J.McLaughlin

Lunch by the pool at the Colony Hotel can be distracting.

Besides some well-toned women in bikinis on March 19, there was Kelsey Grammer lounging poolside — not so well toned, but looking good for his 69 years. His “Frazier” reboot has been given a second season on CBS. 

But I wasn’t lunching with Kelsey. I was breaking bread with Jack Lynch, v.p. of retail marketing at J.McLaughlin.

Jack Lynch (Photo by Patrick McMullan)

Brothers Jay and Kevin McLaughlin started out in 1977 with a men’s clothing shop on Third Avenue next to Jim McMullen’s restaurant. 

McMullen, a former male model, drew a crowd that included Princess Grace of Monaco, whom he had met on a trans-Atlantic flight. The restaurant was packed. 

McMullen’s is long gone, but there are now 170 J.McLaughlin stores across the country with more to come. Although 90 percent of their fashion is for women, one of the Palm Beach stores on Worth Avenue (there are two) is menswear only, and Lynch is expecting the men’s side to grow. But they aren’t ignoring the women.

While Jay McLaughlin has retired, his brother Kevin, creative director, has said, “She doesn’t want her clothes to arrive before she does. We bring her as close to ‘fashion’ as she wants to go without taking it too far.” 

Kevin McLaughlin (right) and his wife Barbara. (Photo by BFA)

Lynch explained that many of his female customers will wear high fashion couture at night, but they’ll wear J.McLaughlin during the day.

And the 27 J.McLaughlin shops in Florida account for about 40 percent of the firm’s sales during season. That’s one reason why Lynch lives in Palm Beach. 

J.McLaughlin Men’s on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.