This is the weekly "Looking to VENT with J.Crew" post, a place to share our not-so-stellar experiences with J.Crew.If you have recently experienced a frustrating situation with J.Crew, maybe you might be willing to share that information with us in this post.
Please feel free to share your story on almost any topic— including poor experiences with purchases & orders, promotions/ offers, in-store visits, transactions with store associates, etc.
I am so tired of training J.Crew's SAs for them. Ugh. I'm always cringing on the inside when I have to deal with baby SAs. It's not their fault though and I feel for them. But shouldn't they know basic things like online vs. store return policy. It' already sucks. I don't need one telling me that I'm over the 30 day minimum for an online return on top of an already stress filled day. Or telling me that she doesn't know if she can accept without a tag and a makeup stain. Sheesh. If she only knew the poor state of a few of the supposedly new items that I have received from online. Poor thing. She'll learn quickly though. I am a constant B&M returner.
ReplyDeleteSizing issues here.
ReplyDeleteI have the matchstick pants in retail cords, blue and black jeans and factory version jeans and they all are the same size. So I first bought the white cropped versions in my "usual" size but they were way too small. Then I realized there are 2 cropped white matchstick pants and maybe the one I bought wasn't the denim one afterall. So I decided to buy the regular matchstick jeans but they were too small too. I hate having to order, return, reorder so I'm going to hold off before reordering them one size larger.
I'm not buying Matchsticks any more. I have some pairs I love from last year, but the sizing this year is so much smaller. I've gained some weight, but my usual size from last year fits fine whereas I could hardly get the same size in the white cropped Matchsticks on. There is also a differential with Factory sizing on Matchsticks. I give up, I don't need J. Crew jeans enough to put that much effort into finding a pair that fits. GAP is working out fine for straight leg and for boyfriend style (and I just ordered a pair of cropped straight white jeans from GAP, maybe those will work too). J. Crew seems to be phasing out its recent vanity sizing in jeans.
DeleteUh oh.I wonder if I should cancel my factory order then.
DeleteI think I'm going to give gap another shot with the jeans. I gave up on them awhile ago but they seem to be making a comeback.
Would you say the sizing is actually more accurate now? In the past I have always found all J.Crew clothing (but pants especially) to be extreme examples of vanity sizing.
DeleteMissJR, I wouldn't cancel the factory order. I haven't tried on their matchsticks recently so I don't know how they are running right now. I just think they were not consistent with the retail sizing last year. On the factory website, I don't think they even call them Matchsticks, but the tags on the pants all said Matchsticks (not sure if that is the case this Spring, though).
DeleteGeneral comment, I am not sure why but many brands seem to have size consistency issues with denim. I have had trouble with GAP in the past, and this year even their Real Straight jeans are sized differently depending on the wash (I found the same last year with their Sexy Boyfriend jeans). With denim, I guess you never know what you're going to get unless you try them on.
Ditto on this, but for length. I tried on the ankle matchstick jeans at the factory store and they hit me mid-calf! I'm only 5'6"! The SA said "that's how they're supposed to fit!" Um ok, but don't call them "ankle" then!!
DeleteI'm so glad I found this thread. I really thought I was going nuts! I can't buy the matchstick corduroys anymore because they seem to run larger and I tried on the (cute) matchstick crops today and they were TINY. I need a new jean. Pronto.
DeleteTwo weeks to get an order. It sat for a week at j.Crew after they sent the shipping notice. By the time it got to me I had lost interest and ended up returning everything. Interesting to note, the items came from Salt Lake City, I live in Arizona, so it's not like it traveled across country.
ReplyDeleteThis has happened to me multiple times in the last two months, I've shopped at J Crew for years and never had this issue before. I wonder what is going on.
DeleteI bought shorts at a B&M without trying them on. Because for the last 3 years I have been the same size (4, which is vanity sized as it is). Brought them home and the 3" shorts were HUGE. Like take them off without unfastening. Returned to get the next size down. Some pairs were way too small in a 2 some were very generous. Tried a pair on in size 4, a tad small. Come on! I am talking about the same colors here! Anyway, it annoys me. Sorry for anyone who relies on ordering.
ReplyDeleteWent to a Toronto based "women in capital markets" event last night. They give you a goody bag at the end of the night in which companies donate things. Was SO excited to see a j.crew catalogue inside thinking maybe we'd get a % off deal or something. But no...they just "donated" catalogues. Thanks j.crew! LAME
ReplyDeleteMega LAME!
DeleteWow teeny84, that's remarkable. I hope someone at JC reads your post and is appropriately embarrassed.
