J.Crew launched its swimwear collection in 1989, when it was still a young company. This photo shows the simple, block-print bikinis that were typical of that time.
Fast forward nearly 30 years, and it doesn't look too different. J.Crew still sells simple swimwear designs in plain colors. This bikini top costs $56.
The style continued under the creative direction of Jenna Lyons, who left the company last year. The New York Times crowned Lyons as "the woman who dresses America" in 2013.
In the late '90s, the brand went through a crisis period. Texas Pacific, a company known for its ability to turn around failing companies, bought a stake in the company.
Source: Forbes
The early catalog was an iconic part of J.Crew's brand. In 2012, comedian Meghan O’Neill created a video series using images from the catalog. "'J.Crew Crew' made fun of the bizarre alternate reality conjured by J.Crew’s catalogs, in which children and adults dressed exactly alike, Jackie O. and Helena Bonham Carter had combined their closets," Joshua Rothman wrote for The New Yorker in May.
Source: The New Yorker
After Drexler took over as CEO and drove the turnaround, the brand took off with celebrities. Michelle Obama was frequently photographed in J.Crew clothing.
"J.Crew cracked the code of all-day dressing for the 'creative class' by combining the formal with the informal: it sold tuxedo jackets you could wear to the office and sequined blouses that could work under military jackets," Rothman wrote in The New Yorker.
Source: The New Yorker
This photo from 2012 shows how J.Crew ended up becoming more of a high-end fashion brand, especially when compared to the simpler styles of the '80s and '90s.
Lyons was ultimately criticized for this, as customers claimed the brand had become unaffordable and impractical.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in May, Drexler said that the retailer's biggest mistake over the last few years was that it had raised prices at a time when customers were increasingly cost-conscious.
"We gave a perception of being a higher-priced company than we were — in our catalog, online, and in our general presentation," Drexler told The Journal. "Very big mistake."