Thursday, September 20, 2012

J.Crew Store Location Series {Florida}

*Image above is from Etsy (found through UrbanFootprintDesign)

A big "thanks!" to GigiOfCa {of the delightful Gigi's Gone Shopping blog} who came up with a brilliant suggestion for a series of post: a city guide where JCAs can suggest which J.Crews to shop at.

This post will focus on Florida! With so many stores in the area, it might be too much to visit them all. So if you are a local, or a knowledgeable tourist, please share what stores a fellow JCA has to visit!

Feel free to share other tidbits of advice. For example... What are your top three spots? Are there certain stores that should be avoided at certain times of the day/ week? Are there stores that have a better selection than others? Which stores have the best sale offerings?

Which J.Crew brick & mortar (B&M) stores {in the state of Florida} should an out-of-towner shop at? Which stores should be avoided? Please share! :)

12 comments:

  1. The J Crew outlet in St. Augustine has had the most merchandise compared to Orlando. I really like the b&m in Jacksonville. Whenever I'm looking for a hard to find item, I'm always told that the store in Jax has it in stock. A couple months ago when I was trying to hunt down the double link necklace, since it had gone on sale I had to call around stores, sure enough, the only store in Florida that had it was Jax.

    Maria
    Dainty and Decadent

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  2. The Orlando area has one Retail store in the Mall at Millenia and two Factory stores, which are at two separate outlet malls. The retail store does not have a crewcuts section, but the factory stores do. The SAs at the Millenia store are all very nice and helpful, as are the managers. The smaller sizes always sell out quickly, so if you are hoping to shop the sale racks for sizes XXS, XS, or Small, your chances are slim for finding much of anything. The store does get handbags, shoes, and cashmere, but rarely has any of the collection items, unless they are an online return. The mall the store is located in is one of the 'good' ones here, and also has Anthropologie, Tory Burch, Neiman Marcus, among others. I usually park outside of Neimans, as the J.Crew is just across from its mall entrance.

    Just down the road is the Prime Outlet mall where one of the factory stores is located. They usually have a pretty good selection and always run some sort of sale. Parking there is always a pain, especially on the weekends, but if you want to be within short walking distance to the store, then try to park outside of the Victoria's Secret, Neiman Marcus Last Call, or Ralph Lauren factory store.

    The other factory store is located in the Prime Outlet mall near Disney World. There is parking just outside the store, which is located all the way at the back of the mall. I prefer the layout of this factory store, but usually end up visiting the other one if I go, since it's just around the corner from the retail B&M.

    The J.Crew in Tampa is located at the International Plaza Mall. This one also has a crewcuts, so anytime I am over at the coast I like to visit in order to look for sale items for my boys, since they are always so much cheaper than online. The store is located on the second floor near Nordstrom, and seems to be larger to me than the one at Millenia. It also seems to sell out of the smaller sizes quickly, so while the sale section is often quite large, it can be difficult to find items if you are an XXS, XS, or Small. The International Plaza Mall is very nice with many designer stores such as Kate Spade, Anne Fontaine, Tory Burch, and Michael Kors. It also has a Forever 21, H&M, and Zara, too.

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  3. Thanks Maria DaintyandDecadent & Fabulous Florida Mommy!!! :)

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  4. If you visit Palm Beach County, there are two regular retail B&M's (no factory stores). One in South Palm Beach County at Boca Raton Towne Center Mall and the other about 30 minutes away at the north end of the county in Palm Beach Gardens at The Gardens Mall. Both are equally nice and I've found the selection at both to be pretty good.

    It's been ages since I visited a J. Crew further south in the Sunshine State, but I do remember the Aventura store having nearly everything, including Women's swimwear. Also, the Galleria in Ft. Lauderdale is a decent sized store as well.

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  5. I recently vacationed in Key Biscayne/South Beach area and the Aventura Mall J. Crew had great selection and a super nice staff. Sale item I wanted was not on the rack, but the store associate found my size in the back. Of course, they won me over when two of them admitted they originally hailed from New Jersey (home state).

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  6. The Collection Store on Lincoln Road on South Beach is divine to say the least. The decor is magnificent-high ceilings, midcentury modern accents, hardwood floors and linen floor to ceiling curtains on the spacious dressing rooms. The store is a tourist magnet and the prices reflect the upscale store. There a few, if any sale items. Ladies clothing only plus full accessories. Obliging staff. A Madewell is a few storefronts to the East. Fun hunt and real sales.
    Dadeland is the typical mall store-ladies only and more towards the sporty rather than dressy Crew. Dadeland is a very popular mall and as such the square footage is limited. Great staff and do not hesitate to find it for you-both in the store and by using the system to find it elsewhere.
    Aventura has it all, but this is Miami and mostly warm weather clothing rules and selection is limited to Miami style. Aventura is a huge and cumbersome Mall.

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  7. Hi. I am late to the party as I have been out of town in training :(. It seems most of my JC haunts have been reviewed except for Ft. Lauderdale. There is a nice, smaller retail store in the Galleria Mall. This is a very nice mall and is laid out well. There is also a Crewlet at the Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall in Sunrise, FL just west of Ft. Lauderdale. It is a smaller Crewlet, but there are alot of great stores at this outlet mall like Michael Kors, Tory Burch, and Kate Spade, if you are in the area.

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  8. Replies
    1. The American Observer: There is a J.Crew retail store at The International Plaza mall in Tampa which is about 53 miles from Sarasota, and there is a Factory store in Ellenton which is about 17 miles from Sarasota.

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  9. Amen to the Tallahassee comment! Driving to Destin or Jacksonville is just out of the question. I hate the hassle of online ordering & returning, so I usually wait until I'm visiting family in Tampa to splurge. As stated above, the B&M store at International mall is splendid. Also, I highly recommend the Factory store in Ellenton. They've always been organized and helpful. Plus, right around the corner are the Kate Spade, Ann Taylor, BCBG, Brooks Brothers, Michael Kors and Coach outlet stores. It is heaven.

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  10. There's a J.Crew store in Estero (SWFL) at the Coconut Point Shops.
    www.simon.com/mall/coconut-point‎

    There's also a little J.Crew store in Naples (also SWFL) called J.Crew on the Beach at Waterside Shops - an upscale mall with Hermes, LV, Cartier, etc.
    www.watersideshops.com/‎

    Happy Shopping!
    xo, Rena

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