Thursday, July 13, 2017

"Looking to LOVE" with J.Crew

This is the weekly "Looking to LOVE with J.Crew" post, a place to share our favorite experiences with J.Crew.

If you have recently experienced a positive 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 stellar experiences with purchases & orders, promotions/ offers, in-store visits, transactions with store associates, etc.

54 comments:

  1. Search "preorder" to see some new items!

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    1. Yay. Thanks Liz. I love the tweed Lady jacket with ties. I am totally cracking up about the cashmere sweater with lame fringe. Not lamé but lame. Well fed Fred will love this. The copywriter from space hits again.

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    3. I think the copywriter nailed it, lame is right. Although I think there's a word missing from the product details: classic-with-a-*random*-twist. What a waste of cashmere.

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    4. Certain items don't appear when you search preorder. If you search 'flats' or 'pumps' or 'loafers', new items would pop up.

      I like the simplicity of the suede pump w the croc heel in cabarnet. Also loving the academy loafer in brown or black.

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    5. Thanks for the heads-up, Liz! I *think* I like the cargo pants in camo, but I'm not sure whether that's because I generally like all things camo! (Most things anyway - I don't love the patch-pocket pants or the shirt-jacket, mostly b/c that cut wouldn't work for me.)

      The Utility dress seems cute, but I bought something similar last year (a ruffle-free version.)

      That cashmere sweater needs to be sent back to the design room. :-*( Very Project runway.

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    6. Thanks, Liz and JSR! I especially love the Suede Pumps with the stamped croc in cabarnet.
      Also like the Hand-embellished floral top, Floral embroidered tie-waist skirt (I'm a sucker for floral and embroidery, Tie-waist skirt in Italian wool, Ribbed Sweater with snap sleeves, Pencil skirt in navy party tweed and the Skinny Cargo pant.

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    7. TM93. I can see Tim Gunn rolling his eyes and not knowing what to say about that sweater !

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    8. i'm actually feeling guilty and ashamed of myself for laughing at all these mistakes and failures - design, tech, photos, grammar, spelling, punctuation, oh, dear, oh, dear, what if we should learn that this was all the work product of a class of interns with learning/perceptual disabilities and their families are very proud of them for having participated? Would we not feel bad for having mocked... well, no, I would encourage the parents to seek other opportunities for the fashion-challenged, maybe someplace where they could actually learn something from pros who are good at what they do.

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    9. I like the striped dress and the a-line wool skirt. But I don't want to see another off-the-shoulder or one-shouldered top ever again. Ever again. Please.

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  2. Just looked at the preorder...Most of it was indeed "lame"...wow such ugly stuff..Those army print pants yuck...seriously everything there for pre order was hideous..

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    1. Agreed. Again not interested in anything. The styles will not work with my life style. So many weird ruffle one shoulder, off shoulder, tie should tops of late. The only thing I might consider is the Shirt dress with Ruffle trim. That is all the ruffle I can handle. I seriously did not even feel like I was looking at the J. crew website. It makes me sad.

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    2. I commented in the other thread--Ugh...either hyper casual masculine (camo etc) or hyper girly frilly farmgirl juvenile. Nothing adult women can wear to work. How many one-shoulder, OTS or spaghetti strap tops does one need? Only thing I might like is the blazer with the bows removed.

      Nordstrom anniversary sale up for cardholders--but the poor site crashed most likely from too much traffic. A "normal" JC item they had for sale was a grey merino wool blazer with navy piping. Looks more fitted than last merino wool blazer they put out. $168 on sale, $228 reg price.

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  3. Tweed Lady jacket with ties - It's rare to see jackets like this offered in Tall sizes and at a length of 20 5/8" I can't even consider it.

    Camo print - This is where I'm puzzled by JCrew. They used to take standard prints and do something unusual, but here it's just the obvious camo color scheme.

    Other than that, the Martie pant has a few new colors too.

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  4. A true love: I finally wore the NWT Chrysanthemum dress (that's what I call it, I don't know the real name) I scored on eBay last fall. I think at the time a JCA thought it was from 2010 or even earlier. The print looks like a watercolor painting, and the cut is classic, I'm so glad I got this very pretty dress!

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  5. Cold shoulder bell sleeve. I can't even.

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    1. OMG. The cashmere weather with the lame trim.

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    2. i sent the link of that lame trimmed sweater to a friend for a good laugh!

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    3. check out new ratti OTS elephant print top, G7495...just no.

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    4. ...paired with cropped z cavariccis...

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    5. J. Crew has gone off the rails with these prints + ruffles + off the shoulder + wacky embellishment + flattering on no one styles. Who is wearing this stuff and to where are they wearing it? Seriously. I need to know.

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    6. Seriously who is approving this stuff to be put into production and who is the target audience?

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    7. I suspect a combination of tight, fast production schedules, a shrinking design staff and low morale is partly responsible. For the past few season, they seem to have latched onto an idea....and run across the field and to the parking lot with it. Gingham? Let's cover everything with it. Grommets? We'll hole-punch everything we can. Ruffles/stripes? What item CAN'T be ruffled/striped to death?? OTS, OS? Who needs sleeves! Destination tees were a hit? Quick, think up new cities and their icons. (Don't worry about spell-check!)

      Sigh. I feel bad b/c i do think (in a rather lazy way), that they are trying to return to their core roots (hence some of the critter/embroidered items that we've been seeing of late). But in the end, they don't know who they are, and neither do we.

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    8. Oh, I forgot the Fruitcake trend.....

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    9. That's what I don't get -- I'd love to know their approval process. Are they all just a bunch of yes-men, going along with whatever whim some designer has followed? DId someone actually say "I just love the lame fringe, great idea!"?

