A big "thanks!" to RatsOnParade (in this post) & Stephanie who shared the following news (from WWD) about J.Crew's leading lady...J.Crew Dresses MarthaAlso, "thanks!" to Kristin (in this post) who let us know that there is a video preview available at Martha Stewart's website (click here to view) which shares with us a bit more about the show:
By S.D.S.
November 25, 2009
J.Crew’s creative director, Jenna Lyons, will appear on “The Martha Stewart Show” on Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the holiday season. Martha Stewart wore a look from J.Crew while interviewing Lyons on her inspirations for the winter 2009 collection and showed looks from the latest catalogue. The show also aired images of Lyons’ turn as model in the next catalogue, along with her brother and father. Stewart took a keen interest in Lyons’ attractive sibling, asking “Is he married? Girlfriend? Because we have so many women here looking for handsome guys like him. We’re always looking.”
...We are going to treat you to some inspiration for your winter wardrobe. On the next Martha: fashion show. From sweater to sequins to jewels to jeans. Festive and affordable holiday gifts for everyone on your list...Jenna Lyons is all over the place! She is definitely becoming "the face" of J.Crew (not sure if that is good or bad). I also look forward to seeing the Martha Stewart Show this Friday (I will be TiVo-ing it) to see their J.Crew outfits. The segment looks like fun! :)
What are your thoughts on Jenna Lyon's media exposure? Do you think her appearance on the Martha Stewart Show is a proper venue? Are you "loving the Jenna-Spotlight" or "feeling the Jenna-fatigue" when it comes to Jenna Lyon's press?
I LOVE Martha. I've been to her show, and I've met her in person (she's striking and very tall). You have to respect the woman for building such an empire. Martha is her own brand. I am looking forward to Friday's show, however I don't think making Jenna the face of JCrew is a great idea. I feel it could make her more popular than the brand, and possibly create a schism. Even now, we see some women attempting to recreate her quirky style (socks with peep toes..what?). JCrew isn't exactly a design house. I'd rather the brand be forefront, rather than the brand's designer. This isn't J(enna)Crew. That's just how I feel it should be (others may digress, of course).
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, I will def watch. I agree with the above comment that the brand be the brand, and not Jenna. I am looking forward to seeing her on the show though.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving!
I'm sooooo over Jenna and her styling. Let the clothes speak for themselves and let Jenna get back to creating!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so with you Lisa! Martha is awesomeness. Have you ever seen her pics in Kevyn Aucoin's book done up like Veronica Lake? He brought out her inner sex kitten, which you see a bit when she flirts with handsome young guys. I'll have to see if I can find a video of this segment, I gave up on cable awhile back.
ReplyDeleteI've been on Martha's show and met her as well. I was even lucky to have been selected for a segment on a show of hers years ago. It was the "Ask Martha" from about 1998. She was great!
ReplyDeleteAs others have mentioned Martha is a brand onto herself. Not too sure if Jenna can acheive that level, but someone, either Mickey, J.Crew or Jenna herself is certainly working on her becoming more of that.
I wonder if they feel that shoppers will connect more with a face and person more than simply a company name. I'm sure there is some market research or reason for Jenna being so heavily featured and receiving all the attention.
Not a Martha fan at all......as far as Jenna...meh....
ReplyDeleteTotally OT, but Ann Taylor is offering 40% off your entire purchase online, plus free shipping over $150, through Friday, 11/27. Promo code: TURKEY. I believe they are offering 40% off your purchase in store on Friday only, until noon, no coupon needed. I would love if JC had a promo like this!
ReplyDeleteThere's a preview available on marthastewart.com. Click the television tab, then coming up next week. There will be a J Crew fashion show.
ReplyDeleteITA with Lisa. Jenna needs to stay behind the scenes and create. As a customer and stockholder, I believe her attempts to gain personal fame are not good for the company in the long run.
ReplyDeleteMarietta,
ReplyDeleteThanks. That is good to know!
I have had a bit of Jenna fatigue this fall but I'd like to see the segment on Martha Stewart before passing judgement. Sometimes it is a "good thing" to have unexpected guests rather than the same old folks who do the circuit of shows, promoting their latest thing. The photo of Martha and Jenna laughing looks genuine and fun.
ReplyDeleteSo she'll be modeling in the next catalog? I'll be very interested to see that! I wonder just how many layers she'll have piled on in her outfits :)
ReplyDeletemartha is super inspirational! did anyone catch her nightline piece? some great insight from a determined businesswoman.
