Party At J.Crew Mens Shop in SoHo {kind of}

There is an interesting article over at the Wall Street Journal (click here) about a recent event at J.Crew's Mens Shop in SoHo (NYC). [Incidentally, the image below with Jenna Lyons comes from this article).]

Harvey Weinstein Celebrates Crazy Joe Gallo, Michelle Obama, J.Crew
By WSJ
June 2, 2009

It was a mob scene at the newest J.Crew Mens Shop in SoHo Monday night as the retailer co-hosted a reading of a new book about the gangster known (and immortalized in a Bob Dylan song) as Crazy Joe Gallo.

A decked-out crowd turned up to see and hear the actors Matthew Modine and Steve Buscemi read excerpts from Tom Folsom’s “The Mad Ones: Crazy Joe Gallo and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld.” Another draw was media mogul Harvey Weinstein, who the retailer’s press reps coyly hinted might also read. “The Mad Ones” was published by Weinstein Books.

The event, co-hosted by the Accompanied Literary Society, was an unconventional one for a retailer that has been trying hard to shed its reputation as a conventional retailer. (The best way to rub J.Crew executives the wrong way, as a number of journalists have learned, is to refer to the retailer as a preppy mall-based chain.) With its idiosyncratic new men’s stores, all three of which are styled and decorated differently, the retailer has been trying to cultivate a more literary/artistic/bohemian/urban hipster crowd with events like Monday evening’s. It wants to be the rebel in the mall.

It was Weinstein though, who turned out to be the rebel Monday night. The event began at 6:30 and organizers didn’t want to start the reading until he arrived. After roughly 90 minutes and no sign, the show went on without him. The author and the actors looked dapper in their tailored J.Crew suits, sport coats and ties. Mr. Folsom chose a sleek, sheeny charcoal number that he said reminded him of the kind of sharkskin suit that the natty Joe Gallo might have worn. When Weinstein finally arrived unannounced, he didn’t follow the script.

Why was he participating in this event? “I love J.Crew,” he said.

Was he wearing J.Crew at the moment? “I’m not wearing J.Crew, but [CEO] Mickey Drexler is a great friend of mine and Emily Woods who really started J.Crew, is another good pal of mine. (pause) And doesn’t the First Lady wear J.Crew?” (Yep) “Well I like her too.”

If anyone is interested, there are several other articles about this event that goes into a bit more detail about the night (click here- which is where the image of the attendees came from, click here- for lots of images of the event which include Jenna Lyons, and here).

It is great to not only hear about these {super fun} events happening at J.Crew, it is wonderful to see so many people loving their clothes too (even if they are not wearing them at the moment)! ;)

Have you visited the new J.Crew Mens Shop in SoHo? What are your impressions (e.g. wide selection, friendly staff, etc)? (Is it as tiny as it looks in pictures, like this one)? ;)