Referencing {FAQ}

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

J.Crew Reviews {straight from the JCAs!}

This is the weekly "J.Crew Reviews {straight from the JCAs}" post, to help each other share our reviews.

So if you have recently purchased, or stopped by a J.Crew store to try on an item (or two) from J.Crew, maybe you might be willing to share that information with us in this post.

Also, this request is not just limited to clothes. Please feel free to discuss bags, shoes, jewelry, accessories, etc.

In particular, if you could mention a few of the noteworthy details like fit, size, fabric, and the like— that would be fantastic! Thanks in advance! :)

37 comments:

  1. New arrivals are up and there is no promo on them. There are some nice skirts and dresses, but the rollout isn't very cohesive. I was hoping for some nice new tops but I find the current top selection very weak. For example, the silk flutter sleeve top is a pretty color but the print isn't that great and the design lacks details. I'm pretty disappointed in this rollout.

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    1. I’m not impressed with the new rollout either. I see a couple pairs of jeans I like, but I already have more than enough jeans. Maybe I’ll buy them if they hit <$20.

      I did pick up a few super sale items last week:

      * The lady jacket in multicolor metallic tweed with braided trim (K9835) is a definite return. This was my 2nd try with this jacket. Both looked a bit sad and shopworn. This one was even worse than the first, with multiple loose threads and bald spots in the fringe.

      * I finally picked up the Legacy blazer in American wool
      (J6134) that I’ve been looking at for months, but I’m not particularly impressed. The wool flannel feels thin, limp and cheap. The gold buttons are also cheap looking. It’s ok for the price I paid, but it’s not worth anything close to the full price. I haven’t decided whether to keep it yet.

      * I’m really enjoying the vintage straight jeans in rip-and-repair (K3417) especially for under $16. I don’t usually like polyester in my denim, but these don’t feel too bad and they fit very well. They’re looser than my other vintage straight jeans, almost like boyfriend jeans, but more fitted in the waist. The rise is high, but not too high. I’ll get a lot of wear from these.

      I also purchased the Point Sur shoreditch straight jean in selvedge denim (K8318). They were a lot more expensive at $40. 😏 I haven’t worn them yet, but my initial opinion is positive. I do love selvedge jeans.

      And I bought the super cheap vintage straight eco jean in medium wash (J9758) for only $12. I haven’t worn these yet, either, but I think they’re nice for the price.

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    2. @Jeanne, thx for the reviews. You've confirmed what I guessed from the posted reviews on the Legacy blazer. I was considering at the great sale price, but passed. I already have a great condition old Schoolboy in navy. This would have to be a perfect blazer to interest me.

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  2. Stopped by the store last night to return jeans that didn’t work. Sale section was no additional percentage off, while online at the time was 60 off.

    The only new thing I see that I like is some of the footwear. The new sneakers are cute, some of the sandals look nice, I guess we shall see if they’re comfortable/durable.

    I also stopped into Madewell where sale was 30% off. I almost walked out with the Reid Suede pumps in Coastal Orange, which is really an orangey red but less bright than the Jcrew version. I found these run big as the 8 just fit but because they’re suede I’d figure they’d stretch just enough to be perfect where a larger size might fall off. They rang up 99.99 and the box was marked 39.99. And when I pointed this out they wouldn’t honor the additional 30 percent off so I left without them.

    I was hoping to find some cute scarves/bandanas at either store but didn’t see anything I loved.

    As I mentioned yesterday, if they’re going to enforce the written policy of no PAs on sale items I’ll be waiting until additional percentage off. Typically I try to only buy things at a price I want to pay, but if I buy something and then it’s 40/50 percent less a day later I will be an unhappy customer. If they are consistent with this policy and the final sale (another thing I’ve tried not to take advantage of but have returned a few items when they really don’t work) I Have to wonder how things will change for all of us.

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    1. I'm actually ok with them ending PA's if only to increase consistency/fairness to customers. And frankly if that's what it takes for them to invest more in the brand's quality I'm fine with that too.

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    2. Yes I’m ok with it if they’re consistent, but I’ll def be a more discerning shopper. Probably a good thing overall.

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    3. Agree with you both - if they're consistent, I won't have problem with no more adjustments. It's just that it seems they don't realize that between Instagram, blogs, etc. we all know what other people are getting. There is no hiding the fact that some customers are getting special treatment and then the rest of us feel less than. First world problems!
      Suz, I tried on the leopard raincoat at J Crew as it was marked down to $134.99. Normally the store always matches the online promo. Unfortunately for me, the entire staff working that afternoon were newbies. Had no idea what I was talking about re: matching the online promotion of 60% off sale. I left the raincoat as (a) the fit on me was a little off and (b) don't really need it, it was strictly a want item.