ReplyDeleteMy newest (of many!) double serge wool pencil skirt has an unbearably scratchy tag in the waistband. I am trying to remove the tag but it is sewn in a very damaging way. Never had this problem before.
cousy, I hate those tags! I've had good luck with a seam ripper.
ReplyDeleteI have to gripe about sizing, this time regarding blouses. What is with all of the new Spring blouses being at least 2 sizes too big? Not like vanity sizing, like honestly too big! I had to return both the Sera Top in Traced Medallion and the Indigo Floral popover because there were multiple inches of extra fabric width-wise through the torso. I feel like their Perfect Shirts and Boy Shirts have been pretty consistent with size measurements over the past few seasons, so why go completely off base with the new blouses? I believe it was JCrewJD who posted a comment the other day saying that she asked CS to give her the bust measurement for the Indigo Floral Popover in a size 6, and it was 46 inches or something! The least they could do is give us a warning in the online copy: "We gave this shirt an oversized, relaxed cut, so size down if you want yours to look more fitted."
ReplyDeleteI had to return the Sera Top in Traced Medallion too. I was disappointed at how huge it was. It reminded me of the pregnancy clothes I'd buy years ago. So unattractive.
DeleteWhy do all of my jcrew silk shirts unravel at the hems? I wore my orange silk dervish paisley tunic - it is sooo beautiful and I get all sorts of compliments/"it's so bright!" when I wear it, but yesterday I realized the entire bottom hem is loose. Same thing has happened on my retail and factory silk camis. Is this something I'm doing wrong?
ReplyDeleteErin--nope...all mine have done that too...for years. It's so frustrating.
ReplyDeleteGeneral gripes...no more papaya and other red/orange colors...I feel like these have been the same ones for years. You used to know something was JCrew by the color...now you can tell by the pilling and unraveling hems!
New styles..please. Am I the only one that feels like they have been doing the same things for 3+ years with different patterns?
Story of the day: I received my collection striped silk sheath in the mail and loved it. Until I noticed the electronic tag from a store was still on it. I went to my B&M with the receipt and asked that they remove it for me...they couldn't because they use different devices but I also couldn't return it because it was final sale (I really wanted to keep it anyways). My husband ended up taking the tag off with pliers which just added to his reasons why I need to stop shopping there (he has issues with quality for price especially when it comes to a few collection cashmere pieces he bought me for Christmas). Just another day at the Crew!
No, you are not the only one. I cannot BELIEVE how same-old, same-old each seasons' catalogs are! The march one is ridiculous. That pale model is sooooo overused. The pages with the Liberty model are so refreshing! She looks so animate and bronzed and healthy and happy! JC is taking themselves wayyyy to seriously. They say they're taking "new twists" which is, frankly, offensive.
DeleteFunny. There were TONS of complaints of people not liking orange and papaya and being sick of always seeing it b/c it is Jenna's favorite color. I like orange a lot but glad to see a break from it. It was too much for too long.
DeleteI like jackets - I wear one almost every day, usually of the category that JC calls "novelty". It is the category that I check first with every roll-out since I am almost always up for buying one.
ReplyDeleteBut JC's offerings from last winter and this spring have been awful. The short lengths, weird colors and high prices are very off-putting and unflattering. I keep waiting for an improvement! Sigh...
My gripe is with the sizing on the new version of the NO. 2 PENCIL SKIRT IN DOUBLE-SERGE COTTON.
ReplyDeleteI wore a size 0 in last year's version, so I ordered the same on the new ones. I haven't gained a pound, but the newer version feels a lot more snug. A little too sexy; really cupping the booty area. Okay, so I ordered a size 2 the second time around. However, the size two is too large. I'm NO. 2 PENCIL addicted, but it seems I'm between a rock and a hard place in regard to this season's offerings.
So it's not just me! I ordered the clover tweed pencil in my usual size and it is a lot snugger around the derrière than my pencils from last season!
DeleteI thought perhaps my bum had grown! (I posted a review of it here)
http://obsessivefixations.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/j-crew-sale-spending-orgy.html
It's annoying when sizing changes, although I will still probably buy my usual size, as the size up would almost certainly be too big.
Great review! Yep, I think they've adjusted something in the 'seat' area. I don't know what to do this season--wear them uber-tight like Joan on Mad Men, or size up so they spin on my hips like hula hoops, lol!
DeleteI have pencils that are size 2,4 and 6. The sizing is all over the place. I had the same problem with the wool unlined cafe capris this fall. They were cut smaller than those from fall 2011. I thought I was crazy. I would love a little consistency.