ReplyDeleteglad jenna's having fun showcasing her creativity, but i'm increasingly wary.
frankly, i'd rather j crew focus on maintaining quality and preserving its core, loyal customers first - those of us who have been shopping there for years and years, spending thousands, and loving them through absent catalogs, nonstop website crashes and sneaky, crazy pricing strategies - than peddling lower quality, higher-priced merchandise to anyone and everyone that will listen.
if we wanted disposable eye-candy clothes, well forever 21 already serves that purpose. j. crew, i thought, was aiming for the designer ready to wear market demographic.
shedding minauderies, pilling sweaters, hole-springing tees, brittle jewelry and unraveling mittens don't meet that standard.
thanks for the headsup alexis - i'll try and catch it! you're so good at keeping us all informed!
Alexis, thanks for sharing that! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if there is such thing as "overexposure" for JCrew in this economy. Since Jenna is behind majority of looks in their catalogs (boyfriend style chinos, shirts etc. mixed with feminine details), she seems to be their main representative right now. Plus, she's better looking than Mickey haha :)
I can't wait to see this :)
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone
Thanks, I'll watch because I can't help myself. I remember when I was first hearing about Martha and watched her show. I sat there enthused to see her cook, only to find out she seemed to expect me to grow the wheat and make the flour before I even started cooking! I knew then that Martha was way out of my league :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Alexis, I'll be watching, since I'm really curious what Jenna is like IRL.
ReplyDeleteI once read that Martha was chosen as a best dressed girl in her college years and did a magazine cover. I saw her early pictures and she really was beautiful and stylish in a classy way.
I'm not a fan...I respect her but not her cookbooks. The recipes never turn out good...esp. the baking ones...They all look so good in the picture but something's off in her recipes...
Hmmm sounds familiar...?
I too LOVE Martha, she is one strong woman, she handled herself dignity throughout her unfortunate ordeal - and afterwards, picked herself up and got back to work.
ReplyDeleteIt would be amazing to have her has a J.Crew model, particularly for us tall, mature gals. I was happy to learn of the addition of tall pencil skirts to the line up from one of the other JCA's. Maybe there is more to come.
Alexis, thanks for this blog, the posts in this thread have been particularly good. Have a great Thanksgiving weekend everyone.
Martha is like a holiday staple for me - all the way back to the 80's when her tv show just started. I'll definitely be watching tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI think Jenna being out there is just fine. There are many ways to wear JCrew clothes and her style represents one of the more creative & quirky ways. Just as Ann Taylor is now starting to call out its chief designer, I think JCrew is leading the designer focus trend in specialty retailers we'll see more of (now who designs for Banana? I bet we'll find out soon!)
Years ago Martha wore a lot of J Crew - I haven't watched her much lately so I can't say about that but she could have been a JCA back then.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of Martha and have been since before her magazine first began publishing in 1990 (showing my age here). I am willing to tolerate some of Martha's Marie Antoinette BS because I respect her aesthetic, attention to detail, tenacity, and business success.
ReplyDeleteOTOH I'm not so fond of Jenna's "let them eat cake" remarks. I can certainly attribute my J.Crew addiction to Jenna's influence--and remember how gorgeous she looked in that pink and orange Martine in "In Style"? (I had to run out and buy it after that.) But as Lisa said, J.Crew is not a couture house, it's a mass-market mall retailer. For me, the error it's not so much the association of the brand with a single individual as some of the arrogant things that Jenna says. Sure, now JC has Mrs. O, but let's face it, Jenna designs for Main Street. Mall chain . . . can I just say it again, mall chain. If she wants to be as snooty as Karl Lagerfeld she should go work for Chanel.
Personally, I don't think JC needs a face. Do the high end brands have a face? Since I don't (can't) shop them, I don't know. I guess I'm not sure why she seems to be everywhere these days.
ReplyDeleteI like Martha and anything to do with JCrew so you bet I will be watching the show on Friday! Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the sentiments I don't understand why Jenna is everywhere. Jenna is a real turnoff for me, there is just too much of her.
ReplyDeleteDef. will tape the show.
ReplyDeleteDef. will tape the show.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving!!! I love you and your blog. Thanks for all of your dedication and hard work!!!
ReplyDeleteOT: Any JJill fans? Free ship no minimum today only:)
ReplyDeleteOT: Just saw an article from stylelist highlighting a "sneak peak" into the upcoming holiday catalog (when's that come out, by the way?)
ReplyDeleteI found this comment interesting -- I'll have to keep on the lookout for red all the rest of the year:
One of the biggest challenges to this season's catalog is originality, says Lyons. "How do you do holiday without being corny, instantly recognizable but not overdone?" One way J. Crew avoids holiday fatigue is to use the color red only for December catalogs.
