A big "thanks!" to GigiOfCa {of the delightful Gigi's Gone Shopping blog} who came up with a brilliant suggestion for a series of post: a city guide where JCAs can suggest which J.Crews to shop at.
This post will focus on Philadelphia! With so many stores in the area, it might be too much to visit them all. So if you are a local, or a knowledgeable tourist, please share what stores a fellow JCA has to visit!
Feel free to share other tidbits of advice. For example... What are your top three spots? Are there certain stores that should be avoided at certain times of the day/ week? Are there stores that have a better selection than others? Which stores have the best sale offerings?
Which J.Crew brick & mortar (B&M) stores {in the Philadelphia area} should an out-of-towner shop at? Which stores should be avoided? Please share! :)
I actually worked at the J Crew in Philly, which if you are not aware, has an amazing row of shops between Broadway and Rittenhouse Square on Walnut and Market Streets (including a four story Anthropologie with an entire basement of sale items). Honestly, I'm not impressed with any J. Crew B&M and the Philly store is no exception. However, if you're on the way home in the southern direction, the J. Crew at King of Prussia mall is pretty great (they have an entire shoe wall).
ReplyDeleteAs for local stores, you could spend all day walking up and down Walnut and Market streets and not go in every shop. There is a group of truly amazing small boutiques and BYOBs on 13th street between Walnut and Market that also deserve a couple hours (blanking on the names...). Never ventured into University City much (i.e. Penn campus), but I think the flagship Urban Outfitters is there (there are five total in the city).
Actually, the one impressive thing about that stands out about the Philly J.Crew is their winter coat selection.
DeleteOooh, I go to Rittenhouse Square all the time for the Anthro and I'm looking for a nice midi wool coat. Will have to check out the J.Crew as well.
DeleteAs for BYOBs, I wholeheartedly recommend La Creperie Cafe on Sansom off 18th Street--delicious and authentic crepes both savory and sweet.
In other news, I'll add that there's also a JC in Glen Mills, PA with a decent selection and so-so service. Last time I was there, they didn't want to apply the student/educator discount on sale items.
Hello Everyone: I live walking distance to the J.Crew in Rittenhouse/Liberty Place in Center City Phila, and as a Philly born and raised woman - this is one of my favorite JC's to shop. The Personal Shoppers there are awesome! (Ask for Jerrell, Jackie or Justin:) - Just a caution: parking is limited, especially for meter parking; my suggestion - park at a local parking lot. Most of our wonderful restaurants in Rittenhouse Square or on Walnut Street offer discounted parking when you dine there.
ReplyDeleteFYI: for those who visit Bala Cynwyd/Suburb area - check out the J.Crew in Suburban Square Shopping Centre(Ardmore, PA). It's an upgraded larger store than Liberty Place, not as crowded and usually they offer more collection/specialty items. They also have free parking in the lot directly across the street. Ask for Robin (one of the best Personal Shoppers at J.Crew:)
Hope this helps!...
Tiffany
i recall the ardmore store being nice but a little sparse. this was almost two summers ago, though-- they may have been transitioning the store to fall items. the layout was nice and airy, second floor, friendly staff, etc.
Deletemy suggestion: take SEPTA. :)
DeleteThere's a wonderful boutique in old city on 3rd between race and arch called Lost + Found. Most of the boutiques in the area are pretty pricey, but Lost + Found is very affordable. Diagonal to the shop is a BYOB called Wedge + Fig that has a great cheese selection and interesting paninis and salads.
ReplyDeleteThe JCrew in Liberty Place is meh. Nice selection of ballet flats, but the women's selection is on the smaller side.
Liberty Place jcrew is alright. Nothing spectacular. It can be picked over, and sometimes the associates are overbearing. Given its central location, it can get really busy. Glenn was nice, but I'm not sure he works there anymore (???). There's a brown betty petite (local cupcake shop) in the mall, which is nice. :)
ReplyDeleteKOP has a good selection, but I just cannot deal with the snootiness-- workers and customers. You are at jcrew, not barneys, people.
I agree with you about the KOP store. Sometimes I avoid going in there because the workers are very rude and snooty. They need to get over themselves. Like you said, its just jcrew, not barneys. And the selection, especially their sale selection (which is the only section of the store I shop) is very sparse.
DeleteMy in-laws live in the PHL-area burbs. The store I go to most often is Willow Grove. It's a very large store with a great selection compared with my local (NC) stores.
ReplyDeleteBut me being me, I primarily go because their sale section is absolutely enormous! Except for the very few occasions when I have hit bad timing (ie, when all the leftovers are shipped back to the warehouse) I have always had great luck ferreting out deals in this location. I find that the staff are very nice if you treat them with kindness -- as in many of the NYC stores, I think they have gotten beat down by 'tude over the years. It's amazing what a few pleasantries can do.
