, was inspired by the whole preppy style and look, and wanted to offer a happy medium between lower priced brands like LL Bean and Land’s End and pricier fair like Ralph Lauren. Thus, in 1983, he created J.Crew and offered clothing for men and women with a preppy flair. It didn’t matter Cinader had no experience in fashion, and J.Crew’s earliest company was located in the very unglamorous New Jersey. Cinader had the entrepreneurial prowess and know-how to make J.Crew work. Arthur’s daughter, Emily, soon joined J.Crew after graduating from the University of Denver with a degree in marketing. It was Emily’s classic and fresh-faced style that helped hone J.Crew’s look and image. And no, there is no person named J.Crew. It’s made up.
Slowly and surely, J.Crew became very successful soon after its debut. It’s catalog was a welcome sight in shopper’s mailboxes and J.Crew’s rolled neck sweater became a must-have. Even writer, Bullock claims to have coveted a rolled neck sweater herself. J.Crew’s catalogs featured attractive and athletic models, both female and male, often doing something quite sporty rather than posing like soulless mannequins. And J.Crew hit the big time when they booked the top supermodel, Linda Evangelista, for their catalog.
J.Crew went from strength to strength. It expanded to include actual brick and mortar stores, and Cinader was quite exacting in how he wanted his stores to look like. J.Crew moved its location from New Jersey to the much more fashionable New York City. However, by the 1990s, J.Crew was failing to keep up the pace. This was when Cinader decided to sell 90% of it to a private equity firm. This did not help for many of the CEOs brought along didn’t exactly jibe with J.Crew’s unique vision and image.
However, help was on the way. Mickey Drexler, who had a great deal of success with The Gap, was brought on as CEO. And the fashion icon, Jenna Lyons (now on The Real Housewives of New York), was brought on as womenswear director. Combined, these two brought a J.Crew resurgence in the 2000s. Jenna, especially, gave J.Crew a new twist. Though J.Crew was still preppy, it was preppy with a twist. Jenna gave us sequined ballet flats and bold statement necklaces. Michelle Obama was a big fan of J.Crew. She wore their gloves on inauguration day in 2009, and her daughters, Malia and Sasha, were adorably outfitted in J.Crew’s children’s line CrewCuts. In fact, when it was found out that the Obamas were J.Crew fans, the company’s website crashed the day after Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States.
Of course, J.Crew has had it’s ups and downs since then, and has also been embroiled in juicy gossip regarding Jenna Lyon’s love life. And Bullock goes into great detail chronicling every stellar moment of J.Crew and as well as its lower moments. Bullock is clearly a lover of both fashion and fashion history, and she clearly did her homework when researching the history of J.Crew, fashion, retail, and the preppy lifestyle. I learned so much about J.Crew and I really appreciated all the fabulous photographs with the book. In fact, I wish there were more. And now I’m hankering for a J.Crew rolled neck sweater.
The Kingdom of Prep is a knowledgeable and interesting read for anyone who is a fan of J.Crew or interested in the business of fashion and retailing.
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