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    4. Shopalot, exactly re special/different treatment.

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  3. I am surprised that Madewell didn't honor the addl percentage off. At that point (only if I really wanted them), I would have asked for a manager or stepped outside and called CS.

    I'm also only a markdown + percentage off kind of shopper, but I will also ask for a PA if something is further marked down before the item ships. There were shoes that popped back today, which I had wanted for a long time, but I wouldn't order them with no additional percentage off. Funny enough, I only started to ask to return final sale when it was offered for me at the register. I don't like to buy final sale, and I have Ebayed/Poshmarked items that didn't work in the past. I would never buy something final sale and then be angry if they didn't let me return it. I think I've done it twice.

    I like the tiered popover dress and the platform espadrilles.

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    1. Cher, i told the associate at Madewell there was no information to that effect regarding the pricing and she told me the system wouldn’t even allow her to discount a red line price. It was late and I wasn’t in the mood to argue a point more than that for a pair of orangey red heels I. D.o.n.t really need. 😉
      That said, I’ll keep my eyes open for this style in other colors. I wasn’t crazy about the leather but the suede was nice and I thought they looked good on my feet.

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  4. I love the new dotted straight jeans and a few of the flat sandals. I'd like to know why J Crew can't make a perfect fit tee in a real red. Correct me if my monitor & phone are off colorwise, but the "bold red" they are offering is orange. Really, I'd love a real red tee.

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    1. @shopalot - I believe HOL 11 was the last time they offered the perfect fit tee in a true red. I stocked up on both the short and long sleeve versions at the time, but most have bit the dust by now. I also stocked up on a beautiful royal purple color at the same time.

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    2. @Jeanne - I have the long sleeved version from long ago in the cherry red. Desperately want the new short sleeve perfect fit tee with the longer sleeves in a real red. I have almost every single color and stripe J Crew has offered as I love them so much.

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    3. @shopalot - Same here. I donated/threw away most of my old perfect fit tees with the shorter sleeves in favor of the longer sleeve version.

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  5. For the second time the year, I ordered a pajama set and only received one of the two pieces! Someone must be keeping one piece, returning the other as the whole "set", and getting a whole refund. Then when *I* return just the one piece I received, the store probably thinks I'm the one doing it!

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    1. That is just awful. So sorry to hear you are dealing with this for a second time!

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    2. @kel - The exact same thing happened to me a couple times last year and I had the same thought. It wasn’t me stealing the pj pants!

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    3. I had the same problem last year. I only got the top half.

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  6. They’re officially holding ground on the whole no-more-adjustments-on-sale policy. I received several responses to my adjustment inquiries from a few days back, all essentially equating to the same message. At least they’re being consistent! I purposely bought in the 40% window, knowing it would go deeper once all that overage stock hit. My shopping pattern could be best described as panic buying, as it’s a matter of time until things to belly-up. I’ve been in the world of retail too long to expect otherwise.

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    1. Yes, I would not be surprised at that end outcome.

      I'm surprised they offered the sale adjustments for so long. It will change buying patterns, and there will be additional return/repurchases, but every retailer has that situation. Making online sales all 'final' would probably limit purchases.

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  7. Review: today I have the ruffle eyelet top in cream on with the paper bag waist wide leg crops in navy with some Tory Burch flats (the pattern is very similar to the liberty mules) and have gotten a ton of compliments! Plus the outfit is extremely comfortable.

    I haven’t purchased anything from the recent sales but have found popbacks of the cotton Pom Pom midi in smaller sizes. So yay to that.

    Nothing I have to have from the latest rollout. A bit too twee for me. I do like the button front midis but the shape of the chest has me worried my larger chest won’t fit in. I’ll consider trying at the next promo.

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  8. I put a couple of items in my online bag yesterday because 60% off! I got busy and forgot to finish checking out. When I realized that I hadn't completed the transaction today I figured that it'd be no problem to call CS and have them apply yesteday's 60% off code. The CS rep said that they wouldn't be able to do that and that it's never been their policy to. I politely argued that point becasue they do it all the time(!) but she insisted that they never do it and she's "been there for 3+ years so she would know". I told her I wouldn't be purchasing anything and she was fine with that. Very annoying! I'm wondering if I should try calling and talking to a different CS?

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    1. I’ve never heard of them applying an expired sale code to a new order.

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    2. I never have either. As we’ve been discussing, they have been doing PAs if you order and the price gets reduced within 7 days of ship date, but I’ve never heard of them applying a discount after the promo has ended.
      OTOH wait a week and they might run the promo again.

