Friday, June 24, 2011

Jenna Lyons Shares Her Thoughts & Picks


"Thanks!" to iroar (in this post) who let us know about the following quotes from Jenna Lyons over at Net-a-Porter (click here to read in its entirety) as well as her favorite picks to buy (click here to shop online):
Jenna Lyons
Jenna, 42, is president and executive creative director of J.Crew. She lives in New York.

"I've been with J.Crew since 1990– I started out as an assistant in men's knits. I never tought about the end goal when I started, I always just wanted to enjoy what I was doing. I do my best to start work at 9am so I can spend the morning with my four year old son– I keep tabs on how many mornings and evenings I've spent with him. I'm surrounded by color in the office, from racks of clothes to sketches everywhere. It's a kinetic, crazy and happy place. I'll have meetings about store design, do model castings, look at pieces for celebrity clients, designs and packaging. I'm less at ease with the financial side of my role so I wear a skirt, heels and slicked back hair to give me a little confidence. I want people to look at me and feel comfortable and secure that I am their boss. I do push the envelope because that's part of my role, to challenge and keep things moving forward. Everyone is used to seeing me covered in sequins – it makes day to evening dressing easy."

"Nine times of out ten, my bag is my giant J.Crew shopper."

"I usually wear men's slouchy pants, rolled up with a high heel."

"I'm a purist with my jewelry. I wear vintage diamonds every day."
Her rise at J.Crew is impressive! Got to give her credit for that. :)

What are your thoughts on the quotes? Was there any piece shared that you found particularly interesting? If so, please share! :)

15 comments:

  1. What a beautiful photo of Jenna. I must point out that the neckline is rolling on her vintage bateau tee just like it does on mine. So glad I am replacing mine w/the short sleeved striped button back one via the 30% promo that just ended.

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  2. what a beautiful picture. Did anyone else wonder whether JC's first quarter results and Jenna's statement that she's "less at ease with the financial side" are merely coincidental? I don't think anyone questions Jenna's work ethic, or her willingness to experiment, but doesn't she deserve better operational support? I'm not going to repeat the laundry list of website, inventory control, shipping, CS training, inaccurate copy - well I guess I made a good start, but these could all be addressed with relatively minimal expenditure compared to the potential for improved financial results.

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  3. I think she is beautiful, and I always love to hear her talk. She has such grace and poise; it's relaxing and cheerful.

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  4. So Jenna does wear the real thing--vintage diamonds and not the JCrew (crap) jewelry???? Sorry, I know many of you like it--and I do own a few pieces--but not a fan of most of J.Crew jewelry and its look and poor quality.

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  6. We so rarely see her without glasses on! She's so beautiful. Great photo, it as a Pre-Raphaelite quality about it. I'm glad to hear that she tends toward classic professional dress for her meetings, I've always felt that suits or suit separates (even without the jacket) invoke a feeling of professionalism and competence. In these days of business-casual and totally casual workplace dress codes, I'm always happy to see that some people dress up. I could dress more casually in my workplace but I tend toward more formal. I wear suit skirts but cardigans instead of jackets. No sequins though. :)

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  7. Emerald green tweed pencil skirt!?!? NEED

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  8. J.CrewJD, that was my thought exactly! :) Can't wait to see it!

    ajc, thanks for the preview!

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  9. She looks lovely without oversized glasses.

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  10. She's soooo cool and soooo lucky!

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  11. WFF - Excellent point about providing Jenna w/decent resources to improve the bottomline.

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  12. She is so beautiful and I agree with Rose that I love her without those oversized glasses. I always think of Woody Allen when I see her in those glasses! I would hope they would give her assistance with the financial end of the business! I would think it could be a disaster for the company otherwise.

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