JC Penney is coming after your money. Hard. The redesign of the floorplan and display style of their stores has made them look much less like a Kohl’s-ian garage sale, and more like a J. Crew / Apple store hybrid. They’ve still got a ways to go, but gone is the cascading merchandise puking itself off overstuffed shelves. Space seemed to be the enemy in the late 90s and early 2000s, with mid to low priced retail trying to shove 5 lbs of sh*t in a 2 lb bag. Now JCPenney’s stuff, and you too, have room to breathe. Even better, that bag is no longer filled with stuff that’s aesthetically excremental.
That new look of both store and product has to do with the direction of Ron Johnson, Mike Fisher, and the oft-talked about Nick Wooster. Read this GQ article for who’s who. Wooster as the Vice President of “Brand, Design and Trend” has already made an impact. As Magic Johnson is to the LA Dodgers ownership group, Wooster is to this new take on JC Penney. He might not be the man pulling all the strings, but his influence is tangible. Proof is below.
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jcp Oxford Cloth Button Down – $25.00
Holy hell, it has side pleats. It’s actually trim. It’s a medium leaning lightweight material for oxford cloth, but it’s still oxford and not a thin poplin. Body/chest is good and trim and the sleeves are especially slim fitting at the forearm/wrist. If you’ve got pop-eye forearms it might get a little tight, but overall it’s an unbelievable off the rack fit for twenty five bucks. Reminiscient of a Bonobos Oxford, only this one is twenty five bucks and not made in the U.S. Overall, an A+ on this one.
jcp All Wool Grey Blazer – $100.00
This one is a project, but a worthwhile one for most. It just doesn’t fit in the body like the OCBD does. My 165-170lb frame isn’t completely swimming in the torso of a medium, but it’s got way too much room in there. There’s little to no contour. Definitely a tailor job. There weren’t any small sizes to try on, and it’s worth noting that the drop of the tail was perfect. Sleeve length was a little long. But the price is absolutely right and the fabric is incredible. It’s like a half-weight version of J. Crew’s Moon Mill’s Ludlow blazer. The fabric’s texture is a great mix of soft and tweedy (yeah, that’s possible.) Try sizing down, but if you’re average to tall in height, the jacket might get a little too short. Sleeve buttons are functional, or at least the first (and only?) one is.
jcp Slim Straight Denim in Rinse (not med wash) – $30.00
This is going to start sounding all hyperbolic, but these are astoundingly good for the price. If you don’t have the cash or the patience to wait for a good sale on the new made in the USA L.E.C. denim, and you’re not a Levi’s head who’s dedicated to their 514 slim straights, well then here’s your jeans. The genius of the jcp line is that they’re filling obvious gaps in the men’s style market. Where can you find slim, straight fit, dark wash jeans with little to no branding (even back pocket) that don’t feel cheap yet cost under $30? Nowhere. Until JC Penney started making these. It’s a basic that NO ONE was making for an ultra accessible price point until these guys did the whole “why not?” thing. It’s dumb that these aren’t out there somewhere else. But they did it. Good on em.
jcp Slim Straight Chinos – $30.00
Starting to think that the creators of this line got into a conference room and said: “Forget the what can we do that’s noticeably different… what are the basics that we can provide to the cost conscious but still style aware guy?” Flat front chinos that aren’t too tight or too big or too weird. That’s the magic bullet. These are them. Medium weight cotton. Simple. Zipper is a little crunchy, but they’re thirty bucks. Available in just one odd color, the smurf blue in the upper right.
jcp 95% Cotton / 5% Cashmere V-Neck – $20.00
It’s like the torso division never met with the sleeve division Sleeves are nice and trim like the oxfords but the body of this thing is bulky as all get-out. It’s a no, and something that you cross your fingers and hope that JCPenney’s designers will work on. Fabric feels good. But you have to wonder about the entire “cotton/cashmere” thing. Is that a 100% marketing gimmick? Does it make the fabric feel better? Can they just replace that cashmere with, say, silk and save some cost yet get the strength & slimness in fabric that most guys want? Collar is nice, and price is extremely low.
jcp 2-ply Poplin gingham shirt – $25.00
Fits like the oxford, only with a little more room in the chest (at least on the shirt I tried on). Solid feeling. Great color options. Fit is more than workable. Has backpleats as well. The one drawback: It makes a bit of an audible noise as you move around. That’s the thickness of the cotton that might ease up with wear. Like a Timex Weekender’s “tick”… it’ll bother some but not be noticeable by the vast majority. Bottom line is that GAP/Old Navy is not doing this at this price. That’s key.
jcp long sleeve dress shirt – $25.00
If this would only fit as well as the oxfords and the patterned poplin. No back pleats or pleats of any kind on this one. So it fits a little big in the chest. Collar is also slightly smaller than one who adheres to the tieless-is-okay philosophy would like/ French placket so you could do this with it. Nice seams, well built, very cheap, no chest pocket… but the fit and collar (beef it up) needs a little work. A pass when the ultimate dress shirt from Target is so readily available. Size shown = Medium.
The Bottom Line
Yes there are some issues. But out of the gates, this line is almost scary good. Good enough that Wooster and the rest of the guys at JCPenney just might make their budget conscious (but not style conscious) customers think a little differently about clothes. And more power to em’. Dappered could always use a few more readers.
Everything here looks great.
That’s something I’ve never said about JCP selections. The gingham shirt looks especially good to me for the price and source.
