Heavy Tweed Jacket is doing some amazing stuff over here. His '97 J. Press catalog brought back plenty of memories with this sweat shirt banging 12 on the nostalgia meter. I had just started with Johnson & Higgins in Chicago and was in NYC to steal a client from my prior employer despite a non-compete -- The employer's in jail now so I guess we can talk.
I ran a booze, cigar and apparel gauntlet from my hotel, The Algonquin, straight east to the crusty & narrow JR Cigar for a thick cedar box of double-maduro robustos. Moving on through Brooks Brothers, where Marks and Sparks were doing their Anglican best to drive a stake through all that was golden-fleeced holy, the shoe department was always target rich for Alden cordovan on sale. A quick stop in Orvis where there was something fun (always) and (usually) a steal. Lastly, a final swing through the old J. Press before heading back to the hotel for a martini and a Marlboro with Mr Hoy.
I paid $45 for this sweat shirt and caught huge grief from the 'Echo Xray' who said it looked "cheesy." I suppose it does -- Which is why I wore it every chance I got. No longer available, one can only hope J. Press can get out of its own way and bring the sweat shirt back. Nobody knows what it is which is half the fun of wearing it. Someone in Chicago asked me if I graduated from Press. I did a spit take then -- but today, I like to think I did.
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"Actually, I got kicked out of Press for night putting. But they scooped me up at Exeter to be on their lightweight billiards team."
Tool.
Tintin, Thanks for the kind words and link. I'm glad that you kept that old sweatshirt. It seems to have a lot of memories attached to it. It is, perhaps, not inappropriate during Holy Week to recall what Augustine said about the passing of time - that though the past no longer exists we have access to it through the persistence of memory. There are many times I wish this were not true, such as several ill-advised tie purchases that are buried on the closet tie rack. These ties resurface, painfully, from time to time. Perhaps I keep them to remind myself that care needs to be taken around the tie display. Not surprisingly, these ties remain almost new and free of wear, spots and memories, unlike my favorites that are well-worn witnessing to many memories. That J. Press sweatshirt would be great for early AM walks with the dog. I have a feeling my dog would wag his tail and head for the front door every time I put it on. Great post.
I never would have thought that holy week could be so inspiring.
If Press should reissue it, it may not have a happy result. I have a similar story regarding the revival of an iconic brand up here called Beaver Canoe that was big when I was in high school.
Long story short, BC was a brand put out by Roots relating to a legendary canoeist named Omer Stringer. The brand disappeared for nearly 20 years but I noticed it again when Roots announced they were reissueing a BC hoodie. I would have gladly bought one until I discovered in the shop that it had been made overseas out of the crapppiest fleece possible, rather than the heavy grade jersey of the original.
I would have been happy to pay twice the price for the real thing to honour the legacy and ethos of Omer but Roots just had to pimp it out to a new generation of kids with no connection or even knowlege of the man and his craft. It really was a sad day when I saw that cheap rag in the Roots shop. I felt like writing a letter to the Roots execs to express my displeasure but I stopped myself. After all, pimps just don`t care about this stuff.
I like the way you write.. Keep posting :)
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