No Obselesence at J. Press.

posted by Michael Williams

Looking through these catalogs from 1958-1963 it is easy to see that not much has changed at J. Press. Back in 1958 a cotton Seersucker sportcoat was a good deal at $59.50. That very same sportcoat (or a similar style) is still offered today from J. Press for $395.00 ($296.25 if you factor in the sale that is currently going on). Now, if you adjust the 1958 price of $59.50 for inflation, the seersucker jacket would cost $433.62 in todays money. So the J. Press seersucker is beating inflation – sounds like a good investment to me.

It is interesting to see all of the two-button models that were offered way back when. Most people like to think that J. Press only sells Sack suits, but it is clear from these pictures that that is simply not the case.

All of the scans link to Flickr, once there click “all sizes” to see the hi-res versions.

Cool Cloth J. Press Suits

Seersuckers

Presstige English Worsted Tw0-Button Suits

Contemporary Two-Button J. Press Style

Two-Button Three-Piece Vested Suits

Contemporary Two-Button J. Press Style

Two-Button Three-Piece Vested Suits

J. Press Burberrys Tailored Clothes

Worsted-Weave Summer Suits

Comments on “No Obselesence at J. Press.”

    weejun on June 9, 2008 2:04 PM:

    excellent post

    Russell Street on June 9, 2008 3:18 PM:

    Inspiring as always.
    Two Button, three button, double-breasted…
    That’s the truth about this style at both Press & Brooks.
    Thanks –
    R.S.

    longsufferingtrad on June 9, 2008 5:48 PM:

    David Wilder said a while back that J Press began to offer more 3 button sacks as Brooks offered less. A good short term strategy perhaps, but somewhat limiting for the longer range.

    If Press sells it, I’ll consider buying it. 3 or 2 or 3 to 2. But misterman better be stylin cause now that I read a continuous lean I’m getting some wild ideas.

    Laguna Beach Trad on June 10, 2008 11:41 PM:

    Awesome post, as always. Where did the idea originate that Trads *only* wear 3/2 sacks? I wonder. Tradstyle is more diverse, I think, than some are willing to let on.

    longsufferingtrad on June 11, 2008 11:17 AM:

    The lapels on photos 4-8 are much broader than I would have expected for 1958-1963. I would have guessed 1973.

    Michael Williams on June 11, 2008 11:37 AM:

    LST,

    I agree and that makes me wonder if these are in fact from later than 1963. Although, there were a bunch of old catalogs at J. Press when I worked with them and these scans came from the same pile as the color scans that I posted earlier. So I assumed they are of the same era. I don’t ever remember even seeing any catalogs from the 70’s. So I’m fairly certain that these images aren’t post-1969.

    Regards,
    ACL

    Paul on July 25, 2008 12:42 PM:

    Great post. I still get J. Press catalogs in the mail. Things are bit more expensive, but still excellent quality (no chinese about it).

Comments are closed.