This is the weekly "Help Style Me!" post, where we can share items we are having trouble putting outfits together with. Elaine (in this
post) says it best, "You know, that thing you
bought because you love it and you keep pulling it
out and then putting it away without wearing it?"Please share your J.Crew item (either that you own or are thinking about getting) that you would love help creating an outfit with.
Also, please help out by offering your styling advice. Feel free to include links to your blog (where you incorporated that piece) or to Polyvore (where you showcased an outfit with that piece). Thanks in advance! :)
I just ordered the Madewell Anywhere jeans in black (marton wash) on popback for a fair price. Though I was over skinny jeans for awhile, they definitely work better with boots/ankle boots. Most negative comment about these is the fading but I don't wash my jeans that often and generally wash on delicate. I'm hoping for winter layering they work and are comfortable. I remember both @ema and @inawonderland trying them but of course can't find pics.
ReplyDeleteI own the denim version of them
DeleteI thought so. Do you still like them?
DeleteLately i have worn more boyfriend or vintage straight jeans.
DeleteTaking a break from the skinny fit lol
Ha, that's how I was last year! Every time I see my piles of denim I think about how each fit serves a purpose. But someone stop me next time I even think about buying a cropped flare/Demi boot or wide leg crop. Skinny, straight or slouchy is fine,
DeleteI have the Anywhere jeans in black (as well as denim) and I love them. Yesterday I wore them to work with boots and long cardigan, and tomorrow they're my travel jeans for a flight to Boston. They are super comfortable, and really can be easily dressed up or down. I have not found them to fade at all. I machine wash them inside out and let them hang to dry. I hoe you like them
DeleteHOPE, not hoe lol
DeleteThank you, me too. I'm actually thinking about them for a long flight and trip as well.
DeleteI just realized I had a dream where I saw the velvet ruffle hem dress worn with a crisp white button down and tie under it and it looked absolutely adorable. (Unless maybe I actually saw this somewhere and dreamt about it after the fact). Anyway, I know the cut of that dress won't flatter me but I hope someone tries it like this and reports back.
ReplyDeleteThat’s such a cool dream!!
DeleteI ate jalapeños, lots of hot sauce and horseradish with my dinner. Wonder if that had something to do with it. I slept SO WELL.
DeleteThat's a lot of spice! I tried to recreate your dream with a simple black jcrew LDB and lastyears Thomas mason shirt...but got a bit too hot and went only with dress. I might try the shirt and velvet dress next time in store.
DeleteI'm all about the spice! Outfit sounds cute!
DeleteOT, but I just snagged an amazing vintage faux fur coat in chocolate brown at the thrift store. I’ll admit that I was inspired by the J.Crew Teddy coat, which intrigued me this season. While I liked the colour, the texture really put me off. I’ve tried on dozens of new and vintage faux fur coats over the years, but this one felt like it was made for me, and the craftsmanship is incredible. It was only $20, which will be well worth it when I sashay into my mom’s place wearing it this weekend, she’s going to love it!
ReplyDeleteLove that!
DeleteOn a somewhat related note, my grandfather worked for a furrier and my mother in law was a collector who moved to Florida and I have about a handful of vintage furs. The ones my grandfather made were pieced together from scraps and are falling apart a little. The ones from my MIL both look a little dated and are not my taste. I don't want to pay to store or repair them. What does one do with such items?
You might be able to take them to a consignment shop that specializes in vintage clothing. However, most consignors want items in "sell-ready" shape, so your grandfather-made furs may need to be repaired. Depending on what the consignor (and you) estimates for the items, the repair cost might (or might not) be worth it. An alternative is donating the items to a theatre department at a local college/university or high school. They may have students or staff who can repair the damaged furs (or not). Either option requires some web surfing and telephone time on your end. Not very encouraging, but that's all I've got!
DeleteAnother option if the coats have sentimental value is to have a few throw pillows made from them (a friend of mine did this) if it would work with your decor.
