This is the weekly "Looking to VENT with J.Crew" post, a place to share our not-so-stellar experiences with J.Crew.If you have recently experienced a frustrating situation with 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 poor experiences with purchases & orders, promotions/ offers, in-store visits, transactions with store associates, etc.
This is somewhat OT but am I imagining things or am I seeing J Crew items being sold through Amazon? I think they are resellers but there are a lot of items available.
ReplyDeleteLooks like they're being sold through Amazon Marketplace, which is like ebay embedded within Amazon. Def resellers.
DeleteColor accuracy in the photos online.
ReplyDeleteI know everyone's monitor is different and stuff, but when you order what you think is a pale pink sweater but get a neon Barbi pink sweater instead, then I think they need to get better photo editors.
This, x1,000,000,000.
DeleteI find that the photos of the actual garments individually (as opposed to the model shots) are more accurate, but still, you never quite know what you're going to get! And that's frustrating for those of us who no longer live near a B&M. Sometimes it's a nice surprise and I'll like the color better, but usually I'm disappointed because it's not what I was expecting.
In my experience the heathered colors are almost always a lot darker in person, and any color name with the word neon tends to read a lot brighter in person.
Also, forgot to add, that this does happen at other online retailers as well, but not nearly as often or extreme as with J.Crew.
DeleteWhy does J.Crew think we are boys? Sometimes they get the fit right, but often everything is a box. I ordered a cute button front cord skirt from the factory, and the waist is at least 5" too big, while the hips are tight. It looks like it is supposed to fit on the waist, but falls to just above my hip. I have a small waist and some hips, but I'm pretty balanced and don't have this problem other places. Also sometimes the sweaters forget that we have a waist as well. They will poof out in the waist and be tight at the hip band. And while I'm venting, I have to mention all the boxy fit tops. I know darts and side zippers are expensive, but something fitted looks so much better. J. Crew: women wear these clothes.
ReplyDeleteI'm very ruler shaped and I bought that button front chord skirt too. Yes. Even for me the for was a little weird. I bought my smaller size and debated and whether I should go down even one more size with the way the waist fit.
DeleteIt's so hit or miss. I'm over the boxy tops - I miss the darts on a lot of items too! And if you saw Jenna's comments on Net-A-Porter coinciding with their capsule collection, she stated that having an hourglass shape is "not one she can relate to." :/ And she used Kim K. as her comparison for an hourglass...yes, she is, but if she's your point of reference then no wonder you can't relate. Sorry, little side vent, as a very frequent J.Crew shopper that comment didn't sit quite right with my hourglass self!
DeleteWhat Anne said.
DeleteYes! Without darts those of us who are chesty end up looking like squares (literally). Also agree with Anne-is this why J Crew's clothes are tight through the shoulders and rarely account for a chest?
DeleteThis has been a complaint of mine too. They're creating clothes for a limited body type. Someone on here said they try the clothes on all shapes and sizes before production, but they couldn't possibly.
DeleteThe "Meet...Somsack" feature on the JC website is very irritating. JC features him as the "genius" behind the new "colorful, print-filled and feminine" collection.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who deeply misses the beautiful colors and distinctive patterns that is J Crew's legacy, I find it peculiar that the new arrivals are being described this way. There's a huge amount of black, gray and camel in this season's offerings.
In the profile, they mention that Somsack drinks a lot of iced coffee. If that's the new definition of cool, then I'm the coolest person who has ever walked the earth given how much iced coffee I consume. Yay me.
My inbox featured an e-mail with more "Freak Out" prices and "Style Hacks". I think my definition of hack differs from theirs.
ReplyDeleteI had been agonizing over the Rhodes Blazer in the hot pink color- needed a 2P which has been sold out since forever. Low and behold Nordstrom had it (so weird). So I ordered it from them....received it on Monday in a box, on a nice hanger and IN A GARMENT BAG! The hanger had been padded with extra tissue. Not a wrinkle anywhere. My guess is that if it arrived from JC it would have been in a plastic bag (correct me if I am mistaken, have never ordered a blazer from JC before). I was pleasantly surprised to receive the jacket in this manner. The jacket is what I expected and fits true to size. It's a keeper for me!
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DeleteOn an interesting side note, I posted a review of the Rhodes Blazer on the JC website and mentioned how well the jacket was shipped to me - later in the day I received an email from JC that they could not post my review because of content and that I would need to stick to describing the fit, color, etc. So if I wanted to rewrite the review I could, otherwise they are removing it.
