As mentioned in an earlier post, I am on vacation! Unfortunately, I won't be able to keep up with all the latest J.Crew news, promos, and the like.So this post is the "catch all" for J.Crew Aficionadas and Aficionados to share with one another the "current happenings" for today. Feel free to post your comments here- from current J.Crew promotions, sales, emails, and even questions on products (regarding fit & size), and the like. :)
What comments do you want to share or ask of other Aficionadas and Aficionados? What is currently happening (in terms of promos, sales, emails, products, and the like)?
Review of a new arrival: dulphine torque sweater
ReplyDeleteI'll bite!! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a little miffed at the moment. I've had my eye on the Ever Peacoat and got so excited when the price was reduced to $175. I go back online the next day and low and behold, the jacket is priced back up at $225, and they're only offering the black @ $185. This coat is the only thing that I've really wanted this season but I can't convince myself to pay $225 for it (yet). Too bad its an online special as well, that's why I feel everyone has been hesitant to buy it. The fact that they jacked the price back up has me resisting the purchase, but I'm content to wait it out some more to see how they price this coat that obviously isn't selling like they'd hope it would.
caribbelle: I hear you about things going back up in price. It seems like this is a common game JC plays and frankly it is a dirty trick and people DO notice it.
ReplyDeleteI've been hearing other JCAs mention but there will be further markdowns and better sales near Christmas or right after. If you're not planning to wear it now I would wait it out. I hope you can get it soon though, with a better price than what's offered now.
jcrewphd: Thanks for responding, if the coat is selling like it is right now, then I think I have a fair chance of getting it at a better price.
ReplyDeleteI just felt that it was super sneaky, I know its a business but as a loyal customer that rubs me the wrong way. If they can lower the price to $175 then that's the new price they should stick with.
Subscribing. :)
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ReplyDeleteJust a little note about the NYC holiday party last night, it was so lovely and I was kinda overwhelmed by how much I loved what they had to offer! I was in and out pretty fast, just like last year, so again I didn't get to meet Jenna/Marissa/Frank which made me sad but I still thoroughly enjoyed the event. A little champagne and JC shopping? A perfect evening!
ReplyDeleteThe gift bags given out this year included a lovely gold cuff bracelet with large pewter stones, a Stila lipgloss, an Essie nail polish and, of course, a copy of the Holiday 2010 catalog :)
One more thing: the Mongolian lamb tippet is being offered in the NYC collection store in both a cream color and a very pale blush and OMG this may be one of the nicest accessories I have ever purchased. Well worth the $98 price tag. I wouldn't have thought much of it from its online photo since the black and charcoal colors don't do a lot in terms of showing detail, but IRL it is to die for.
ReplyDeleteDara- how fun about the party! I am really jealous! Did you get any other fun things?
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ReplyDeleteDara - I was there last night, too, with fellow JCAs Lacey, Stephanie & Jenn. We were there for awhile, and saw Jenna, Frank & Marissa. The event was lovely, and the gift bags were very generous, as mentioned. The bracelet is called the Teardrop cuff ($85.00 item 35537). I ended up purchasing the Half wing bracelet in white ash, and a pair of earrings currently not on the site, crystal feather earrings. I am wearing both today. :-)
ReplyDeleteI was there as well mingling with a few JCAs. :) I love the cuff. The men's store also had gift bags; I grabbed one for my boyfriend. It had a pair of lounge socks (which look super comfy and I might have to steal them) and a copy of "What a Man Should Know, Volume I". I didn't get to stay very long but I had a great time, bought a couple of items and am very thankful to J.Crew for the invite. Cardmembers do get perks after all!
ReplyDeleteThe party was lovely and it was great to hang out with some other JCAs. Mickey made a brief appearance as well. He looked hip and cool. Jenna and Marissa looked fabulous. Jenna was not doing her usual mix of a cocktail dress or sequin pants with a cargo jacket. Nothing wrong with that style but I loved her girly look from last night, especially the skirt (short with tights).
ReplyDeleteWe also visited the men's store across the street. Loved it. If I were a guy, I would shop there every day. It just had a very cool vibe.
Do tell what was Jenna wearing at the party. Sounds like a nice event!
ReplyDeleteCan anyone confirm that the velvet Bella jacket was at one point available at the outlets? I was surprised to see a purple one on ebay that definitely had the double diamond tag!
ReplyDeleteIt was a very simple look - very straight hair, grey turtleneck sweater, grey tights, skinny belt, heels and an ivory and blue striped skirt with a hint of gold(kind of in the shape of the new taffeta marvelle mini but slightly longer). I think someone asked around and found out that the skirt is not JCrew. Too bad because I loved it.