DeleteI was thinking about pillows. Or even a small throw. Unfortunately all will cost $$$ because from what I understand fur is not so easy to work with. But thanks for the thoughts. They're one of the few things I just haven't had the heart to just dump or donate,
DeleteIf you've been wanting a fur vest, now is the time.
DeleteTangentially related, I guess, but how do other folks in super cold climates dress up in winter? I've lived in Wisconsin for almost 10 years, but each winter I feel low on inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you and I'm only in NJ. Since I don't dress up for work and we can drive to most destinations, I usually just wear a warm coat and either boots or deal with cold feet for a little walk to our destination. If it's rainy or there is snow on the ground, and we are going to a party, I bring fancy shoes and change on the porch before I go in. Besides keeping the host's home nicer, I get to wear nice shoes and don't ruin a good pair. I just keep my boots hidden on the porch or vestibule or front closet. Last year when I did this people thought it was a great idea. I was happy because I wasn't stuck wearing snow boots and I got to dress up.
DeleteBut inside my house I'm pretty much all black fleece, all the time.
If we’re going to someone’s home I don’t bother with dress boots, I just wear my giant Sorels and change into party shoes after arriving. That’s pretty much the norm here, and hosts will generally have extra boot mats if they’re hosting a party. If we’re going out to dinner or a show I go with a black wedge dress boot. Similar approach with coats, if it’s really nasty out I wear a long down parka to someone’s home, but have a generic long black dress coat for when I want to look a little more presentable (and as of today, I have my crazy faux fur coat to layer over top to really make an entrance!). I have a few cashmere and boucle cardis that I layer over dressy tanks/camis, and an assortment of velvet pants so that I don’t have to deal with tights/nylons, etc. if it’s especially cold out.
DeleteOT: just got an email for a Black Friday preview on 11/19 for 40% in store only. I think it’s from my local store so I don’t know if this is nationwide but that’s a pretty good deal. I’ll probably stop by because there are a few things I want for my Little’s.
ReplyDeleteMe too, 40% off is awesome. Hoping they’ll offer a similar promo online
Deletei got it too... but it says select items... so i'm thinking it's not as good as it sounds.
DeleteI have never once gotten an email from J Crew. I shop regularly and get their catalogs. It's a mystery to me.
DeleteOT, a great article over at youlookfab today called “The Polarization of Retail Price Points.” She describes the demise of mid tier, high quality brands as the choices have become either Fast Fashion or Designer Wear. Lots of good comments too. Puts J Crew’s cost-cutting in perspective vs. other mall stores and the rest of the industry, which the J Crew-obsessed can sometimes forget.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, ruffles - I really enjoyed reading it.
DeleteThe other day, I was reading an old post on JCA about the prickly shoulder pads in jackets and coats. A lot of JCA's were lamenting that their quality wasn't what it used to be - and this was 2011 - we didn't know how much worse it could get.
I thrifted a lot in high school and college (as well as shopping the JC traveling warehouse sales!). When I went to a thrift shop this past summer, it was mostly sad ON castoffs (stretched out, pilled knits) with a heavy duty staple attaching the price tag to the neck, making it even more worthless. My mom's a seasoned thrifter and mentioned that even the Salvation Army's prices have gone up while some of their offerings should really have just gone into a trash can.
Whoops, hit Publish too soon!
DeleteIt's really feeling more and more like looking for a needle in a haystack in terms of finding an item with decent quality, design, and construction. I liked the print on the foulard PJ shirt (G1511) from earlier this year and thought the silk felt nice, but the one I tried was cut so incredibly narrow in the shoulders (even with sizing up twice!) that I was afraid that I would rip it. Maybe I got a bad one, but with no B&M around and no free return shipping (as well as no time to mess around with ordering and returning multiple sizes) it just went back.
The boyfriend chino pants (G3024) I got in the spring are puckering at the seam around the zipper, so I fear that the fabric will eventually rip in a vertical line right next to the seam that will not be repairable. They're not even tight! I ended up getting a pair of Waverly chinos off of eBay and they're so much better.
