FashBlog.com

If you are familiar with the name J. Peterman, it's probably due to the wildly popular television series Seinfeld. A lot of people don't know that there actually is a person named J. Peterman, and that there is actually a fully operational J. Peterman clothing company. As depicted on the show, the J. Peterman Catalog is known for its highly unusual, often literary, and sometimes humorous descriptions of the products. One major difference between the J. Peterman Company portrayed on Seinfeld and the real company is that the real company is located in Lexington, Kentucky and not New York City.

While I can't speak for the catalog, the J. Peterman website doesn't contain as many items as you would find on more mainstream clothing sites like Gap or Abercrombie & Fitch. For example, under the heading Men's Sweaters, you will find only 3 different styles to choose from. Clicking the Men's Pants link will yield 6 different styles. There are definitely more clothes for women on the J. Peterman site, but it is still less than you would find somewhere else.

The J. Peterman Company prides itself on selling clothes that you won't find at the local mall. The company wants to create a sense of "romance" to go along with their fashions. So on the site you can expect to find items with titles such as "1960's Bubble Skirt", "Swagger Coat", "Gatsby Pants", and even a "This could be it" dress. J. Peterman also has an assortment of accessories, perfumes, and colognes. Among the accessories are a leather messenger bag, a derby hat, and various watches.

I have to admit that I first started looking at J. Peterman clothes after I heard about the company on Seinfeld, so that was a great bit of publicity for them. But I have never bought anything from there. A couple of items have caught my eye over the years, but I find J. Peterman's prices to be too high for what they offer. For example, you can get something called a "Hemingway Cap". It looks to be an ordinary baseball-style cap, except that it has a longer bill. There aren't any logos or other markings on the cap, and yet it is selling for $39. You can get two or three caps from other name-brand stores for that price, and you could buy even more caps from places like Old Navy.

Also, the Gatsby Pants that they sell just look like ordinary pants. Sure, the name is cool and conjures up images of a bygone era, plus its name draws from one of the most famous characters in literature. But the pants themselves appear to be just regular khaki pants that you can get at Sears. They are made of lightweight linen (nothing special there). The only "extras" that I can determine from the written description are a watch pocket and suspender buttons. Do those features make the pants worth $128?

Anyway, if you want to check out the J. Peterman website, it is www.jpeterman.com. Even if you don't buy the clothes, you can enjoy the well-written descriptions!