ReplyDeleteMarissa had on flannel shorts, black tights, Louboutins, and a light colored sequin jacket but the sequins would not lay flat and my sequin OCD was going crazy at the sight.
As you can imagine, a lot of the shoppers were wearing JCrew. I got a lot of styling ideas from the everyone's outfits. And there were some great Collection pieces on display (the blue and brown sparkle tweed jacket and black cardi with a fur collar) but sadly out of my price range.
The Event sounds fun! Cool that several JCAs were there :)
ReplyDeletelisabfashion, yes, they did Bellas for the outlet.
Thanks mommydearest!
ReplyDeleteA litle FYI, for those of you looking for other cashmere sources, next Friday and Saturday Lord & Taylor crewneck, turtleneck and v-neck cashmere sweaters are $59.99. I don't have any from L&T, but I've read good things about their cashmere from other JCAs.
ReplyDeleteStephanie -- Which men's store did you mean? The Liquor store? We're going to be in NYC in a couple of weeks and I want my husband to try some of the men's JC and wondered if that store was better than the men's section at a regular location.
ReplyDeleteI have several Cashmere pieces from L&T...probably aging betweem 3 -5 yrs now and NO pilling! I have not purchased any last year so I can't comment on current quality.
ReplyDelete@ Stephanie thanks for describing Jenna's outfit. The skirt sounds gorgeous!
ReplyDelete@ Clicquot - I was referring to the men's store on 79th & Madison directly across from the Collection store. The Liquor Store location is also really cool. I think those two stores are better than the regular men's section just because of the atomosphere. Those stores make me want to hang out all day and try on clothes.
ReplyDelete@ Lauren - No problem. Hopefully Marissa is inspired by Jenna's skirt and designs something similar. Fingers crossed.
mommydearest,
ReplyDeleteI have a vintage Lord and Taylor pink v-neck cashmere sweater. The thickness and quality and softenss of the cashmere is AMAZING. I know they just don't make sweaters like this anymore!
Will be interesting to hear any reports back on their current cashmere offerings/quality.
caribelle, they have black, blue, white and henna @ $185 and 30% off, so it comes up to $129. I'm not sure what your size is, but I think $129 is a pretty good buy. I just snagged one in navy blue for myself in P0.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hear it runs true to size.
I had another J Crew store manager tell me that the better the cashmere the more it pills, because it's a softer, finer cashmere. I was not complaining, because I have never owned a J Crew cashmere sweater (just a Kohl's one), and he wasn't trying to sell them b/c in Minnesota nobody carries it. So I am not sure if this is true or if the managers are being fed from corporate.
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ReplyDelete@viciouslips thanks for the tip
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ReplyDeleteOkay, cashmere that pills as quickly as J. Crew's does is lower quality cashmere, so don't listen to what the sales people tell you. Don't pay over $75 for J. Crew cashmere because it looks terrible after 4 - 6 wearings. I think the deal is this: cheap cashmere is comprised of shorter cashmere fibers. These fibers come unwound (spell?) from their twist quickly because they are short. The little untwisted fibers then pill. More expensive cashmere is made of longer fibers.
ReplyDeletelisabfashion - Last month I tried on J Crew velvet jacket in a 2nd hand store. I really loved the fit & the price tag of $16. I couldn't quite place the cut of it, though. Luckily the SAs took forever to come to the register. It gave me time to keep considering the jacket which just felt a little off, except for the great price. I noticed it had the double diamonds and I realized it was a Factory Bella. So the answer is yes, they were sold at the J'Crewlet.
ReplyDeleteCharlotteSometimes, that employee was misinformed, as JCrew1985 points out. A couple of articles in the ECONOMIST explained the hallmarks of good cashmere and the reasons consumers have seen changes.
ReplyDeleteMaybe JC corporate is giving this misleading information re: cashmere to their employees. I've heard the same thing about cashmere from a PS a while back. Pretty pathetic. However, I think this years cashmere is holding up a bit better than last year IME. It still pills...
ReplyDeleteCan anyone speak to the quality of Talbots cashmere sweaters? Also, how is the sizing? I feel like I should size down from my normal size..any help would be appreciated!
ReplyDeleteCharlotteSometimes,
ReplyDeleteThe shorter cheaper cashmere pills faster. The JCrew employee was just feeding you a line. There are numberous articles you can find online by Googling: Cashmere quality or cashmere pilling, etc. High quality cashmere does not pill at all or does very minimally and should stop completley after the first washing.
