Referencing {FAQ}

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Sneak Peek to the Latest J.Crew Catalog {thanks Audreybella!}

A big "thanks!" to GigiOfCa (in this post) who let us know that Audreybella has posted some images from the newest J.Crew Catalog over at her {fantastic} Life is Short...Buy the Shoes (refer to her "What I Like" post to view the original post as well as additional images). Just click on any image below for a larger view.

Audreybella also shares with us the following interesting tidbit about the catalog:
The theme - Who's That Girl? They used women "who inspire us every day" - a museum curator, a freelance stylist, a ballerina, an author, some photographers and a mom to be to name a few to be models in the first few pages of the catalog.
I am looking really forward to getting the latest catalog! The floral swimsuit looks absolutely stunning. I hope the same print gets used for other articles of clothing too (e.g. button down shirts, skirts, etc.). I also love the idea of using inspirational women as models. In the past, J.Crew has used some of their employees to model. But I love this new take on it. Bravo J.Crew! :)

Side Notes: (1) How do some JCAs score the latest catalogs so early? Lucky ducks! :) (2) J.Crew should consider a maternity line. One of the women featured in the catalog (who happens to be pregnant) looks so beautiful with her black J.Crew dress.

What are your thoughts on the latest catalog (from the selected images shown)? Are you a fan (or not a fan) of the latest styles being offered? Do you like J.Crew's use of inspirational women as models?

54 comments:

  1. I went to the B&M yesterday & picked up the catalog. This is the first time I've seen the SA's all excited & excitedly pouring over the catalog, so they must've just come in.

    I really like the fact they used so-called normal women, but all these gorgeous ladies are about a half step away from being the typical JCrew models!

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  2. Looooooving the maternity model on cover, and the knit dress to fit mom's to be-----thank you jcrew!!!!

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  3. I like what I see, especially the knit dress and the skirts. Does anyone know if these are the items that will be out next week or do we have to wait until sometime in March?

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  4. Alexis - The swimsuit print is called Rose Vines and there will be other styles (bikinis) that I saw in the catalog. Also, I've seen the print on a Perfect Shirt, a dress and a scarf in my store.

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  5. Oh...my...god. My wallet is in trouble. I love the copper pencil skirt and the zebra striped dress.

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  6. Netdeva, I'm with you. I love both those pieces.

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  7. I hope this is a move away from the emaciated, blank-faced models they've been using lately. (The one in the collection shoot looked awful IMO, like a skeleton with the head of an alien embryo.) I miss the smiling, vibrant models that used to be a hallmark of JC. And love that print skirt!

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  8. So excited! Thanks audreybella (and Alexis!) for sharing. The last few rollouts have been seriously drab; I've got high hopes for this one!

    Um, I STILL won't be going pants-less this season. Or any season. I don't care if it's a pool party or not!

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  9. Audreybella, Can you tell me what store you saw the Rose Vines Print Scarf? I really like that print and I've only see the shorts and dress, and both were too short for me. Thanks!!

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  10. I'm looking forward to the new rollout for the guys. Tuesday is the supposed arrival date for the red chambray shirt and fireman jacket.

    Kudos to JC for using "normal" women, seems like a natural step after their artist series with the guys.

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  11. I did a post about JCrew pieces for maternity. I wrote and asked what pieces they would recommend. And now a few months later they are featuring it in their catalogs. Yeah!

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  12. I'm invited to the J.Crew March issue party at the Prince St. store and I was told by my PS that Jenna will be there too! If any JCA in NYC is interested to attend, let me know and I can RSVP with my PS.

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  13. Priya Cherry - Actually I'm not sure about the scarf now. I'm thinking about the Vintage Silk Scarf in Lilac. Sorry about that - but it would be great in a scarf!

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  14. Heidi,
    How do you plan on washing that sweater??? The chiffon looks like it will fall apart and be a mess IMO. Just truly curious???

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  15. Yay J.Crew for real life happy models!!!

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  16. I'm excited about this new catalog. Love seeing some real women modeling instead of that stick model with empty stare. Definitely a good move by J.Crew.

    I like the new watercolor skirt and the zebra stripe dress.
    Also didn't J.Crew used to have a maternity line (online/catalog) a while back? I used to wear J.Crew all the time when I was prego. Stretch jersey and tissue tees where my go to style...

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  17. FYI- My PS said that the website will update w/ new arrivals on Thursday the 25th! hth! :)

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  18. Maybe this is how J.Crew is testing if there is a market for maternity clothes. This is what they did with Crewcuts. First, they released a few special pieces and then a whole collection. Of course they had a children's collection a few years before, I remember my 17year old wearing some shorts when he was in elementary school. And then it went away and came back a few years later as Crewcuts.

    And I want that swimsuit if it can go in the water. It's perfect for those us who just float around the pool.

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  19. Just wanted to mention that it appears the pregnant gal is wearing a regular J Crew dress and not "maternity" per se. It just works due to the stretch etc.

