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.
The only thing that really excited me in the catalog was the use of the "J Crew" logo on the front instead of that script they had been using. Otherwise, nothing practical for me to wear. I liked some of the new prints but I wish they would come on a simple A line skirt without a tie or ruffle in sight. They have some pretty dresses but the styles tend to overwhelm my petite frame. I like it better when they had more shift dress styles along with those sundresses, bring me back some beach dresses.
ReplyDeletethe ruffles, the foofy prints, the impractical long skirts - why do i find them scary?
ReplyDeleteBut I like those long skirts! How many years have we begged for petite, regular and long/tall skirts?
DeleteWhen the midi length trend goes away, what will tall J Crew fans do?
Deletei said impractical long skirts - the floor-length ones with the giant swooping ruffles and underskirts. I happen to love me a well-cut maxi skirt, ankle length, tea-length.... and so do my blobby knees!
DeleteIs there a plethora of Stepford wives currently available to wear these frocks? I was unaware there was a large market. I would prefer some practical maxi skirts as well. Thanks for the laugh WFF.
DeleteAll those yards of fabric flowing around begs the question "anyone missing a bedspread?". Pair that overwhelming mass of fabric with a ruffle covered top prompts me to add "and the curtains that match it?"....hee! I can't help but think of Carol Burnett's famous take on the Scarlett O'Hara curtain dress!
DeleteWellfedfred, you nailed it! It's 1975 and the collection is homage to the Stepford Wives. To be fair, most every retailer wants us to rock that look.
ReplyDeleteYup. LOFT had an awful bedskirt-looking ruffly mess of a skirt in their new arrivals section this morning.
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ReplyDelete1) I am not into pineapples. Aren't they like, so two years ago?
ReplyDelete2) I want WELL-MADE linen or linen-blend sweaters! My linen Tippis from years back are holding up well but I want more variety.
3) As a caveat to number two, I pulled out a JC linen navy v-neck sweater to wear this morning & it had a huge hole in one of the armpits. It has now joined my two other J Crew sweaters (v-neck merino wool - one has a hole at the side seam & the other a hole at the hem) to take to my alterations lady. Harumph.
The new jewelery...fruit? really? handbags purses/? They just do not make them like the used to...
ReplyDeleteThe fruit jewelry looks a lot like stuff I wore in fifth grade. I remember some dangley grape earrings I had...
DeleteYes! I had the dangly banana earrings from Claire's in probably 5th grade. ; )
DeleteMy first thought was that the only people interested in dangly banana earrings are those that did NOT wear them in fifth grade; then I read the post below about the college girls, and I think it must be J Crew's target audience. As a University professor, the 80's look was popular for a while, but I don't see many of my students wearing J Crew.
DeleteChanneling Carmen Miranda. Awful!
DeleteNot really a vent, an observation. Last night I attended a Panhellenic council "sorority rush orientation" for freshmen girls intending to rush at their respective universities in the fall. There were maybe 50 girls attending from several nearby suburbs. I counted at least 15 J Crew ruffly, OTS dresses - gingham OTS, ruffle Eyelet, flutter sleeve Eyelet - w the requisite dangly earrings. It was kind of ridiculous - they all looked the same and seemed a little embarrassed to see two other girls in their same dresses. Everyone commented on it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is part of the problem. Chasing the trends so aggressively and overdoing these trendy elements gets you brief overexposure among 18 yr olds but the rest of your market isn't so enthusiastic.
This is part of the reason I won't buy JC dresses (except perhaps the more limited collection ones) to wear to large events--too much chance of someone else wearing the exact same dress. How many women buying dresses from the "ready to party" collection will see someone else wearing the same dress when they go to a wedding this summer? For me if I like it I'll buy one to wear to dinner or what not, but not a special event. I look to less ubiquitous brands for that.
DeletePart of my frustration with this is don't college aged women have enough places to shop? I feel like out those of us who have graduated either a short or long time ago and need professional clothes or prefer classic items are left with too few choices. Leave the trends to the true fast fashion stores or it is fine to do a few. I feel like a broken record.
