Photography by Bryan Derballa.

If you’re local, come visit our pop-up shop at The Stables (4 Stable St.) at Central Saint Martins, which is open to the public on Friday, May 24th (10am-8pm) and Saturday, May 25th (10am-5pm). Follow all the #hellolondon action on Instagram and Twitter.

Photography by Bryan Derballa.

If you’re local, come visit our pop-up shop at The Stables (4 Stables St.) at Central Saint Martins, which is open to the public on Friday, May 24th (10am-8pm) and Saturday, May 25th (10am-5pm). Follow all the #hellolondon action on Instagram and Twitter.

Tucked into a leafy private street in West Hollywood is Chait’s enviable setup: an atelier/showroom (a New Yorker’s dream) with oversize picture windows that look out onto a wildflower garden that the knitwear designer tends to himself. As for the piles of blankets stacked neatly on the floor? They’re all The Elder Statesman.

A look around Chait’s by-appointment-only studio reveals an exacting eye for detail and patina: a leather safari chair, stacks of old books artfully piled on the floor, records, frayed dhurrie rugs, an old loom from the 1800s that he picked up from a swap meet in LA. And then there are the knits—cardigans, Baja pullovers, ski caps, scarves—a handful of which in unexpected color pairings reflect the designer’s studied rebellion.

There’s cashmere he had dip-dyed by a Red Hook artist, cashmere bracelets made from excess yarn from his production process (woven by Eddie, a guy Chait met one day in downtown Los Angeles), assorted leather jackets (which, like many of the other items in his line, aren’t widely publicized but have been produced for years for private clients), a Navajo crochet bag made with local dyes, handmade buffalo horn glasses.

Chait’s also something of a spirits aficionado, so he’ll pour you a stiff drink. (The day we visited, he graciously poured us a glass of Midleton whiskey and put on Peter Sarstedt.)

Photography by Bryan Derballa.

Read more about the lead-up to the launch of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund collections here.

And to shop the exclusive The Elder Statesman collection and the rest of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund designs, click here.

Photography by Bryan Derballa.

To learn more about and donate to the Liya Kebede Foundation, the nonprofit organization Liya started that helps raise awareness for women’s maternal health in third-world countries, click here.

To shop our latest women’s collection, click here.

Best friends Jillian and Karen talk about the inspiration behind Pret-à-Surf and why it’s OK to be a sporty girl and hang with the boys in our latest J.Crew film, “Pretty Swell.”

IN FULL BLOOM
“I’ve been coming to Dutch Flower and G. Page for the past 11 years. Dutch Flower has this incredible mix of wildflowers and filler flowers, and Chris, the owner, always places special orders for us,” says Tracy, who has been prop styling our Style Guide shoots for more than 10 years. “Walking through the flower district, it’s so easy to pull together a palette because of the way all the flowers are arranged on racks or in tubs on the floor. Right now, I’ve got my eye on the cherry blossoms and magnolias that are blooming like crazy—they remind me of cotton candy.”

EARLY RISER
The market keeps different hours from most businesses: It opens early, like 5am, and gets all cleaned out before noon. “Sometimes it’ll get in a rare batch of, say, Japanese peonies, but there’s a limited amount, so you want to grab those before they’re gone,” says Tracy. “I never travel anywhere without my pink gardening clippers.”

PETAL PUSHERS
For this particular story, Tracy was inspired by the industrial baker’s racks overflowing with flowers she’d seen on her monthly visits to the flower district. For the shoot, Tracy and her assistant Brian brought in more than 200 bunches for each spread. “We used anemones in each shot, then added peonies, garden roses, hydrangeas and ranunculus to make each rack look really full,” she says. “We even used carnations to fill some of the racks. People don’t know this, but carnations actually hold light beautifully when you shoot them.”

FREEZE FRAME
“I’m still new to Instagram, but it has become a really organic part of my creative process. (I’m constantly taking photos with my iPhone while propping.) At first I’d only Instagram still lifes in my apartment or my paintings, but I’ve since broken out, and now I’ll Instagram whatever catches my eye. Flowers are a common thread in my feed.”

DIFFERENT STROKES
“I’m a painter by trade, so I know color and light well. That, combined with the new interpretation of pairing colors together in our office, makes for an inspiring starting point,” says Tracy, who admits she has no formal knowledge of floral design. “Slowly over time I’ve worked with the team to develop our very own look and feel—it’s much looser now.”

Explore the clothes from our weddings & parties shoot inspired by Tracy’s visit to New York City’s flower district here.

Have you ever been part of a photo shoot before?
“I don’t do this normally, no.”

I heard you had blue hair yesterday.
“Yes, it was striped, but my mom made me wash it out, though.”

How long have you been watching Star Wars?
“I’ve been watching since I was 5. So, for 3½ years.”

