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In 2008, J.Crew introduced the Ludlow suit. At the time, the dominant silhouette in men’s tailoring was slim and razor-sharp, a look popularized by designers like Hedi Slimane and Raf Simons before trickling down to department stores and big-box retailers across the country. The Ludlow—a high-quality, approachable riff on the type of suiting sent down the runway—marked a watershed moment in menswear, and, like selvedge jeans and J.Crew’s gingham button-ups, it quickly became ubiquitous. For much of the 2010s, the Ludlow reigned supreme.
But as tailoring proportions gradually swung in the opposite direction (and the pandemic amplified the chorus of voices lamenting the suit’s demise), the Ludlow lost a bit of its luster. So it wasn’t much of a shock when J.Crew quietly introduced the Kenmare in early 2022, its answer to the question posed by “bad suit” connoisseurs like Justin Bieber and brands like Balenciaga: How should a suit look, fit, and feel right now, when wearing one at all is more often a choice than a mandate?
Unlike the brand’s giant-fit chinos, the Kenmare debuted to little fanfare. But there it was, jostling with the Ludlow for space in J.Crew stores and displayed alongside its counterpart on the retailer’s website. Did its arrival portend a new era of suited-and-booted style? How did it compare to its predecessor? And, most important, was it any good? Intrigued by the brand’s Brendon Babenzien-led overhaul and curious to see if I could come up with any answers, I decided to test one out myself.
A Relaxed, Right-Now Fit
First things first: the Kenmare is a looser and altogether more relaxed suit than the Ludlow. The version I tried—a double-breasted number made out of Italian wool (the mill’s name was conspicuously absent)—had soft shoulders, an unlined body, and wide-ish, at least compared to the Ludlow, peak lapels. The matching trousers (crisply pleated, with a 1.5” cuff) were cut with a medium rise, relaxed thigh, and very slight taper—a crucial flourish that kept them from veering into schlumpy territory. Despite the roomier fit, the jacket draped elegantly, imbued with the inexplicable panache of a ‘90s-era celebrity leaving LAX.
Like most ready-to-wear suits, it didn’t fit perfectly off the rack. (You should still be prepared to take yours to the tailor for minor alterations.) The sleeves were a tad long for my short reach, and the waist could be adjusted a touch. But the trousers were spot-on, a welcome surprise given my tricky build and general pants-related persnicketiness.
An Expanded Range of Fabrics
An enduring part of J.Crew’s appeal lies in the range of interesting materials within the brand’s repertoire. The Kenmare is no exception. The fabrics are exciting and frequently off-kilter—think luscious English corduroy (we’re looking at you, Wes Anderson), or a zippy, dizzying take on tweed that has Babenzien’s fingerprints all over it. In tandem with the construction and dialed-in fit, the materials make the Kenmare one of the most fun suits available for the price, without detracting from its versatility.
A few seasons in, J.Crew has brought in more fabric choices, and it's making all the difference. The brand is now offering a classic three-season wool option, perhaps the most versatile you can buy. Not only that, the fabric comes from Loro Piana, the crème de la crème of fabric mills. Whether the aim for this offering is seasonal or more of an evergreen product that returns season after season is yet to be seen, but I'm hoping to see this become a core piece in the lineup.
The Final Verdict
So to return to those nagging questions—yes, the Kenmare is indeed good. It feels care-free but not careless, a tough line to straddle for any company, let alone one with J.Crew’s reach. (It also feels of a piece with the tailoring proposed by brands like Noah, the streetwear-adjacent label Babenzien relaunched in earnest in 2015.) The trickier question, then, might be who the Kenmare is for. That’s less clear, though the ambiguity isn’t necessarily to its detriment.
Ultimately, the Kenmare seems designed for dudes who want to wear a suit for the sheer thrill of it, not because their 9-to-5 requires them to. The silhouette is still classic enough to sync up with an Oxford-cloth shirt and brogues, but its relaxed vibe naturally lends itself to wearing as separates, with a faded pair of jeans and cowboy boots or a scuzzy mohair cardigan and derbies. For the price, there are scant other options made with the same quality or panache.
When we first published this review back in 2022, I felt like the main thing missing from the Kenmare was a need for a classic, no-frills, year-round fabric. It's a fun suit, for sure, but what about for the guy who needs something more straight-forward? Or the dude looking to buy his first suit and needs that suit for every formal situation for the next few years? For the guy who loves how the Kenmare fits but doesn't need a “fun suit”? With the recent addition of the navy Loro Piana fabric (and hopefully more equally-versatile fabrics like a charcoal flannel), the Kenmare has rounded out its offering to meet more dudes where they're at.
Whether J.Crew can replicate the excitement the Ludlow engendered in the 2010s remains to be seen, but the Kenmare feels like an appropriate successor. Over a decade after the Ludlow’s heyday, you’d be hard-pressed to find a mass-market suit that more savvily captures what tailoring looks like right now, and where it’s headed in the next few years. Which means if you were looking for an option to restore your faith in the suit’s relevance (and maybe convince you to start wearing one again—y,know, just for fun) it’s an excellent place to start.