DeleteThanks for the feedback, I am interested in the No. 2 Pencil in medallion paisley. I took a 4P last year but since this skirt has already gone to Final Sale and I can't try on a petite in store I guess I will pass for now. If it goes on additional promo I may bite if I get J Crew to allow me to return.
DeleteJust got an order of shirts for my husband. Instead of six shirts I got 5. I also got a pair of child's sperry shoes. WTF?
ReplyDeleteYes. Happened to me all the time getting weird items. The worst though is when I mail things back and don't get credited correctly. J.Crew can be such a hassle to shop with sometimes.
DeleteLast sale, I ordered a No. 2 Pencil popback from last year and received a pair of flipflops, strangely enough in my size. But another vent, J Crew has stopped making their flipflops in Italy this year, they now look like the factory ones. Not sure if they are leather but still charging retail price for them.
DeleteBought Liberty jacket and the sewing on the lining was bunched and a whole section was raised instead of flat on one side. Really crappy. Going back. I think I am done shopping with J.Crew. I only get to a store once or twice a year at most and unless I see it in person; it is not worth shopping with them anymore. A $250 jacket with that kind of workmanship is just CRAP!
ReplyDeleteWhy is the sizing so weird? I bought the toothpicks in poppy in a 27 last year, but they were way too big. So this year I buy the shallow sea and the byzantine blue in a 26 and they are wicked tight! I mean, I don't have any trouble getting them on, but I kind of feel like a hooker in them. Grr!
ReplyDeleteI was really interested in the Collection Etta Cap Toe Snakeskin Pump in the Ivory/Gray that just released for Spring. Well, apparently they are all sold out already in my size 8.5 and according to the SA, they won't be restocking! First, I find it hard to believe a $378 pair of pumps has sold out completely online and in stores and it's only the beginning of March and they won't be restocking on a Spring shoe this early? Disappointing.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of the Etta Pump and ordered a pair in size 8. This shoe is a big fit-disappointment. The toe box is really, really, really short. For all the fabulous talent that exists at JCrew, how could they obviously miss on this one? Well, I returned my Ettas. Unanimously, all the women at JCrew retail finally admitted it - this shoe is beautiful in appearance only. Sadly, the fit is terrible for anyone who has an average foot.
DeleteThanks for the reply. Now I don't feel quite so bad. It is a shame though, that shoe ws gorgeous and timeless and I would've paid a pretty penny to get a pair if they had been comfortable. I am sure plenty of them will show up on Ebay once others realize how uncomfortable their purchase was. Another missed mark for JC.
DeleteI believe it ....I can't tell you how many times this very thing has happened to me in the past.:(
ReplyDeleteDear J.Crew:
ReplyDeleteThank you for the timely shipment of the mint leather passport case. How thoughtful of you to monogram "KAN" on the cover at no additional expense to me. Although I did not order a monogram, I wonder if you care that is no where close to my initial and I'm not from Kansas.
Sincerely,
Pooped on by a popback
I see it's been a while since someone's posted on here, but I've run into the same issue I seem to always do with another J Crew order.
ReplyDeleteAbout a month ago, I was in store and tried on some of the 770 denims in my size. I loved them. Fit great and I loved the look.
Last week, I order 3 pairs of pants, 2 denim, 1 pair of cords, ALL in the 770 fit and ALL in my normal size, 35x32. Got the pants this week, and out of all 3, only 1 pair of the denims actually fits properly and comfortably. The other pair of denims are smaller both around the waste and leg. The cords? Even smaller and tighter then the pair of denims that did not fit.
I simply don't understand how I can order 3 pairs of pants, all in the same style and size, and all 3 pairs of pants fit differently, and some not at all. Mind blowing to me for a product that's not horribly expensive, but by no means cheap, either.
I've never had this issue with GAP, not sure why I do with J Crew.
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DeleteDepending on the wash of the jeans, they might come out tighter or more loose. If you buy a camel colored pair of 770's, they're going to be a little tighter than 770's in blue denim. Also, when they're worn for a long period of time, they won't stretch as much as blue denim.
DeleteIn addition to this, the darker colored blue denim tends to be slightly tighter than the most common hue of blue denim. That's why its more common to find black jeans in slimmer styles than more loose styles.
Also, since all clothing is made by humans, or the machines that make the clothing were made by humans, sometimes there can be inconsistencies, unfortunately. I'm 28 years old and I've been looking for a clothing brand that has consistency with their jeans and has the best cuts.
I will say that I've never been as satisfied as I am with J Crew in regards to their jeans- and other clothing items/styles for that matter.