When the first J. Crew catalog came out in 1983, it said the brand was based on 100 years of craftsmanship, which was just a lie. The brand had just started and since then, has reached dizzying highs and terrifying lows. Courtesy of Brendon Babenzien, the brand is back after a fallow period and a bankruptcy in 2020.

Albert leads the boys through the brand's long history and our own thoughts and feelings around the "legendary" brand that had to make up its own legend. As always, read along on our substack.

(If you want a more thorough version of this history, read "Kingdom of Prep" by Maggie Bullock.)

Theme song by Soraya Perry.