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    10. From my management class back in b-school, i would probably diagnose them with severe "group-think" when it comes to designs. Also I think some of it is Somsack can't really shake the Madewell vibe and that's why most of the stuff is very casual, not a whole lot for a professional woman. (Madewell geared towards college students).

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    11. forget life, forget work, THESE STYLES DO NOT WORK WITH MY EYES. OUCH.

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    12. @wellfedfred -- yes! Nobody, nowhere, nohow looks good in these clothes.

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    13. This has me very worried for JCrew. I'm totally stumped by their choices, this better not be where the fall releases are heading.

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    14. That cold shoulder bell sleeve is hideous. As someone said, where are the perfect shirts? Honestly I don't even mind the cropped "cavariccis" but I'm shaking my head at a lot of others.

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  6. Wow ladies, J.Crew has finally done it. There are absolutely ZERO items in the preorder that I want. I pine (PINE!) for the days when a new collection meant seasonal colors for the No.2 Pencil, fresh layer-friendly patterns for the Boy or Perfect shirt, punchy blazers, perfectly executed cardigans, and just a handful of fashion-forward items that allowed me to dip my toe in trends while still clutching my statement necklace in horror at the ladies who come into the office wearing the latest Kardashian Kollection.

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    1. 'while still clutching my statement necklace in horror at the ladies who come into the office wearing the latest Kardashian Kollection.' - this made me giggle!

      Agree that the last few rollouts don't really seem to include many (any?) MUST-HAVES.

      A few months ago, a nice SA contacted me to offer shopping services, including the 'ability to pre-order items before they became available so that you don't have to worry about them selling out.' I thought to myself, 'There are very few items with which that actually happens, unfortunately.' (Not denying that there haven't been items that sold out fast, but items that SO hot they need to be pre-ordered?? Not really...

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    2. There isn't one thing I would even bother to try on. Granted, the July rollout is never very exciting, historically. But this looks like a new low.

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    3. exactly @Gabbi! Well said! Could you please email those thoughts to JCrew. :)

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    4. Sometimes the snark slips out on a LOVE thread ;). I just don't even recognize J.Crew anymore. I feel like they would be shocked at our feedback: "What do you mean you don't want to look like Destiny's Child from the 90s or like you picked up a Sexy Top Gun outfit at Halloween Superstore."

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    5. Employee: Sir, we're getting some complaints about too many OTS tops in our collection!
      Boss: Switch to one-shoulder tops, stat!
      Ee: What about the bell-sleeve top?
      Boss: Throw some straps on it!
      Ee: We're also getting complaints about the quality of our cashmere!
      Boss: Throw some lame on it! What are you waiting for?
      Ee: Uh, sir, is it pronounced "lame", or "lam-eh"?
      Boss: I don't know, ask the copywriters, they really know their stuff!

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  7. So I asked J.Crew on IG about their August style guide. They said they didn't send it out for this up coming roll-out. That I can refer to styles online.
    So no mention of it uploading on Pinterest either. I didn't mind the no physical copies but no Pinterest?!? Bummer.

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  8. Went by the Madison Ave store yesterday for an order pickup that was ready yesterday. The stores are inconsistent dealing with these: Rockefeller Ctr and Soho stores have told me I can just approach any SA for the pickup and not bother waiting at the register. (and the times I've waited on the lines, the register SAs have always pawned off the task to a floor SA to grab my order from the back anyway) 1 SA at Madison Ave told me I had to wait in the line, which was long. I went to try on some ball gown skirts (50% off!) and while I was in the fitting room I asked that SA to grab my order and he was happy to do it. Lucky I did because when I came out of the fitting room, the register line was 4x longer.
    Still gotta love the CS though, because it was so muggy yesterday in NYC and when the SA bagged my order, he offered a bottle of water and the watermelon candy (it's actually strawberry flavored). SAs for other brands barely even greet me at the door when I shop after work. Side note: be warned: that watermelon candy is unbelievably sweet. It's been awhile since I had sugar, but still.

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    1. The Madison store is my favorite! They are the nicest, most professional group, very personal they known me by name... omg yes.... I come late after work to do returns and at times they let me in few min after 8pm. I call and come.... it's a smaller store in comparison to Rockefeller or Columbus circle... hence maybe more attentive.... absolute best....

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  9. I really like the "pardon my french" tee from the Nordstrom sale. Unfortunately I'm not a card holder. I heard that this might be a Nordstrom exclusive item. Does anyone know if that is the case? Thanks!

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    1. Not sure if it is exclusive, but i am a cardholder and could order it and then sell it to you through paypal for what I paid plus $3-4 to cover postage. Just lmk!

      Looks like the piped merino blazer is sold out. It was there this morning and now I can't find it. The argyle jackie wool twinset, the houndstooth blazer, the PMF tee and a scarf seem to be the remaining JC selection.

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    2. Update: there are some items that when I put in my cart say "Nordstrom exclusive." When I put the PMF tee in my cart it does not have that notation.

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    3. Cass - that would be amazing. If you're still willing, email me - mrsgarzelloni at gmail dot com. Thank you!

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    4. The ruffle short. For when you want to look like you fell out of a bed with no clothes and decided to wear the bedskirt.

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    5. Cass - sorry, I went to bed shortly after posting - I emailed you back!

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  10. Speaking of Nordie's Anniversary Sale, if anyone is really into the Madewell Lakeside Peplum shirt, net-a-porter has essentially the same shirt on sale for $30... from them it's called the cotton peplum shirt. I think net's sale ends tomorrow, though.

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