I was super excited about this line when I heard about it. I went to my local store, really liked the product and the price. But as a small guy, everything is way too big. That was kind of disappointing. Generally a size small will fit fine, but the shirts I tried on were way too baggy in the sleeves, torso, shoulders, neck. Same with the sweaters. It’s a damn shame because I thought I had found a nice (local) source of nice looking basics.
Last week I picked up the gray blazer in small. I am 5-11 and ~155 lbs and it fits great. I tried the medium but it was definitely too big. It is a perfect fall / winter blazer at $100.
At 5’4″ 130lbs, thanks for the heads up. I’ll look elsewhere 🙂
Looks like I need to get up to JCP, I need just about every essential you posted here. Being a size large chest with very broad shoulders but a narrow and short torso though, we’ll see how things fit…
JCP had some decent “stuff” before Ron Johnson and team came on board (American Living – made by Polo, etc) they have taken it up another level, heard there was fallout between JCP and Polo, so I bet a lot of shirts/designs we are liking are based off of the American Living line (I own 3 AL gingham shirts & the new JCP shirts fit similar (I’m 6’4″ 185 & I can wear a medium w/o looking stupid)).
Don’t forget, the two gift card reselling sites offer huge discounts on JPC, generally cardpool is 28% off and plasticjungle is 33% yet they often don’t have them in stock…
Yeah, we went on for 3 pages in the forums about the new jcp line, and basically echoed what our Fearless Leader said here. I checked it out as well, and had the same sentiments (sans the chinos, didn’t try those on), but will the gingham really ‘break in’?
When I was at the store, I couldn’t help but be taken aback at how ‘papery’ that thing was. The fit was fantastic all things considered, but I just couldn’t get past the feel of the thing.
I thought Wooster said he didn’t work on the fall line?
http://www.valetmag.com/personal-shopper/shop-talk/2012/nick-wooster-jcp-brand-at-jc-penney-092012.php
Great writeup, Joe. Thankfully, I have these basics from a smattering of other brands, but it’s good to know JCP is stepping up their quality and presentation.
Joe, you left out one of the best things: http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/men/brands/jcp/jcp%25e2%2584%25a2-quilted-farm-jacket/prod.jump?ppId=pp5001540180&catId=cat1001520004&deptId=dept20000014&dimCombo=null&dimComboVal=null
That jacket is a great fitting alternative to the Barbour Liddesdale. Highly recommended, especially at $40.
Pretty impressed with the turnaround so far – although they still needs some work they have come a long way! Bought the blazer a week ago and really like it.
Reminds me a bit of an American Uniqlo because of how basic the stuff is. Kinda disappointed though at how billowy that oxford looks.
One trend I do not like (not exclusive to JCP) is dress shirts with no pockets. And it seems like slim-fit shirts are more likely to have no pocket. I like slim-fit shirts but I need pockets.
Just picked up 4 Oxfords and 2 Poplin shirts….I’m 6 ft 160 lbs chest 38 and these fit spot on in a small. I’m on an eternal quest to OTR shirts that fit my tall thin frame. The FIT (not quality, just fit) is like a Band of Outsider shirts. At 25 bucks a shot you really can’t go wrong. Damn these are the shirts of the year.
I made it a point to stop at JC Penney for the first time in years thanks to this post. The OCBD is definitely the clear winner. I picked up the white to give it a test drive, but will likely go back for a couple more now that I know how well it fits throughout an entire day.
The famous Stafford wingtip boots, though? I think I’m one of the few who did not dig them. The look was there, but (aside from needing to size down to an 11) I did not find them the least bit comfortable. Consider me jealous of all of you who are able to keep their dogs from barking in a pair of these.
Total proof that we’re all different. Wearing my Stafford Wingtip Boots right now, and I gotta say, they’re downright springy to me. Lots of bounce on mine, but everyone’s feet are different.
Im on the same boat. Feet my feet live a glove, and to top it off I keep getting compliments on them. Good find Joe.
Hi I am new to this site. I am starting to take my image seriously and dress like a grown man, not a teenager with jeans and t’s anymore. Anyways, Joe, you mentioned Levi’s 514’s in this post and I was wondering what wash to get and how everyone thinks they fit. Are they true to size? Do most people go up or down a size, that sort of thing. Thanks so much. And so I am really enjoying the site.
Jeff
Just picked up the vnecks. The sleeves fit nice and I have to disagree that I think the chest fits fine. For $20 they are a steal. While I think the OCBD is a good fit, I stumbled upon the OCBD’s from Cotton On. I highly recommend giving those a try. Nice, lightweight-medium weight shirt with excellent fit. High armholes, nice slim collar and neck line. Again, give those a try to see how they work compared to JCP’s. They’re priced at $30 but I got em on sale for 2 for $40.
The JCP Quilted Farm Jacket is now marked down to just $25. A steal.
Can anyone comment on how the jcp shirts and pants fit after a wash and dry? Specifically, did yours shrink?
No noticeable shrinking after several washes. I have the oxford shirts, the poplin/gingham shirt, dress shirts, and chinos.
Just wanted to give you heads up about the chinos in another funky color. They also sell them in “Striking Red” which looks pretty similar to Ducati red. Obviously not for the guy building a wardrobe, but they work for the guy with all the basics and looking to experiment with some flash without dropping $90 to experiment with color in Bonobos.
The jcp chino is a very nice pair of pants for the price, I a pair and 2 more on order which is my version of a glowing review.
That’s interesting because I’m a short dude ( 5’5″ 140 lbs.) and all of the JCP stuff fits perfect.
P.S. Wooster’s influence won’t be seen till Spring collection.