J. Crew Introduces the Athletic Fit “Crosby” Suit
Somewhere, deep within the halls of J. Crew Headquarters, President & Creative Director Jenna Lyons holds a long, stick thin 60s style microphone, dons her trademark thick framed glasses, and is bathed in the soft glow of a spotlight on a stage. Shimmering multi-colored sequins pop and sparkle behind her. She huskily & calmly speaks, with a steady, leisurely pace, and even timbre…
“Mick? I think it’s time… to see who our next contestants will be, to join the J. Crew men’s suiting family.”
The light jumps to a bedazzled podium. Standing behind it is CEO Mickey Drexler…
“Well Jenna, we’re scanning our audience for those guys who’ve struggled to fit bulging biceps into the ludlow’s trim sleeves, hawt hamstrings into our slim legs, and their bangin’ caboose into our close fitting flat front pants.”
If that’s you? THEN COME ON DOWN! You’re the next contestants to to try out our new line of athletic-fit Crosby suits!“
…
(Wait… wait… let the whole theme play…)
Hat tip to the guys on threads for spotting this, via GQ, first.
Just four different options in the Crosby to start, including a standard grey worsted & navy super 130s. They’ve also added a couple of seasonal options, like the English Wool herringbone windowpane, and the Italian Flannel. All start at $650, and their currents 25% off select items code SHOPNOW most certainly isn’t working on them (c’mon, they just introduced them.)
How is the Crosby different from the Ludlow?
According to J. Crew (as well as GQ, who talked to director of Menswear Frank Murtjens) the “Crosby” differs from the Ludlow in a few key areas:
- Shoulders: widened by 3/4″
- Chest: increased by 1″
- Arms: added 1/2″
- Seat: added 3/4″
- Thigh: added 1″
- Slightly widened lapel by 1/4″
- Slightly increased leg opening by 1/8″
- Larger armholes
- Center back vent on the jacket, which should help hang “clean on bigger frames.”
Nothing seems to have said/mentioned about lengthening the tail, which might have helped streamline a boxier body type? Maybe? Interesting that the model they used still appears to be pretty tall an lean. But hey, good luck trying to define what “athletic” means anyway.
Your turn guys. Is this a welcome change? Are the expanded measurements “enough” to get those thicker fellas to give J. Crew another spin? Or what suit brands do you stick to if you’ve got a body type with more mass to it? Leave it all below.
Note: This is/was the actual “come on down” music. Not quite as iconic as the theme though.
Note II: Vince is not wearing an actual “Crosby” suit. Not even close. J. Crew’s suit jacket tails are much, much shorter than that.