Another reason, and the main topic of this post, is that J.Crew is offering more and more pieces that simply run big. Since some of us prefer a more tailored look, we end up sizing down a size or two.
Take the gorgeous Boy Shirt in Beaded Chambray (item 02967) as an example. The photo shows the button down as form fitting on the model and the description even labels it as "tailored fit". HA! The reality is that this shirt is drowning in extra fabric. (Boy shirts at J.Crew tend to be looser and this one is no exception.) I could never achieve the fitted look in the Beaded Chambray shirt with my normal size 2. In fact, I had to size down to a size 00. With my 34B chest, I still had room because it had a chest of 35 inches. So for those who are a size 0 or 00 in J.Crew, what do they do?
I know what some of you are thinking... "Hey, it is meant to be loose!" I can understand that point, especially with the Boy Shirts. However, when the images and description are displaying a tailored fit for an item, it would be nice if the item actually fit that way without having to size down or up.
Some of you are also thinking, "Hey, it's not unusual to have to size up or down in one piece of clothing from an entire line. Give J.Crew a break!" I can understand this point too. One of the reasons I shop at J.Crew is the consistency in sizing. I feel very comfortable ordering online without having to try on the item beforehand. However, I have just been noticing lately that more and more pieces are running large. Not all of them, or even the majority of items being offered by J.Crew, but just more than usual.
Which is why I am also so thankful that JCAs share their reviews in the Weekly Review posts. Plus, I am happy that J.Crew finally offers customer reviews and includes "overall fit". I can see on the item page whether an item runs large or small.
But back to my main point... I think with so many pieces running big, J.Crew has to offer smaller sizes because these customers would just get left out otherwise.
What are your thoughts on J.Crew's current sizing? Do you think they have been running large in more pieces lately? If so, please share! :)
As an online-only j crew buyer (i live abroad) i read the reviews now but they can be confusing. A picture is still worth 1000 words and a google image search does the trick better imo. So i hope people will keep posting pics! As far as the sizes go they're still a bit all over the place...the most consistent being the pants and jeans (I'm always a 24). In tops and skirts and shorts it's all a gamble!
ReplyDeleteI wish that it were just me losing weight, but some of their clothes are running very large for me. I tried a dress on in a sz. 2 and it fit. I am NOT a sz. 2, no matter how much I wish, lol! I'm a 4-6. I said something to my PS at the store about it and she told me "oh you can't go by the sizes on our clothes!" Huh? *shrugs shoulders* I feel bad for those of you who have only online ordering available.
ReplyDeleteperhaps I'm in the minority, I guess, but I'm a size 8/10, 34DDD, and I haven't noticed anything feeling smaller. the larger armholes are really problematic, though, and I've seen that being a more common trend with the dresses lately.
ReplyDeleteI'm a size 12/14 and also haven't noticed things running a lot larger, with the exception of maybe a few pieces, which are meant to be loose anyway. The fitted items such as tailored tops and sheath dresses are fitting me the same. I agree with armholes being a problem. I nixed several tops I otherwise would have bought for this reason.
DeletePerhaps they just aren't calibrating the sizes correctly, rather than simply making everything too large up the entire size run.
DeleteI think there is a difference between a size running big, and a style being shapeless. I have found most items to be true to size. I am also a size 8, (32DDD) and with the exception of a few items, most are consistent with a standard size 8 as measured. My only complaint are the arm holes on the silk popovers are always SMALL and tight. I will not buy the popovers that are the silk/cotton material for fear that they will tear.
DeleteThe sizes definitely run big and not as posted. If you look at there size charts, you'll see that 35.5 bust corresponds to a size 8. I'm pretty sure that DDD is much larger than 35.5 inches around. Since I can only order online, this inconsistency is maddening. My bust is 32C (35 inches), and I'm ordering anywhere from 000-2, depending on the garment.