"We purposely stay away from red the rest of the year. We don't use red type or photograph red clothes at other times," she explains. When crimson appears this month, "people notice a change. It's subtle but it's a signifier."
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks RatsOnParade. So that's her "handsome brother" that Martha was asking about. I can see it... Didn't notice much new in the few featured pages. At least nothing of interest to me. Oh great, more messy aesthetic. How fresh and exciting. :P
ReplyDeleteratsonparade,
ReplyDeleteGreat link. Thanks. Fun to look at even though I did not see any have to haves. Hopefully, the full catalog will! I don't care for the messy backgrounds in the catalog pics but to each his own!
o/t - but for the JCA's in NYC - if you make $300 in purchases between now and December 20 at a J.Crew store in Manhattan on your amex, you get a $50 statement credit. details are here:
ReplyDeletehttps://enroll.amexnetwork.com/US/NYCLOCAL09/
enjoy! :)
I like MS and though I'm not a regular viewer I'm going to make a point of tuning in to see this. I like Jenna. I think it's a risk to make ANYONE the face if a brand, but I find Jenna and her style really interesting.
ReplyDeleteI liked the segment. I thought the clothes were well chosen and well styled. I think this is great exposure for JCrew, and significant that Martha, known for her demanding and discerning taste, should feature the brand on her show. For me the jury is out on Jenna as a personality and face for the brand. She comes off as very modest and soft spoken, not at all an egotist. I was suprised at how calm she was, given what I've read about her over-the-top schedule. Anyway, I was happy to catch it.
ReplyDeleteCory, I agree with you totally, I throughly enjoyed the segment!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the segment too, but I thought the men looked better and more interesting than the women. As for Jenna, I don't mind her, but it would be great if they had two or three people working on the women's line. I know, the line might become schizophrenic, but I just don't think her pov is enough.
ReplyDeleteThanks, JC. I signed up after reading your post. Just to clarify: you need to spend $300 total by 12/20 at 3 or more participating merchants. The list includes several JCrew locations. It wasn't clear to me whether purchases at different JCrew locations would qualify as different merchants. That shouldn't be a problem for me, as Century 21 and numerous restaurants are also included in the participating merchants.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who noticed that the jewelry Jenna was wearing is NOT the same jewelry J Crew is selling? i.e. The Symphony Necklace and the Tiered Crystal necklace? The versions Jenna was wearing have larger stones and appear to be more CZ-like than clear crystal stones. After seeing her version; I'm not happy with the ones I bought from J Crew. They will be going back. I hope J Crew isn't going to follow in the footsteps of some other catalog companies... the "bait and switch" where they depict one item and sell a lesser quality version. It's very frustrating.
ReplyDeleteHeidi, thanks for sharing. Do you know where I can see this preview? I thought the stones were rounder too... and when I phoned the catalog; they insisted that it was the tiered crystal necklace. I'd love to see the Spring preview of jewelry. Is there a site where I can view it? Or at least this particular necklace with the larger and rounder stones?
ReplyDeleteHeidi,
ReplyDeleteI, too, am a real stickler when it comes to the details on jewelry. Like you, I just knew that piece wasn't the libretto necklace - and, what I've found out to date is this: The large round crystal necklace that Jenna is wearing on the Martha Stewart show is her own! That's right... after being told by J Crew reps that it was the crystal libretto necklace (which being a JCA, I knew it was NOT), I called Madewell (JC's sister store) and spoke to a very knowledgeable sales associate who viewed the video while on the phone with me; read through the list of items that Jenna was wearing and agreed with me that it wasn't the libretto necklace. She was just as curious, so.... she phoned someone at J Crew and was told that the large round crystal necklace that Jenna was wearing was Jenna's own piece of jewelry and unavailable for purchase. That was what I originally thought but hoped that J Crew wouldn't have allowed personal pieces to be shown on air... especially in a show where they were discussing J Crew merchandise that could be purchased. I really dislike when companies do that. Show something that is clearly unavailable and then try to tell you it's something else to get you to buy a close facsimile. So....that solves the mystery of the beautiful necklace that Jenna wore. It's NFS! Merry Christmas.
Re: Jenna - I agree with the poster who thinks that J Crew doesn't need a "face". There are too many disadvantages to having a face. Those who don't like her will be less inclined and interested in "her picks". I'd be more interested in the actual "crew".... rather than singling out one person to be the "face". It's too risky IMO.
ReplyDelete