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| Some Photographs From Our Archives |
Fred Johnson sent me this note this morning: "J Press's Building on York Street has been determined to be structurally unsafe and closed today by the New Haven Building Department. There have been structural issues for some time and I think they have been planning to relocate somewhere else in the city."
This was echoed in the story, "New Haven clothing store J. Press deemed unsafe due to snowfall", in the New Haven Register.
I first wrote about my experiences in the New Haven store in this entry: Recollections of J. Press and my Father, which still remains one of my favorite.
I am sure there are many, many people with vivid memories of their experiences in this landmark.
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| Although the dreadful York Street collection was an ominous sign for the future of J. Press, the idea that they would no longer occupy the same location, to which I have been going since I was a small child, is even more so. |
44 comments:
It's always sad when a part of our childhood is lost. Hopefully they will be able to repair or relocate to a building that has some historical heritage. I really do hate to see old buildings torn down.
There is always Cambridge MA ...
It truly "squeezes" my J. Squeeze heart. Remembrance of Lost Times. Goodbye to all that----Richard
The little shopping bag is cute. I don't often use the word "cute". I've never been to the store; live in the midwest. I'm sure they're smart enough to make their new quarters reasonably resemble the old ones, can appreciate the value of aesthetic continuity, particularly relevant to the goods they sell.
Word of a possible relocation brings up all kinds of feelings for me, the Great Granddaughter of Jacobi Press. As a child, I would visit my Grandfather, Paul Press at the store. The routine was a long hello to all the ladies in the back room and an obligatory height measurement against the aged wood walls. My growth was tracked on the walls and my childhood memories are forever linked to York Street. Thanks for this post, Muffy!
-Jen Press
I am heartbroken. As one of your other readers mentioned, it was part of the childhood of so many of us who grew up in Connecticut in the 1950's and 60's. I cherish the memory of my trips to J. Press with my father, followed by a visit to his favorite record store across the street (name of which one of your other readers will have to supply) to listen to new recordings in a soundproof booth before he decided which to purchase. We'd have lunch together at his Yale College, Timothy Dwight.
To Whom It May Concern, The building was “determined structurally unsafe” by whom? Some city employee, or a competent structural engineer? I have not shopped at that particular J. Press store (only New York and Washington, DC stores) so I have no fond memories and/or no emotional attachment to the store in Question. In any event, I’d get the whole story before getting too busted up over its certain demise. I’d start with recommending to the owner of the building, if any of you who care and might know him/her, to have it inspected by a professional such as Joe Salvia of McNamara/Salvia, Inc. (http://www.mcsal.com) of Boston. He is the best in the business. I’ve seen some pretty old building resurrected – just takes time and money. Anyway, just a friendly FYI…
@Age Of Style - Hi Jen! Not only am I am honored by your comment, but also am happy to have the opportunity to say that we adore your father.
In response to Brad Cole's comment I believe it is more than just the state of the building. What jumped out at me is the sentence in the article that they were planning to move anyway.
Unfortunately, I have not been to the original store. Sad that that will never happen. But as you mention of the 'dreadful' York st collection, perhaps sadder so that said collection was released. I was initially very excited about it, but upon going to the York st store in West Village this past weekend I left with a very unfavorable taste in my mouth; it was like J. Press was trying to be J. Crew; worst case scenario.
I remember all of the great stores in our "downtown" in the area I grew up in. Sadly, they are no more, they all moved to the "maul" and eventually closed when the mom and pop's could no longer compete with the dreadful chains. Losing pieces of childhood, no matter how small or silly, always seems to resonate with people of all ages. Going downtown with my parents and grandparents to shop was a wonderfully special experience, one to which "mauls" cannot compare. Hopefully J. Press can relocate quickly, and close by! --Holly in PA
I shop at the J. Press shop in Cambridge and always recommend their services to friends in need of a suit or blazer. It has become ever more true that you get what you pay for. True customer service is such a pleasure to experience.
I wish J. Press well in finding a new location in New Haven.
I've never been to that particular store (though I have been to the new York and Cambridge locations on several occasions), but I can definitely empathize with the concept of things experienced and then lost. The feeling that you hold in yourself a piece of culture that will forever be unknown to a subsequent generation. But hey...isn't that the human experience?
Feeling retrospective in this Lenten season.
KMG (New Orleans native)
Very sad. Both the news about this landmark, and the York collection...
Thanks for the pics Muffy! That is a destination that I hope that I will get to visit one day.
Sad for this Harvardian. The DC store is in fine shape.
Too bad. The New Haven shop had the lived-in patina that pretenders to the throne seek (and fail) to replicate. And York Street is such a great location -- somehow quiet while being in the midst of campus and right off of main thoroughfares. Here's hoping their new location is close by.