DeleteThis is so ridiculous! J Crew needs to stop trying to psycho-analyze its customers and just come clean and put the measurements of the garment itself, as well as the recommended body measurements for each size garment, just like they do on the BODEN website. Boden has gotten so much more of my $$$ because I can at least decide for myself which size(s) to try. It also infuriates me as a larger-sized customer, with a large chest, that I (1) can never find sizes 14 or 16 in the stores, or (2) that the sizing stops at size 10 or 12 for many items. Seems as they make more and more smaller sizes, they make less at the upper end. SO tired of the tight upper sleeve issues, and I can rarely "size up". Buying less and less Crew each passing roll out.
ReplyDeleteyup
Deletedefinitely agree. it's become more frustrating to buy tops, especially, because the stores don't carry larger sizes. example: I wanted that crab top that went on sale recently, but my store only had an 8, which should have fit, but I almost got stuck in it and nearly tore the thing because it didn't have any fasteners and I couldn't even get it over my shoulders. stop cutting corners and include a zipper or some buttons or something, j. crew! and, you know, stock my size.
DeleteDouble yup!
DeleteSuzy, I completely agree. While sure, there are some things that I know wouldn't look good on my size 12-14 lower half...at least give us the option! There are so many items out there that size out at a 12...which in my opinion, at the higher end of the spectrum, the sizes are a little more accurate, if not small. I have a closet full of size 12 items from years past that still fit fine from multiple retailers...and these days it's a crap shoot what size I am at J.Crew so sizing up is often out of the picture. Shoes, though...I'm always the same!
DeleteHi Alexis, I think that if the models turned around, we would see that their bodices are all pinned to give a fitted look from the front. Seeing the clothes on real people helps a lot, which is why I never understood that weird banning of fitting room pictures that went on last year.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate J. Crew's consistency in sizing and feel very comfortable ordering what I think is my size without trying on first. I am almost always right about my size, now that I am familiar with the brand. I like that about J. Crew. Some items still don't fit me well, but it's not because I got the wrong size.
While men's sizing isn't as troublesome as it is for the ladies I find sites like Hautelook the most helpful. They have photos but also tell you the weight, height and size the model is wearing along with if the item is true to size.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part the men's sizing is quite consistent, but I do find that the pants need alittle more uniformity with fit.
Thanks for this post Alexis! I totally find a disconnect in terms of sizes, and especially in shirts, as you mention. I've been trying to buy a chambray keeper shirt for a while and it's not been easy. I'm small (5.2", 110 lb) and I definitely need fitted clothes or else I look shapeless. I first tried the shirt in a store in regular 00 and was too big. Then I ordered online a PXXS, and it was a bit big, not huge, but not close to being fitted. Then the world of children clothing opened up for me again, jaja. I had a hard time in the past finding clothing in my size. Summing up the clothing story of my life: I'd go to the adult section, not find my size, go to the girl section, find it too girly, and end up buying in the boys section. I was quite happy actually to buy girl clothing in JCrew because at least I get free shipping. So I started checking girl's shirts, which in JCrew aren't that girly (that's why I love JCrew). I not only was happy to find out that there is a girl's chambray shirt but also saw the girl's oxford tissue shirts that I liked. I ordered the shirts in girls size, the keeper in 14, and the oxford in 16, 14 and 12 with the idea of learning my size and return the rest. In short: Size 16 was very big and 14 was big. I'm a size 12 in Oxford shirts, and since the Keeper was bigger than the Oxford (the two shirts have a size disconnect), I think that I'm a 10 in the Keeper if I want it kind of snug. I still couldn't buy the shirts, because apart form my size difficulties I'm trying to find them on sale. I'm wondering, size 10 in girls would mean for 10 years old? I'm almost 40! it sounds to me like the sizes are running big indeed! This only happens to me with shirts. Tippis XXS are fine for me and even a bit snug, Majesty Peacoat P0 it's fine and a bit snug, I'm P2 in LadyDay coat, and Classic Schoolboy Blazer P00 fit like a glove.
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem ! Women of normal weight (like you) should not have to shop in the children's section.
DeleteI can't say that sizing running too big is a problem for me lately (three months off of your usual workout routine after hip surgery will, incidentally, make you put on weight, go fig), but I do really appreciate the reviews and pictures and info that everyone posts.
