Exhibit 99.1




  JONES APPAREL GROUP, INC. TO ACQUIRE NINE WEST GROUP, INC.


New York, NY, March 2, 1999 -- Jones Apparel Group, Inc.
(NYSE:JNY) and Nine West Group Inc. (NYSE:NIN) today
announced that Jones has entered into a definitive agreement
whereby Jones will acquire 100% of the common stock of Nine
West in a merger transaction.

Jones will exchange approximately .5011 of a common share of
Jones and $13 in cash for each Nine West Group common share.
Based on a value of Jones of $26 per share, Jones will pay
approximately $885 million for the Nine West common shares.
Including assumed debt, the transaction has a total value of
approximately $1.4 billion. Nine West has approximately 34
million shares outstanding.

The acquisition is expected to be slightly accretive to Jones
in 1999 and is expected to add significantly to Jones'
earnings growth in 2000. The transaction is expected to close
by the end of June 1999 and is subject to customary
conditions, including approval by Nine West stockholders and
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act clearance.

The combination joins the leading marketer and designer of
women's apparel with the leading marketer and designer of
women's footwear and accessories to create one of the world's
largest integrated companies of its kind. Together, Jones and
Nine West had more than $3.6 billion in trailing 12 months
revenues and could generate approximately $4.5 billion in
revenue in 2000, the companies said.

Upon closing, Mark J. Schwartz will be named Chairman of Nine
West. Jerome Fisher, a co-founder of the Company and its
current Chairman, will become a consultant to the Company
effective with the closing of the transaction, Vincent
Camuto, the other co-founder of the Company and its current
CEO, will continue to be actively involved with the Company,
capitalizing on his experience and expertise in design and
merchandising.

Mr. Schwartz is currently President and CEO of Palladin
Capital Group, Inc., a leveraged buyout firm, and is a member
of the Board of Directors of Jones Apparel Group. As a former
Director of Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch, Mr. Schwartz
was responsible for bringing Jones and Nine West public and
has worked closely with both companies for more than 10
years.

Sidney Kimmel, Chairman of Jones Apparel Group, stated, "We
are extremely excited to be announcing this acquisition.





                                                            2

Jones and Nine West create a winning combination of industry
strength, talent and opportunities for dynamic growth." "Nine
West meets all of our acquisition criteria," Mr. Kimmel said.
"The Company has many strong brands, such as Nine West, Easy
Spirit and Enzo Angiolini; excellent product quality and
consistency; and leading market positioning."

"We are fully confident with Mark Schwartz at the helm of
Nine West. He will bring excellent leadership skills as well
as an outstanding management and strategic background to the
Company. We also are looking forward to the continuing
contributions of Jermone Fisher and Vincent Camuto. In
addition, we are very impressed with the strength of
management at the Group President and division levels of Nine
West in design, merchandising and selling as well as the
company's finance, operations and distribution teams."

"We believe that the acquisition will be slightly accretive
to second half 1999 earnings per share and anticipate it
could add $0.15-$0.35 per share in 2000, excluding any
purchase accounting adjustments. Looking ahead, we see
excellent potential for brand synergies to expand Nine West
from its current leadership in the better market and into the
moderate and mass markets. We also see significant
cross-selling opportunities in apparel, footwear and
accessories using both companies strong brand names."

"Ultimately," Mr. Kimmel said, "the addition of Nine West is
an excellent example of our stated strategy at Jones of
identifying new opportunities and building a dynamic market
presence with outstanding quality product and nationally
known brand names, which will continue to allow us to stand
out as an industry leader as we move beyond the year 2000."

Mr. Schwartz noted that while Nine West had difficulties in
1998, Nine West's turnaround program is underway. "We see
strong positive trends in their business," Mr. Schwartz
explained. "Customers are responding very positively to new
spring product. Positive steps have, and will continue to be
taken to improve the operating performance and cash flow of
Nine West, including reducing overhead, rationalizing retail
and international operations, decreasing inventories and
lowering investment in working capital."