As for "York Street", you're right--it's dreadful, and Press should be ashamed for such a cynical attempt to cash in on a trend years after competitors entered the market. (RL's Rugby came and went before York St. even got off the ground!) The lack of authenticity is made plain by York Street's flaghip location: on Bleeker Street.
I had never heard of J. Press until I read about it here. Based on Muffy's recommendations & pictures and the favorable comments from readers, I've always assumed this was a wonderful establishment where people could still buy traditional, well made clothes.
However, I was surprised and horrified when I noticed their advertisement in the NY Times Styles section this past weekend. It featured a young man wearing a bright orange, plastic looking jacket/coat. The thing was truly hideous and I cannot imagine where someone would wear it. If this is the direction J. Press is going, then we may be witnessing the beginning of the end.
Apologies to Jen Press because I know what it's like to see a family business evolve into something entirely different from what it was in the past.
*sara*
Yale is constantly growing and like all city campuses, is pressed for space.
That block of York St is right in the center of things. The J.Press building and it's neighbors will certainly be re-built or repaired and taken over for college use.
In my 70+ years, I have witnessed the loss of so many quality family-owned businesses. It's so nice to do business with people you've known for years.
Hopefully the store/buiding will be saved.
Thanks for the news. A pleasure to see the photos.
What do people think about the shorter jackets that are now being sold? I haven't bought a suit or a sport jacket in 5 or 6 years. I wonder whether I look like a relic from a previous decade. But the shorter jackets look cutesy-poo to me.
@Anonymous 2:08 - We were very surprised last spring (and not in a good way) when we set out to replace a Navy blazer to find that they had shrunk all of theirs. We ended up having to size up to get the length and then have Tony work his magic to make the rest of it fit. And this wasn't even the York Street collection.
Your 2:20 above reminds me, Muffy:
Why are all the makers putting these eeky little pipestem sleeves and no-room shoulders on women's jackets, sweaters & shirts? BB is one of the worst offenders. I am hardly a "big" girl, but I'm fit and outdoorsy and I can NOT wear these clothes--they fit like a shrunken postage stamp! Someone needs to tell these folks ladies move around these days a little more vigorously than just sitting there like the Dowager Countess clipping the crusts off of our watercress sandwiches!
@Greenfield - I could not agree with you more. I don't like the way they look, they are terribly uncomfortable and as you say, one cannot move in them. I was thinking this just recently as I was driving by the L.L. Bean corporate complex in Freeport. In many cases the people designing their women's clothing spend all day in this very "comfortable" environment - not out of doors.
In the meantime I go for the unisex items.
I agree completely with Greenfield's comments about the cut of women's clothing these days. I recently ordered sweaters from BB in my usual size. When I got them, they looked and fit like they'd been washed in hot water and dried on high heat! I exchanged them for a size up, and though they now fit, there is still something odd that I can't quite pinpoint about the fit. I think Muffy is right -- these clothes are being designed by people who don't spend much time moving around like real women!
Were they ordered to close immediately due to safety concerns?
@ Muffy 2:20 pm
Thanks for your reply. That is an interesting solution that I hadn't thought of.
It is clear that the J. Press commenters/crowd (not necessarily customers) are like the old opera crowd...horrified that some new director/conductor would re imagine Carmen or the Ring or whatever... hatefully post disparagement (no surprise) on blogs/sites such as this.
It is also clear to me at least that Press in the US needs to evolve or die. Most people I know in the fashion biz would like to see Press survive and prosper. Most everyone likes J. Press and what it sells but few Press lovers actually support the stores with more than the occasional watchband or ribbon belt purchase. The math is not optimistic for Press, so not wanting to die, they evolve. Sometimes there are hits, sometimes misses. Rarely do I hear posts disparage the giant RL's many misses or any others in such singular ways as do those who hate on dinky J. Press and simply can not stand an orange rain jacket.
Horror.
I see you have included a picture of Tony, who is now the only tailor on premises. Talk to Tony and you will discover that Press had 30 tailors in the York Street building and 20 more across the street at another location....30 years ago. Now there is 1. Who is to blame for that? Press? Order a suit today and the same man who made the suit "back when" will make it for you now. My hope is that more supporters get on board and the haters go whine about something else. J. Press is a heavy and noble brand, and as near royal as anything else out there. An epic American institution in a rickety old building in much need of repair. The building will be repaired and the brand will live on with or without you.
After being a big fan of this blog, and someone who likes menswear on women, I walked in the NYC store and asked if I could try on their chambray and oxford shirts in the smallest size available. I was turned away. Is this something that's normally not done, women wanting to try on the shirts? Or do women actually want to, and the salespeople just say no?
