Shortly after Irving Press was discharged from the US Army where he ran the PX store at Fort Ritchie, Maryland, my uncle was contacted by the Scottish head of a renowned two hundred year old Shetland Island sweater maker crossing the pond for his first post-World War II visit to the states. Eager to drum up business lost during the war years, his timing was serendipitous. Irving was looking for a new resource to compete with the popular Shetland sweater offered at Brooks Brothers and many other retailers. Immediately bonding with the CEO from the Shetland Islands and bolstered by a few Scotches, they racked their brains trying to figure how to differentiate the J. Press Shetland from others in Ivy-land.
To read this story and many more, purchase the Threading the Needle book by Richard Press.
