*Image above is from Etsy (found through CApow)
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 Connecticut! 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 state of Connecticut} should an out-of-towner shop at? Which stores should be avoided? Please share! :)
WESTFARMS MALL (West Hartford / Farmington):
ReplyDeleteSituated in Central Connecticut and not a far drive out of the center of Hartford is the J.Crew in Westfarms. Westfarms is an upscale mall these days, carrying even a Louis Vuitton botique. It shows in the J.Crew Offering, next door to the Apple-Store.
It's dominated by the Women's section but does carry crewcuts and a men's section. Single-Sizes only seem to be carried up to a size 14 and they carry up to a size XL. The Staff are nice and helpful, especially during final-sales always offering to start a room. I can generally find everything I need at this one.
Saturday/Sundays are predictably the busiest times. Weekdays, then, are probably your best bet.
As an aside, Madewell is nearby, just off the wing that houses J.Crew.
The other J.Crew nearest to me is the one at Evergreen Walk (S.Windsor / Manchester). Which is an outdoor mall but I haven't hit that one up quite yet. It does, from the outside look bigger than it's sister at Westfarms.
The Westport store is pretty nice, plentiful women's section and a decent men's selection too. I used to work there and the staff is overall pretty friendly though I've had a few off-putting experiences with their management.
ReplyDeleteThe Greenwich store is hilarious. When I go in and go straight to the sale section, the staff could not possibly care less about me. However, if I go in and pick up a $300 dress first thing and walk around they are super friendly and helpful and practically won't leave me alone. It's almost Pavlovian.
The Danbury store is a little small and the layout isn't great. I think it's due for reno. The staff is wonderful there though and they've helped me make red phone orders many times. You can get lucky there with sale items -- if they carried an item it's often there when most other area stores are sold out.
The Danbury STore was opened as an all Durables Store back in the mid to late nineties. There was no collection at the time it had been discontinued. It was my first j crew store. That is why the layout is so bad. It was never meant to carry all those lines.
DeleteI work near the store in the trumbull mall -- it only has women's -- the selection is smaller/veers towards the classics -- overall, i like it due to the friendly staff and the distance. but selection will not be able to compete with the one that is in westfarms mall
ReplyDeleteThe new haven store is by the house, and it definitely has a more college-y vibe, in terms of the selection as well, due to close proximity with the university.
Since this is my area, I have been to all of these ...
ReplyDeleteCanton: Very cute location. The J.Crew store is a bit on the small side and carries the main line of merchandise. Jewelry selection tends to be limited. There is no shoe section. Sales associates tend to be very sweet and accomodating. Carries Men.
Danbury: Part of the mall. Nice, medium sized store in terms of merchandise. Does have the normal amount of Jewelry & accessories. Has a shoe section which is nice. The sale section is decent when they have it. Sales associates tend to believe they are workingn in Greenwich and not in the mall (which they are). Carries Men.
Farmington: Medium to large size store in a nice mall that also has Madewell on the same floor. Doesn't carry the collection items as much, but does have a nice size jewelry and shoe section. Nice sale section when they have it. Sales associates tend to be around- don't hover or overly help you. Carries Men and Crewcuts.
Greenwich: Nice location on Greenwich Avenue. Madewell is just down the street. Good luck with parking on the weekends- it can get crazy! The store has a nice amount of merchandise, with lots of jewelry and a shoe section. Sale section can be quite nice when they have it. Sales associates tend to be on the snoottier-side. If you are a sale shopper- good luck! You tend to be ignored. Carries Men and crewcuts upstairs.
New Canaan- Tiny but really nice collection (This area tends to be wealthy- so don't let the size of the store fool you!) A great shoe & handbag selection. Good jewelry selection too. Sale section tends to be shoved in the back in a tight corner- but can be worthwhile. Store associates tend to be nice- almost hovering a bit- but it could be because the store is smaller. Carries Men.
New Haven: Located on Broadway, your best bet is parking in the parking lot right in front of the store. The store is on the smaller side. Limited jewelry, no shoe or handbag section. Sale section is meh. Yale students & profs like to shop here so the sale section is picked over during the school year. During the Summer, you have your pick of merchandise! Store associates tend to be very helpful. Carries Men.
South Windsor: Love the location! Outdoor mall with plenty of parking. The store is on the smaller side. Carries limited jewelry with no shoe or handbag section. There are some handbags and shoes though (just not the full line). Sale section is pretty decent when they have it. Store associates tend to be very helpful. Carries Men.
Trumbull: Smaller size store in the Trumbull Mall that only carries women. Does have a decent shoe section and carries some handbags. Sale section is nice when they have it. Store associates are generally very helpful.
Westport: A beautiful store, with a lot of merchandise. Has a nice shoe and handbag section. Carries most jewelry- nice! Sale section can be impressive when they have it. Store associates range from ignoring you, hovering over you, being snooty, to really nice. This area tends to bring the wealthier shopper, so it also might depend on who is in the store. Carries Men and Crewcuts.
I love the Greenwich and Danbury stores, but I think the Stamford store is worth mentioning. This store is fairly new (less than a year, I believe) and it is much larger than the Danbury and Greenwich stores. It is part of the mall, which stinks because you have to pay for parking. The store associates are very friendly and helpful...They usually ask if you need help finding anything within 5 minutes of being in the store. This store carries most of the jewelry and has a huge selection of shoes...They also have a good selection of handbags. The sale selection is larger than other J.Crew stores, as well. They also carry a wide selection of men's.
ReplyDeletei am a CT resident, and i had two recent experiences at B&M j.crew stores. first, the good: the staff at the stamford store is lovely and helpful. they had a decent array of newer merchandise, a nice sale section, but a smaller inventory of shoes (which is why i went in the first place.)
ReplyDeletethe bad: westport. they have a wonderful, extensive inventory of just about everything and a great sale section, but their staff is AWFUL. not knowledgeable, pushy, and seemingly unable to communicate with one another.
for tourists, i would recommend the greenwich store (stamford mall is, well, a mall. greenwich avenue is adorable and has many shops and dining options) or the new canaan store, for the same reason. westport's store is in a nice area, but i just can't recommend it after my experiences there.
I can also vouch for the nice staff at the Canton store I visit when I am in the state visiting family. I shop so little it does make a difference to have helpful SA's. not pushy.
ReplyDeleteI would recommend the Stamford and Farmington location for most helpful staff. Farmington has more merchandise and a better sale section. New Canaan has lots of bags and shoes last time I was there. Greenwich's sale section is always small or doesn't exist when I go.
ReplyDeleteI think Westport Jcrew is the worst one I have been to in the country. I had a return from online that was sent to me with a hole in it and I took off the tags before I noticed the hole. They told me that I should look before I take off tags to which I responded that they need better quality control!
Nice post! This is a very nice blog that I will definitively come back to more times this year! Thanks for informative post.
ReplyDeleteJames Nesbitt Stay Close 2021 Blue Cotton Jacket