It's a pity that JPress have to be reloacted as I can view it as an institution/landmark in New Haven. I've not visited this store but hope to visit it someday when I've the opportunity. I've bought the JPress Trim Fit Blazer and I size it up from size 38R to 40R. I'm on taken up by the York St collection but I do understand that they've to target a younger audience. As for me, I'll stick to the JPress collection and wish them the best in driving York St.
@ Bedrock:
The opera analogy misses the mark. An example which better illustrates what J. Press "was" about would be a pianist who says, "You know, Beethoven's Tempest sonata is great, but it's been around for so long that I think it's time to update the main theme. So, when I play it tonight in concert, I think I'll modify the primary theme so that it's more hip." Just as you can't modify Beethoven without destroying it, you cannot "update" J. Press without the same result. Why? Because J. Press was never about "fashion," or the "fashion biz," as you put it. RL, on the other hand, is. It's now almost 40 years since my father fist introduced me to J. Press (the 44th St. shop). Back then, a typical customer might have been a B-17 pilot or a guy who hit the beach on D-Day. That's what is disappearing along with J. Press. This country doesn't need another "hip joint" where "kidults" can buy "stuff." But it sure as hell is in need of retaining the stuff that J. Press and it clients were made of.
A.E.W. Mason
The New Haven Press was already going to be temporarily moved to a new location because the building required renovations. Onward (the company that owns Press) already agreed to the renovations, which will now have to be done earlier. So Press will move back to its old location, after about a year in the wilderness. So don't worry, Muffy: You'll have your New Haven J. Press back.
If all of us who want the old style clothes to continue being produced and sold by companies like J Press,we need to do one thing........... SPEND money on these styles,lots of money on a continuing basis
To continue my thoughts from above.Those who take pride in never buying anything from our favorite venders for full price,consider the fact that if we do not all support these companies and the wonderful clothes that they sell, they will not be here in there current form in a very short time!!
This is just in response to Anonymous at 7:28 & 8:30 a.m. You might be a new reader but you are are preaching the choir. The majority of readers here seem to support small businesses and recognize quality when they see it.
*sara*
Actualy Sara, what I tring to get across was the idea that Yankee frugalness is not what will keep companies like J Press selling what we all like. Maybe a lot of overspending from thousands of us will help. Thats all.
Yes, that's a good point but J. Press has always managed to stay in business despite Yankees being frugal. Perhaps frugal means different things to different people but being frugal doesn't necessarily mean buying something on sale, does it?
*sara*
J Press did business when hundreds of thousands of cheap Yankees bought there clothes there each year. My father had a closet full of J Press and Brooks Bros. suits which he in herited from his father.He also only bought when things were on sale.He was frugal-cheap. The poeple who will buy Press york Street clothing will probably buy a new wardrobe whenever the style changes. Even if that is every year.I am not trying to make a big point here, only that the more is spent on the style that most here like, the more likly that it will survive. It really is not very likely that it will for long. we are dinosaurs in a modern world.
I'm curious what others think. Are we seeing the terminal demise of the high-quality, traditional US clothing makers? Most seem to agree that LL Bean and BB are not what they once were. Now long-time customers fear that JPress may eventually go in the same route. Will new US firms sprout to take their place? Will people turn to European makers as the next-best thing? It's reading tea leaves, of course, but I'm wondering what people expect, looking ahead.
Sorry to see the true "York Street" store go - visited the past 4 years in December to pick up some things at the Christmas sale. It was a great space for all their wares.
To Muffy and anybody else - I got the email this morning with their clearance sale - up to 70% off, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the CREMIEUX TROUSERS - they seem to be on pretty steep markdown...
If York Street is what J. Press has to do to stay alive then good for them for taking the bull by the horns. As long as their classic items remain steady and true to the original vision then no one is harmed and it's better than going under completely.
Having said that, I used to work for one the companies mentioned from time to time on this blog (not J. Press). Whenever the owners tried to do something fresh and new the older clientele didn't like it and the younger clientele always thought the result was trying too hard to be cool while missing the mark. It's a tricky thing to manage.
"unsafe" or prime location for a building 'upgrade' - my guess is the latter. This has become a common tactic for aggressive developers.
I can guarantee it will be replaced by something bigger..
Thank you for these lovely photos. I am from the New Haven area and no longer live there. Lots of fond memories passing through by J Press and reveling in all its Preppy glory.
One of the above commentators stated what I have read. The store was scheduled for temporary closure and structural renovations this year. the storm exacerbated the structural issues and was deemed unsafe by city inspectors. The Japanese owners have been careful to oprotect the herutage of the brand. It apparently has an enormous following in Japan, far more popular than here in the States, for some interesting cultural reasons that date back to the American occupation after the war. I will bet some money that JPress will return to York Street in New Haven before too long.
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