Do you know who says the quote that’s on your T-shirt?
“Darth Vader says it about Luke.”

What other movies have you seen lately?
“Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3 in 3-D, Rise of the Guardians, Skyfall.”

Luca wears a Stars Wars for crewcuts tee, a french terry zip hoodie in brilliant cobalt,
a Champion track pant and Adidas sneakers.

Walker, what’s your favorite battle scene? 
“General Grievous versus Obi-Wan.” 

Miller, what about you? 
“When Darth Vader kills Palpatine and throws him out of the Death Star.”

Walker, do you have a favorite line from Star Wars? 
“‘Use the force, Luke!’” 

Miller, we heard you had a Star Wars–themed birthday party recently. How did it go?
“It was epic!”

Miller wears a Stars Wars for crewcuts tee, a crewcuts sun-faded short, crewcuts socks
and Blundstone® boots. Walker wears a Stars Wars for crewcuts tee, a crewcuts sun-faded
short, and Adidas® shoes.

Lowe, you’re wearing braids, do you know who Princess Leia is?
“Princess Leia is cool. I would like my hair like that.”

What do you like to wear these days?
“I just got new floral Doc boots. I’ve had them for a while, but they finally fit. I also really
love these heart sunglases.”

Val, what’s your favorite movie?
“The Pink Panther shows. We have all of them.”

Lowe wears a Star Wars for crewcuts tee, Frankie short in neon floral, Selima Optique®
for crewcuts heart sunglasses and navy Converse sneakers with custom laces. Val wears a
Star Wars for crewcuts tee, a Flora & Henri khaki short and Vans camo half cab shoes.

Mavis and Bonnie
Have you girls seen Star Wars before? 
“NO!” 

Bonnie, we like your tights. 
“I like stars. They’re bright and twinkly.”

Bonnie and Mavis wear Star Wars for crewcuts tees, crewcuts leggings and
Converse® Chuck Taylor sneakers.

Alden
Who is your favorite Star Wars character?
“Boba Fett. He has a jet pack on his back and it’s really cool. And when he flies and the fire
shoots out, it’s awesome!”

Do you have a favorite episode?
“Which one has Boba Fett? Oh, then The Empire Strikes Back.”

We like your Supergas. Do you wear sneakers a lot?
“Yes, I think the designs are cool, and you can wear different-colored shoelaces.”

Alden wears a Star Wars for crewcuts tee, a 45rpm jean and Superga® sneakers.

(interview with his mom, Kiana) 
We hear your husband is a big Star Wars fan. Has he made Carter watch?
“We’re not watching—yet. Right now his mornings are filled with Sesame Street
and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I’m not sure his attention span would last beyond
the opening credits.”

Is this Carter’s usual Sunday look?
“He loves getting dressed up. We go between button-downs and cool graphic tees. We
always put him in a skinny jean or a chino. He’s got a lot of colored pants that I’m teaching
my husband how to style him in.”

These Vans® are pretty cool.
“His favorite things are from crewcuts. But he also gets a ton of wear out of these cool
leather high-tops.”

Carter wears a Star Wars for crewcuts tee, a pull-on lightweight chino in straight fit, and
Vans for crewcuts washed sneakers in lava orange.

Photography by Shawn Brackbill.

To shop our all our kids’ Star Wars for crewcuts tees, click here.

Jenna wore a custom sequin skirt (each sequin was sewn on by hand), a J.Crew
custom-printed sweatshirt, a custom Ascot Chang button-down, jewelry by J.Crew,
Sophia Webster shoes and carried a J.Crew clutch. 

Photography by Bryan Derballa.

For more details on the Costume Institute’s PUNK: Chaos to Couture exhibition at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, which runs from May 9th through August 14th, click here.

The Backstory
Hairdresser-turned-stylist Brent Lavett is one half of Lavett&Chin (the other half is his
partner, Nan Chin), and he knows great hair when he sees it. He grew up in Southern
California and began surfing at a young age, so that just-out-of-the-waves hair is
something that has a permanent place in his mind. “I’ve always loved the texture you get
from being in the ocean, so I wanted to bottle that and create something that’s actually
beneficial to the hair and scalp.” Brent produced the first batch of sea-salt texturizing
mist back in 1999 and has reintroduced it just for us, using specially sourced ingredients
like rose flower water, Maris sea salt and algae extract. (It should also be said that Brent
is something of a J.Crew veteran, having worked on our Style Guide shoots for the past
14 years.) And if these gorgeous J.Crew ladies’ goddess-y locks above are any
indication, it’s clear that his motto—“If something is important, do it perfectly”—applies
to this wonder texturizing spray as well.

Photography by Bryan Derballa.

To shop Lavett&Chin Original sea/salt texturizing mist, click here.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 12^th. Explore our Mother’s Day Shop here.