So J.Crew

So J.Crew

J.Crew is having a major moment. We pay hommage to the purveyor of prep.

Volume 9
Volume 9
 Photography Parker Woods
Styling Jay Massacret 
 
In its heyday, J.Crew was the purveyor of off-duty prep: rugbies and chinos and roll-neck sweaters and a whole lifestyle to go with them. Then when normcore and the ‘90s popped of in the ‘10s, suddenly the brand was back in the style zeitgeist. So how does J.Crew translate in 2023? On the 40th anniversary of the beloved American brand, Olympia Gayot, its new Women’s Creative Director, has some ideas.

All clothing, shoes and accessories from J.CREW unless otherwise noted. 

Long-sleeve polo.

“To put it the most simply, we are taking really classic shapes, and putting them in modern fabrics and tweaking the proportions—like taking a button down and making it oversized in sequins, or doing a cropped version.” —Olympia Gayot

Stretch linen blazer and pants, cotton poplin shirt.

Olympia loves a suit. “I wear them all the time, but we’ve relaxed them so they are less like your first interview suit and more like the suit you want to wear out on the street. The waist is a little lower, the shoulder is a little bigger, it’s more inspired by menswear.”

Cashmere crewneck sweater; stylist’s own vintage boots.

“Minimalism, simplicity, classics—that’s all really big in my own wardrobe—but then I also love drama.”

Vintage vest, cable-knit sweater, denim skirt and Chelsea boots.

Cotton tank tops; stylist’s own pants and boots.

Five years ago the question might have been, who would be caught dead in a pair of chinos? Now, according to Olympia, the question is: “How many ways can we do chino? There’s a double pleat oversized chino, a chino Bermuda short, a vest and big blazer and an oversized trench…”

"As much as you want to wear a uniform, you can’t help but be inspired by what you see around you—street style, kids on the streets of New York, the runways. It’s about tying all those influences together to create something that feels easy and modern."

Gwyneth slip dress and Italian leather Chelsea boots.

“Looking back at the old catalogs, whatever was in the zeitgeist was happening at the brand, just on a different level. In the ‘90s, there was grunge in the catalogs. The slip dress was in the J.Crew catalog in the ‘90s in a big way.”

“The women’s cashmere shell is like the men’s cashmere vest—pieces that have always been in the men’s design that I’ve reintroduced for women.”

With unisex sizing—and styling—J.Crew always made it easy to dress like a HommeGirl. “If you have the confidence and the ability to shop from the men’s I would say go for it,” Olympia says. “But even on the women’s side I’m trying to do pieces that are very similar but tailored to a woman’s body.”

“I didn’t realize how strong the love is for the ‘80s and ‘90s J.Crew. It feels like the right time to lean into those things. I think people are ready for it.”

 

For more on our hommage to J.Crew, check out Ode to the J.Crew Catalog and Cast + Crew.

 

Makeup Dick Page
Hair Tamara McNaughton
Nails Naomi Yasuda
Set Design Eric Mestman
Casting The Establishment
Production Starkman & Associates 
 
 
 
 
Published May 2023 for HommeGirls Volume 9