J. Crew Factory Thompson Worsted Wool Suit Jacket & Pant – $276.00 ($193.20 at 30% off)
Thanks to Nathan C. who sent in the style tip and asked if there was such a thing as a Dappered Breaking News alert.
The day after the 40% off sale items code OURTREAT expires, they launch these things:
Apparently, the Thompson has been available in navy for a bit now, but you had to have access to a J. Crew Factory brick and mortar outlet store. Not everyone lives near one of those. They’re now available online, claim to be worsted wool, and there’s no mention of a poly mix in the description. The new version of charcoal also appears to be a bit lighter than the previous version. And one more thing worth pointing out…
Sizes on these start at 36S. Yep. 36S, 36R, 38R, and so on all the way up to 46R. Now priced at $276, the next extra 30% off code will drop them under $200. That is, assuming they’re “on sale” when that code launches and the code can be applied to them. Got a navy on the way for an in person.
Carry on…
J. Crew Factory – Next Store Wars champion?
Why does J Crew do a 36S but not a 38S or 40S? This is the reason I can’t buy these Thompson suits. In BR, I’m a 40S. In Brooks Brothers, I’m a 38S.
Is it just me or does the lapel end a little too early?
I guess for less than $200 you can justify it, but these J Crew styles won’t last. You’ll be out of style in the next 2-3 years, if you’re lucky. I’d rather pay a little more for a sleek, but still classic style.
Breaking News indeed!
38S would be perfect for me. Would it be weird if I had 3 of the same suit in different colors?
What do you think will go out of style with this suit? Colors are classic and there aren’t any fashionable extras. The button stance may be a little low and the lapels a bit slim, but that’s it.
Yep. One of the few drawbacks. See the review of the original here: https://dappered.com/2011/08/in-person-the-j-crew-factory-suit/ Not that noticeable in person.
I’m with you BJ. Little lost on what David is talking about. It’s a really safe play.
I don’t get this statement at all. I have the charcoal Thompson and it is about as classic a suit you can find. Got it for less than $200 and I get nothing but compliments on it.
I suppose the lapels might be a bit thin, but not absurdly so. You’ll get a good 5 years out of this suit at least, unless we suddenly swing back to 4-inch ties or something.
It looks really weird in the pictures. Do not want.
I’ll contact them right now to see if the 36S is narrow enough for me. That could be a great deal.
I am pretty excited about this, the navy looks like a color you can actually tell is navy instead of just appearing black
Does this mean J Crew factory will be offering jackets and blazers in a size 36 on a regular basis now? Last year there was a fantastic tweed jacket that I couldn’t get because they didn’t carry my size.
Just ordered mine. 36R so let’s see how it is. I also noticed a lot more slim stuff from J. Crew factory in this new wave of stuff. Lots of shirts, those oxfords for $40 look really good, I ordered one of the polos. Factory always ran bigger than normal J.Crew so we shall see how the slims fit. Would love a review of the oxfords. Those could be a great buy even with the logo. It seems pretty small and forgettable.
In these pictures it does look like they had a three button suit and just left the top button off. it does look a bit better when Joe is wearing it though.
would you mind letting us know Jessy? Judging from the forums, we seem like we have fairly similar builds.
Joe, could you keep in mind, and make a comparison between this suit and the Bar III. I have a navy Bar III and love the way it fits(slim lapel and fit, high armholes, minimal padding) compared to an Alfani Red or a Hilfiger Slim Fit. If this is similiar or better I’d definitely get it.
The two suit colors missing from my wardrobe are a light grey and navy that isn’t flannel, so this would be perfect. Still no options for us tall folk, though. Dissapointing.
None of the J. Crew’s in Las Vegas carry suiting. It’s very annoying – I won’t buy jackets unless I can try them on.
you really shouldn’t be calling yourselves a style website if you’re recommending j.crew factory suiting
No need to be rude.
Care to explain why, since you’re clearly an expert?
I got excited when I saw this, but I’m disappointed to see that the smallest pants are still 30×30. With what my tailor charges, it would cost a fortune to take in the seat and waist.
Just a snob passing through fellas. Let’s all move along.
Would the jacket and pants work well if you were planning on wearing them mainly as separates? Or would I be better off with a navy pieces (separate or part of a suit) in cotton?
Please send us your review. I’m also a 36R. Would love pictures as well
joe, im 6’2″. would a 38r be long enough for my torso?
Got the Factory Oarsman Oxford in Light Blue last week and I really like it. It fits just a touch bigger than my J Crew Secret Wash shirt in the same size.
