J.Crew's sister store, Madewell is having a "Denim After Dark" event on the first Thursday of every month (between 7-9PM) at their NYC SoHo store (located at 486 Broadway). What is great about these events is that they are offering clients:- $25 off any pair of jeans {nice!}
- Complimentary denim hemming
- Custom embroidery {I am not sure what that means. Can I get an initial or a critter on my jean back pocket?}
- Styling and fit consultations with Madewell Head Designer Kin Ying Lee {I would just love to meet Kin, let along get styling advice.}
- Complimentary Madewell Mojito Bar {Wow! :) Are the drinks free too- because drinks in NYC can be expensive.}
I am not sure how long this denim event will last. If you are in the SoHo area and decide to check this out, please let us know. I will definitely post your review too! :)
Also, as many of you have pointed out throughout this blog, Madewell's main home page has been promoting the message that they will soon be offering its clothes for sale online. It seems like forever since this news "broke". Well, maybe forever is an exaggeration since it was in May of this year when the "Madewell is coming online (finally)!" post discussed it. ;)With the website/system upgrade fiasco still not being fully resolved over at JCrew.com, I am not sure what to expect from Madewell's online commerce site. I have to admit that I am hesitant about this (whereas before I was really looking forward to it).
What do you think about the "Denim After Dark" events? Do you think you will go, now that you know about them? What do you think of Madewell's foray into an e-commerce retail site? Will you buy online from Madewell (or hold off for awhile to see if the site functions properly)?
Since I am nowhere near NY, I won't be able to attend the event. It sounds fun, though. I bet they'll be swamped. I would love to get custom embroidery on my J Crew jeans since there is no embellishment whatsoever on them. I wouldn't go crazy...just an initial or small something or other.
ReplyDeleteIt never occurred to me that Madewell.com could have ordering/shipping issues. I believe J Crew switched platforms and that may have been a large contributor to the problem. So if Madewell only starts w/one platform, maybe the functionality will be fine. It seems like they have some sort of disconnect between the CS and the ordering system and the ordering system and the warehouse. That may be an issue regardless of what programs they're running for their processes.
I won't be able to attend the event, either...I would really like to be able to visit a Madewell store at some point, though. I am really curious as to quality and fit of the clothing, and from what I've seen on their website already...I am not impressed. I'm not a big wearer of jeans, and that seems to be alot of what Madewell is pushing. I would also venture to say that Madewell1937.com will have high shipping rates just like J.Crew, which will make the site even more unappealing. This being said...maybe Madewell1937.com WILL actually have more clothing that I feel is appropriate for my age, and I will be pleasantly surprised. However, right now everything there seems to be geared to the *younger* customers, and I feel as if I'm shopping in the Juniors department. Not to mention that the clothing is priced comparable to current J.Crew prices, so I wouldn't even be saving any money by shopping there.
ReplyDeleteBtw...when I was clearing out J.Crew boxes on Saturday I came across a return label addressed to Madewell returns, even though my purchase came from J.Crew. I never return by mail, so I have never paid attention to this before, but once I saw this label I was on the lookout, and found a second one addressed to Madewell. This is a scary thought...they are the EXACT SAME ADDRESS in Lynchburg, VA, which means everything is coming out of the same warehouse. If J.Crew cannot even get J.Crew merchandise shipped correctly from that warehouse...how in the world are they going to handle Madewell, too? Not to mention returns from both online stores...this is really a disaster waiting to happen...oh wait...a disaster already DID happen. Ok, so this is a SECOND disaster waiting to happen!
I wasn't terribly impressed with the clothing on Madewell's site, either - mainly because I rarely wear jeans. I love JC because they have a great selection of classic pieces that I can wear to work or out on the town. From what I've seen, Madewell seems a little too Juniors section/American Eagle for my taste.
ReplyDeleteCustom embroidery sounds fun!! Depending on what they offer of course....I wish it could be done on my JCrew jeans though....doubt I would buy Madewell ones....my JCrew jeans seem to last and last....anyone remember the streaky wash from around 2002ish time. Mine are still going strong and I had a Jcrew store employee say how much she liked them and I told her they were JCrew "vintage" :) I wash them inside out on gentle and line dry.
ReplyDeleteI have to be honest guys, I wasn't that impressed with the Madewell store I went to in California.
ReplyDeleteThere was both a J.Crew and Madewell in an outdoor mall- naturally I spent an hour or two at the J.Crew. I was in the Madewell for less than 10 minutes.
Madewell just offers the basics. Nothing eye-catching like the Bella Jacket. And the basics are not that inexpensive compared to J.Crew on sale.
I still want to go to the Madewell in NYC, just because I consider it the "flag ship" store, but I doubt I will spend a lot of time there either. ;)
I just think that I am no longer within its target market. I will say that if I were still in college, I think I would totally rock Madewell clothes. :)
Gigiofca & FFM: I hope that Madewell does has a different platform than J.Crew's computer system. :) But I wonder about that since FabulousFloridaMommy mentioned that her return label was addressed to Madewell- it just makes me think they share a lot more between them. :)
ReplyDeleteSilver_Lining: I know what you mean about not being super impressed. I also agree that the target market seems to be college students as oppose to professionals in the workplace. :)
Anonymous at 9AM: "Vintage" is an excellent term- love it! :)
I only wear jeans on the weekends and sometimes on Fridays at work. I'm usually looking for cheap and cheerful since the bulk of the time I'm wearing them is when I'm at home with the kiddies and not, sadly, out at some fab wine bar.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to hear what the quality is for the Madewell stuff before I try and order anything (assuming they'll ship to Canada). If they're shipping from the same place maybe we'll be able to combine orders...
Gee, this promotion might be good except for the fact that it's a Thursday night. I have sooo much time during the school year that I can drive 20 minutes to Manhattan to buy jeans at 9 at night. Hopefully I can visit the Madewell store before summer is over. Imo, it seems a little bit too "Urban Outfitters" for my taste - I'm just curious about the jeans.
ReplyDeleteKatherineD: That is a good point about Thursday being a busy day of the week to travel to the event. I am not sure why they picked Thursday night to hold this event. Maybe they didn't want to compete with NYC's weekend events. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's probably convenient for those who live in the area, but I can't see a lot of people who have to travel a bit going there.
ReplyDeleteI too would like to be able to walk into a Madewell and see what it's like! I would shop there, if their jeans fit my peculiarly weird body shape just right. :) I mean, great fitting jeans are hard to come by so when I find a brand that makes them right, I tend to cling on for dear life. ;)
ReplyDeleteMadewell's Dallas store is doing Denim After Dark as well.
ReplyDeleteI've been shopping at the Dallas store (the original store) since it first opened almost two years ago. I can honestly say that, had I just seen the website and not physically stepped foot in the store, I probably wouldn't have ever shopped there. They definitely don't show off the best looks on the website.
For what it's worth, I love their jeans and just about everything else. J. Crew jeans actually don't fit me very well, but Madewell's do.