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  20. Love that pencil skirt. I also like the shirt that is shown with it, but I do not like the two pieces together.

    Last night DH and I had some time to kill after work before we went to see Wicked, so we went to the mall to eat dinner and do some returns.

    I bought the rose vines perfect shirt. It is a cotton/silk blend and has a medium gray background with tiny navy and red flowers. It is a very sweet pattern and I like the fit and material.

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  22. That so makes me want to buy that knit dress!! A definite bonus for those of us who are prego out there but don't want to lose touch with our favorite retailer!

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  23. Heidi,
    OK. The online description reads handwash so thought that was a bit unusual. I don't take things to the dry cleaner so I was just wondering about how the handwashing would be....and if you tried it ever in the future....Thanks for your reply.

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  24. The zebra print in a dress is SO MUCH BETTER than that trench coat! Love the "real" models concept, too. Looking forward to seeing what else will be available, even though I am on a temporary ban for Lent!

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  25. Heidi, is the Forget-me-not cardi brown or beige or gray? I love the look of it but I can't seem to wear browns at all. The description says sandstone, which I assume is brown.

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  26. Heidi - thank you! I will go with the pinky beige based on your color descriptions. It looks like a really special piece, very apropos for spring.

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  27. Well,
    I honestly feel the opposite. I kept the blue. I cannot wear nudes or browns at all. I felt the blue flowers brightened up the look overall whereas the pink flowers just blended in to much. I will be handwashing my sweater. I don't dry clean and after reading lots about handwashing on the laundress site and doing lots of it for many years I feel it will be fine. Just going to follow JCrew's label directions....but let me know how the dry cleaning goes if other go that route. Love to live and learn.

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  28. PS

    Sumshine on the blog roll on this main page has a close up of the blue flower one if that helps anyone decide.

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  29. I would be happy if J.Crew released a maternity line...SC I hope they do!

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  30. OMG - The images are stunning! I do wish that J.Crew would offer a maternity line! How cool would that be - then we could be JCAs at ALL stages of our lives! :)

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  31. I appreciate the way J Crew occasionally features "non-models", but why in this set is there no one in science or engineering? Do they see a traditionally "unfeminine" career as unattractive?

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  32. Very excited to get the catalogue, and I LOVE the zebra dress. Must have!!

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  33. Love, love, LOVE!!! Love the clothes, love that the "models" are "real" women...especially a mommy-to-be, and I really hope this gets Jenna going on a maternity line. I hate leaving my J.Crew behind for 9 months!

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  34. to ldc: i'm one of the science/engineering types... i don't know any fashion people ( i do know a few arties but they are musicians and writers) and i'm going to take a wild guess that very few JC fashion types know us techy types... so no, we wouldn't get randomly stopped on the street to shoot a catalog.

    OK, be prepare for a bit of a rant: i'm a pear shaped girl. i like my embellished tops and cardis (hence a minor obsession with JC), but JC is not my go-to source for bottoms. i need my straight-legged pants that don't grab at my thighs and bum, and pencil skirts are a lost cause, let's not even talk about the miniscule short skirts that border on scandalous on anyone over the age of 30. when are they going to do some nice A-line skirts? i really like the fabrics and patterns offered in the pencil skirts but i just can't wear them!

    Sorry girls...OK, rant over. I'm really liking the cardi with the crystals.

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  35. Sandy, I'm with you on the fit of the JC bottoms. I have plenty of the lounge pants and beach type skirts, but the jeans and trousers, and fitted skirts, are a big no go for me. I'm very happy spending my money elsewhere for things that fit without tailoring!

    Love to see the images of the new catalog! I hardly bought any maternity gear other than a couple pairs of cords and mamma tights. JC's jersey dresses were great for me! Love seeing such smiling faces.

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  36. I am a medicine person too. To be frank, the science/ engineering/ medical ladies I see don't think much about fashion or maybe do not take that much interest in fashion. No offense to other science ladies here, but its just that most of them probably do not have the vision for fashion and clothing.. you know what I am saying. It could be because their work area is as such that there is no scope to dress in a fashion forward way. Imagine a lady physician all ' Jcrewed' up ;maybe people would question her knowledge about medicine and her seriousness ?

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  37. Well, I'm a doctor, and I think I dress quite nicely, although with a little more color & interest to my clothes than most of my colleagues. But still, there are a lot of respected (female) physicians who do have incredibly cute wardrobes. I just wish J Crew would recognize us scientist types as being attractive too.

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  38. @ Idc- That is very nice to hear and an inspiration too for a beginner person in medicine like me. Maybe the younger physicians do have a hard time expressing their fashion interests especially during residency years. Not too sure.

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  39. I feel very meh. It looks like the same ol' same ol' to me. Though the knit dress might be nice...

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  40. The residents at the hospital where I work look really nice most of the time. A lot of them wear a lot of JCrew so they look good even though they are exhausted hahaha! It's hard for us in the medical field to wear something that you wouldn't mind having someone depositing body fluids on accidentally (read = washable), so unless you wear scrubs every day, it can be challenging.

