A few weeks ago, my cousin was in town with his wife and son. He had a window of time and wanted to know where to get a smart summer blazer. I sent him over to J.Crew and told him to look for their Japanese cotton navy seersucker jacket, which would look great on him.

When I picked him and his wife up for dinner that evening, they presented me with a garment bag.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“We loved it and thought it was so you,” he said.

I unzipped the bag to find a new navy seersucker jacket. I was blown away by the thoroghly thoughtful and completely unexpected gift. And they had correctly guessed my off-the-rack size (38R). I was completely caught off-guard and was (and remain) so very grateful at this insanely kind and thoughtful gesture.

Since I had the jacket, I figured I would see if J.Crew had any discount codes online, which they did. At the very reasonable full price, the jacket is $298 and the pants are $158 ($456 total). I got 15% off the navy seersucker pants. Four days later, the pants arrived, producing a whole suit. Then it was off to the tailor…

Japanese Cotton J.Crew Navy Seersucker Suit
Japanese Cotton J.Crew Navy Seersucker Suit

A cotton suit is a summer staple. It often comes in the shape of a twill or chino, with the tan chino suit probably being the most popular. What I love about this seersucker is it’s solid navy color where seersucker typically comes striped (blue and white, brown and white or gray and white). Made with the signature J.Crew Ludlow design, the cut of the jacket is honest and slim with a slightly lower button stance, 2.5 inch lapels and a double vent in the back. The pants are flat-front with a very comfortable fit.

My only issue with this and the two other J.Crew Ludlow jackets I own is a minor one, but a recurring issue nonetheless. The front button becomes loose after only a few wearings (after one wearing with this new one). There is nothing exceptional or unusual about how I wear a jacket or how often I button and unbutton it. Luckily, fixing a button is a skill I have, and I took care of it in ten minutes. I have many other jackets from other brands and none of them have button threading this weak. This is an issue that seems particular to J.Crew. A friend who recently bought a beautiful Ludlow suit reported the same problem to me. The solution is a simple production fix: spend twice as much time and use twice as much thread when adhering the button to the jacket in the factory.

Other than that, I am overjoyed with a very smart new summer suit.

10 Comments

  1. Derrik Ollar

    I’ve got a striped seersucker, but man, the solid one is very masculine!

  2. Great looking suit! I too have the button issue on an Italian linen herringbone coat I got last year from j.crew. Guess it isn’t limited to a particular fabric or button thread.

  3. Even if you don’t “do” socks, (as American’s say, that and for lunch as well, here in the South, “are still you working on your food!?” can you believe it? Bless my cotton socks!!
    Anyway, the socks….of course that was where I was heading with this, would it still look so darn nice?

  4. Gregarious

    I debated getting the solid navy for a long time but went for the gray strip and love it equally!

  5. Hey George,

    Great post, very nice suit.

    Could you talk about your choice for the length of the pants?

    thanks!

    • George

      Thanks, Ricardo. As you may have noticed, my other suits break onto the top of my shoe. I considered taking these down 1/2″ to a length of my other suit pants, but for a light, cotton summer suit, I want a little breeze on my ankles. So I left them slightly short.

  6. I recently got the same suit, in the same size, and was wondering what tailoring you’ve had done to it? The suit fits well but does feel a bit long in the jacket, and I’ve read that others tend to take the waist in. What’s your take on this? Thanks.

    • George

      Took the jacket in a tiny bit in the middle. Not much else. I don’t want a summer suit to be too “fitted.”

  7. I took George’s advice and had a GREAT experience at the J.Crew Ludlow shop in New York. Lacking sophistication in my wardrobe I’d always thought of J. Crew as somewhere for my wife to shop but I could not have been more wrong when it came to their menswear. And I’ve gotten a lot of complements on the Navy suite and a
    beautiful blue corduroy coat I got from there. Kudos George.