I went to the King of Prussia store and recall being underwhelmed, but they do have a freestanding Crewcuts store (albeit a very small one) and a nice-sized Madewell.
for vegetarians, there's a new place called hip city veg on 18th, across the street from anthro (sort walk from jcrew). all veg/vegan menu. it's right next to le bus, a nice little bakery.
ReplyDeletecrumbs is opening up right over there this fall, too.
The KOP store can be a hit or miss. I will definitely avoid certain SAs because of their horrible attitude. Women's selection is usually pretty decent but things can go really fast. I like the Madewell store at KOP but unfortunately sometimes they have the same "attitude" problem as J.Crew.
ReplyDeleteThe store at Ardmore is less crowded and if you are lucky you can find good deals in sale section.
Amada is definitely one of my fav restaurants in philly :)
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DeleteI live in Bucks County (north Philly burbs), and I really like the Princeton NJ store. Usually a great selection, and the SAs are truly super nice across the board. The only thing I would say is that sometimes items don't make it to sale as quickly as I have heard other JCAs reporting--maybe because they do a better business selling things full price so don't need to mark down?
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I only occasionally get down to the Center City store or out to the KOP store. Willow Grove is also nice if you are north of the city but not as far up as Princeton.
I've gone to many stores in the Philly area (KOP, Center City Philly/Liberty Place, Willow Grove), but my favorite would be the Whitehall, PA location in the Lehigh Valley Mall.
ReplyDeleteIt is about 1 hour north of Philly, and is a very small store. They do not have crewcuts, Collection, or many accessories, but they have received a limited amount of women's shoes and purses over the last few rollouts. They do have a men's section.
However, what they may lack in actual inventory, they make up for big time in customer service. Since it is such a small store in a suburban area, they are very friendly and helpful. I have had only great experiences with all SAs and managers, and they are more than willing to go the extra distance to find an item that they don't have.
Also, their sale section may be smaller than a bigger store (like KOP) because of limitations on space, but it is usually jam packed. Often, I will find a size or item here that's been sold out in the other stores.
In addition, since it's out of the city, it is usually quieter and a more peaceful place to shop, and plenty of parking is available as well.
If for some reason I want to see collection items or other things that the Whitehall store does not carry, my next choice would be to go to KOP over Willow Grove or Center City Philly. I do not care for the customer service at the KOP store, but I do know that some of the SAs, personal shoppers, and managers from Whitehall have moved to the KOP location, and I always search them out when I am in KOP.
I find the Willow Grove and Center City stores to be smaller than KOP, but not as small as Whitehall. So, I usually don't seek those stores out. But, if I am in Center City Philly for whatever reason, it is a beautiful place to shop and usually try to stop at that JC.
But, ultimately, I can't express how amazing I think the staff at the Whitehall, PA store are, and overall it is my favorite place to shop and I mean that compared to ALL (and not just JC) stores I frequent. If you give them a chance to get to know you, they really do impress :)
I agree that the KOP "Crew" crew needs to get over themselves. That being said, I really don't care that much as long as the sale rack holds treasures for me. I picked up an orange No2 Pencil skirt for a mere 19.99. Also, don't discount the Factory store in Limerick. I picked up red ballet flats, marked down to 39.99 and an addigional 40% off--also a paisley scarf that was marked down to 19.99 and 40% off THAT. Also got a pair of factory Mona dupes--neutral suede for 94.00. Picked up a navy schoolboy for full price at KOP but Ii love it. Have to say though, my favorite J. Crew in the Philly area is at Suburban Square in Ardmore--great staff. Great selection. Great sales!
ReplyDeleteI live in Delaware, work in center city (downtown) Philadelphia and frequently travel to many of the Philadelphia Tri state (PA, NJ and DE) JC stores. Here's my take:
ReplyDelete- Philadelphia (Liberty Place) OK; decent sale section when caught early
- Christiana, DE solid inventory some shoes some few collection; OK sale
- Cherry Hill, NJ Mid size store; OK selection; OK sale
- Marlton, NJ large store, inventory seems sparse; good sale
- Ardmore, PA large store, OK selection; one of the best sale sections
- KOP, PA large store; good selection; extensive sale section
- Glenn Mills, PA; small woman's split w/crew cuts; OK selection; OK sale
I don't live in Philly anymore so I can't add too much about the Philly stores of late, but as I recall, the KOP sale section can be a boon if you hit it on Wednesdays right after markdowns ... it does get attacked though by the weekend, so it's better if you can make it during the week.
ReplyDelete