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  9. My order from Thursday is still just partially shipped. I did get an “update- your order is on time and shipping soon”, but it will definitely not be here on time if they don’t overnight it tonight, and I’m worried that the items will all be cancelled. Anyone else still have things in limbo, or are the “we wish we had enough” emails starting to roll out?

    Re:the new rollout, I’m glad to see more color and print, though the warmer yellows and oranges don’t personally suit me. I may pick up the Liberty trumpet skirt with a decent promo.

    I am a big “buy item at original high price to try out, if I like it, buy again at a lower price and return the original” purchaser, and an occasional price adjuster. Never a final sale returner, except one time when an item was damaged and they gave me a hard time about it. I will heed the advice about price adjustments going away and try to be more patient about waiting for sale. I’m not too miffed as long as it’s enforced consistently, as others have said above.

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    1. From my weekend order I have three packages enroute, two items still to come, one item canceled.
      Two items I wanted most, a linen popover and the denim trench, shipped today.

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    2. My post must have given the universe a nudge...Just got a shipping e-mail and everything's on its way except some hair ties I don't care about if they get cancelled.

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  10. Seems like the humongous sale update w no additional promo, followed by the % off a few days later, is resulting in a wave of PA requests and increasing the attention on the enforcement of the no-PA policy.

    The endless stacking of sale-plus-promos isn’t sustainable and makes their profitability situation worse, but today’s J Crew customers are demanding that. They can’t put the genie back in the bottle - no one will pay full price for what they offer now and they can’t make the risky investment in high quality again with their debt load.

    I don’t know how this ends, but I sure am stockpiling vintage Crew and treating my vast inventory with extreme care.

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  11. I received my items from last week. The Slim Perfect Shirt in Bright Cerise is more than bright, it’s borderline dayglo. I’m familiar with the orangey-red tone of it and like it (I have a Jackie shell in Bright Cerise from a few years ago, as well as the Penny Sandals), but it’s a whole new ballgame in the poplin and long sleeves. BRIGHT! I’ll probably keep it anyway as it will certainly be a change, and might be useful to wear in emergencies situations or if I ever become a group tour guide. I’m glad I sized up to a 14 as I plan to wear it on its own and won’t be tucking it in.

    The Point Sur seaside pants in cotton twill are a disappointment. I bought the linen version at the end of last season (they’re now properly listed as Linen/Tencel on the website), and really liked them. I thought the cotton twill would be a nice choice for cooler spring weather, but the material is surprisingly thin. I thought it would be more chino-like, but it actually feels thinner than the linen/tencel version. I have to dig my summer pair out to properly compare, but these will probably be going back assuming I can figure out the whole PayPal return shipping thing this time around.

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    1. Group tour guide...lol...that’s funny.

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    2. I just got a couple pairs of the Seaside pants in cotton twill and they are TERRIBLE. Soooooo baggy, especially around the cuffs. I remember trying these on last spring, before they had the Point Sur label, and loved them- these fit completely different than last year's despite the same style number. I was already skeptical of a lot of the Point Sur offerings and now I know for sure that's just J. Crew's way of saying "we ruined a good thing and cheaped out on design and quality control".

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    3. I also just returned a pair of the Seaside pants because the fit and fabric were so awful. I've kept only three items from J.Crew so far this year. That's a really, really low number for me.

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  12. I am very happy with my recent purchases. Sorel boots for $15, cashmere sweaters and silk shirts in the 20-30 range, men's wool blazer in $70, socks at 85 cents. But how can a company sustain that way or how desperate is J crew? J crew needs to make reasonable starting price to avoid bloody discount. For final sale, Dillards has 3 day return policy for over 60% off, it is basically a final sale but give you a little room. Now j crew is doing 90% off and no final sale, no minimal shipping, it is crazy.

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  13. Received first sale order today. Ribbed Italian cashmere turtleneck in black and Italian cashmere featherweight boyfriend crewneck sweater also in black. Both fit tts and the cashmere is well done. Ribbed turtleneck is thick and soft and will work well layered or alone. Really like the relaxed fit of the crewneck, Both items were in new condition with tags attached even though they’re from Holiday 2017 and Spring 2016. Happy to find basics that will work for fall and winter. Everything has shipped except a men’s belt. Should have everything by Saturday.

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  14. Received my sale order and I was overall very pleased. The white jeans are a keeper (L4729). Ran TTS maybe a bit big due to stretch. Quality is not $110 quality (do not pay full price for these) but worth what I paid. My Thomas Mason shirt is a love - had been stalking one of these for a while.

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  15. Still waiting on my orders from Friday. Some has shipped, some still waiting. I hope nothing gets cancelled!

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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! :)