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.
Is anyone having mobile problems connecting to the J.Crew site? When go to the site through bookmark, the site is blank. I even typed the site manually, and still blank. I went to other sites and it works. So it couldn't be my connection. I woke up early to see of there are any sales.
ReplyDeleteExcuse my grammar, I'm half awake while typing this post above. #thestupidthingsidoforjcrew ha!
DeleteHad problems checking out at around 1 am NY time, it just wouldn't move to put the order through. Their loss.
DeleteThe problem I have with their site is the "Bad Error 400" code. When I try to navigate from my cart to the site it shuts me down and gives me this message. It happens quite often. I have to completely log in again to the site. Very annoying.
DeleteI can't stand how Madewell website displays tops and sweaters on wire hangers. It REALLY bothers me! I don't know if they are trying to look edgy or struggling hipster but it looks just awful.
ReplyDeleteMy J Crew vent is the crazy vanity sizing. I know people have been complaining about this for years, but when I have to start buying size 4 it is getting crazy. I'm 5'10", 138# and I'm not embarrassed about being a solid M and a size 8. I don't need J Crew to massage my ego and tell me I'm a smaller size than I actually am.
I've seen a lot of people venting about that but honestly I haven't noticed vanity sizing at all. Their pants and tailored dresses fit true to size, and their jeans have always seemed on the small side to me. The only thing I've noticed that is oversized is some of their tops & sweaters and non-fitted dresses, which I attribute more to the silhouette. A lot of their tops and shift dresses were designed to be boxy and shapeless. I personally have been sizing down as well because I find the oversized sack look to be incredibly unflattering. But I genuinely don't think it is vanity sizing at work here - I think it's more just really badly-designed clothing.
DeleteWhat irks me is I feel like I'm receiving completely different garments than pictured on the website. I take them out of the packages and can't believe how completely different they look. If I have to wash it 7 times and not iron it, half tuck it, pull it all up in the back and pin it, unbutton it to my navel, roll up the sleeves in a messy scrunch, pair it with something completely unmatching, stand in front of a fan to blow my hair around and cock my head like a Labrador.....maybe J. Crew isn't for me. Can't we see the real garment in one picture and the fussed up to no end version for styling tips? Then I can stop ordering these boxy tops with a huge torso and tiny sleeves. It would save everyone time and money.
DeleteStray Cat - I have found it SO annoying when a model has a top half-tucked. What's the point of showing it on the model when you're not seeing what it actually looks like? Especially since the lengths of tops have been all over the place. It's really hard to tell what the garment ACTUALLY looks like, as you mentioned!
DeleteI agree with Julie that J.crew does vanity size. I weigh about the same and am a bit shorter and I am usually a 4 or 6 at JC. I am most often an 8 elsewhere. This includes Antho, boden, Tory Burch, Brooks brothers. I wish they would just stop. I know I am not a 4 and I am ok with it.
DeleteCue the line from the movie, Mommy Dearest, "No more wire hangers!" Sorry i had to say it. Yea, the wire hangers bother me, too.
DeleteStray Cat, Taylor - not to mention that they don't show the straight side view in many of the online images anymore. I ALWAYS check to see if the top I want has bust darts (a pointless exercise most of the time, I know). Except now the models don't stand straight and are instead posing in overstyled clothes and the side view is taken from a weird angle so it's nearly impossible to determine anything anymore.
DeleteI do agree that some of the tops have been very oversized, but I question whether it's just the trend. For example, I caught the Tailored tunic in stripe (C2015) on pop back recently in my usual size 4. Not only was the body extremely lose, but the sleeves were so ridiculously wide that my thighs could have fitted in them! Not having a store nearby to try things on makes ordering online very challenging to say the least.
Oh my goodness yes, the Half-Tuck was my other vent... so over-used on JC and Madewell websites. As Taylor said, lengths have been all over the place, would like to see the item on, untucked, to get an idea of true length.
DeleteWhat on earth are they going to do with their HUGE oversupply of Lena heels? JC went big for this style, featuring it with many outfits on the website. It appears that customers didn't go for Lena's - they can be had on sale in almost every size and color. IMO they're pretty dowdy.
ReplyDeleteI tried them in store. I fell off/out of them. .. an accident waiting to happen. they are cute shoes just not worth the price tag .
DeleteIts the middle of June and all I want is to see what is new for Fall. that is how bored and unimpressed I am with J Crew this summer. even on deep deep sale (which I predict will be huge in a matter of weeks) I will not be purchasing anything. there was nothing that i wanted....what is wrong with me ?
DeleteI didn't care much for the shoes they made this spring/summer. Sad.
Deletenot too mention the abundance of malta, cyprus and other slip on sandals. seems every retailor jumped on this type of flat ( no support for walking any distance ...just kind of an expensive flip/flop ) sandal. its everywhere and at a better price than J Crews
DeleteCousy, I agree that the shoes have kind of missed the mark and inventory seems pretty high - even all the Sophia Websters from a year ago are still languishing at FP. The collabs this year have interested me the most, but you can get New Balance sneaks and white Birkenstocks anywhere.
