Introducing the J. Crew Muytjens-ometer

Behold the J. Crew Muytjens-ometer

Give Frank Muytjens all of the credit and accolades he surely deserves.  Since 2008 he’s developed J. Crew’s menswear line from a batch of potential to a full blown powerhouse.  They’re near if not at the top of the affordable men’s style brand hierarchy.  From suits to shorts, you can find it at J. Crew and it’ll probably look good.

But with the success has come a weird series of overly expensive eye-rollers.  From $200 Timex Watches to $800 plain as can be Macs, it’s almost like Muytjens is testing his customers to see just how far he can push them.  A lot of it is so expensive it’s laughable.  But some J. Crew fans show an almost cult-like devotion, which you’d have to have in order to justify purchasing some of this over the top stuff.

And somebody has to be buying it.  Right?

Unquestioned authority at any level is stupid and dangerous.  So with your help (send in those tips on outrageous J. Crew offerings here), we’ll keep an eye on what Frank and his team are up to.  We’ll use our new Muytjens-ometer (patent pending) to measure the insanity.  The scale is 1 – 5, with more heads meaning a higher level of crazy.  The first one is a doozy, and came in via styletip from Markus B.  Brace yourselves…
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Heller’s Cafe by Warehouse Pin Checked Work Jacket – $637.00

From their new collaboration with a Seattle area Vintage Clothing “collection” (Is it a museum?  A store?  Does it matter?).  This is a work jacket, made to look like it came from the 1920s.  If I’m reading this right, and I like to think that I am… this isn’t actually a vintage jacket.  Instead, it’s a $637 “vintage inspired” replica of a jacket that’s in this fancy pants Seattle collection.  But don’t worry, the value in this thing is in it’s exclusivity.  (huh?) They only made one replica?  And someone actually bought it?
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On the Muytjens-ometer:  Five Heads

They claim every piece in this collection can be labeled as a “bona fide collector’s item.”  I suppose the best thing to do with this jacket would be to frame it and hang it on a wall, because I can’t actually imagine wearing it anywhere.  “Bona fide colletcor’s item?”  Try bona-fide five heads crazy.

Keep em’ coming.  Send in any sightings of J. Crew weirdness via styletips.