Delete@JessF - this is certainly one of my major frustrations currently. I'm almost 37. I work in an office environment. I live in the suburbs. I am married & I have two kids. None of these current trends are practical for my life.
DeleteWhen I do go to a brick & mortar store, it's like everything is either geared toward the 20 & under or the 75 & older crowd. I have money, give me somewhere to spend it!
Since I am old enough to have one of those college kids, I am very aware of these great points and try to avoid garments that are too ubiquitous. "Fashion victim" is not a good look - I try to stay current but if my daughters are all over a trend that is often an indication that I should pass. I bought the Ruffle-Sleeve Top w Eyelet sleeves in white - but that is it for me for this trend cycle, which means there isn't much at J Crew for me these days.
DeleteVery good point, and this is something I've also tried to avoid. I remember my MIL and my brothers friend (30 plus year age difference between them) wearing the same outfit to my brother's engagement party. It was from a mall store window (10.5 years ago).
DeleteRuffles and Taylor, you hit the nail on the head, I wish JCrew would realize this: aren't the post college professionals more bound to have disposable income, not the 18 year olds? I am generalizing here but it seems to me that women in their 30s and above may be more prone to invest in durable items and we all know J Crew isn't cheap, or as cheap as it should be due to its quality. For Heaven's sake, the 2015 datebook is stil $14.99!
DeleteI remember getting the jcrew catalog in high school and wishing that someday I could afford to dress like the models. Finally I'm in my 30's and can afford it, and they want to dress me like I'm in high school again. I agree, high school and college women have plenty of places to shop. When it was time for me to "grow up" my wardrobe, initially I struggled. But now I can buy jcrew. I really hope they can get over whatever identity crisis they are having. Like many ladies here have said, I don't mind a few trendy pieces. But when every single piece is ruffles or OTS, it can make it difficult to find anything to purchase.
DeleteOTS is cute but overdone but I must say I love ruffles!
DeleteIt's worse than that. Designers and manufactures want to infantile us. Pale, babyish pastel colors, ruffles, silly prints, garments precariously help together with string and ties, garments made with no support of women's bodies, garments made to hide the features unique to women, garments that are sheer, can't be worn without the help of a dresser....all these things are unempowering. They speak to stifling women, keeping them children, stunted and public property....as if the world can't and won't embrace that girls grow up to be women. Women and Mothers. To me it says...by wearing cutesy prints and fruit covered clothing and bananas dangling from your ears, you can stay innocent and childlike forever. I'm not saying pretty, fun clothing takes away our power....I'm saying the constant neglect of other clothing choices for ALL parts of our lives as women, of the all out commitment by manufactures and designers of these trends sends a harmful message. It gives us no choices. It also disturbs me when I see so many garments with oddly placed cut-outs...places to reveal skin...the whole "peak a boo" vibe creeps me out on a deep level. It says that these types of garments are tantalizing to others, invite more inspection of eyes and maybe more...ugh....I will choose if I want to reveal my skin to the world and not be told by a clothing manufacturer that is the trend and we're not making any other options. This is not a new concept...women's bodies have been used for others entertainment since the beginning of time. But I don't have to buy into it. Literally. I like pretty...but I'm an adult woman and will not be enslaved by outside forces which represent me in anyway I'm not. And I'm not a kid!
DeleteA good thing there's also the wear to work section
Delete@fleur - definitely! And I'm not saying I don't want to wear fun pieces here and there - I have the beaded lemon tee, an OTS dress, and (had) a skirt with ruffles on it. A lot of JCAs are rocking all of these trendy looks and I love seeing them. I guess sometimes too much of one thing feels just too much.
DeleteWhat happened to all the awesome casual jersey dresses they used to put out for summer? Both knee length and maxi. I loved those for running around on the weekends in the heat. Much more comfy than shorts. Now, they maybe throw us one predictable striped version but that's it. I got 2 older ones still NWT off ebay last year, but I haven't seen much on the resale sites lately.
