"Thanks!" to many of you, including Irina, who shared the following email J.Crew sent this morning.The email not only features the The Perfect shirt in Liberty Art Fabrics Margaret Annie Floral (item 62528; $150.00) top, but also shares its back story with customers:
Our idea of inalienable style rights: life, Liberty and the pursuit of florals. These artful, eye-popping blooms from London's Liberty Art Fabrics, the British house famous for its fabric collection since 1875 (even Oscar Wilde was a fan), are our current obsession. Our design team revived this drawn-from-life floral of garden perennials like wild grasses, oxeye daisies, and forget-me-nots from the archinves of Liberty's Regent Street, London, emporium. So celebrate Spring a little sooner, and button up to brighten up.Very cute email! I am already on board with this top! I love the bright colors and the beautiful floral design.
What are your thoughts on the Liberty print top from J.Crew? Have you seen it in person? If so, please share! :)
Beautiful! Wish it wasn't $150 - I want that shirt SO BAD!
ReplyDeleteI would like the shirt but it is NOT worth $150. Yes, the ever bargain shopper that I am...I have a massive collection of beautiful J.Crew shirts. My husband likes them on me:) But I swear I never paid more than $20 for one! I just troll the sales until I find my size...
ReplyDeleteI'd pay for a nice shirt. If they are great quality, then I'd love this item hanging in my closet. Does it mention a review of the fabric? Above and beyond the stretch perfect shirt? Is it Thomas Mason mens' shirt quality? If it's that yuk cotton-silk fabrication, then no thanks.
ReplyDeleteI adore this shirt. It just makes me smile it's so pretty! Agree that $150 is terribly steep, but I guess you are paying for that Liberty label! Although the one Liberty print blouse I have is not worth that full price, IMO. It's a nice shirt, but not THAT nice...
ReplyDeleteI love the Liberty prints, and I have most of the JCrew Liberty items from the last couple of years. But I have never paid full price on any of them -- doesn't it seem that every single Liberty item eventually makes it to sale, meaning that they must be overpriced? (Although I guess we could say that about the vast majority of JCrew.) Not SUPER sale, however -- looking back, I think I paid between $50 - $70 for each shirt, which is about what they are worth, IMO...
ReplyDeleteOh I like this one, too! I hope my B&M gets it in so I can see it IRL soon.
ReplyDeleteI looove Liberty prints! audreys, they ALWAYS make it to sale, it seems. Worth waiting for!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of Liberty prints, but not really on me. I'm not cute enough to wear them. I do like swimsuits I've bought in the Liberty prints, though.
ReplyDelete$150 beans for a perfect shirt. Woof. Breakin' my heart, like the heart-print one, which I still love and desire even though I can't really explain why.
I LOVE the print, but $150 is way out of my price range right now.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone ends up buying it, share pics so I can live vicariously through you! :)
I loved the Liberty Print shirts from last year but they were all so sheer, so that you could only wear them with a cami underneath. Does anyone know if that's standard with the JC LP shirts?
ReplyDeleteannabello, no, they aren't always like that. My liberty print shirts from 2008 are all standard weight... not sheer at all. Hopefully this year's aren't either!
ReplyDeleteThe Liberty Prints are so pretty, but floral tops don't suit me at all unless the print is subtle or very stylized. Now, if they decide to do this print as a skirt with a shape similar to last year's Dorrie, I might bite.
ReplyDeleteThis print grabbed me right away! I adore the Liberty prints and the colors in this one are lovely and wearable. I have several circa 2008 that I still dearly love and wear, and I paid $20-40 each on sale.
ReplyDelete$150 for a cotton button-up is not my world and for me, even the most amazing tailoring or fabric would not make it worth the price. I'd spend that $ on a jacket or bag or something really special, but not for this one.
Maybe it will make it to super-sale ....
I really love this print (especially the pops of blue) but I agree that $150 for a cotton shirt is crazy. I will watch for a sale though as I don't have any Liberty shirts since I sold the daffodil one that wasn't my size.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with everyone regarding the price. I don't think I would *ever* pay $150 for a button down shirt! The print is pretty, but I'm not completely in love with it either.
ReplyDeleteI finally figured out florals are mostly not for me, rsp smaller prints. Will try on & share if I see it, though,
ReplyDelete$150, and not even with the 45% silk / 55% cotton fabric combo that other JC liberty shirts have??
