As mentioned in last week's "Shop Madewell Online Now {+ free ship on jeans!)" post, customers can finally shop Madewell items online. "Thanks!" to many of you, Rosa in DC who shared the following article from Fashionista (click here).So I really like the layout of the new & improved Madewell site. It's easy to navigate as it resembles its older sister's (aka: J.Crew's) site. The only thing that struck me odd is that there is no Sale section. Did I overlook it?6 Things We Love About Madewell’s New Website
By Lauren Sherman
June 1, 2010
Madewell quietly launched its e-commerce site on Friday, and while there’s a brick-and-mortar store just around the corner from our Nolita office, it’s always nice to peruse the goods via our Macs.
Here’s what we love about the site:1. “Jenna’s Favorites” has been transformed into “Get the Goods.” We love the feature on J.Crew’s website called “Jenna’s Favorites,” where creative director Jenna Lyons cherry picks pieces from the current collection. Madewell does something similar with “Get the Goods,” a collage of cute clothes and accessories mixed with inspirations for the line.
2. Bensimon’s pop pink sneakers. Bensimon was already a favorite summer shoe of ours, but this highlighter pink color made us love it even more.
3. Brunch shorts. Any piece of clothing named after a meal is okay by us. These happen to be perfectly rumpled, which means they are indeed ideal for a lazy brunch.
4. The Denim Bar. Each style hangs on a virtual rack, and you can click through until you find your ideal fit. There’s also a cute video featuring one of the brand’s denim designers.
5. Looks We Love. Much likes its sister brand J.Crew, Madewell’s got a host of incredible stylists on hand to make the clothes even more desirable. This virtual look book allows the user to shop each page. We’re particularly keen on the layered lace t-shirt featured in Look #4.
6. Alexa Chung. We can’t wait to get our hands on Chung’s collection for Madewell, scheduled to hit stores this July. The site’s teaser builds even more excitement around the collaboration.
I have mentioned my thoughts on Madewell before. But for those who are new to this site... I am not a big fan of Madewell. Mainly because I am not the targeted demographic that Madewell is after. They generally are looking for hip & trendy high school/ college students. With that said, there are several cute pieces at Madewell that I would love to get. But now comes my second point... Madewell's prices are pretty darn high for what was to be the dressed down version of J.Crew! Since prices are comparable (not less) than what I can get at J.Crew, I rather just stick with my true love. ;)
What are your thoughts on Madewell's new site? Have you already purchased through their e-commerce website?
I'm guessing they don't have a sale section just because the site is so new and they don't have a lot of stock for it yet. But BEWARE online shoppers, many of the styles that are full-price on the website have been in my Madewell's sale section for months. There are full-price tshirts that are on sale in store for $20 or less, and a pair of jeans I got for $40 that are currently $110. Not sure why they are doing this, besides that many people who have been waiting for online shopping would not be able to go to a store to compare prices. Boo Madewell!
ReplyDeleteMadewell doesn't get new arrivals nearly as often as J.Crew, either. They are getting new arrivals in store next week, not sure about online. Though I was excited about the website launch, I'll definitely be doing all my Madewell shopping in store as I am lucky enough to have one.
I think some of their things are cute. While it's not stuff I could wear to work, I could see wearing several of the pieces for a lazy weekend of hanging out in Brooklyn. That's the other thing -- I wouldn't necessarily describe MW as more 'hip and trendy' than JC (especially since JC has focused so much of its own efforts on being more fashion-forward the past few years), but I would call MW more "urban" than JCrew.
ReplyDeleteI don't care for the layout of the new site, but I do think they have some cute pieces. I wonder though how the sizing compares to J.Crew?
ReplyDeleteFabulous Florida Mommy --
ReplyDeleteThe sizing isn't that different. I think Madewell runs a tad smaller, which is to be expected, but I usually wear the same sizes in both stores, depending on the style.
Jeans: TTS, though the Madewell ones are more flattering on me (Maybe because I am young? J.Crew jeans look like "mom jeans" on me!)
Tshirts/Shirts: TTS, though this is a little hard to tell because many of Madewell's shirts are meant to fit quite big.
Dresses: I don't have any dresses from Madewell, but this is an item I could definitely see sizing up in.
Jackets: No clue!
I hope this helps a little -- reading back on it, it doesn't seem very helpful at all, oops.
If you are between sizes at J.Crew, I'd go with the bigger size at Madewell, but I personally have not noticed a drastic difference. I think I *could* size up at Madewell if I wanted to, but I definitely don't *need* to if that makes sense.
I like the new Madewell site and have enjoyed perusing the store since it arrived in my area--I expect since it's new, the website will have some kinks to work out, and a sale section might be forthcoming.
ReplyDeleteWhile I definitely think the target demographic is for a younger, hipper person than myself, I've come to see Madewell as a good place for me to pick up the occasional hip, trendy piece to spice up a largely J.Crew wardrobe that can sometimes tend towards the slightly dull and somewhat overly conservative (no offense to J.Crew! they're still my Number One!). I think the two stores make a good styling combo.
Thank you molly! :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Molly, there are so many items that are currently on sale in stores right now that it's not really worth it buying them full priced online! I have to say, I do love Madewell dresses, they're making up most of my summer wardrobe!
ReplyDeleteI love Madewell! There's no store in SF so I was pretty excited about their online shop.
ReplyDelete