Will do. If Joe puts up his review relatively soon, I’ll put mine in the comments. Otherwise I’ll link to it somewhere on a post hopefully next week. If @dapperedsite:disqus wants to include it in the post, I’d be happy to write something, since having these in a 36 is a major selling point in my opinion.
They would be great as separates. The brown buttons make the jacket very versatile IMHO and the pants would work fine I think. I’m planning to use it both as a suit and separates.
To echo what Joe said, it looks weird in pictures and on the rack, but is less apparent on the body.
Better than Alfani Red in my opinion (i used to own a few of them). The jacket on the J Crew is cut slimmer, and there is less padding in the shoulder.
Is that the slim fit? If so, are you comparing to a J. Crew slim?
Ah. I don’t think so, I think it’ll look a little too chopped on you. Sleeves could be an issue too.
Hey Joe, How does this suit compare to the Banana Republic tailored fit italian wool suit that you wrote about in the affordable navy suit post?
is the 30% off sale still applicable? fi so, what’s the code? thx!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT.
Nope. Just the regular Smalls on both.
Why on earth do they stock 42L and 44L jackets, when the pants max out at 32 length? Baffling. I guess JCrew Factory prefers to outfit gorillas rather than tall people?
It figures that this would happen literally the day I decided to keep my new Suitsupply suit and dropped the trousers off to get hemmed.
Oh well. Now this means I will have TWO new suits instead of one. 🙂 Thank the suit gods! J.Crew Factory has heeded the prayers of the small people!
Yeah, that is basically the ideal color for a navy suit. A true blue instead of off-black, and a bit of texture to give it personality. Can’t wait to see it in person!
Wait, they really don’t offer 34″ inseams at Factory?
How does the jacket and pant fit differ from the Ludlow ones? If at all.
I really didn’t need to see this today. That blue color is calling my name, but I must resist.
By the way, the charcoal Thompson suit (from this post: https://dappered.com/2011/08/in-person-the-j-crew-factory-suit/) from arrived today and I gave it a mini-review.
This is a really interesting question as I’m a big fan of Bar III fitwise
I usually wear xsmall shirts from jcrew and banana republic. I’m 5’7″ and 140 lbs. Will the 36 short fit me?
I can’t get the 30% code to work… Any ideas?
Agree with Jay – got the charcoal version under $200 (thanks to dappered!) and have not received anything but glowing comments.
Oh yeah. I have the charcoal and I’m very impressed with it. It’s a welcome addition and I believe I’ll be refreshing my navy suit with the J Crew at the first sign of a 30% sale. Well done, Joe/Dappered.
Just for you my man.
I’m with dougwake. Much better than Alfani Red. And I’d even say it’s better than the Bar III. Less padding in the shoulder. That is, IF… these newbies are the same as the old one…
Can’t speak to these just yet, but one is on the way. The old version is as good as it gets for under $300. The BR Italian Wool feels more… dressy to me? Fabric is a bit cleaner/smoother… but I’m comparing it to the 80/20 wool/poly mix from last year.
Nope, they do them from time to time though…
Nice! I have the (older… if there’s a difference) charcoal, and wear it about once a week. I will definitely in the market when these things hit the sale rack!
Oops, just looked… that lighter grey IS the new charcoal. Definitely different!
I have a few Alfani Red suits, one Bar III suit, and the original J Crew Thompson suit. Have also tried on the Hilfiger Slim Fit a few times. The Thompson is definitely slimmer than both the Alfani Red and the Hilfiger Slim, but is similar to the Bar III (the Bar III has a 7 inch drop in the nested suit though, which makes the pants snug on me compared to most other brands… I’m typically a 40R and 34/32 or 33/32 and J Crew’s 33s are big on me while Bar III 33s are snug, so you may consider sizing down in the pants of the Thompson.)
Lapels are very similar on all, although the Thompson and Bar III may be a tiny bit slimmer.
The armholes are even higher on the Thompson than the Bar III and much higher than the Alfani Red and Hilfiger.
The padding — most to least: Hilfiger… Alfani Red… Bar III… Thompson.
I do think it warrants being mentioned that the wool/poly blend was probably the least desirable of the fabrics to me, while the Bar III being the nicest, and the Alfani Red and Hilfiger lying somewhere in between.
For the money however, considering the Thompson can be had for sub-$200, I think it’s a steal! Especially if the description is true and these turn out to be all wool.
(I know that long, but I hope it was at least a little helpful.)
