Wednesday, June 30, 2010

A Trip to J.Crew's Bridal Boutique

A big "thanks!" to Gem Twin who shared the following article about J.Crew's new Bridal Store in NYC over at Fashionista (click here to read the article in its entirety).
My Excellent J.Crew Wedding Store Adventure
By Lauren Sherman
June 25, 2010

...I thought it would still be smart to check out J.Crew’s new wedding boutique on Madison Ave. ...

...First, I was greeted by Kate M., my personal sales associate for the appointment. (She was accompanied by the lovely Candy.) These girls were amazing. They were so excited about everything, from the La Perla robes in the changing rooms to the array of sashes to the shoes. Their enthusiasm was infectious. But more on that later.

Tom Mora, who heads up the wedding design division at J.Crew, also popped by to walk me through the current collection. Tom’s been at J.Crew since 2001 and working on wedding since 2004, so he’s a wealth of knowledge. We talked a lot about which dresses are bestsellers (in reality, women have such different tastes that there isn’t one runaway hit); we also discussed garment construction, and fabric sourcing, which blew me away.

What surprised me, having only seen the dresses online, is just how special each one is. From the silk crepe Mimi t-shirt gown in a Champagne color to the Lucinda gown, a poly/cotton/silk ballgown with a hammered that almost resembles a seersucker, there’s a dress for every bride. (And with prices starting at something like $300 and capping off at under $4,000, these are good quality garments that most people can actually afford.)

Tom explained that, much like the J.Crew cashmere sourced from the same mills used by Loro Piana, the fabrics used on the wedding gowns are milled in Italy and France. And you can tell. I was besotted with the Sascha, a lightweight ivory silk taffeta number with a corseted bodice and structured sweetheart neckline, for this reason. The shape made me happy, but the fabric was just so luxurious, it made it even better.

...But onto accessories. The J.Crew bridal boutique has just about the most beautifully curated collection of accessories, lingerie and jewelry I’ve ever seen. The vintage pieces, mixed in with new edition Miriam Haskell, mixed in with the most perfect pair of satin platform pumps in the world–the Esme–made me incredibly happy. We also tried on several headpieces by local milliner Leah C., of which I also fell in love. Leah does everything from blushers to floral pins to headbands, so there’s something for every taste.
What are your thoughts on the article's take of the Wedding Boutique on Madison Avenue? Are you excited about its arrival? Do you think you will shop there? :)

10 comments:

  1. OH SO SAD but wallet very happy. Final Sale is back. No shopping for me until this is OVER. No matter what....so glad I tried several items the past month; kept a few and made LOTS of returns! More free time to do other things than case the sale updates:)

    Wonder how long this dreaded event will last....at least the entire month of July and maybe August as well:(

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  2. Do you think a % off will be coming soon?

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  3. Love the bright red background! No mistaking 'Final Sale' this time.

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  4. ashley,

    No, I definitely do not think so. Esp. with the recent extra 30% off and 20% off promos. The final sale will be just final sale for a while.

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  5. Strangely though, with final sale, I don't see any new mark downs.... Anyone else see any?

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  6. If you search by generic words it looks like there are a lot of popbacks from last winter and spring, along with new markdowns (shawl collar cote cardigan in ivory, Castillo eyelet cami, and a bunch of the pencil skirts). Beware of final sale popbacks!

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  7. I am getting married next Spring and happened to be in NYC a couple weeks ago so I wanted to check out the bridal boutique. My sister (and MOH) called a few weeks in advance and they said they were completely booked for the entire month. I called them myself and explained I didn't want to try on wedding dresses (I already bought that somewhere else), I just wanted to look at some of the bridesmaids dresses and I was only in town for the weekend. I even said I didn't need an appointment, I just wanted to see some of the styles, fabrics, and colors in person and they wouldn't let me. So...I wasn't very happy with them.

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  8. I wore a J Crew gown to my wedding. It was a discontinued style and I got it off Ebay. Original price was almost $3,000. I absolutely loved it. The material was beautiful (silk radzimir) and super soft. My alterations lady also agreed that J Crew gowns are well made and that they use very good fabric. One thing though is that I think their gowns tend to be not as figure friendly becaue they are lack alot of structure and support (since the fabric is not heavy like poly).

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  9. Sara Mina,

    That is really poor business practices. Your story alone would make me NOT shop there!!!!

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