Sunday, May 18, 2008

Madewell's: J.Crew's Sister Store

J. Crew opened a few stores under the brand name of Madewell (LA, Dallas, NYC). (If you are curious, check out their website: http://www.madewell1937.com). Although some of the clothes appear to be similar to J. Crew's own clothing line, they are a lot more simple (read as less preppy and less fashion forward). Madewell's seems to embrace the bohemian style.

The reps for the store claim that Madewell's merchandise are priced at 20-30% less than J. Crew. The price tag for Madewell's range from $13 (for tanks) to a couple of hundred dollars for dresses and boots. Moreover, jeans (a staple in anyone's closet) can range from $70 to $120. (Personally, those prices don't look like they are that "less" than J. Crew's!)

So what are your feelings about Madewell's? Have you purchased any items from them? Is the quality just as good as J.Crew? (Or is it like an Old Navy to the Gap- where the quality is noticeably different?)

17 comments:

  1. i actually purchased 2 thermal hoodies from Madewell a couple of months ago. the items actually weren't from Madewell, the hangtags said "hi-line". so in addition to actual Madewell products, they sell other brands. in any case, the hi-line hoodies purchased were of decent quality. i would say they were more like old navy quality. as for the actual madewell clothing, they are super vibrant and the palette is really beautiful. i don't think i could justify paying for any of their stuff full price though! i did see a lot of cute things, especially this one gold necklace there, an anchor pendant, which was over $200! anyway, bottomline, the clothing at madewell do look good, not so sure about the quality of everything, but if it's associated with jcrew, it can't be all that bad!

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  2. Hi "Anonymous at 4:47PM"! I didn't realize that their store sold merchandise outside of their brand name. (I thought it was just Madewell only.) That is good to know.

    I plan on visiting the SoHo store when I am in NYC in the next couple of weeks just to check out the merchandise. I am a big fan of J.Crew (obviously) so I am curious about any extensions they are involved with.

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  3. I go to school in New York, and I absolutely LOVE madewell. The store in SoHo is super cute, though a little small. Madewell's color palate is absolutely gorgeous, and the t-shirts and tank tops that I have boughten from there are very nice and relaxed fit, not so super tight.

    The stuff when you first enter the store is the most expensive, but once you go upstairs some of the prices are lower. Though I definitely wouldn't compare J.Crew-Madewell to Gap-Old Navy.

    I'm a big fan of this store!

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  4. Thanks "Anonymous at 10:27AM" for your comments about the SoHo store. After your review, I am looking even more forward to visiting it!!! :)

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  5. Do you think the "hi-line" is a line within the Madewell store? It doesn't seem very characteristic of J.Crew to carry other brands in its related store.

    I was excited when I first heard about Madewell, which was a long time ago. When they first started talking about starting Madewell, it was supposed to be significantly cheaper than J.Crew. But I agree with Alexis, those prices of jeans is the same, if not higher than J.Crew!

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  6. I've been to the Madewell in the Dallas Northpark mall (right when it opened, the first Madewell store!), and I was not impressed. To me it just looks like a glorified American Eagle/A&F/Gap. The material doesn't look all that great (totally agree with the "Old Navy quality" someone made earlier), and the prices are high for what they're offering. The sales they've had don't seem all that great either, but I haven't been there in a few months so I could be wrong.

    I'm kind of irritated that I've been getting their e-mails too when I never even signed up for them. Perhaps the doings of JCrew marketing? Try to entice all JCrew customers with their new store?

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  7. ive purchased two shirts, a sweater, a scarf, and i think a few other items. personally i think madewell is awesome. i love the bohemian style :)

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  8. Madewell is OVERPRICED. COMPLETELY. LETS NOT ARGUE THIS POINT. but i love the clothes! i spent 200 yesterday with a 20% discount for 4 items.
    1. shorts
    2.t shirt
    3. boyfriend t
    4. blouse
    Who the hell said its cheaper than j crew?

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  9. Personally, I would consider 4 items for $200 cheap, especially if you're comparing to J.Crew's outrageous prices. As for the brand "Hi-Line" that is also a sister line to J.Crew (owned by the same company). If you do like the brand then I would suggest going to a J.Crew Factory store (check your local outlets). They are carrying both the Hi-Line and Madewell lines. Apparently J.Crew Factory Stores are carrying both lines to get the name of the new brands out. No joke I got a pair of ankle zip jeans for $6.00 and shorts for $16.50. I love the material! Both are made from a good quality denim with 2% spandex to give a little. I also got a Hi-line sweater for $16.50. Can't beat those prices!!!

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  10. Hello all!

    I've been secretly obsessed with Madwell since i entered a store in philly a few months back. I finally purchased from the SoHo store yesterday, 2 tops (both $9.99) and a great pair of leggings for a friend ($9.99). I do agree with the similarities to Jcrew, as well as the fact they are much lower priced then Jcrew. Although, they have almost identical sale prices, for example, the $9.99 items above. As for the quality, I wore one of the shirts today to work and it's amazing. It feels great against the skin, comfortable, classy yet could be causal. NOT AT ALL LIKE OLD NAVY, is that serious? Or gap for that matter. Let be real people, Gap stores have such low quality items for such high prices it's a little disturbing. Anyways, Madewell doesn't allow shopping online, which is the only thing i hate. MADEWELL IS GREAT IN MY EYES!

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  12. Ok, I just stumbled upon your blog from Google, but I love to share my opinion about Madewell any time. I go to the Dallas store as often as possible, I would go as far to say that it is my favorite store. Yes, it is expensive, but all the clothes and accessories are well worth it. I haven't bought that many things from there, but I drool over almost all their clothes, and the items I have purchased have served me well--I wear them all the time. I love this store and want to share it as much as possible.

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  13. Also, Madewell has just recently made shopping online possible on their website. Unfortunately, it does not offer every item that is available at the stores.

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  14. I got a pair of cords from madewell... they were $90!! That's more expensive than J.Crew! I definitely would NOT compare madewell to old navy! Madewell's jeans are completely fabulous and $95, where old navy's are scratchy and $20...

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  15. Madewell is AMAZING! So much better than J Crew- Way more fashion forward. Maybe, J Crew is trendy and the clothes are "doing too much." Madewell clothing is simpler and reminds me more of something you could find in Europe (jmaybe the quality is poorer).

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  16. I have not purchased the clothing but the shoes are really top notch quality. They are well worth the money.

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  17. Austin trim To create custom hang tags, you can work with a printing company that specializes in this type of product.

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