It's really been a disappointing time for shopping, and it seems like those mid-price retailers the article mentioned are really stuck. At least with fast fashion stores that have always been that way, you expect cheap, low-quality items. Places like JC are trying to cut quality and at the same time coast on their old reputation of having mainly good-quality items, but their longtime customers have caught on. But then to try to attract them with "throwback" or "heritage" items that are inferior to the originals? It's pretty tone-deaf.
Lol silver_lining, I think I was probably one of the ones grousing about those shoulder pads in 2011!
DeleteI like youlookfab not for her style which is not me, but for her industry insights as a former retail buyer turned stylist. She has a global perspective about w diverse clients, and her views on J Crew are in the context of the whole industry. No crewlade there, and NOT everything is “fabulous” and “great quality!”
I agree w you 100% that J Crew is trying to coast on the brand equity that they earned years ago w beautiful design, construction and fabrics. I would love to see a segmentation analysis (sorry, talking shop) of their customers, and how those who are newer to the brand define “great quality.”
Ha, ruffles - you're right, I think you were in that thread! :)
DeleteNo apologies, I love to talk shop. I don't think "great quality" means much to people that don't really look to wear their pieces more than a handful of times. If it's not pilling on the rack, or looks all pretty because it's shiny and new, it's easy to declare something to be of high quality - but IMO, it's actually putting the garment through its paces that is the quality litmus test. However, since it's now on to the next one within two weeks, there's always something new to lust after.
I bet the constant buying cycle has something to do with the perception of quality. I remember buying school clothes in August - your whole wardrobe for the fall and it needed to last because you weren't going to get anything again till spring clothes shopping.
Compared to some of the crappy quality I've seen at Kohl's and Target, JC is better than them... but not by much in some pieces. Long time JCA's have a memory of the better quality days, but if you're more new to the brand and comparing present-day JC to H&M (because their current designs are forcing us to make that comparison) - you may think JC is so much better in terms of quality where we see it as totally tanking.
There's this void in the middle of the market that some savvy business could really do well in - but there would probably be short-term pain for long-term gain that no retailer seems to want to risk right now.
The YLF post noted that even Boden is struggling, and everyone seems to put Boden firmly in the mid market category. So I wonder ... do you really think the demand for the mid market exists anymore? Among the JCAs who long for the quality of yore, yes. But I wonder if there are that many in this group.
DeletePeople *say* they want better quality but do they? J Crew has already lost the fed-up ones who have gone to designer (even if it is consignment or on sale). Sales prove that. And you’re right - compared to F21, J Crew quality isn’t bad.
I think the global domination of athleisure is also a big factor. If you’re buying Lulu, Patagonia, REI, Athleta etc., those brands test their products and have decent quality as well as generous return policies. It does change the category you put J Crew in and that is squarely fast fashion.
Good grief, I remember those awful shoulder pads! I found myself standing in my closet the other day, talking to my Bella jackets — well, just making sure they were all right. The buttons, the collars, the linings... I felt like a gloating miser!
ReplyDeletehave shopped heavily this fall, but at Off5th (MMissoni jacket. $225 from $850), NM (green leather jacket seriously marked down), eBay (replaced the famous snake print skirt, I’ll have the hem taken down and a false hem put on for another inch of length)...
I watched Mickey Drexler’s recent TV interview. Frankly I thought he came off like a pontificating a*****e. Here’s the man who singlehandedly destroyed the Gap, turned JC into a schlockfest, running off his mouth about what women want. The interviewer tried to get him to give responsive answers to questions about his failures, but he deflected them with statements like “I’m a merchant, I don’t know about earnings.”
Frankly, Mickey, if you knew what women are want, JC’s earnings would be through the roof and you would still be running it.
This summer I wanted to wear my French market tees, but I’ve been treating them like museum pieces and a trip to the supermarket didn’t feel like the right occasion.
“Talking to my Bella jackets.” Glad I’m not the only one, Fred.
DeleteI'm styling the stripe bodysuit, lyric wash jeans, and red coat on the blog today.
ReplyDeleteHeather
Partial to Pink