Exhibit 5.1


                                [Letterhead of]
                           JONES APPAREL GROUP, INC.






                                                                 June 24, 2002

Securities and Exchange Commission
Judiciary Plaza
450 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20549

                              Jones Apparel Group
                      Registration Statement on Form S-3
                      ----------------------------------

Ladies and Gentlemen:

       I am General Counsel of Jones Apparel Group, Inc., a Pennsylvania
corporation (the "Company"), and in such capacity, I have represented the
Company in connection with the preparation and filing with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") of a registration statement on Form S-3
(Registration No. 333-87658) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
(the "Act"), and Amendment No. 1 to such registration statement filed by
the Company with the SEC on June 24, 2002 (as amended, the "Registration
Statement") relating to the registration under the Act of the offering of
an aggregate 562,947 shares of the Company's common stock, $.01 par value
per share (the "Common Stock"), for the benefit of the selling shareholder
(the "Selling Shareholder").

       In that connection, I have examined originals, or copies certified or
otherwise identified to my satisfaction, of such documents, corporate records
and other instruments as I have deemed necessary or appropriate for the
purposes of this opinion, including (i) the Articles of Incorporation of the
Company, as amended or restated; (ii) the Bylaws of the Company, as amended or
restated; (iii) the Registration Statement and the related Prospectus
(together with the documents incorporated therein by reference, the
"Prospectus") and (iv) corporate preceedings related to the authorization of
the Common Stock.

       In such review, I have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the
legal capacity of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents
submitted to me as originals and the conformity to the originals of all
documents submitted as copies and the authenticity of the originals of such
copies.





       Based on the foregoing and subject to the further assumptions and
qualifications set forth below, I am of the opinion that the shares of Common
Stock to be sold by the Selling Shareholder are duly authorized, validly
issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

       I am admitted to practice in the State of New York, and I express no
opinion as to any matters governed by any law other than the laws of the State
of New York and the Federal laws of the United States of America.

       In rendering this opinion, I have relied upon the opinion dated June
24, 2002 of Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, a copy of which appears
as Exhibit 5.2 to the Registration Statement, as to all matters of law covered
therein relating to the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

       I hereby consent to the use of my name under the caption "Validity of
Securities" in the Prospectus and the use of my opinion as herein set forth as
an Exhibit to the Registration Statement.

                                              Very truly yours,

                                              /s/ Ira M. Dansky
                                              -----------------
                                              Ira M. Dansky
                                              General Counsel