An exclusive first look at J.Crew's new Men's Shop

If J.Crew is gunning to become an old boys' club, it's on the right track. The brand is set to open its second NYC men's-only outpost, The Men's Shop, this week, just a stone's throw from its existing Liquor Store shop and with a similar retro, sepia-toned style. The space, formerly a newsstand, doesn't have the broken-in aesthetic of the Liquor Storeyet. The reclaimed knotty-pine fixtures are untreated, encouraging them to weather quickly; in the meantime, the mood is set with vintage decor, from magazines and books (for sale) to pencil sharpeners and staplers (not so much). But atmosphere aside, the clothes are the highlight. The front of the Men's Shop will stock what menswear director Frank Muytjens calls "the always list." In practice? A mix of the Crew menswear, third-party apparel, and exclusive merch from trad-friendly lines. Think outerwear from Mackintosh and Barracuta; footwear from Red Wing, Sperry, Alden, and Colchester, a revived brand of deadstock canvas sneakers. The back is devoted to J.Crew's first-ever Suit Shop. All of the suiting optionsmany of them previously catalogue-onlyare here, with a new, high-end Italian fabric line set to debut later this year. While there won't be a tailor on the premises, we were assured that one would be on callnot on one of the red phones ubiquitous in all of J.Crew's other stores, but, in keeping with the theme, on an antique rotary. The Men's Shop, 484 Broadway, NYC, 212-343-1227, jcrew.com Click for a slideshow > JOSH PESKOWITZ Photo: Steven Torres