ReplyDeleteCass, I love jersey dresses for hot summer days. I have about 10 from Boden purchased over the past several years. They have held up well. I usually wash on cold setting and hang to dry. I even used the solid colored ones in Rome, Barcelona, Naples, where I still wanted to be comfortable in the intense summer heat, but put together. Some are cotton jersey and others viscose. I have both options and enjoy the comfort and freedom of movement they give me, They are offered in long lengths. My favorites are the Margot and casual jersey dress. I use a small safety pin for the latter since I have a fuller chest. If you enter jersey dress in the Boden search engine you will see many options.
DeleteBoden has amazing dresses.
DeleteMy pet peeve with boden is that all of the prints are so 60s-looking. I'm not into vintage. I may try some of the solid colored ones.
DeleteI agree about the Boden prints. They are getting better, but they seem to be old fashioned prints or just not contemporary enough for me. I don't want to look older than I am. Again, some are very cute, though the price tag for their dresses seems outrageous.
DeleteI was at an outdoor event a few weeks ago wearing my J Crew seersucker dress from a few years back and I saw a teenage girl, maybe 16, wearing the sailboat print strapless dress from 2006 era and after feeling horribly old for a second I figured that was probably her mother or maybe a sister's dress and thought about the shelf life of the dresses today. No one else was wearing it either and it still looking terrific. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy Tretorn sneakers, both pairs, started splitting the mesh in various spots while in Paris. Was really disappointed in how they didn't hold up, but store staff was great today about the return & overnighting the exchange. Reordered hoping this was a defective batch. They're super comfortable & pack great because of how they're made.
ReplyDeleteThat does not sound good. I had purchased the navy ones for myself and they seemed fine, so I got my daughter a pair of the pink ones. As she was trying them on, we noticed a hole in the mesh. I, too, thought that maybe it was a defective batch. I returned them and reordered but it sounds like these shoes may not last long.
DeleteThis is why J. Crew will go under. Who will purchase disposable clothing, shoes and accessories at these prices? Certainly not me.
DeleteI was in the store yesterday and tried on the silk striped tie neck top and the silk felt flimsy and didn't lie correctly at the top of the blouse. Pass. Nothing else interested me.
Agree it's problematic, but in fairness to J Crew, I've had few issues with quality & defective products.
DeleteYou are lucky. I've had several issues across various seasons. It makes me feel like a fool.
DeleteI was curious how they were holding up, to be honest.
DeleteOh no....sorry to hear that Mygoddy.
DeleteI bought the white and haven't worn it yet.
I guess it's not to be worn for long periods of time or miles and miles.
I might need to inspect the mesh all around on my shoes, in case there are tears..
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ReplyDeleteJ crew needs better quality control. I orderd the chambray jumpsuit. I stalked my size for several days and finally caught one morning. It shipped and when I went to pick it up at the store, the SA pulled out a black and white striped button down shirt!!! Not even close! The order number was correct but the item was not. This has never happened where they ship the wrong item. Now the jumpsuit is sold out in my size. As a concilation, CS is mailing me a $25 gift card.
ReplyDeleteThat's nice of them-- I had something shipped to store that arrived damaged, so the SA returned it before I was even there to pick it up. It was, of course, sold out completely, and when I went in to pick up something else, the SAs just sort of shrugged when I expressed frustration about not being able to see the item myself or have anything else offered as consolation. Meh. I probably would have kept it depending on what the issue was.
DeleteThat's bizarre. Makes me think someone at the store wanted it.
DeleteI've had this happen, more than once, but with shoes. Two or three times, maybe? I've stopped ordering shoes from them, for that reason. One time I ordered some flats from Factory, and got some very expensive regular JC boots and had to lug them to a store to return.
DeleteI will never order ship to store again unless I don't meet the minimum for free shipping. I placed an order last week and 3 of the 5 items are ready for pickup, the other two are still "open." What's the point?
ReplyDeleteI had an order like this and I had difficulty picking up the items from the store that had arrived since the other items were on backorder. They had to call customer service to figure out how to just let you pick up a partial order. The second time I did that they had figured it out though.
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