Friday, May 19, 2017

Seek & Find: Will you visit J.Crew this Weekend?

This is the weekly "sale watch" post, to help each other find sale items at our various local J.Crew stores. ;)

If you are stopping by a J.Crew store this weekend to see what's available (if anything!) in the SALE, or to see some NEW ARRIVALS {sigh!} in person, maybe you might be willing to share that with us in this post. In particular, if you could share with us a few of the noteworthy items that are available, at what prices, and potential sizes the store is carrying (as well as the store location)- that would be fantastic!

Also, please let us know if your local store is carrying an additional percent off sale. Thanks in advance!!! :)

P.S. I noticed that many of you have already been reporting sale items (and in which stores) in other posts which by the way "thank you!" :) I really appreciate how helpful we are for each other!

43 comments:

  1. i'm going so i can return/exchange the "Oahu" T-shirt (# G5912). I also bought the Pineapple tee (# G5911) which i love and fits great... but the Oahu shirt in the same size small is much wider and shorter than the pineapple tee. it looks like my store has the oahu shirt in an XS and i'll give it a shot, but i think it'll just be too short.... which is a shame because i think it's a really cute tee and i'm not a pink person.

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  2. Miss JR I've been drawn to some of the pink even though it's not my usual, as well.

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  3. Picked up an order and returned the black espadrille wedges. My usual size was either too tight, just uncomfortable, or both. Couldn't try the next size up as the little one was along :)

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  4. Just wanted to give a positive review of the Puckered Gingham Blazer currently netting $50 in the final sale section. I am not a Regent fan and prefer the Schoolboy. This is a nice lightweight cotton blazer. I love the navy lapels. Fit nicely in my regular blazer size. If you see it in store give it a try. I think it is a classic piece. No weird shoulder pads or ruffles just nicely made. Also at Factory the Schoolboy Polka Dot Linen Blazer is priced at $49 right now. If you have a J Crew cc and spend over $100 you can use code summercard for another 25% off. The blazer came down to $36.75. It is not here yet so no review but a great price and returnable. Will report back once received but I have had luck with factory Schoolboys so I hope this is no different.

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    1. I have the original retail navy polka dot school boy and I still wear it all the time. It's so cute and versatile. Hope you love it!

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    2. JessF - thanks for the heads up on this blazer! I'm going to give this a try. I bought the older retail one on Poshmark but the navy is more faded (I think that's how it's supposed to look) and I was hoping for one that's a true navy. I saw it in passing in store but didn't try it on.

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    3. Anne, the retail one is more of a dark chambray, not quite true navy. I like the deeper color of the Factory one too!

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  5. I wanted to share a very bizarre experience I had last weekend at my usual brick and mortar. I have been shopping this particular location for nearly 10 years; everyone knows me and I have purchased for my wardrobe exclusively from J Crew for nearly 10 years now with the odd purchase from Madewell.

    At Christmas and for my birthday (in May) for the past several years, a very generous friend of the family picks out and purchases online a few outfits for me from J Crew. I can tell she really enjoys assembling the outfits and she generally chooses things I would wear...occasionally the sizes are off (this is J Crew we're talking about). So, I have to return a few items usually for which I happily accept a gift card.

    This past Sunday I brought in the large box she was sent with the items I wanted to return in their plastic bags they pack online orders in. This time for some reason she didn't give me the paper order print out. So, I was prepared to just take what i could get for each thing--maybe what they were worth presently.

    The sales person who began to process my return was someone I didn't recognize but I explained to him the situation and he says to me, "Well, if you don't have the order I can't give you store credit. I'll just have to send a refund to the credit card she used." This didn't make much sense to me and that I explained to him that I didn't want her feelings to be hurt by seeing that I had returned some of the items (she doesn't really care and wants me to get what I want but still it's a bit awkward.) I also was thinking in my head "Don't they WANT to make money? Don't they want to sell this stuff?" I started to look frantically around for someone I knew and the woman next to him was someone I recognized. I asked if she could help me; she ignored me. Finally, he finished processing everything and pulled out a gift card, swiped it and handed it to me with a terse, "Have a nice day." I said a few thanks you's and really tried to be appreciative but he seemed pretty irked about it all. I was frankly taken a bit aback by all of it. I'm used to being treated pretty nice in there.

    I wandered around looking at a few things but couldn't shake how upset I was getting and by this time the salesperson I knew (who ignored me) walked by. So I pulled her aside and asked her if it was their policy to only refund a credit card if there was no paper order. She said "Not really. But I will tell you that associate has been here since 9am and hasn't had a break." I went on to explain that I purchase everything I own from J Crew (she said, "I know...I can see that...") and I just want to know the policy because I might need to tell this family friend to do something else for a gift. She just said "No, it's not really the policy...he's just new...sorry that happened." Then she gave me a 15% off in store coupon.

