A big "thanks!" to Joyce, who not only shared the following news, but also scanned the images for us to view!Joyce received the following card (shown below, with an up-close view above) announcing J.Crew's very first wedding boutique. The store will open its doors on Madison Avenue in NYC on May 27th. That street is already home to J.Crew's Collection Store (1035 Madison Avenue) and Crewcuts Store (1190 Madison Avenue).
In the February 23rd "J.Crew In The News" post, the following tidbit (from an interview with J.Crew's Jenna Lyons) was shared:You mentioned interiors, and I know you are deeply involved in store design, too.The location for the new store is:
Totally. We are working on a wedding atelier uptown; we've been designing the store for the past few years. I'm going to Paris in a few weeks hoping to score some vintage picture frames. Whatever I can't do in our house, we do in the J.Crew stores (she laughs). Fashion and interiors are so connected— textiles, mixing the old and the new.
769 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10065
New York, NY 10065
I think it is a great idea to have a dedicated store for wedding & parties. I remember going to J.Crew's Rockefeller store (in NYC) and seeing a wedding party trying on different gowns & bridesmaids dresses. Not only was the store too crowded to have the party take over the entire changing section on the first floor, they didn't have that many options to try on. (Only one or two dresses for the bride & bridesmaids were available for them to try on.) This will make it much easier for parties to shop for their special day. :)
On a related note, "thanks!" to Kate who let us know that J.Crew provided Brides.com (click here) a sneak peek at an upcoming wedding dress design. The following was shared as well:
What are your thoughts on the Wedding Boutique on Madison Avenue? Are you excited about its arrival? Do you think you will shop there? Do you like the latest ruffle wedding dress from the sneak peek? :)Runway Sneak Peek
By Brides.com
April 5, 2010
This dress is J.Crew's modern take on ruffles and classic French lace. "The streamlined bodice with it's racer back is the perfect contrast to the romantic and dramatic, asymmetrical ruffled skirt," says the designer who was inspired by classic architecture, Rene Gruau illustrations, and celebrities like Carey Mulligan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Dree Hemingway. Expect to see more French lace, duchess, washed silk crepe, French tulle, and satin-backed crepe throughout the collection.
Ohhhh! If I was getting married anytime soon, I'd be there so fast. Champaign glass in hand and trying on for hours. My boyfriend should be afraid....very afraid. :-)
ReplyDeleteActually, this is a smart move, I think. J. Crew should Ride the Tide of popularity while it's The Big Wave and don't look back.
I wouldn't go with the ruffles, however- I can just see looking back to my wedding album from 2010 and wondering why I picked such a trendy fad.
I would have loved a J. Crew dress for my upcoming wedding but the ones they had almost weren't formal enough. The colors were also a bit limited to bright white, as opposed to ivory. I'm sure the bridal boutique will have so many more options though, this is definitely exciting, especially for future brides!
ReplyDeleteWhat Jenna says, "I'm going to Paris in a few weeks hoping to score some vintage picture frames. Whatever I can't do in our house, we do in the J.Crew stores."
ReplyDeleteWhat I hear, "Me, me, me, me, me. It's all about me."
Cha ching! Seriously, this is going to be a cash cow for J.Crew. So many brides already turn to J.Crew for their dresses and bridesmaids dresses but it was always a little annoying b/c for most people, you only had the option of ordering online to try on dresses. Having an actual B&M store will make it a destination (sort of like Kleinfeld's). Just be sure to have a whole bunch of stylists, throw in a huge array of awesome matching shoes and accessories to help make your party look their beautiful best and you can be sure everyone will be walking out a happy paying J.Crew customer :). I can't wait to see the interiors and racks and racks of pretty, multicolored dresses...
ReplyDeleteBTW, I purchased two J.Crew dresses for my wedding :) -- one for my rehearsal dinner and one as a 2nd reception dress. They were lovely to wear :).
Unfortunately, I think this means they're going to raise their prices on wedding gowns. That's too bad, because they filled a necessary niche of affordable wedding gowns. I hope I'm wrong.
ReplyDeleteI bought a wedding dress from here and RETURNED it as soon as I opened the box. I tried it on and felt like a marshmallow with stuff tacked onto me. Hideous. All I could think about was how everyone would think that I was so loyal to this brand, I would sacrifice style for wearing the brand. I wished they would make more timeless dresses. Everything is so tacky and overdone. You can compete with the bridesmaid dress market, but you are over priced in the bridal gown department. Sorry. Good thing I'm not marrying jcrew in my jcrew this time.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the wedding dresses. I remember their initial venture into the wedding world, at least with bridal gowns, was extremely well-received b/c of the value. They've grown their line exponentially since that time, but I don't know many people that have gone for their higher end dresses. Though I think there are always a handful that may be pricey but end up being super popular -- the polka dot wedding dress comes to mind (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6iK5oZSY-Go/SDixdBbWTzI/AAAAAAAABdg/DZB4YAmI5Ss/s400/93755_WB5575_m_SU08.jpg).
ReplyDeleteHopefully if they're focusing on expanding their wedding line into B&M stores, they'll put a little more consideration back into the lower end of their wedding dress selection. There are some gorgeous necklines on some of the newest bridesmaids dresses that I think could be done in long versions for an affordable price!
Oop, my link turned out weird. Trying again:
ReplyDeletepolkadot wedding dress
I will definitely have to check out the store next time I'm in NYC. It would've been helpful while picking out bridesmaid dresses since only select stores had the dresses to try on. I just bought my bridesmaids their jewelry from there! Thank you final sale :)
ReplyDeleteI already have my wedding gown, but I'm looking for a travelling dress - my wedding is on an island and will require ferry travel - not very convenient for a wedding gown!! Would love a simple bridesmaid's type dress in champagne....maybe this boutique will have something?
ReplyDeleteI linked this post to my blog post about the new NYC bridal boutique. I'm a huge fan of J.Crew and your site and am glad to share both with my audience. http://www.gomet.co.uk/article.php?id=478
ReplyDelete