I feel like I’ve waited my whole life for this moment.
why can’t i get onto the j crew factory page?!
probably yes. I also wear xsmall shirts and although I’m about 3-4 inches taller than you (3-5 pounds lighter, though), I wear regular Jcrew’s 36S. It fits me fine for me. For a 5’7″ guy, 36S should work. And the worst comes the worst, you can send it back as it’s not a final sale. Just need to pay shipping back, something like $9 or something.
well depends on your torso length. Some has longer legs vs shorter legs for a 6’2″ frame. I don’t think you can just say it’ll be too short or just right unless you try Jcrew’s 38R, even the Ludlow suit (the regular Jcrew).
short and skinny people have suffered for so long~~! Have a heart! Let them enjoy the limelight for a little!!
awe. sum.
weird there isnt a 30×32
Shoulders are 17.75″. Waaaay too large for me.
Just bought two, that button stance is my only concern. I’ve hear of lapel’s being “rolled” though, is there any kind of permanent crease you could give them if it really is a 3 button stance?
Google Offers has 39% off Indochino this morning.
P.S. – For those commenting on the lack of certain sizes – e-mail J.Crew and tell them you want to see this stuff in your size. Seriously, do it. Before they offered my size (36R) I e-mailed them two or three times telling them that I would be happy to buy a Thompson suit if they sold it in my size. I told other Dappered commenters in my situation to do the same thing. It may have taken a year, J.Crew finally did release 36 jackets.
I sent an email thanking them for listening to their customers yesterday, and they responded: “Thank you for reaching out to us. I’m happy to hear that our new size selection for the Factory Thompson Suit is working out for you! I’ll be sure to forward your comments to the appropriate team. We’re always looking for ways to improve our selection of items, and we depend a great deal on feedback from you and all our customers.”
The 30% off code expired yesterday
That’s a huge bummer since I’m a 36S and my shoulders are an inch shorter, ordered it before i saw this post so I’ll just see how it looks and then return.
Thanks! Guess I’m one of the lucky few that has a J Crew Factory outlet nearby.
Keep me informed.
Any opinion on the Bar III vs getting an Indochino suit?
Good, then you can return it easy if it doesn’t work out. FYI, when I said “regular Jcrew”, I meant ludlow. I have never tried Jcrew factory, so I can’t confirm it 100%. I read some people say that factory is slightly roomier than Jcrew in general like shirts, etc, but you can never know until you try, right? I’d assume there wouldn’t be huge difference since it’s from the same brand.
Damnit. It stops at 46R. I’m a 48L…
ive totally emailed them several times over the past year!
Im wondering the same thing? I purchased an Aldridge Italian cotton suit in the spring at J.Crew and it was about half price. I’m wondering about the quality of J.Crew vs. J.Crew Factory.
The button stance looks much higher on the Thompson. It almost looks like a three-button suit with the top folded over. With a good tailor I’m sure these can look like a million bucks, although the shorter ones among us might want to opt for something that shows a little more shirt.
Just got mine in the mail and tried it on. Great out of the box. I got a 36R and 30×30 trousers in navy. I could probably escape without tailoring on the jacket. Might get it done slightly but fits almost perfectly out of the box. And I’m a trim guy. Button stance is really low though, just like the Ludows. Also, minimal shoulder padding for most of the shoulder and then quite a bit more right at the outer edges of each. Not a deal breaker but definitely something to be aware of. Pants are luxury sized a bit. I might have been able to size down a size if they had it in the waist. FIt of the pants is decent out of the box. Definitely not a totally straight leg but I’m definitely going to have them tapered quite a bit. The fabric feels pretty damn good for the price and I love the buttons on the jacket. They make it wearable as a blazer possibly. For $270? It’s definitely a buy. If it ends up going any lower, you should buy it even if you have a closet full of navy suits already. It’s that good.
Great breakdown. I agree as well. I have a couple Alfani Reds and just got the original Thompson in today. Fit is slimmer and your comparison is spot on. I’d have to also agree with your assessment of the fabric as well, as I was a little disappointed in the wool/poly blend. Huge difference when I’d compare this wool/poly and then put on my Hugo red label right after. Fabric on the Alfani is better as well, but the fit of the Thompson is better. Curious how these updated Thompson worsted wool are for the fabric, in comparison to the previous wool/poly. Hopefully much better, but personally, I like the charcoal (darker) version from the original Thompson. Now if they would only make a medium charcoal color, somewhere in between the new light grey and the original dark grey, and put that in 100% wool…
Just to clarify, for sake of confusion…(those were 3 different suits in my post). Of course the Hugo red shouldn’t be compared to the Thompson & Alfani Red for sake of price category, but I found the fit of the Thompson a little bit closer to the fit of the Hugo Red, in comparison to the Alfani which is completely a different cut.
Did you end up pulling the trigger on this? I’m 5’6 140 so I’d love to hear your impressions.