DeleteI know people have been posting here for years about the falling quality at J Crew, but I'm not finding I can't even replace the v-neck tissue tees. On the Factory site the v-neck tee is a poly blend that reviewers say pills immediately. On J Crew they have the cotton v-neck tees but the reviews are terrible because the shirts develop immediate holes and apparently sizing is all over the place. My existing v-neck tissue tees lasted two years of regular wear. How come the current ones are so different?
ReplyDeleteI've had good luck with the vintage cotton vneck. Some reviewers have had holes develop, but I've worn mine a year and had no probs (washing on delicate and tumble dry low).
DeleteI agree! The set of tees I ordered for summer are now all in my junk clothes pile due to holes. They made it one summer, and its not like I wore them every day. I have gap (and older J Crew tees) that are 5 years old with no holes.
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ReplyDeletethis is a semi-vent. semi-wish: on the 'J.CREW STYLE HACKS: THE BUTTON-UP SHIRT with Jenny and Emily' blog post, both stylists list their first jcrew item as a wool rollneck. When is jcrew going to re-release this actual classic?! I LOVED my wool and cotton rollnecks from jcrew, they are among my most favorite jcrew items of all time. They were such great quality. I would pay full price happily for a well-made, high-quality cotton rollneck in navy, cream, brick red, forest green, etc. Of course I'm nervous that even if they were re released in the future, the quality would be terrible, and I would be heartbroken. (clothing-level heartbroken)
ReplyDeleteI recently ordered the Campbell blazer and trouser in wool charcoal stripe. The blazer was fine but the pants were paper thin and unlined, which seems to be par for the course with J. Crew pants these days. Definitely not worth the price. My J. Crew suits from ten years ago are still going strong but the recent ones have pilled and faded. I am having an awful time finding decent suits anywhere these days, J. Crew included.
ReplyDeleteSo help me here. The navy peacoat turns out to be wool/poly, not just wool. Will this jacket pill? Should I return it? Such a disappointment.
ReplyDelete@Elizabeth, that's a curious blend! In the past they've been something like 79% wool, 21% nylon, with a poly lining. (I spent seemingly all of last winter trying to replace my old wool coat from Banana. I can't tell you how many different brands I looked like -- none, and I do mean, none, had more than 70% wool. I was trying to stay within a certain budget -- I'm sure there are higher wool percentages out there.) In any case, my old Majesty has the wool/nylon blend and it *does* pill, after a good amount of use and the poly lining has seen better days (has rips which I try to mend.)
DeleteFWIW, I love these peacoats and I personally wouldn't return it, if only because as I said, I had a hard time finding better wool coats, in this style, within a certain budget. If the new Peacoats have poly in the blend, I might reconsider. That doesn't sound very comfortable. :-(
Thanks, that's what I'm afraid of. It's a really pretty jacket, great style and all but why polyamide (don't even know what that is) instead of all wool? For a $300. jacket? I guess they were right to just say wool because if they had been honest and said wool/poly I wouldn't have even tried it.
DeleteI should add that I think all of their peacoats have had the wool/nylon blend for a number of years now (my coat is from the winter of 2014), so I'm not sure what this polyamide is - that seems new. Incidentally, I just looked on the site at the reviews for this year's peacoat and someone else complained about the Wool only label in the description. JC really needs to keep a closer eye on such details. Last year, they listed a 100% wool blazer as 100% poly instead (it wasn't!)
DeleteAnyways, if you find a 100% wool coat, please let me know! I couldn't find any/many last year. :-(
Will do!
DeleteThanks!
DeleteP.S. Just got home and checked my closet - my coat is actually 2011, not 2014, so maybe that better explains some of the pilling and lining breakdown. It's stadium cloth, nice weight. Interesting note below about the reason they've chosen a lighter weight. Makes sense, although my favorite peacoat ever was from Mackintosh, 100% wool, chestnut leather buttons. Had it in college (20 years ago!) and still mourning its retirement!
That really stinks about the wool/poly blend! I just checked all my Jcrew coats and they are 79% wool and 21% nylon like TM93 stated. I actually have one that is 100% wool...the Regent Topcoat that I purchased at the end of the season! I bought a blazer at Banana Republic last year that is 60% wool and 40% polyester and it's pretty pilly. I only paid $45 for it so I don't feel too bad about it but I'm not sure I would risk it for such an expensive coat.
DeleteFwiw, I have several J. Crew Factory coats that are wool blends and they have worn fine and are some of my favorites. On the other hand, it's harder to take that chance on a more expensive coat. I think I'd take a chance on this one since you like it so much. J. Crew's cashmere pills and Madewell's wool sweaters pill but I have never noticed my J. Crew coats pilling. I'm not saying it can't happen, but I think the odds are on your side. Good luck whatever you decide to do with it. They should have advertised the fabric content correctly.