ReplyDeleteI bought a perfect shirt on final sale recently and ended up switching the size that I ordered because of the helpful info others have posted, and it ended up fitting perfectly. Even if I had to go up a size, grumble grumble.
I wonder if this is a side effect of their recent aversion to putting darts into their clothing. Boy shirts are probably cheaper to make since they're straight. The shift dresses are probably easier to make, too. There's been a lot of simple silhouettes/cuts the last year or so.
ReplyDeleteHi cate, I was thinking the same thing. The cuts are so unstructured and boxy - they're basically rectangles with (or without) sleeves lately.
DeleteI don't necessarily find the pieces to be consistently too big but I just have NO idea what size to buy so I always end up trying 2 sizes, which has just become a pain so I've been trying less lately. Some things that fit at first end up bagging out so I wish I sized down. I think it's another side effect of cost-cutting. Like the skinny twill sweatpant (A6970) - I really liked the shape but the reviews consistently mention them bagging out at the knees and butt (and I had the same experience with the weekend sweatpants) so I just ended up returning them because I didn't want to deal with that for the price.
I agree 100% with the pants bagging/stretching out of shape issue. I had this problem with the Bristol trouser. I sized down so they fit right and then as soon as I actually wore them (rather than just trying them on), they stretched out- quite a bit. So very frustrating. And I have to wear two different sizes for matchsticks vs toothpicks. And even then, depending, matchsticks are inconsistent in sizing +/- two sizes (and may or may not stretch out!). Finally just have given up on them. Tops that I am fairly consistent in are the basics like perfect fit and boy fit, tippi, etc. I usually wear a 10 or M/L and haven't noticed any vanity sizing there. For unknown or new styles, I definitely have to try the item on though- otherwise it's a complete toss-up whether I guess the right size. And I have items from S to XL without having my shape change from one item to the next ; ). Great topic!
DeleteI've spanned the range from size 2 to 8 this past season even though my weight has fluctuated within the same 5 lbs. I feel for anyone that doesn't live near a store. I've stopped doing final sale without trying on first. That's a trap these days with the lack of tailoring and the fact that sizing is all over the place.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the trend this year is a looser style, less fitted than in orevious years. not only with J Crew but also with other retailers. As I like a more fitted look I sometimes size diwn and here the reviews on the website and on the blogs (thanks again to all you bloggers!) are very helpful. In general I find J Crew pretty consistent sizingwise, as an online shopper I feel confident when ordering. I also find J Crew very helpful in providing me with the exact measurements if necessary.
ReplyDeleteI'd like J Crew to provide the models height and the size of the garment she is modeling. I find it helpful when other retailers do that as I am 5'11" and appreciate being able to get a true sense of the garments proportion.
ReplyDeleteBeing on the smaller end of the sizing scale, I am glad that JCrew is offering xxxs. I may not need this size, but it's nice to have the option. There have been times when I have been sized out of an item that I loved because it ran large. Even though I love the over-sized look on others, like Maria, I tend to look better in things that are more fitted.
ReplyDeleteI found the popovers to be one size larger this year. This made me scratch my head,....why? Seriously, why are they making clothes to be larger? (even the bikinis are one size too big for me.)
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny you posted about this. When I went to the warehouse sale with my friend, we kept commenting on how large all the tops looked! I am a solid size medium (M in tops 10 in pants, 8 or 10 in dresses depending if they're shifts or structured) and I was putting on XS tops and fitting comfortably. I can do smalls, sure, but EXTRA SMALL?! I actually am wearing an extra small jcrew twshirt today. It fits fabulously.... like how a medium should fit -- but the tag says XS. I'm not sure what the deal is. My pants and dress sizes have been running true to size for me as they always have, but the tops? It's a crap shoot for the tops. I just have to try them on b/c a xs=s= m= large at Jcrew now, apparently.
ReplyDeleteI dont need vanity sizing. I'm fine with my size, I just want to be sure when I buy several different tops in the same size... they'll all fit like that size should! I shouldn't buy 4 tippi's in medium and they come in 4 different sizes w/ a medium tag. That's ridiculous.