Sperry Topsider Authentic Originals for J Crew

A couple of years ago I was at a thrift store in Decatur, perusing their wares, and came across a pair of Sperry Topsider Authentic Originals. They appeared to be nearly unworn, and were my size, so I picked them up. You can see a picture of them above, from a previous blog post.

In comparing them Sperry's current offerings, it was clear that they were not a style that was currently available. They were most similar to the Sahara color that was being offered, but, in my opinion, there was something about them that made them superior. Maybe it's the gold eyelets or maybe it's the fact that the leather develops a great patina, but I love those shoes and have worn the heck out of them (I wore them today, in fact). I've always hoped that Sperry would release them again, but so far, I've been out of luck.

Although I rarely shop at J Crew nowadays, I was looking at their website the other day and, lo and behold, the Holy Grail Topsiders were on there. I looked over the details and am convinced that it's the same shoe (except, at William noted in the comments, mine have two eyelets and the J Crew ones have three eyelets). The only problem is that, like everything at J Crew now, they're overpriced at $110. Is $110 too much to spend on a pair of Topsiders? Probably. However, these really are great, and so versatile, and I would recommend biting the bullet and picking up a pair. I don't think you'll regret it.

Penny loafers for women at J. Crew

I was looking through the most recent J. Crew and was surprised to see that they are now offering a classic penny loafer for women, made by Bass, nonetheless. In spite of being popular with women during the 80s, and presumably during the 60s (the high points in preppy style), I'm not sure that I've seen a girl in peer group wearing a pair. Ever.

Seeing as how J. Crew has managed to emerge as more of a trendsetter than a trend-follower, it will be interesting to see if any other retailers follow suit. It should be noted that J. Crew is currently asking $120 for this pair of shoes. If you ask me, that's pretty ridiculous. Then again, crazy-high prices at J. Crew seem to be the rule rather than the exception nowadays...

Shopping Around: J. Crew Bowery drafting tote

Although I don't really go in J. Crew as much as I used to, I was near one the other day and stopped in to look around. I feel like J. Crew has been really heavy in the whole "workwear" thing lately and has gotten away from the conservative, traditional ("preppy," if you will) clothes that I enjoy so much, so I usually don't see too much that piques my interest in the catalogs. Well, while walking around the store, I spotted the Bowery drafting tote and went in for a closer look. It is made of waxed canvas with leather handles, has a zip closure, and features a bright orange lining and several interior pockets. It is a pretty interesting shape as well in that it is fairly square (as opposed to rectangular). However, when I looked at the price and saw $98, I was initially put-off.

Going on the (pretty solid) assumption that most everything J. Crew sells nowadays is overpriced, I thought to myself, "I bet I could do a good blog post of comparable bags than can be found for a good bit cheaper."

However, when I sat down to do some research, I really couldn't come up with any good alternatives. On the cheaper side of things you have the Bean Boat & Tote, of course, and you have the Hunter's Tote, which is a pretty good looking bag for $25.

However, neither of these bags are made of waxed canvas or have leather handles (or shoulder straps, for that matter), so I think that this makes them poor comparables.

And while the Chubby Briefcase from Porter Street Bags (as previously mentioned on Disaffected Prep) does look pretty good, it is one-of-a-kind item and doesn't represent a readily-available option.

Above the $98 price, you can get a lot closer. Lands End has the Suede Snap Tote (labeled as a "woman's" product, which is it a bit of a turn-off) for $119.

Then Filson has their Tote Bag With Zipper for $129.50.

And LL Bean has their leather Town and Field Tote, but it also comes in at $129 and seems to be a bit lacking in the masculinity department.

Then, of course, you can get into the even higher-end stuff like Billykirk and all of those Japanese things that all of those other bloggers gush over that can only be bought in boutiques in New York City. While this stuff is obviously well-made and good-looking, personally I find it hard to justify $300+ for a canvas bag that I'm just going to stick paper and books in.

So what does all of this mean? It means that if you are in the market for a new tote bag, the J. Crew Bowery drafting tote really does seem to be a pretty good item for the price. Though if you're willing to go up a little higher in price, you've got some good (and well-made) options.

Levi's 501s at J. Crew

You have to hand it to Mickey Drexler and everyone at J. Crew: they certainly haven't been resting on their laurels. Between launching both a men's store and a women's store, adding the "J. Crew Collection" (and a new Collection store), and taking the brand up-market inspite of a down economy, it is clear that Drexler is not one to stand still. Additionally, this past year J. Crew has begun offering products in direct partnership with larger brands including Red Wing Shoes, Mackintosh, and using Thomas Mason fabrics for their shirts. Their latest partnership is a bit of a puzzler to me, though.

I was looking at the J. Crew website this morning and came across a pair of "Vintage slim fit 501 jeans in dark rinse wash." I'm curious about a couple of things.



First, I am a bit surprised to see Levi's doing this type of partnership. Clearly with the current popoularity of 501s and classic American clothing in general, it does seem advantageous for both parties. I guess it's just that I wouldn't have really expected to have Levi's allow their products to be sold under someone else's name.

Second, the jeans themselves are a bit of a mystery, and the description on the website doesn't really seem to help any. They seem to be selvedge, but do not appear to be raw denim (i.e.- shrink-to-fit). They also say "Import" meaning that they are likely made in Mexico. While they have a non-standard leather label, the wash, "Dark Rinse", is one that is available for regular (sanfordized) 501s. It is difficult to tell just how "slim fitting" they are without being able to directly compare them to a regular pair of 501s.

With price tag of $265, I'm afraid that it is simply a bit of a bait and switch for people who don't know any better. These basically appear to be regular 501s with selvedge denim that were probably made in Mexico (or some 3rd world country). They should probably retail for about half that price. In fact, I was able to pick up a pair of Mexico-made (raw) selvedge 501s off the Levi's website on sale for about $40 several months back. I believe they may have been marked down from about $100. For the price J. Crew is asking, one could buy some very nice (read: quality) pairs of jeans (A.P.C., Nudie, etc.) and definitely get more for their money. Even if someone wanted a pair of slimmer fitting 501s, a repro of the 1947 501s from SugarCane only cost $247 from Denim Bar. They are based on the actual pattern for the 1947 Levi's and are made in Japan.

I guess I'm somewhat conflicted by J. Crew offering these jeans. On one hand, I think it is a little bit low for the company to be ripping off people by selling these jeans that seem to represent something, when they are, in fact, something else entirely. On the other hand, I have to hand it to them for doing so since it is simply capitalism, and if someone wants to drop that much cash on a pair of jeans without knowing why they cost that much, more power to them. Caveat emptor.