    Ultimately, I am just sad...my favorite brand is just dying. Now even the sales associates are unhappy, overworked, the good ones are leaving...

    Honestly, J Crew. I want to spend my money at your store. Why are you making it hard for me (and my generous friend) to do that? I used to feel like no matter what, J Crew customer service would make things right (at least as much as they could). Now, I am not so sure and can't feel confident about spending money there.

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    1. Oh my goodness, Lisa, I could have written this story bc I have felt exactly the same way you do in my local store. Exact same issues and change of dynamic. Instead of feeling inescapable joy and excitement in the store - which I always used to- I now just want to get out of there as quickly as possible. And it's 100% down to customer service. As for needing a break... well, there's plenty of us who work non stop long hours and deal with ppl. I know retail is especially tiring, but when It's the job, it's the job. The excuse that SA gave you was just not an excuse at all. Don't feel bad. Hugs!

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    2. Hi Lisa, I'm sorry that you had that experience and I can see how upsetting that would be. Hopefully that SA was just having a bad day. Luckily my closest store (which is 1.5 hrs so I don't get there very often with little ones) still has great SAs and while some have left the new ones have been nice.
      I feel that I still get great customer service through the phone or email and am still very happy on that end. I'm trying to be positive as I really want Jcrew to succeed. I think that it is more noticeable because jcrew usually has exceptional service. I tell my husband going into the store is like the old show "cheers" where many of them know my name and I even get hugs sometimes. They are really nice to my kids too. Even when we travel through the U.S. we find friendliness and often end up chatting with SAs which my husband notes doesnt happen in other brands. Other stores don't have the friendly service in my experience it's just not the same so perhaps the new employees just reflect the current climate of retail. I hope that next time you are in the store it is a fun and lovely experience.

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    3. The last times two times I've had an interaction with customer service I've had a great response (shipping issue, finding sizes, etc.). . . but then the item comes and it's crap so I have to return it. And then I feel guilty about causing a once-beloved company to take a loss on an attempted sale. This is a mall store, and I always buy on sale, so I'm not expecting couture-level craftsmanship, but OTOH I'm not expecting F-21 disposables either. JC does just a nice enough job on some items (Liberty-trimmed jacket was a winner) that they raise my hopes and I think they're back, but then I get a stinker and vow to be more careful

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  6. I'm sorry you had that experience. I totally know what you mean about the stores. The majority of my wardrobe comes from Jcrew and nearly everyone at the store is a stranger now. All of the long time associates have moved on. With everyone being relative newbies, anything the least bit complicated creates a crisis.

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    1. Yes! My "ship to store" issue last week put two SAs over the edge at my store. Bad experience.

      I wonder if all the bad news and bad press about J Crew is affecting the SAs. I mean, I'm sure it is. I've definitely seen this at the store I've shopped at for 15 years. It's definitely not the happy, thrilling feeling anymore to shop there, and I doubt it's the same to work there anymore either, with all the returns, customer complaints, less great stuff to buy, and pressure to sell.

      The great SAs from my store have left as well and I feel bad for the ones that remain. But it still doesn't excuse that type of behavior and in fact, makes the situation worse by killing the one great thing (customer service) that remains.

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  7. I wish J. Crew would do it like Macy's does, put a sticker on the tag which makes returns super easy. My J. Crew store's customer service is still awesome, but they normally do need some kind of receipt to refund or exchange (not their fault, company policy).

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  8. Can anyone report back what the in store discount is for sale items? I ordered a few items I haven't even received yet and it seems many of them are in store and if it's 40% off I'd sooner go and get them!

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  9. I went to the store on Thursday night to try on the new arrivals. My store was packed with new inventory. Apparently we're now a higher tier store so will be getting more stock (yay!) I tried on a huge pile of stuff and posted about half of my pics on my blog. I'll get another post up for Tuesday's review post.

    While a lot of things aren't for me, I am still finding things to like. Surprise loves which I posted photos of were the latest Liberty floral blazer and the off-the-shoulder lightweight stripe sweater. I am done with off the shoulder, I swear!

    Other items I tried on in this post include the white denim shift dress, Thomas Mason striped pants, Collection embroidered dot skirt, Ratti pineapple dress and skirt, Double v-neck seersucker dress, and eyelet top with tassel trim.

    Link to blog post here

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    1. Reading your reviews are always a treat! Thank you for the pictures and details.