DeleteI have older {pre-2010} Factory wool blend blazers and coats and they don't pile. They are also better quality than the regular J Crew offerings now IMO. LL Bean has 100% lambswool coats with poly linings and the prices are comparable. I would also consider Poshmark or thrifting for an older J Crew coat if you want the brand. I bought a Lucinda stadium cloth coat on Ebay a few years ago and it still wears very well.
DeleteElizabeth, I was told by an SA that the wool blend was updated to be lighter and softer because 100% wool is heavy in a pea coat style. My wool/nylon Majesty held up very well and I wondered how the poly would wear, though I have seen it in outerwear fabrics elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI would just like them to be honest. If it's 75% wool and 25% polyamide (?) then why not say so? If the lining is 95% polyester, shouldn't they mention that? All it says is: Wool. With a period after it.
DeleteI can't get my head around that. If 100% wool is too heavy to wear! why have they been selling so many coats for so long! and why have we been wearing me without complaint?
ReplyDeleteLooking away from JC for a minute, my RL peacoats - all 2 of them - are 100% wool (but for buttons and lining), and so is my old reliable Gap peacoat. They're all quite warm, not too heavy to wear, and have held up beautifully. I note that In the early years of the Great Cashmere Downgrade of 2011, the party line at JC was "good cashmere is supposed to pill. Pilling is a sign of quality."
I believe the artificial fibers are present to keep manufacturing costs down, and I don't believe JC is using that fabric to protect the delicate sensibilities of its customers.
Darn, I wanted to get through a week without a vent.
Bad typing - wearing "them, not "me."
DeleteWFF, it seemed a little fishy to me but I'm getting used to the wacky explanations and descriptions. *eyeroll*
DeleteI have 100% RL coats as well and they are comfortable and last forever. Do I keep this jacket with the good styling and risk that it will soon look like a pill monster? I don't know but before I bought it, I looked and saw Wool.
DeleteI am so fed up with all the wool blends on the coats - JC and others. I got the new lands' end catalog yesterday and some of the coats were now 50% wool 50% poly!!! That's new for them too (they did blends before but not that bad). Geez, even the stuff you could buy at JC Penny in the 80s and 90s was better. I have some older all wool coats from Gap and J Crew that have held up beautifully - I actually wanted a new wool dress coat this year, but seeing the J Crew offerings (and others) went to my closet, tried on my old camel colored wool/cashmere blend and decided to just stick with that.
Delete@Julie Taylor - I believe it! How disappointing though. As I said in another post, I was looking to replace a 7-year-old wool coat from BR last year (85% wool, don't remember the rest.) I couldn't believe how few coats there were out there that had a 70% or higher wool make-up. I was trying to stay within a certain budget so did most of my searching at Macy's, but I also checked BR and the Gap. Nothing. I ultimately ended up with a pretty, but thin Anne Klein coat. Disappointing. We see less wool and more polyester these days. Same price, of course!
DeleteI think this may have been mentioned here recently but, Madewell now charges shipping for a send-sell on sale items. Apparently, this is a new policy and I think it's pretty janky. They have offered free shipping on their website for a while now (and when you order from a store) but if something is on sale they tack on shipping? It doesn't make sense and it makes me really annoyed!
ReplyDeleteReturning to Jenna's comment at NAP that she routinely shops the men's section - the irony is quite astounding, as it is an established fact that women are charged a higher price for the identical item as men. So, basically, Jenna gets a better deal (& better ingredients, given that the men's lines are less mass produced and less prone to cut corners) than all of us and a little tailoring helps her customize the fit. Hmm.... Not sure she thought that one through before revealing it!
ReplyDeleteCaught a pop-back that actually shipped! It arrived today and...the item has no tags, the pockets are not sewn shut, the fabric is pilling all over the seat. This was a definitely, completely obviously previously worn pair of pants. They never should have been sold. Good thing they weren't final sale!
ReplyDeleteGrrr... new body needs new clothes. Order a top and ship Sept 8. 6 to 8 days shipping. I contacted today. As it turns out it got close, but never arrived at my post office (nor my mailbox). It's now made a journey all over the state. USPS is to blame, but shouldn't Jcrew have contacted me or at least felt remorseful when brought to their attention. I partially paid for my order with a small gift card (order still has $50 worth of merchandise) so all I got was a refund :(
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