ISS Recommends Maxwell Stockholders Remove Current Maxwell Board; Recommends Election of Jones Apparel's Nominees

ISS Recommends Maxwell Stockholders Remove Current Maxwell Board;
Recommends Election of Jones Apparel's Nominees 


NEW YORK, June 14  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Jones Apparel Group, Inc.
("Jones") (NYSE:JNY) today announced that Institutional Shareholder Services
(ISS) recommended that stockholders of Maxwell Shoe Company Inc. ("Maxwell")
(NASDAQ:MAXS) vote their consent in favor of removing each member of Maxwell's
board of directors and replacing them with the five Jones nominees pursuant to
Jones's consent solicitation.

ISS is recognized as the leading independent proxy advisory firm in the nation.
 Its recommendations are relied upon by hundreds of major institutional
investment firms, mutual funds and other fiduciaries throughout the country.

Peter Boneparth, Chief Executive Officer of Jones, stated, "We are very pleased
ISS has recommended that Maxwell stockholders grant their consent to our
proposals.  As we have stated from the beginning, and as ISS now has confirmed,
we believe that Maxwell's stockholders, the real owners of Maxwell, are
entitled to make a decision on whether or not to accept our offer."

Mr. Boneparth continued, "Our offer will expire on June 21, 2004 and we will
abandon our proposed acquisition unless we have entered into a merger agreement
with Maxwell or have received sufficient consents before June 20, 2004 from
Maxwell's stockholders to replace the Maxwell board.  We urge Maxwell
stockholders to sign, date and return the GOLD consent card TODAY, voting for
the election of our nominees and removing the current members of Maxwell's
board."

For more information about how to execute and deliver your consent, or if you
have any questions or require any assistance, please contact our consent
solicitor, Innisfree M&A Incorporated, toll-free at 1-888-750-5834.

Jones Apparel Group, Inc. (http://www.jny.com/), a Fortune 500 Company, is a
leading designer and marketer of branded apparel, footwear and accessories. The
Company's nationally recognized brands include Jones New York, Polo Jeans
Company licensed from Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, Evan-Picone, Norton
McNaughton, Gloria Vanderbilt, Erika, l.e.i., Energie, Nine West, Easy Spirit,
Enzo Angiolini, Bandolino, Napier, Judith Jack, Kasper, Anne Klein, Albert
Nipon and LeSuit.  The Company also markets costume jewelry under the Tommy
Hilfiger brand licensed from Tommy Hilfiger Corporation and the Givenchy brand
licensed from Givenchy Corporation, and footwear and accessories under the
ESPRIT brand licensed from Esprit Europe, B.V.  For over 30 years, the Company
has built a reputation for excellence in product quality and value, and in
operational execution.

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                          IMPORTANT INFORMATION



Investors and security holders are urged to read the disclosure documents filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") from time to time,
including the tender offer statement filed on March 23, 2004 and the supplement
to the tender offer statement filed on May 26, 2004, regarding the tender offer
by MSC Acquisition Corp., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Jones ("MSC"),
for all the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock, together with the
associated preferred stock purchase rights, of Maxwell. Investors and security
holders may obtain a free copy of the disclosure documents (when they are
available) and other documents filed by Jones or MSC with the SEC at the SEC's
website at http://www.sec.gov/.  In addition, documents filed with the SEC by
Jones or MSC may be obtained free of charge from Jones by directing a request
to Jones Apparel Group, Inc., 250 Rittenhouse Circle, Keystone Park, Bristol,
Pennsylvania 19007, Attention: Chief Operating and Financial Officer.

Jones filed a definitive consent solicitation statement on April 21, 2004 with
the SEC.  Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the
definitive consent solicitation statement and other documents filed by Jones or
MSC with the SEC at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/.  In addition,
documents filed with the SEC by Jones or MSC may be obtained free of charge
from Jones by directing a request to Jones Apparel Group, Inc., 250 Rittenhouse
Circle, Keystone Park, Bristol, Pennsylvania 19007, Attention: Chief Operating
and Financial Officer.

CERTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING PARTICIPANTS

Jones, MSC and, in each case, certain of its officers, directors and nominees
for the directorships of Maxwell, among others, may be deemed to be
participants in the solicitation of Maxwell's stockholders.  The security
holders of Maxwell may obtain information regarding the names, affiliations and
interests of individuals who may be participants in the solicitation of
Maxwell's stockholders in the definitive consent solicitation statement filed
by Jones with the SEC on Schedule 14A on April 21, 2004. 

DATASOURCE: Jones Apparel Group, Inc.



CONTACT:  Wesley R. Card, Chief Operating and Financial Officer, or Anita

Britt, Executive Vice President Finance, both of Jones Apparel Group,

[phone]



Web site:  http://www.jny.com/ 

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