J. Press

Jacobi Press immigrated to the US from Latvia in 1896 with the intention of becoming a rabbi; however, he began working for his uncle's custom tailoring business in Middleton, CT upon his arrival to the United States. He founded J.Press six years later.

By the 1920s, J. Press had become the preferred tailor for clientele, such as Duke Ellington, Cary Grant and Robert Frost. In a 1936 letter written to his daughter, F. Scott Fitzgerald warned her to "beware the wolves in J. Pressed tweed."

Irving E. Press, son of Jacobi, was CEO of J. Press during its heyday and pioneered key innovations such as the Shaggy Dog sweater. In 1974, the Press family sold the rights to license J. Press for the Japanese market, making it the first American brand to be licensed in Japan. In 1986, Kashiyama acquired J. Press and the company ceased to be run by the Press family.

Japanese licensed distribution is roughly six times larger than the American-made J. Press. J. Press is currently part of the Onward Group (Onward Holdings, Ltd.). More recently, notable patrons have included Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and Governor Bill Richardson as regular customers.

Over its history, J. Press has done a variety of collaborations with other clothing brands, artists, and designers. Past collaborations include those with Urban Outfitters, Opening Ceremony, and Todd Snyder.

The New Haven store was originally built in 1863 in the French Second Empire style as a residence for Cornelius Pierpont, a prominent local grocer. It was irreparably damaged by Winter Storm Nemo in February 2013; the company temporarily rented a store at 260 College St., across from the Shubert Theatre.

In 1912, the company opened a store in New York City "appropriately equidistant from the Yale and Harvard Clubs."

In May 2007, J. Press moved to 380 Madison Avenue in New York City, which closed indefinitely in 2014.

On March 1, 2013, J. Press opened a second store in New York City, located at 304 Bleecker Street, which carried a sub-label of the brand called "J. Press York Street", that was described by the New York Times as "a faint outline of the original." Designed by Shimon and Ariel Ovadia of the clothing brand Ovadia & Sons, York Street was geared towards a younger audience, embracing slimmer fitting clothing with bold colors and patterns. After four seasons, Shimon and Ariel Ovadia left York Street and it was merged into mainline J. Press and renamed "J. Press Blue".