J. Crew Mens Shop New York
Three years ago, J. Crew launched its Liquor Store in New York for men, giving sartorially inclined guys a place they could go to find the best of J. Crew’s offerings and special goods curated by Frank Muytjens, the vice president of men’s design at the label. While New York has been seeing a slow, steady expansion of mens’ stores (Boston has a spot, too), the West Coast has been lacking a standalone store for fellas that flock to J. Crew for tailored pieces, suiting and more. But guys can breathe a sigh of relief now: Orange County luxury shopping center South Coast Plaza is getting the very first J. Crew Men’s Shop outside of the Eastern Seaboard.
In New York, the Liquor Store is a go-to for guys who want to shop and escape a retail landscape that caters mainly to women. For their first foray into men’s-only retail, J. Crew worked with Partners & Spade (a creative studio helmed by Andy Spade and Anthony Sperduti) to create an experience that revolved around both the liquor store itself and J. Crew’s signature Ivy League style. Partners & Spade restored the bar to its former glory and even released spiders into the space to weave webs and give the store a feeling of timelessness. (p.s. The spiders didn’t quite work out, according to Andy Spade).
J. Crew Mens Shop New York
In addition to creating stores that place a heavier focus on tailoring and suiting, J. Crew Men’s Shops let Muytjens integrate complementary brands into the mix, alongside J. Crew’s go-to oxford shirts and slim-fit khaki pants. The Men’s Stores also offer a larger space to feature the brand’s Thomas Mason shirting (which focuses on fabrication and boasts a higher price point). The Ludlow suit, which debuted in conjunction with the opening of the Liquor Store, also gets more floor space. The suit, which is cut with a more modern, tailored fit, has become so popular that it spawned its own store in Boston and a line of complementary dress shirts. The stores also offer Barbour jackets, Red Wing boots, Miansai bracelets, Alden wingtips, Dodocase tech accessories and more.
J. Crew Mens Shop New York
Unlike standard J. Crew stores, which are have similar layouts, each Men’s Store has its own attitude and feel. The South Coast Plaza store, which is just a quick walk from the existing store (which will continue to carry the women’s collection), is a mashup of the J. Crew Men’s Shops from out East. The store has a dedicated Ludlow shop-in-shop for suiting and workwear alongside the J. Crew standards you’d find elsewhere. But because it’s a veritable man-cave of tailored fits and sartorial specialties, you’ll also find an extended selection of fits (slimmer fit shirts and more Thomas Mason options) as well as colors that were previously only available online or via catalog. And, as always, there are stylist services to help you dress for a special occasion or if you just want to give your work wardrobe a remix.
The J. Crew Men’s Shop is located at 3333 Bristol Street, inside South Coast Plaza on level 2, near Bloomingdale’s.
Photos courtesy J. Crew
