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The J. Crew Ludlow suit is the everyman suit. As in, almost every GQ-reading, menswear-inclined guy out there has at least one of the brand's well-cut, nicely-priced tailored numbers. It's the starter suit for the just graduated, the daily uniform for guys who want to impress in the office, and the go-to for grooms and guests on wedding days in any climate. But after nearly nine years and countless iterations of the flattering silhouette, J.Crew is making some changes to the near-iconic menswear piece. Because if there's one thing the creative talents behind J.Crew know, it's that you have to keep moving things forward in fashion to stay interesting. And as guys embrace looser, more relaxed silhouettes, J. Crew, too, has made a small change that indicates a pendulum shift happening in menswear right now.
The big news: the J. Crew Ludlow line now includes a wider lapel option. It's three-and-a-half inches, as opposed to the standard two-and-a-half inch versions you're used to seeing. You might be wondering why we're making a big deal about one inch, but here's why: when the codes of tailoring have veered towards streamlined and slimmed-down for the last decade, a big, mass brand like J. Crew getting behind a runway-centric silhouette is big news.
"Everything is getting a little more unconstructed, wider," says Frank Muytjens, senior vice president of men's design at J. Crew. "Proportions are shifting." Muytjens said that the change came about because of customer feedback for a new option, plus the fact that he and his team felt the larger lapel would look nice in sturdier fabrics the've been playing with. "We wanted to give our guy another option, it's for the guy who wants something different."
J. Crew just presented their fall-winter 2017 collection, which Muytjens dubbed as "heritage rebooted," and the wider lapels were on display, worn with looser, slouchier pants, richer colorways, and rugby stripes, where only a stealthy menswear expert would be able to tell the difference. Right now, it's available in worsted wool and Italian wool options. However, even if you couldn't pinpoint the exact source, there was an unmistakable ease to the collection, which was shown on "regular" guys, not models, a move they did last season as well. "It’s important for us to have our guy see himself in the looks," Muytjens says.
Now, if you're a Ludlow 1.0 die-hard, don't worry: these new fits are being introduced as an additional option. "Guys still love it, there’s no need to worry that it's going away." Muytjens, one of the most stylish guys we know, says he likes to mix it up these days, opting for tailoring in a slimmer fit, but he's introducing the more relaxed fits into his wardrobe. "Sometimes it feels good to wear something a little wider and unconstructed, it changes your posture."
Now, the spring collection is hitting the stores — Muytjens is looking forward to wearing the lightweight bomber jacket with a knit collar — and it's the perfect time to start taking the swaggier cuts we've seen on the runways of late and incorporating them into your own life. It'll be the perfect head-turner next time you roll into the office. People won't know what, exactly, you did different — they'll just know that it looks good.