Appgal: I was going to recommend Talbots cashmere actually - it's affordable and the cashmere holds up really well. The fit is a little boxy, but it's good for layering.
ReplyDeleteI've had cashmere from brora, banana republic, j.crew and johnstons as well as talbots, and I can say that out of all the American brands, Talbots holds up the best.
Hexicon, thank you for posting that! I feel much more informed. Have you ever tried Pure Collection? While $150 makes me cringe for one sweater, my economics are actually fool-hearty if I am willing (in a prisoner sort of way) to pay $60 for a J Crew sweater that will last a season, maybe two (I am speaking of wool or similar, not cashmere). What is your favorite brand of Cashmere that is $150 or below for a v neck or similar? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThere were several articles out last year and bang for the buck AT Cashmere came out on top. I bought 5 of their cashmere sweaters end of last season on super sale. They are holding up better than JCREw by far. I returned all my JCrew cashmere that I had bought end of last season from them. Also I have 7 LE Cashmere sweaters and all have held up very well too.
ReplyDeleteI'm also really annoyed by the pricing game, caribbelle. Generally, it works in my favor since I obsessively stalk the stores and website (I just got a new job requiring a wardrobe revamping) but I agree it's very sneaky. There are so many items I've picked up dirt cheap in store that still aren't on sale online (I'm looking at you tuxedo dress!). It's ridiculous that I have to whip out my phone in the middle of a store before every purchase to make sure I'm getting the best deal. I'm all for consumers putting in a little legwork to make informed decisions, price shopping tvs for example, but when it's the SAME store and the prices are constantly going down AND up, prices even differ from store to store on the same exact day, well it's exhausting.
ReplyDeleteviciouslips: Thanks so much for weighing in on Talbots cashmere! Do you wear your normal size or do you size down to accommodate the boxiness?
ReplyDeleteGenny, thanks for the info. Do you find that the AT cashmere sweaters run larger than your sweater size for J Crew, or similar? I am usually a S to XS at J Crew, and at AT Loft usually a S to XS as well. I thought maybe AT was more "women's" sized and larger, TIA.
ReplyDeleteI was persuaded by some of your comments to order an Ann Taylor cashmere turtleneck with the friends and family discount. The frappe color looks pretty, it will be interesting to compare the quality, because I do think the J Crew cashmere is improved this year. I think AT does run a smidge bigger, but I didn't size down.
ReplyDeleteCharlotteSometimes,
ReplyDeleteI ordered the same size that I do in my JCrew size from AT. I did find it ran a bit larger than JCrew but I was fine with the looser fit. If you prefer your clothing more fitted (which I do not) than I would try a size down.
Also, in general, I have to add my recent Talbots cashmere scarf experience. I found it not to be very cudddly/soft feeling. For a $199 scarf I thought it would be luxurious feeling. I did get it 40% off. I decided to call and ask that another one be sent. It is better than the first one I got and will likely keep it as I won't be wearing it directly on my skin. However, I would not buy a Talbots cashmere sweater most likely.
ReplyDeleteI believe GigiofCA made a similar comment on her Talbots cashmere experience. She owns a sweater if I remember correctly. She finds it nice but not exceptionally soft or cozy feeling.
I get the soft cozy feeling from AT and Lands' End cashmere.
I haven't purchased cashmere for myself *at all* for about the last two years because I have been so disappointed in quality. Even the LE sweaters I've purchased for the DH recently have not been as nice as those purchased years in the past.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got out of school in the 90s I assembled a pretty fab collection of basic cashmere from mid-range retailers such as LE, JC, and Tweeds. Those older sweaters (15 yrs old!) look so much better than my 2005-08 purchases! Only problem is that they are proportioned for higher-waisted pants and tend to expose a couple of inches of tummy, LOL. So, I layer where I can and have packed the rest for when waists rise back up (they're on their way).
I imagine that I could get better quality if I stepped up to a higher price range (e.g., Pringle), but 1) I can't drop $300-400 on a single sweater, and 2) I worry that the "better" brand would be all hype and I'd get the same crappy yarn . . . as I did in my sole JC "Collection" cashmere purchase.
AppGal: I usually fit into J.Crew sweaters in XS although I am petite. In Talbots sizes, I find that the Petite P fits me relatively well enough such that it accomodates a layer underneath if that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI think buying cashmere is subjective - you really have to try it out and feel it to see if it works for you.
BTW, usually if you wait till after Christmas, the Talbots cashmere will be at least half off!
That being said, please for heaven's sake DO NOT purchase Macys cashmere. Possibly, THE WORSE cashmere ever :)