Can J.Crew’s CEO Get Men Excited About Khakis? - The Wall Street Journal
Call it the tell-tale patchwork shirt. Slotted into J.Crew's latest men's collection—the first from its new men's designer, Brendon Babenzien, which rolls into stores on Monday—is a camp-collar shirt with the feel of well-loved pajamas and patterns that call to mind thrift-store ties. It's all part of the retailer's effort to yank itself out of a gingham-and-chinos rut. The company, said J.Crew chief executive Libby Wadle in an interview at J.Crew's Manhattan headquarters this month, is "one of a few great American brands. I think we sort of lost that along the way." The brand rode a fizzy, preppy style to great success for decades, but of late, its predictable array of sprightly polo shir...