"Thanks!" to ZanyAZ & Nancy, who let us know about the "J.Crew vs. Sister Parish?" post over at the Elements of Style blog.
The post questions the inspiration behind the print for the Arrowhead Ikat Underwire Top (Item 82190; $58.00). J.Crew's product page mentions: "We fell in love with this Indian woodblock print—a striking graphic our design team discovered on an antique swatch and recolored in a modern azure hue."However, design center Sister Parish has a Burma print (click here) that shares a striking resemblance the the Arrowhead Ikat design of J.Crew. (The SP print is shown below as well.)
So is this a case of J.Crew not realizing the print is being used elsewhere? I do not know my patterns, but could this be a common block print? Or is this a total rip-off with a fabricated back story? Not really sure.But another savvy commentator in the "J.Crew vs. Sister Parish?" post mentioned: "Wow. Remember J.Crew’s “fanfare” print that they supposedly found in a Florida vintage store? Total knockoff of Florence Broadhurst’s “fingers” design."
So I took a look and found that the Florence Broadhurst’s Fingers Design (shown on the left) does look similar with J.Crew's Jules Dress in Fanfare (Item 70216; $188.00). J.Crew's states that they were "Inspired by a bold print our designers spotted on a shirtdress from the '60s, this one-of-a-kind pattern puts a fresh spin on the chic shift." Hmmm...
Kate Spade is currently offering the Florence Broadhurst Fingers Bon Shopper (style pxru3506; $198.00). Not only do they use the design from Florence Broadhurst, but credit the source properly: "we've long admired the graphic prints (and colorful personality) of australian artist florence broadhurst. this season, we've adorned our all-purpose bon shopper with broadhurst's iconic fingers pattern, making it the perfect carryall for all your sunny day adventures."Perhaps J.Crew has some explaining to do...
What are your thoughts on the similarities between J.Crew and the other sources for prints? Do you think J.Crew knowingly created similar prints? Please share! :)
J.Crew has been borrowing quite a few patterns lately. Two of my readers shared the similarity of the Fanfare print to the KS Fingers print in my 'You Look Very Familiar...Have I Seen You Before?' post here back at the beginning of April, along with the similarity between the Morse code print at J.Crew and one at Tory Burch. :)
ReplyDeleteYup. When I was in FL there was a dress in a window with a print that looked just like fanfare. Maybe it was a K Spade. I love the print!
ReplyDeleteWho writes these descriptions, Jay Peterman? A lot of baloney to conjure up a romantic image.
ReplyDeleteSo true, this cracks me up!
DeleteLOL! So true!
DeleteJ Crew does a lot of Tory Burch knock-offs too. They know that their customer base sees this and likes the look for about 1/3 the price. I often have my friends assume because I carry a Tory Burch bag and/or wear TB shoes, that a lot of my clothes are the same. The fun is in mixing it up. I feel I get so much more milage for the price when I wear J Crew compared to "high end " designers.
ReplyDeletei've mentioned this on another post, but while we're on j crew look-alike prints, i'll bring it up again. check out the similarity between the j crew giverny print and this paul smith skirt.
ReplyDeletesince the giverny is one of my all-time fave j crew prints, when i saw the paul smith skirt on gilt, i couldn't believe how similar they were!
Great catch Sarah! :) They are identical.
DeleteThat ikat print is a very very common block print pattern from India. I own several tunics with the same print bought from local stores in India and the pattern has been around for ages. As for Tory Burch many of her designs seem to be inspired by traditional prints and patterns from India, so if Jcrew is using the same inspiration, similarity is inevitable.
ReplyDelete