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    2. Thank you for the pics and reviews, Anne! Very helpful and appreciated! You look lovely in the items you tried, I hadn't even noticed the off the shoulder sweater until your review - it is so flattering on you. I'm tempted to try it now. :)
      Did you try the tie neck top in silk (same style as the Oxford cotton one), curious of your thoughts if you did.

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    3. Laura - thank you!

      Jan - thank you! I had to have the striped sweater :) I did try the tie neck top in silk, will post pics in my next post. I sized down as I did with the cotton one. The silk is thinner but not flimsy and I love the contrasting stripes. It was slightly more fitted sizing down vs. the cotton one. I think Ina said she didn't need to size down but I was good with the smaller size. There's enough tie to tie it behind or around the front. It's really cute but I have the oxford one so not sure I need both. I did also like the oxford tie dress - will post photos of that as well. As an aside, I wore the oxford tie blouse on Thursday with a white blazer and black skinny pants and the factory pom pom flats and I got several compliments. Either top will be a great summer top.

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    4. Thanks Anne for your reviews! What was the waistband like on the pineapple skirt? Zipper, elastic like the giraffe skirt? Thanks!

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    5. You're welcome, Liz! The skirt is an elastic waist like the giraffe skirt.

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    6. Thank you, Anne! I saw your IG with the cotton tie neck top and it looks fantastic on you! I ordered the silk tie neck top (shipping to Canada is slow, not jcrew's fault) but am wondering if the cotton one would be better. I think Ina liked the cotton one better. The cotton one is sold out online though for Canada.

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    7. Always enjoy your reviews, thanks, Anne! That striped OTS, ruffle top was made for you, very flattering. Looking forward to the rest of your reviews! 🎉

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  10. Thanks for the reviews & try ones. Very helpful. You look great!

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    1. Thanks Anne. I love the seersucker dress on you.
      Carolyn From Vancouver.

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  11. Had a perfect ship-to-store experience yesterday. Three items all arrived at my store in three days, packaged in shipping envelopes and ready to go. Yay! I really do like this option and hope they work the bugs out.

    There was a Summer Saturday Series" event going on at the store, which the SAs said has been communicated but I was unaware. The SAs were dressed in. New arrivals and all the vacation-y stuff was featured. They had a table set up and you could make your own bag of candies from an assortment. Cute idea but no one seemed to be taking any candy - maybe a little juvenile, as has been noted. There will be two more of these events in June at select stores to feature new arrivals.

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    1. I got an email about that and saw it on social media too. Definitely wasn't interested in the candy aspect. Glad your ship to store option worked well. I'm going to try and go tomorrow to get 3/5 of my order that was placed on 5/11. :(

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  12. I stopped in to return something, and bought the seaside pant in ratti pineapple. This was a popular item in my store and they only had 2 pairs left....so FOMO kicked in. I paid full price and will see if I can get a subsequent price adjustment. I know not everyone is feeling the pineapple print; but I love it. I can throw them on and pretend I'm on vacation while out running errands.
    The pants are fully lined in cotton, while still being lightweight. I didn't have any see-through issues but would definitely go with nude undies. I did try on the solid color seaside pants and had to size up in the pineapple print. I take a 4/6 in J Crew pants. In the solid seaside pants the 4 was perfect. In the print, I definitely needed a 6.
    My 5 year old daughter was thrilled to put together a little bag of candy.

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  13. Waiting for the Memorial Day sales to start!

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  14. Did any of you see the Preakness yesterday? The reporter on horseback who interviewed the winning jockey was wearing the navy blue lady jacket with the Liberty print trim that was out a few months ago.

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    1. Yes, I saw it. I thought it looked great on her.

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    2. Donna Brothers looked great. I love her style.

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  15. Boden voucher I will not use, $15.00, expires 5/25. WZX1AVA5FXPN. Enjoy!

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  16. waiting to see if Jcrew gives Canada free shipping tomorrow...LONG WEEKEND up here...

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    1. I've got a cart full of goodies and like you I'm hopeful for free shipping along with the 30% off promo.

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    2. Me too! I'll def place an order if so. :)

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  17. Took a flying chance on the new Sarah Zellweger collab and ordered the dress and tunic. Both qualified for the 30% off. I am a sucker for block-print so hoping these will be winners for me this summer!

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Dear J.Crew Aficionadas & Aficionados: Please feel free (and encouraged) to share your thoughts and opinions. :) However, please note that this is still a personal blog. So comments that are considered inappropriate (e.g. obscene, racist, homophobic, personal attacks, rude, and just plain mean) will be removed.

And now back to J.Crew! :)