Jenna Lyons, the Baby EditionHere is the part I am a bit confused about... J.Crew is making it sound like they are launching this line. However, they have been offering baby items in the Crewcuts section for sometime now. Refer to the "Crewcuts News: Baby & Factory" post from October 2011. Maybe the buzz around the Baby line is because they are now expanding the line??
By Kristin Tice Studeman
September 27, 2013
At last, J.Crew devotees can deck their babies out in the same striped T-shirts and Italian cashmere sweaters they rely on for their day-to-day wardrobes. (But the looks are even cuter because they are pint-sized.)“For Baby, specifically, we are definitely keeping it to styles and silhouettes that cater to the tiniest among us,” Crewcuts head designer Jenny Cooper told us yesterday at an editor brunch celebrating the new line for newborns to two-year-olds. “I know how squirmy and wiggly they are so we’re making everything very soft and moveable and also considering the adult who has to get them in and out of it. One of the perks of adding Baby is that we get baby fit models in from time to time, complete with chubby thighs and tiny toes.”
To accommodate them, she added easy snaps and openings to J.Crew staples from the main line and combined them with fun, colorful prints from the Crewcuts collection. Our favorites are the tongue-and-cheek phrases, like ‘Heartbreaker’ and ‘Tres Cool,’ on the sweaters. The 71 different styles are available in stores and online at jcrew.com now.
As for the Baby items... the line is super cute! There will definitely be some super stylish babies out there. Can you imagine the mommy & me outfits... endless possibilities!
Now here are some concerns I have: (1) The price points seem on the high end. I guess they are more Janie and Jack then Carter's or Baby Gap. (2) Owning my fair share of knits and tees from J.Crew, I worry about the quality for the Baby line. With my J.Crew knits, I take great care with wearing and washing them because I know how delicate they are. (JCAs know all to well the holes and seams coming undone with J.Crew cotton tees. I wash mine in the delicate cycle and air dry.) You can imagine how often baby's clothes have to be washed, so I am concerned with how well they will keep up. I hate to find out my adorable, and expensive, one-piece fell apart.
What are your thoughts on J.Crew Baby? Did you purchase any pieces? Have you seen any in person? If so, please share! :)
awwww. and what about my chubby thighs?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't buy knits for a baby. Mothers of babies have enough to do without worrying about the care of the baby clothes. They look cute, though. I'd consider buying something non-knit for a gift, if it were carried in my stores, but it won't be. I'm not going to give a gift that the recipient would have to mail back in order to make an exchange.
ReplyDeleteAlso, with the interviews we've seen of Mickey and his concerns about expansion (too much, too fast), I am surprised that they are expanding the baby line. They seem to be doing what he was worried about doing.
ReplyDeleteThe items are definitely cute...but I agree that the price point is high and the fabric content is not what you want for a baby. On the blog they have an article about the designers and one of the essentials they list for babies is cashmere. I am obviously not the target audience for this because I can't imagine putting cashmere on my baby...with the spit ups and...other stuff! The quality is really not there with this line...the few items I received as gifts lasted one wear/wash. Boden has a great (sturdy) line of baby wear...so far holds up really well. Baby gap also is surprisingly high quality.
ReplyDeleteI question J Crew baby cashmere in general due to the quality issues we have with their grown up versions. However, cashmere is actually a good material for baby clothing. It is comfortable because it is super soft and breathable and does not hold stains that well. Many spills can literally be wiped off. (Toss a few drops of water on a cashmere sweater and you will see it mostly beads up instead of sinking in.) Pieces that aren't too thick can be air dryed in a couple of hours where some of my son's cotton sweaters took forever to dry out.
ReplyDeleteI had both some new pieces I received as gifts and a few passed to us by friends (some as much as 30 years old!). All were used frequently when my son was an infant and toddler and old and new looked perfect when they were put away.
The pieces are cute, but I agree that Boden has the best baby items. They are adorable and high quality. Completely worth the price! Also, I have seen cute things for babies at Old Navy... and they were definitely better quality than the adult clothing there.
ReplyDeleteEllen Degeneres gave her opinion about this on her show the other day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZl4WFi4fE8&feature=c4-overview&list=UUp0hYYBW6IMayGgR-WeoCvQ
ReplyDeleteMakes me wonder if anyone part of the design team has ever had a baby. Knits and cashmere for a tiny being that spits up every minute and has a high risk of diaper blowouts? That's like an adult with the flu and the runs sitting at home in a cashmere snuggly. And sure, let me spend over a hundred bucks on something this kid will grow out of in a few months. Makes total sense.
ReplyDeleteDitto the love for baby Boden (and women's Boden too!) Their stuff is super well made, sturdy and all machine washable.
I wonder that too. I can see people giving something extravagant as a baby gift, and probably that is the market they are going after with this line, although giving a gift that requires extra work doesn't seem like the best idea. I don't think many moms want to hand wash/dry flat cashmere when they have a baby and possibly other little kids. It would need to go in the washer and dryer or I wouldn't want it, personally.
DeleteAnd while we're talking ridiculous items, am I the only one who thinks their "maternity line" is just not well thought out? $138 for what amounts to glorified leggings that you'll only wear for half a year. I recently found out I'm preggers with my second and can't help but laugh. Why start a new line at all if you're not going to do it well? It's just an embarrassment.
ReplyDeleteI received my first and last purchase from the J. Crew baby line tonight. I ordered the relatively practical baby footed one piece (item 05590) in blue. I ordered size 6-12 months and it's extremely long and skinny and doesn't look like it will ever fit my baby, who is long and lean for a baby.
ReplyDeleteThe color is nice but that's the best thing I can say about it. The snaps meet up in such a way that there's a huge gap in the crotch area.
I wish I could return it, but I already washed it in hopes it might shrink to some more normal shape.
This item looks like it was designed by someone who never set foot near a baby. I'm extremely disappointed.