Mr. Fisher, Chairman of Nine West, stated, "We are very
excited about the prospects for this combination with Jones.
It provides each organization with a strong strategic partner
in a different sector of the fashion industry, thereby
creating an industry powerhouse."





                                                            3

Mr. Camuto, Chief Executive Officer of Nine West, said, "We
are delighted to deliver to our stockholders significant and
continuing value for their Nine West shares. We believe the
prospects for the combined organization are outstanding. We
will have unprecedented expertise in providing our customers
with complete lines of apparel, footwear and accessories in
different channels of distribution."

The actual number of shares of Jones in addition to $13 in
cash consideration to be exchanged for each Nine West common
share shall be (i) .5011 if the average price of Jones common
stock for the 15-day period ending two business days prior to
the closing is greater than or equal to $24 and less than or
equal to $34; (ii) equal to $17 divided by the average Jones
stock price if the average Jones stock price is greater than
$34 and less than or equal to $36; (iii) .4722 if the average
Jones stock price is greater than $36; (iv) equal to $12
divided by the average Jones stock price if the average Jones
stock price is greater than or equal to $21 and less than
$24; and (v) .5714 if the average Jones stock price is less
than $21. If the average Jones stock price is less than $21,
Nine West may terminate the agreement and plan of merger upon
compliance with certain requirements, including the payment
of certain fees to Jones.

Palladin Capital Group acted as financial advisor to Jones.
Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. acted as financial advisor to Nine
West. Cravath, Swaine & Moore is legal counsel to Jones.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is legal counsel to Nine West.

Jones Apparel Group, Inc. (www.jny.com) is a leader in the
apparel industry. The Company designs and markets a broad
array of products, including sportswear, jeanswear, suits and
dresses. The Company markets its products under nationally
known brands, including Jones New York, Evan-Picone, Rena
Rowan, Todd Oldham and Saville. Licensed brands include
Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Ralph by Ralph Lauren and Polo Jeans
Company, which are licensed from Polo Ralph Lauren. As the
Company approaches its 30th anniversary, it has built a
reputation for excellence in product quality and value, and
in operational delivery and execution.

Nine West Group Inc. (www.ninewest.com) is a leading
designer, developer, manufacturer and marketer of quality,
fashionable women's footwear and accessories. Its
internationally recognized brands are marketed in the
"bridge" to "moderate" price ranges and include the flagship
Nine West label, Amalfi, Bandolino, Luca B. for Calico,
cK/Calvin Klein (under license), 9 & Co., Pappagallo, Pied a
Terre, Selby, Westies and The Shoe Studio Group Limited





                                                            4

brands. Nine West Group's products are sold to more than
7,000 department, specialty and independent retail stores and
through 1,095 of its own domestic retail stores and 431
international retail locations operating at the end of the
third quarter.

Jones Apparel Group Forward-Looking Statement: Certain
statements herein are "forward-looking statements" made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements represent the Company's
expectations or beliefs governing future events that involve
risks and uncertainties, including the strength of the
economy and the overall level of consumer spending, the
performance of the Company's products within the prevailing
retail environment, and other factors which are set forth in
the Company's 1997 10-K and in all filings with the SEC made
by the Company subsequent to the filing of the Form 10-K. The
Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.

Nine West Group Forward-Looking Statements: Certain
statements contained in this news release which are not
historical facts contain forward-looking information with
respect to the Company's plans, projections or future
performance, the occurrence of which involve certain risks
and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual
results or plans to differ materially from those expected by
the Company. Certain of such risks and uncertainties relate
to the overall strength of the general domestic and
international retail environments; the ability of the Company
to predict and respond to changes in consumer demand and
preferences in a timely manner; increased competition in the
footwear and accessories industry and the Company's ability
to remain competitive in the areas of style, price and
quality; acceptance by consumers of new product lines; the
ability of the Company to manage general and administrative
costs; changes in the costs of leather and other raw
materials, labor and advertising; the ability of the Company
to secure and protect trademarks and other intellectual
property rights; retail store construction delays; the
availability of desirable retail locations and the
negotiation of acceptable lease terms for such locations; and
the ability of the Company to place its products in desirable
sections of its department store customers.