ReplyDeleteReminds me a lot of Liz Claiborne cca 1990s. $150 is a bit steep. JMO.
ReplyDeleteI ordered it as well as the other one, to see in person and try. I will not keep at $150 a pop but have no store near me, so it was the only way to see them.
ReplyDeleteI will try to take pictures and upload to flicker when they arrive, I also ordered the tillery tote to see in person
JCrew did a belt in this fabric last summer. I have it and wore it quite a bit, especially with a white linen dress and my yellow espadrille sandals.
ReplyDeleteI tend not to wear button front shirts so I'll pass, but the colors in it are very pretty, and it would look great with denim.
Just ordered the shirt because I want to see it in person. Will not keep it for $150 but will review it once it is in my hands (tomorrow)!
ReplyDeleteI left this comment over at Audrey Bella's blog a while back. :) Hope it helps someone who is on the fence...
ReplyDeleteI have to say unless you missed out on some incarnation of Liberty in the past or can't find your favorite on ebay, these prices are a bit nuts. Yes, the Liberty fabric has gone up to around $40 a yard, but come on now, $150 is sort of "huh?" I bet we see all of them come down in price, back down to what they would sell out at--around $75, which is far more reasonable, imo.
BTW, many of the prior versions of these shirts sold for $110 retail, and came down significantly in price from there.
Also, Pathos, and all...this is 100% tana lawn, which is very soft, almost silky (without being silk) cotton. This is some of the best cotton fabric you can buy. The shirts last forever, fwiw, and wash and dry beautifully.
I think the patterns are definitely interesting. It sounds like Liberty has its devoted followers much like Vera Bradley has theirs for their floral bags. While I'm not a huge fan of floral prints, I do on occasion gravitate towards a pattern here or there (abstract floral or the floral flair skirt print this past fall.).
ReplyDeleteThis specific Liberty print reminds me of the English garden pattern Vera Bradley retired. The VB colors are yellow, blue and green, but the size and array of the flowers does make me think of this Liberty print. This past weekend, VB had the English garden print items 60% off so there were really good deals to be had if you love floral prints on bags.
I don't believe VB is worth full price, much like I don't believe the Liberty blouse is worth $150. To me, the Liberty for JC blouses should cap at $100.
This fabric screams spring to me. So cheerful. I would love to see it in a cami or maybe a cap sleeve blouse.
ReplyDeleteDinagideon-thanks for the extra info on the fabric. Is there a review or list of fabrics JC uses out in the JCA world? Especially as JC switches to blends/sneaky names to my uninformed eyes like tricone. Alexis, do you have an old post like that? Thanks.
Love this shirt but not at $150. I happened to wear another Liberty print shirt today and I did OOTD post on my, ahem, blog.
ReplyDeleteYes, I did it. HERE is an evidence.
Catherine K.: You're welcome. :)
ReplyDeleteI have many of the liberty items from J. Crew from over the years. I am a huge fan, and between the collecting I have done and ebay searching I have completed, I am much more choosy about what I purchase from J. Crew anymore...that said, I have a few ootds from over the years that incorporate the fabric in various formulations--J. Crew and other companies (have pieces from a variety of brands, from the low end of Target to the higher end of Theory).
Maybe if I nerd out tonight I will search for the different fabrics on the net, the ones that J. Crew uses often are the "classic" Liberty tana lawn, which means that they are readily available in fabric yardage. Only the seasonal fabric is a one shot chance, and if they do prove popular, will become classic. If I am able to nerd out, I can at least look up the current ones and link to their item pages over at the Liberty home page.
If you are curious to see what I own (in definite overabundance, lol), here is a link:
http://mysuperfluities.blogspot.com/search/label/Liberty%20print%20fabric
I love AJC's shirt, very cute and classic, and it shows that when paired with simpler pieces, the print looks preppy and pretty and not overwhelming at all. :)
I agree $150 is too steep even for a Liberty fan like me. Last December, Jcrew had three new Liberty-print shirts they offered in-store only at the 5th Ave/Union Square and Prince St. locations. These were never offered online and sold-out fast. One pattern was the Wildbloom in a thicker cotton fabric similar to the Laura shirt. I would have preferred the Wildbloom in this fabric but cannot afford two shirts of this print. There was a pretty pattern of green/teal prints over a white background which would have been perfect with the viridian green, nightfall blue or bright blue serge skirts. That was one item I regretted missing last year.
ReplyDeleteApologies, it was the Springlily print they had in the fall fabric not the Wildbloom.
