Thursday, November 8, 2012

Sneak Peek at J.Crew's December Catalog

J.Crew posted on their 770 Blog (click here) their upcoming catalog cover for December 2012 (image above).

I am always excited to see what the new catalog will look like. However, I am not overly excited about this one. Why? Because there is no emphasis on the holidays.

Usually the November and December catalogs are full of pretty things in warm reds, pretty greens, sparkly golds, and cool blues. This cover is pretty, but it looks like it is for Patagonia (than for J.Crew). Am I suppose to get excited about those outfits? {sigh}

J.Crew knows how to do a snowy location + holidays right. Just look at last year's cover (image of December 2011 below). It is obvious that this cover is meant to ring-in the festive season.
Look at that group shot... loves! Look at all those colorful outfits... loves! Look at the use of holiday props... loves! I was hoping to see a bit more of these aspects in this year's December catalog. Especially since the November catalog was kind of meh.

On a bright note, this is just the cover. I still look forward to seeing the rest of the catalog. And... it means that new arrivals are just around the corner! :)

What are your thoughts on J.Crew's upcoming cover? Are you excited about it? Please share!

Quick Poll: Do you like the upcoming December 2012 catalog?

30 comments:

  1. Going to the J Crew shopping event tonight in SF- Tom Mora, head of women's design will be there...partial proceeds to Rocket Dog Rescue...so I MUST shop :) Anyone else going? Any messages for Tom? :)

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    1. Why wasn't I invited? I always shop at the downtown SF store...

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    2. I was invited, which I thought was totally random, but in the last couple months I have spent a lot of money there...sale and promo merch but it added up. Not a cardholder so who knows how they invite people. I didn't go... curious about it. Ironically shopped at other JCrew since it was last night of promo...

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  2. This is a terrible cover for the holidays! And the snowboard looks really awkward and completely ruins it. I wonder whose idea that was...

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    1. I agree! The snowboarder is awkward. The cover might have been better with just the couple sitting together. And maybe throw in some presents with red bows... ;)

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  3. I am much more interested to see what is in the catalog than what is on the cover.

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  4. Bah humbug - but apropos to what J.Crew seems to have become: Uninspired and uncreative fast fashion.

    Anybody remember the Chile shoot from Holiday '09? I adored that one; it was fabulous, fun, festive. Still have the catalogue.

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  5. Sadly I have stopped being excited for the new "style guides" as they have been really meh for quite a while now.

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  6. The Chile shoot was my favorite! But I don't mind the cover. Can't wait to see what's inside of it!

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  7. The first thing that came to mind when I saw the cover was North Face, REI, a snowboarding Ad, or a Snowboarding magazine. It doesn't look like its from J.Crew.

    Even the model on the front of the photograph is wearing an Authier jacket, part of their merchandise, but its not J.Crew..How did this pass Mickey's approval? The snowboarder is not wearing a helmet...I could go on and on...lets hope the inside is better.

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  8. Picked up the new catalog tonight at the store...some interesting things

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    1. Velvet t shirts, Collection pajama pants covered in the bow print, lots of collection sweaters, giant bow sweater, lots of new schoolboy colors

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  9. I got the catalog today from a PS i was chatting with while I was picking up some last minute sale items. I think that everyone will find the content of this catalog to be status quo for J Crew 2012- Nothing that really "wows" but items that will still generate enough interest to get us out there buying....ahhh the Crewlade!

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  10. They usually do more than one cover for the holidays, don't they? This isn't a "sneak peek!" A sneak peek is when you get to see the CLOTHES!!

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  11. What, are they going to diss Christmas?

    I hate when retailers want you to buy your Christmas* presents at their store, but they don't want to acknowledge the holiday. (*or hanukkah)

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    1. Society is very sensitive these days, Business are more careful than ever mentioning specific holidays. Even at my workplace we specifically avoid ever using the word Christmas. It's alway just a "holiday."

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    3. And I'm so, so tired of people being hyper-sensitive about these things. If someone was celebrating a holiday that I didn't share, I'd wish them well. I wouldn't demand they be quite or water down their celebrations to satisfy me.

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    4. Lily Bart - me too I despise the word Holiday, and always use Christmas or Hannukah etc, I can't bear the watering down of people's culture, history and tradition. Thankfully in the UK, it is still Christmas.

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  12. Can't wait to see the new schoolboy colors!!!

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  13. An SA told me they always sell out the item(s) featured on the cover...so they must be trying to push the Authier product.

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  14. If you look closely it looks like the snowboarder was photo-shopped in. Why isn't he wearing a helmet? At 1st glance I thought it was a Patagonia catalog...

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    1. Yup! Except I would opt for Patagonia or Northface if I were SITTING IN THE SNOW!!!!

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    2. You are right, where is his helmet?! Dummy isn't wearing gloves, either! I do think they photoshopped the bottom of his snowboard, most of them have graphics on the underside. And as a snowboarder, if he is really doing that jump, I don't think he's going to rotate enough to land it. This shot is probably taken before a colossal wipeout!

      Tyra would probably say that J. Crew missed the main point of modeling, show off the clothes! You can't really see what they are wearing on this cover. Maybe those are the snowboarder's parents and you can't see their clothes because they are turning toward their son to yell where's your helmet?!

      That said, I have the catalog and the inside is much better!

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  15. You wouldn't know it was a December/Holiday catalogue if someone didn't tell you. It needed a little more color...and presents!

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  16. I have to say I find this cover very, very strange. I imagine the snowboarder must be part of some photo story that will be revealed inside, but why not feature actual clothes front-and-center? The Authier garb in the photo doesn't really get me excited either -- that line is too expensive and not something that appeals to a wide audience.

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    1. The inside has people standing around in the snow, but there is nothing to explain the snowboarder on the cover.

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  17. Snoooooooooze. You'd think that a cover featuring some dude flying through the air on a snowboard wouldn't immediately make you want to take a nap. This image honestly looks like a extra from last year's cover shoot, and they were like, "Let's just save some money and use that snowboarding shot with the Authier sample from last year."

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  18. I apologize in advance to anyone who is over-the-top in love with the outfit on page 027 of this "style" guide. That outfit, put together is absolutely horrific. The shirt, alone, is cute. The skirt is cute. The shoes--I have no comment. Put it all together and it is worse than a hot mess! JMO.

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