A one-question quiz for anyone who considers themselves a connoisseur of Ivy style: what’s the essential difference between Brooks Brothers and J Press? They are the two preeminent menswear labels of classic Ivy, founded in 1818 and 1902 respectively. Both have dressed presidents, business titans, literary figures and film stars. Both will sell you an Oxford cloth button-down, a blue blazer (single- or double-breasted as you please), white bucks, a D-ring grosgrain ribbon belt, loud madras cloth cut into assorted shapes and sizes or – if work should call – a chalk-stripe suit.
There is a lot of overlap in this Venn diagram but it is not complete. Style-wise, there is a noticeable difference of flavour that can be traced back to each brand’s origin. Brooks was founded in Manhattan by an enterprising former grocer, Henry Sands Brooks, who recognised that America might be ready for the ready-to-wear suit. J Press was founded in New Haven, in the shadow of Yale’s campus, by Jacobi Press, who chose tailoring over the rabbinate. There is a city vs campus difference between the two; something more buttoned-up about Brooks, and something of old-school days about Press.
J Press cotton made-in-USA rugby shirts with chest patches, $188 each © Clément Pascal
