A big "thanks!" to Moodboard (check out her amazing "Moodboard" blog) who not only let us know about an article with Jenna Lyons in the latest April 2010 issue of Elle Magazine (click here), but also scanned the image for us to view! (Click on the image above, or here, to see it larger.)Chain Reaction: Thanks to J.Crew's creative director, Jenna Lyons, the middle's time has come. By staying true to her message, Lyons has proven the best clothes don't have to come with high price tags.I really enjoyed understanding the inspiration behind certain pieces in the latest collection. Overall, an entertaining article! :)
By Alexa Brazilian
April 2010
Lately it seems that shopping at J.Crew is like getting away with fashion murder— the clothes are ridiculously cool, well made, and (how could it be?!) affordable. From the old-lady costume jewelry to the low-riding boyfriend khakis, everything feels just ...right. The brains behind the threads? Jenna Lyons, the brand's creative director, who, since her appointment in 2007, has managed the impossible for a publicly traded fashion chain: to deliver her message, unpolluted by corporate agenda— a feat that no doubt enabled J.Crew to nearly double its outlook for fiscal third-quarter earnings in '09.
"To me, personal style is all there is. You've got to go with what you love," says Lyons who forgoes the trend forecasting reports her predecessors deemed the gospel (she started as an assistant at J.Crew in 1990) and simply designs what she's coveting at the moment. She's tapped some of her real-life muses— seen on blogs, at parties, and even on the street— to model in the March catalogue, and has generated an ever-growing cult following with her monthly product recommendations dubbed "Jenna's picks". Below, Lyons gives us her Spring essentials and explains the genius behind them.J.Crew's Fireball Cluster Necklace
I was playing with a sparkly black ball from a necklace sample that wasn't quite working. I had just been at the aquarium with my son, Beckett, and I thought, this kind of looks like a jellyfish! My husband took this picture of us amongst them. Internally, we call this the jellyfish necklace.
J.Crew's Lieutenant Jacket
We're all pulling the army jacket out of our closets again. So we decided to make it modern and do it in a blush. The jacket was inspired by a vintage piece we stole off the back of one of our designers.
J.Crew Strip Shirtdress
The colors in this David Hockney are amazing to me. The horizontal stripe on this dress is like the diving board in the painting.
J.Crew Camden Leather Brogues
Everyone was loving our men's oxfords from Fall. We talked about how to make them feminine and soft. This color is from an Illamasqua lipstick— we're obsessed with it right now.
J.Crew's Rose Vines Romper
We had Liberty of London make this print for us. The shape is inspired by an insane taffeta suit. Try it under boyfriend chinos or a high-waisted skirt.
What are your thoughts on the article? Do you like learning the back stories behind the items in the collection? Are there any tidbits that you found interesting?
Fun read! Thanks for posting this Alexis :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting, Alexis! Interestingly, the editor of Elle and Mickey D. were both on a Charlie Rose panel about fashion (along with Narciso Rodriguez and the NYT fashion editor) and Elle was very complimentary towards JCrew. I wonder if the idea for an article stemmed from that panel!
ReplyDeletei'm kind of embarrassed to say that i'm a little in love with that floral romper...
ReplyDeleteI think the romper is gorgeous, but am not sure what the purpose is? I.e. can it be used as a swimsuit? If you just use it as a top, why bother with the bottom half and why not just make it a bustier/cami?
ReplyDeleteStrip dress=WTH??
The only thing I will say is that I have a couple of F21 necklaces from last Spring that are just like this fireball (with a jumble of other chotchkes)and they were like $6. This concept is not new and unique to J Crew.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, what is Jenna NOT "obsessed" with? That word is so overused as to now be meaningless for her, LOL!!!
ReplyDelete"To me, personal style is all there is."
ReplyDeleteThis statement sounds ridiculously vain and shallow. I hope she was misquoted.
jeanne, i took the quote to mean that personal style is more important than following trends or wearing what everyone else is...you should wear only what you love, blah di blah. which is all well and good in theory, but jenna, your personal style is being peddled to the masses! i don't want your style! ;p i feel very "meh" about her latest obsessions.
ReplyDeletesweetsy,
ReplyDeleteYes, I recently started buying from Forever 21 and there are some nice necklaces to be had for much less. Also, found lots of used vintage pieces at various places that I can easily replicate the JCrew version with my own bits of pretty ribbon if I so desire. Not impressed with JCrew jewelry at all let alone her inspiration--jellyfish:(
I think the romper is actually a swimsuit; it shows up under "swim" on the JCrew page, and they also have it in a bikini? Hard to say for sure, though -- if it's a one-piece swimsuit, why don't they just call it that?
ReplyDeleteI wish I could see a better picture of the strip shirtdress. I love stripes, shirtdresses, and David Hockney ... I can't tell whether they'll work well together, though!
HAHA. This article! J. Crew's clothes are "well-made" and "affordable"? Are we talking about the same J. Crew? No one can seriously claim J. Crew is copied by other retailers and isn't guilty of the same copying when an article like this blatantly shows, both with the Lieutenant Jacket and the claim Jenna designs whatever she is coveting at the moment that J. Crew does a fair amount of copying itself with the fashion looks.
ReplyDeleteLoved J.Crew jewelry from last fall but the spring jewelry is a tangled mess of leftovers! I hope they return to their more classic peices!
ReplyDelete