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  41. I forgot to mention that my PS told me that we can do the shop & share promotion - 20% off $125 or more of purchase during the J.Crew March Issue Party this Thursday @ the Prince Street store. If anyone in NYC is interested, let me know! You can email me - lijean_sam@yahoo.com.

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  42. The forget me not cardi is very pretty. I hope those who purchased it will share some IRL pics.

    IDC, they don't feature those of us in finance either. I think they assume we're not interested in fashion or clothes.

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  43. If J. Crew made a maternity line, I would SO happy. I always find maternity clothes to be either really frilly or too plain. When I was pregnant, it was really hard to find maternity clothes that paralleled with my style, so I gave up and just lived in sweats for most of the year.

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  44. Always great to have a sneak peek. :)

    I like the Liberty-look print shirt and the copper skirt, although I don't think I could pull them off worn together like the photo. The forget-me-not cardi is pretty but something about it is just not for me. The necklace on the shoes and the romper made me snicker. Definitely a pass. Overall not too exciting. I haven't had as much interest as usual in the recent items but that's OK, J.Crew isn't solely responsible for my wardrobe.

    As for the women used in the recent catalog, they can't have someone from every walk of life, it's just not possible to represent everyone. If they tried to have a woman from every possible field then there would likely be criticism that there wasn't a woman from such-and-such age group. Or ethnic group. Or size (height, weight, take your pick). And on and on. Enjoy it for what it is, some real women that are not models wearing the latest release of clothes. Nice change, I like it. And my field of work is definitely not represented. But hey, I represent myself so who cares?!

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  45. I am so hoping my catalogue is in today's mail! New releases Thursday?

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  46. I would be in heaven if JC did offer a maternity line. I am currently expecting my second child and it is soooooo hard to find decent maternity clothes. The cute stuff is over-the-top expensive (most of it) and most other lines are just blah! Would be nice to have some cute maternity sun dresses, tissue t's, etc.

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  47. FYI- Cole Haan has the same real life/non-model campaign going on also on their home page, which begs the question, is there any originality anymore? Also, the WSJ had an article in the weekend edition about the designer fall collections. I thought it was quite funny that they likened this Spring's collection as influenced by The Grapes of Wrath, citing Ralph Lauren's (and Jenna's copycat) distressed overalls. I guess that would explain JCrew's bag lady styling.

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  48. add me to the list if J/ Crew ever comes out with a maternity line. Most days, I wear at least one J. Crew item, and now that I'm pregnant, I've had to relegate most of my fitted J. Crew tees and tops to the post pregnancy shelf in my closet.

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  49. Hello Everyone! I made a trip to my J.Crew to see the new arrivals today. I picked up a new catalog which I scanned and have posted on my blog. :)

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  50. I went to the Tyson's Corner store this evening -- they were putting stuff out. Got a couple nice finds. They had a new pencil skirt called the "Turkish Delight Jacquard Pencil Skirt" -- pale pink, orange, and gold color skirt with a leaf pattern. I didn't see it in the catalog and haven't seen pictures of it before, so that was a nice surprise. I don't have a blog, but if anyone wants a picture, feel free to email me and I'll take a picture and send it to you. (Priya.R.Cherry@gmail.com)

    Also picked up the "Forget-Me-Not" Cardigan in Pink -- I didn't think of it when I purchased it, but I think the cardigan looks really lovely with the skirt.

    Also saw the copper pencil skirt, the zebra dress, a new tweed jacket (similar to the collier, but in greenish tones), sunshine peony dress, cardigan in the watercolor pastiche print (similar to the collection dress that was posted a while back). The Sunshine Peony Pencil Skirt was not out yet -- hopefully, it will be out in the next couple days -- I can't wait to see that even though I preordered it.

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  51. Forgot to mention that the Men's section is also included. :)

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  52. My B&M had the majority of their shipment out when I went in this afternoon. There were many, many new tees with neon colors, flowers, etc. Several new dresses, including a strapless dress in the Peonies print (which I purchased). I tried on the Peonies pencil skirt but passed on it because the weight of the fabric just seemed too *heavy* for the color and print to me. I cancelled my pre-order for the Peonies cardigan after seeing it IRL...not what I expected and not flattering on me at all. I did get the Zebra mini, which wasn't as short as I had expected it would be AND it has pockets...SO adorable! I tried on a black version of the Zebra dress (they're called the Blakely, if I remember correctly) and the fit is very cute. The front gapes badly so be prepared to pin it or invest in some fashion tape. ;)

    I'll be posting some RL pics of a bunch of the new arrivals on my blog tomorrow (instead of my regular Tuesday post). :)

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  53. Good Morning Everyone! I wanted to let you know that the entire catalog is now uploaded with much clearer pictures so that you can read the item details on each page. :)

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  54. Audreybella was really sweet and posted my pics of the new Turkish Delight Pencil Skirt on her blog --

    http://audreybella.blogspot.com/2010/02/j-crew-turkish-delight-pencil-skirt.html

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