This is the weekly "Other JCrew-like Retailers" post (similar to the "Off On A Tangent"
posts), where we can share our finds from other
retailers that have offerings similar to J.Crew
(like Anthropologie, LE Canvas, Gap, BR, Talbots, Ann
Taylor, and the like.)If you have recently encountered items that are similar to J.Crew, maybe you might be willing to share that information with us in this post.
Please feel free to share your story on almost any topic— including experiences with certain merchandise pieces, promotions/ offers, in-store visits, transactions with store associates, etc.
Seems like Banana Republic is more J. Crew than J. Crew lately...
ReplyDeleteI'm very sad that Lands End disavowed Gloria Steinem last week. She was featured as a "Legend" in LE's recent catalog, which inspired a huge, negative reaction from anti-abortion folks. LE sells school uniforms to families who send their kids to religious schools, so they responded by quickly removing Steinem from their web site and apologizing to anyone who had been offended by their promotion of her.
ReplyDeleteI love Steinem, and I am taken aback that LE caved in to that political pressure. LE is losing my business, and I spent over $1000 a year with them (more, I bet, than the uniform families spend.)
cousy - I didn't know about the Lands End/Steinem flap until yesterday when I posted about LE. A couple of readers chimed in about it. One school an article mentioned solely recommends LE to their 249 students for uniforms. I was expecting bigger numbers than that. Or one large collective number. It doesn't sound like hiring a former D&G exec is panning out so far. One issue is the woman wants to remain in NY and not have to report to HQ in Wisconsin for regular duties. Or something to the effect. Why did they ever agree to that? She needs to understand the core customer if she hopes to move the brand "global" as she desires.
DeleteAgreed - except that I am just as much a core customer as those folks. I thought the Steinem feature was odd - why would Gloria agree to such a pedestrian promotion? But throwing her under the bus is unacceptable to me, and to many of my friends who buy clothes for their kids at LE. No more for me.
DeleteI thought it was a bit odd that Steinem did the promotion - she is a "legend" as they put it but it was very nice. She looked great. Wonderful to see an older woman featured in fashion! I was quick shocked and disappointed that Lands End elected to disavow the promo/relationship. I'm not sure that I'll stop buying from LE but they should have stood behind Steinem and women's rights more generally.
DeleteTotally agree that the core customer base isn't as simple as religious schools. It appears leadership is an issue at Land's End. We ALL know that these things play out in the media, so be sure about what you're doing. And if you eff up, be sure about your response; don't simply backtrack.
DeleteI agree that I can't say I won't stop buying from LE because...corporations. I'm sure there are a ton doing things that I don't agree with, but simply don't know about.
LE, you made a choice for a reason. Stick to it. Don't stick your head in the sand. The choice appears profit driven, not values driven. Not a good look.
FYI, here is the lousy, generic response that I got from Lands End just now. Grr - I deserve better.
DeleteDear (I've taken out my name),
Thank you for sharing your honest feedback with us. It was never our intention to raise a divisive political or religious issue. We take the comments of all our customers very seriously, and I am continuing to share customer feedback with our Executive Team.
We sincerely apologize for any offense. It is my hope that we will be able to earn back your loyalty again in the future.
Sincerely,
Kelly Ritchie
SVP, Employee & Customer Services
Lands’ End
Anthropologie is offering an extra 30% off sale clothing & accessories plus free shipping on all orders. I've shared my personal sale picks in this post. :)
ReplyDeleteBoden has a full length sailor jean if people are looking for an alternative to the sailor teddie pants. They just had a small rollout which has a few cute new dresses.
ReplyDeleteCousy, I'm with you, I love Gloria Steinem!
ReplyDeleteLooking to buy a Kate Spade bag that just sold out online but may be available in stores. If you call a store, will they "place an order" for an item and then ship it to you directly? Are they cool like that?
ReplyDeleteYes, they are very helpful. If you don't find a helpful store, email me and I'll share mine. gigiofca@gmail
Delete...I will add that I have done send/sales over the phone. That's what KS calls them. They -- like other retailers recently -- might have changed policy about doing store orders due to accepting cc numbers over the phone. Hopefully you'll find it and get it shipped!
DeleteThank you so much, Gigi!!
DeleteYou're welcome, Kimi :)
DeleteGot it! Luckily the third store I called had it, haha. Kinda bummed that she wouldn't price-match the online price but she did give me the extra 25% off. (And I had to pay sales tax of course.) Oh the things I do when I'm desperate LOL.
DeleteThe online prices sometimes differ and they won't always match. I think it's because they will offer an addtl % off online, but not in-store and the prices end up being the same. ?? I dunno. Yay for finding it!
DeleteAh well! I figured that if I had been in store and seen the bag, I would have bought it anyway so it works out. Yay for my first KS bag! :D (Also, I may have called a store near you? Walnut Creek?)
DeleteThaaaat's the one. The only reason why I didn't simply drop the number is I kept calling you let them know someone might be calling in, but I couldn't get through. I'm glad you did. Save their number in your phone and contact Melissa and team anytime. You can say Gigi referred you, too, if you want but the service should always be stellar there without the need for that. ;)
DeleteHaha, awesome! :) I talked to Kristin and she was very nice and patient when I was trying to decide whether to go for it or not.
DeleteKristen is good like that. Lol. Totally know her.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI've shared a list of weekend sales & deals from numerous retailers around the web, along with my personal picks from each one. Check it out here. :)
ReplyDelete