ReplyDeletesimplydreaming: please post reviews of the Tillary tote. I just received the Biennial satchel I ordered during the promo it is well made, I think, nice details, but it is huge. I am considering ordering the Tillary instead. TIA.
ReplyDeleteOkay, all, here are the fabrics I could find from the current collection. I am terrible at hyperlinking, so early apologies. Ugh. ;)
ReplyDeleteThis fabric: http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/product/Liberty/ALL-FABRICS/Capel-T-Tana-Lawn-Liberty-Art-Fabrics/533
was used in the aqua floral of this shirt: http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/tops/classicshirts/PRDOVR~65520/65520.jsp
This fabric: http://www.shaukat.co.uk/product/pepper-03639010h
was used in the green pink floral of this shirt: http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/tops/classicshirts/PRDOVR~65520/65520.jsp
(Btw, this was used a few years ago, as well, and it had a ruffled collar: http://www.polyvore.com/honeyclover_ruffled_romance_perfect_shirt/thing?id=15126988)
This fabric: http://www.shaukat.co.uk/product/wiltshire-03639009s
was used in the pink berry of this shirt: http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/tops/classicshirts/PRDOVR~65520/65520.jsp
(This fabric also comes in a darker poppy color, and I have that shirt...it is circa Fall 2007--halfway down the post: http://mysuperfluities.blogspot.com/2011/07/gone-graphic.html)
This fabric: http://www.shaukat.co.uk/product/margaret-annie-03631165a
was used in this shirt: http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/shirts/classicshirts/PRDOVR~62528/62528.jsp
I believe that if Purl Soho carried these fabrics (and they do, from time to time), they would retail for $37 or so. How many yards per shirt? Maybe 1.5? There is a huge markup on the shirts at J. Crew, especially the ones with the Liberty Art name. It IS labor intensive to make a shirt, and this is really nice cotton, but that is a significant markup, imo.
BTW, I have taken a liking to this seasonal fabric from the company...maybe when I dust off my sewing machine I can craft a simple spring skirt from it??? http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/product/Liberty/ALL-FABRICS/Glyn-Ann-A-Tana-Lawn-Liberty-Art-Fabrics/71019
Now that you posted all the liberty shirts Dina, I see that they remade a shirt (65520) in the "pepper" fabric. I have the previous year's (maybe 2009) incarnation, the honeyclover ruffled romance perfect shirt and it was only $118. I love the collar on that shirt. I find it interesting that they keep reusing the same prints.
ReplyDeleteDinagideon: great info, thanks!!
ReplyDeleteTotally off topic, but I got my new catalog in the mail today, and it had a one-time use 20% off code on the back cover!
ReplyDeleteThe fellas got an email about the
ReplyDeleteWallace & Barnes flannel shirt in Grants Pass plaid
http://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/WallaceBarnes/PRDOVR~64365/64365.jsp
I have tried and tried the Liberty print shirts, and they have never worked on me. I wish I knew why.
ReplyDeleteNow, the No. 2 pencil skirt in gardenshade is a different story. I've started wearing more pencil skirts in the past year, and I love them. This print is so pretty, and I love the colors.
Thankfully, j.crew seems to read your blog, Alexis. Here's a quote from the item description: "Rendered in a shady waterfloral motif we plucked from one of our favorite English print houses for its cool-hue femininity." I think we talked about how difficult it was to judge warm and cool greens sometime back in December. I'll be stopping by the store sometime this month to try on that darling skirt.
:) Jen
AJC loved your picks ! You look great! I have that Liberty blouse and I LOVE that print. I got it online on sale ! However I am not one of the wee bitty sizes that tend to sale out more quickly.
ReplyDeleteNew York & Paris, that is awesome news. I think I'll set up my lawn chair next to the mailbox. lol
ReplyDeleteajc - Just caught that! Congrats on starting your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteDina, thank you for all that information!! And AJC, great start!! :)
ReplyDeleteruffles,
ReplyDeleteWe probably have the same circa shirts:) Yes, those were the days when a sale shirt could be bought for $20:)
WindycityWardrobe - I will post a flicker link as soon as the bag arrives, should be tomorrow:)
ReplyDeleteCatherine K: Unfortunately I did/do not have a post on J.Crew fabrics although that is a great suggestion for a future post! :)
ReplyDeleteReceived my Liberty Print Perfect Shirt and reviewed it on my blog HERE
ReplyDelete