J.Crew
J.Crew
J.Crew, a brand of sportswear started in 1983, added a new dimension to casual dress in America. The brand's catalog—which in 1994 was mailed in eighteen "issues" with a circulation of four million copies per issue—presented J.Crew clothing in photographs that illustrated a particular lifestyle. Models were not pictured in standard poses against standard backgrounds as they had been in department-store catalogs for years. Instead, J.Crew models were pictured making Thanksgiving dinner with "family," spending a day at the beach, playing croquet at a garden party, or lounging in a city loft apartment.
The catalog pictures promoted more than the clothes—stonewashed jeans (see entry under 1950s—Fashion in volume 3), T-shirts (see entry under 1910s—Fashion in volume 1), and roll-neck sweaters; indeed, they promoted an approach to life. Many young adults, college students, and early career professionals adopted the J.Crew look as their own in the 1980s and 1990s. By 2002, the brand had become worth over $800 million.
—Sara Pendergast
For More Information
jcrew.com.http://www.jcrew.com (accessed March 30, 2002).
Rudolph, Barbara. "The Chic Is in the Mail." Time (July 17, 1989): p. 74.