*Slides... slides?!?! Is she in the shower room?
* I don't get the slides. Even the cute dog doesn't get them.
* This dress is gorgeous!
Word among several JCAs is that the next roll out of new arrivals (online) is this Wednesday. Brick & mortar stores might already have items on the floor.
Many JCAs (in this post) have noticed that J.Crew is offering a lot of shapeless pieces this roll out. This is really disappointing. :( KaterTott (in this post) said what I was thinking: "I don't know why J.Crew is acting like a couture line with weird shapes and unusual pieces. Why not just classics with a twist?"
The Fall collection at J.Crew is usually the best with rich colors and beautifully tailored offerings. I am hoping there is more to this roll out than what we see so far. Or at least, I am hoping they are saving their best pieces for later Fall. Fingers crossed! :)
What are your thoughts on the upcoming collection? Are there any pieces you are super excited about? Does your local store carry any of the new arrivals yet? If so, please share!
The collared, sleeveless, red/maroon shirtdress is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThe men's offering look nice. Love the middle pic with the men's fatigue jacket. The women's offerings in the sneak peak are leaving me just as disinterested as the Summer 2014 collection has. I know this is just small glimpse, I am hoping the bigger picture has much more to offer.
ReplyDeleteNicole, I love that fatigue jacket as well! The color is so rich and the style is sharp. I want one for myself! ;)
DeleteJ. Crew is pushing upscale grungewear in this catalog. I like a lot of it, so no complaints, but it's a departure from the last two August catalogs. August 2013 had lots of big jewelry and beaded shirts and beaded jeans, color, prints, and heels. Mostly feminine. August 2012 had lots of brights/jewel tones, dots and pattern mixing, printed shoes, bright handbags, and printed pencil skirts. It was a very bright, happy catalog.
ReplyDeleteThe other interesting thing is that with each year of August catalogs, there is less merchandise in them. The pages of the August 2012 are packed full of merchandise. The August 2014 catalog is comparatively sparse.
All three August catalogs are transitional clothing, though. I'm sure there will be much more for fall.
Cate, that is so interesting about the August differentiations!!!
DeleteCould it be due to the economy? Why the Aug 2014 style guide is smaller?
DeleteI can't wait to see what's online this Wednesday...I usually reserve judgement till I see what's online. Lately, their style guides is not working out for me.
JSR, I don't think the 2014 August style guide is smaller. There is just less stuff on the pages compared with 2 years ago (and even last year).
DeleteGiven that report about JC having over-produced stock and over-estimated sales in the past year, leading to the endless 40-50% off in the clearance section, it would not be surprising if they are starting to cut back - leading to a sparser catalog, and presumably lower in-store stock. We have gotten used to scooping items on steep discount, but it is probably coming to an end...
Deletecagliari67, I got the feeling that the sparse catalog is more of an artistic decision, that for some reason they don't want to clutter the pages with lots of stuff. I think they're probably still going to sell lots of stuff (or try to), but I think we're not going to see most of it in the style guide. But like you said, they should probably cut back the inventory going forward. They always seem to have too much leftover. Maybe the minimalist style guide is a sign that they are moving toward a minimalist approach to inventory.
DeleteAll I can say is thank God there is a Schoolboy...I was starting to get afraid that my beloved wardrobe staple was going to disappear to make room for those curve front or jagged angled "jackets" -- AS IF.
ReplyDeleteI do think Jcrew is having a bit of an identity crisis here. They need to stick with the classic preppy and tailored pieces we all love.
ReplyDeleteReceive my catalog in the mail today. Haven't had a chance to look at though.
ReplyDeleteI like the new looks. They are similar to Madewell, in my opinion, which I also love!
ReplyDeleteThat's the problem for some of us. Why bother with 2 store concepts then? Leave the hyper casual for madewell and keep the more refined clothing at JC. They're shrinking their market the way it's going now.
DeleteYou beat me to it, Rose. I thought the same thing! I find all these things very wearable, and can mix in with my tailored to a "t" tops, bottoms and dresses that sometimes seem too "Madam" as we say in Quebec.
DeleteI'm on team like it.
ReplyDeletelove everything! j crew continues to stay on trend while still being wearable and fashionable. I don't understand all the comments from people wanting clothing that is out of style. fashion lovers want to keep up with the current fashions and trends. Oversized clothing is in style for fall 2014 and was all over the runways. Sportswear, like adidas, is in style for fall too. J crew is brilliant at making trendy looks wearable and clean. These are up-to-date classics!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, Katie! And, the shower shoe thing has been going on for a while now, even the row and Marc Jacobs had their own versions of the Adidas slide this past season. Bloggers have even been wearing the look for a while. I wouldn't wear the look to work, but I do think the look is cool and relaxed, a little tomboy chic that I like.