DeleteRemember the days when J. Crew was the go-to for beautiful, Italian-made flats and heels in gorgeous colors and wearable styles? I treat my treasured pairs of Juliets like priceless antiques!
What's missing are REGULAR leather (NOT patent! NOT fabric! NOT suede! NOT sequinned!) leather pumps, kitten heels, slingbacks.
DeleteOk, calf-hair I like =)
DeleteOff topic, but a friend sent me the following Refinery 29 article about a new site born out of a Reddit thread that is aimed at helping track fluctuating J.Crew pricing. Looks like the site still has some kinks but will be curious if this takes off at all. Here's the article
ReplyDeleteThis Site Will Change the Way you Shop at J.Crew
Interesting! Thanks, Anne! I don't know if this will help or hurt J. Crew.
DeleteIt was fascinating to click through to frugalmalefashion's posts on J. Crew shopping strategies ... comments about promo/% off patterns and price bouncing from over A YEAR AGO. A whole thread devoted to Factory pricing discrepancies and a note that his readers were annoyed by it. Wow. Shows that there are ALOT of savvy J. Crew superfans out there.
It will hurt....J Crew. IMO
DeleteMeh, all aficionadas here know those price fluctuations/sales predictions by heart by now :)
DeleteMoreover, I just browsed the site for a few minutes. Errors on the first two first items I checked! Collection drapey boat neck sweater - I bought at 50% additional sale back in Feb/March making the lowest price just below $100, not 114.50. Also, the Collection Italian cashmere wrap, recently as a pop-up, on a crazy less than $80 bucks - the 149.99 w/50% additional.
DeleteSo, uhm, not sure about accuracy of the site....
I have been sitting with items in my cart for over a week now but every item is excluded from the recent promos. They aren't collection items, simply button-down shirts. Would love to pull the trigger but I am not paying full price with the way the quality has been lately.
ReplyDeleteHi - just curious ( and worried) about a recent return. I ordered two items and after a disappointing try on, put them both back in the package, attached the pre-paid USPS label and stuck it in my mailbox. It's been over a week and the tracking says "picked up by agent". Does J.Crew use someone other than the post office for it's returns? I'm not sure what recourse I have if this package doesn't make it back to J.Crew. It's very odd, I'm in PA and believe the return center is in VA. Normally two business days or less, but my package is going on a week with no progress. Has anyone else seen this? Appreciate any insight or suggestions. Thanks!
ReplyDelete@allyson this has confused me in the past as well...I haven't had this issue with J.Crew since I usually mail UPS but I've had the issue with other retailers and their USPS returns - it's been up to two weeks before it makes it's way back to the retailer. From what I can tell on the USPS website, they say 2-9 business days for return service so how it actually works is a mystery to me, but I've definitely experienced the same (and gotten nervous!)
DeleteThanks Anne! I knew I should have used ups! Two weeks is ridiculous- I'll keep checking on my package. Hopefully it's not lost!
DeleteI've had returns take a long time, too. Much longer than they used to. I think it's the new return label. The owner of the shipping store I take my packages to told me that sometimes UPS picks up the package and sometimes it's USPS. My guess is that your package is not lost, just in this new slow moving system. Perhaps contact JCrew's customer service and ask them to explain the system.
DeleteMy on-line orders have been taking much longer to reach me, too.
Thanks ladies. I did send CS an email so I'm hoping for an explanation. In the future I'll avoid their pre-paid label and ship myself. I haven't ordered anything in ages so I'm sad the items didn't work and annoyed it's taking so long to return them!
DeleteMy last Factory return took well over two weeks to process, someone else mentioned that things were slow lately so it may be overall.
DeleteOT: A review of the J. Crew Collection Pencil Skirt in Inky Floral HTH!
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across a 2014 article about JCrew's problems and how to fix them, thought is was interesting, though I don't necessarily agree with their conclusion. Linked below:
ReplyDeletehttps://editd.com/blog/2014/06/is-j-crews-problem-product-or-price/
Interesting article and a questionable conclusion, indeed. "the brand is known for its quality fabrics and good cuts" rubbish. isn't what we all complain about??
DeleteTo answer author's question in the beginning of the article. "So what’s happening? Is the initial price positioning wrong, or is it the product at fault?" Both - it is overpriced, ill-fitted, less than mediocre quality merchandise.
I really should stop buying pants from J. Crew. I know we vented in regards to this last week and really it is an issue that will very for each individual but I need to face the fact that most of their pants don't work for me and stop purchasing. I have the ikat pants with the metallic stripe and while the fabric is great the fit is again too tight in the calf area for me when I sit. I am not going to stand all day in pants so I should return but I love the cute ikat pattern.
ReplyDeleteJust had to email customer service because they sent me two store cards as credit for returns I recently sent back well before the 60 day cut off. The response was that they received the items before the 60 days, but didn't process the return until after the 60 days, however, they are willing to fix this for me. Nice of them to let me know that my return sat around for a while. And, anyway, I am still within the 60 day return period. I think I'd better carefully double check the numbers to make sure I'm getting the right amount back.
ReplyDelete