Deletehttp://nataliehartleywears.blogspot.ca/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=50
http://fash-n-chips.com/?offset=1403162100000&category=%22Outfit%22
I suppose we should be glad that the "in" shoes (the Adidas shower shoes) this season only cost $30! :)
DeleteI love J. Crew and I love Madewell. But I do not love all Crew clothes and I do not love all Madewell clothes. I like fresh fashion and I like classics. I like modern and I like twists, spins and pirouettes. But there are some pieces that are just a "no". And Adidas shower shoes (for me) are a big no. Older styles are not necessarily "out of style" and newer styles are not necessarily good style. Each individual must choose for her or himself to wear those pieces that help them feel good and comfortable- both physically *and* mentally. Just my two cents : )
DeleteKatie,i agree with you. While i dont like everything,i find a lot of nice things in the catalog.
DeleteIt would be so boring if jcrew just had the same things over and over again.
I just pick amd choose what i like!!!
I have to laugh. My husband has had those exact shower shoes for almost 30 years and that's exactly what he uses them for! I think he picked them up in a pharmacy for like 2 bucks back in the day. He is the anti-fashion, and everything he buys himself is the cheapest possible and, hence, final sale because it's so ugly NOBODY else will buy it. Having said that, they look fine in the catalogue, but I will NEVER buy slides, even for inside the house, because, yes, surprize-surprize, they constantly slide off and make you slip and, yes, slide, all over the place.
DeleteI think I need to temper my opinion a little bit from before and say that the guide is growing on me a little more. I find I never love the guides but when the roll-out hits stores, there are always a couple things I want, and others I like but may not suit my style or body type. These style guides just tell a story, like runway shows, we have to imagine the separate pieces in real life. I find I end up liking a lot of things online or in-store that did nothing for me when I saw the style guide. I just miss the days of sitting down with a style guide and dog-earring a bunch of pages, because it's overflowing with looks I love. I am happy to see an absence of jewelled necklines finally. I am weary of the shirts with clichés written across them, but maybe I have just tired of that a little early.
ReplyDeleteAlso - are we at the end of the statement necklace trend? Not many here. And a section on a collaboration of very delicate pieces. Not sure how to feel about that since I have quite a few.
ReplyDeleteI get that J. Crew needs to keep up with trends as any label does, but they seem to do it to a point where they just have an identity crisis. Trendy usually screams fast fashion to me, I don't buy things that aren't going to be wearable in a few years but that's just me personally. I hope some of these pieces look better outside of the style catalog and in the real world but overall I'm not swooning for anything which is fine although that sleeveless red dress is beautiful, curious to see what that looks like in person.
ReplyDeleteThose slides definitely remind me of college dorm shower shoes, no just no.
Norm core alive and well.
ReplyDeleteI liked some of the kid's things. Thanks Gigi for posting the catalogue!
In the past, the August catalog has set the tone for the fall collection. A bit of wool, some cashmere and deeper rich colors. I miss my beloved cafe Capri and it looks like cropped pants & culottes are still in according to the fashion week shows. I fear the Campbell Capri without the belt loops will not translate well into a wool pant. Last fall season I only purchased one pair of wool pants, the collection wool pant in tattersall which I absolutely loved. I definitely will be in the market for pants or stalking in eBay.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the culottes from JC from about 2006-2007ish? Maybe I should've hung onto them.
DeleteAm I the only person that cannot see the sleeves and cuffs on the shirts in the new catalogue? I THINK I like the boy shirts especially, if they have the extended cuffs, but it is somewhat difficult to see when all the sleeves are pushed up in the pictures. Is that the new trend? Gotta catch up before the fall...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I remember the culottes!
ReplyDeleteOT-Anyone see the new Boden catalogue? It's reminiscent of what J. Crew used to be. Still classic cuts and colors. There more to like at Boden, IMO.
Boden's fall collection goes live on their web site today BTW
DeleteI just keep thinking WHOA 90S!! the slides - definitely had those in the 90s. that red dress is pretty but makes me think of Winona Ryder circa Reality Bites.the blue collar stripe polo - definitely had something like that in the 90s. it all comes back!
ReplyDeleteI had (still have) exactly that polo shirt from the 90s, although it's cotton and Ralph Lauren. I don't know, I might bit on the cashmere version if it's good quality and not the junk I have got from Jcrew lately. I just have a yen for that preppy stuff and I do like DemyLee.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt's just kind of meh for me.
ReplyDeleteNo retailers have been putting out things that I'm super-stoked about lately -- I already dug my Birkenstocks and my Docs (shut up!) out of my closet from the '90s, I think I may have more sneakers than Kanye West, and all anyone sold this summer were tank tops with ginormous armholes that made them impossible to wear to work.
I think I can just shop my closet for a while!
Kind of OTP but, JCrew's SA online has been pretty helpful with my pre-orders! They are willing to accommodate my situations and always respond in a timely fashion. :)
ReplyDelete