J.Crew's Fall Collection In Stores This Week!

J.Crew stores should be receiving some (if not all) of the Fall Collection this week. The J.Crew store in Westport, CT had cleared out their shelves on Friday of last week, to make room for the new items this week. I was also told by a store associate at the J.Crew in New Haven, CT that they are suppose to have the "new arrivals" on the floor by this Tuesday.

Therefore, it is safe to assume that all J.Crew stores this week, will be putting out their new "Fall Collection" for sale. :)

Have your local J.Crew stores been clearing out "space" for the new arrivals? Have you already seen some of the new Fall Collection at your stores? Do you think the website will display the new "Fall Collection" despite it still not functioning properly?

The Great (Weekly) Exchange

This post (of weekly posts) is for individual members who want to swap/sell/share among yourselves. The items discussed should be mainly J.Crew. This post is where you can mention your items and outside listing/ auction site (like eBay and eCrater). Please note: this posting is not for resellers. Also, individual members can request in this post, items that they are looking for and interested in buying.

Also, please note that any transactions are independent of this blog. (Especially since you will be using an outside listing/ auction site like eBay or eCrater.) I have no dealings or interactions with any of the potential communication, listings, or transactions. :) Moreover, please limit comments about items to swap/sell/share to just the "Great (Weekly) Exchange" posts. (Refer to "A Quick Note to J.Crew Aficionadas" post.)

Do you have any items you would like to swap/sell/share among yourselves through your outside listing/auction site? Is there an item (or items) that you are looking for and interested in purchasing?

Time to Shine: J.Crew's Mature Models

"Thanks!" to ccbmum who let us know in the "J.Crew's Additional 30% Off on Final Sale" post about this article from Bloomacious, discussing J.Crew's latest move to use more mature models in their catalog. The following is the article (which can also be found in its entirety here):

J Crew will update more than fabric and hemlines this fall.
July 17, 2008

This year as the leaves start to turn orange and red, and the clothing catalogs fill your mailbox, you may note a subtle change.

As you flip through the pages you will most likely see women modeling clothes that look good on them! At least that's the plan for the J Crew catalog that drops in September. In their Fall 08 book, J Crew will unveil a strong section featuring model Pia Gronning.

A trend towards classic catalog models is certainly in the air according to most industry experts. "The market for older models has exploded," Ginni Conquest of Wilhelmina Models told writer Monica Corcoran of the Chicago Tribune in a recent interview on the subject. "It's our fastest-growing area, and it's a first for the industry."

In an article published yesterday Corcoran writes: "The trend is driven by the $2 trillion spending power of Baby Boomers—born between 1946 and 1964—who make up 26 percent of the population. After all, what middle-age woman wants to buy moisturizer from a model who's too young to order a martini?"

Or as I like to say, who wants to buy Chanel from someone who would look more appropriate in Garanimals?

The article the Bloomacious one refers to is "Time to shine" by Monica Corcoran published on July 10, 2008 in the Sydney Morning Herald. The article can be found here.

I personally think it is great that J.Crew is using mature models. This definitely has not been the first time J.Crew has incorporated mature models in their catalog. As many of you have pointed out, they have several unknown (like the one in the Paris image above) and known (like Lauren Hutton) mature models throughout their past seasons.

What do you think of J.Crew's latest venture with mature models? Are you happy that the demographic seems to include all aspects (in terms of ages) in their catalog?

Off on a tangent: Boden's and Nordstrom

"Thanks!" to Michelle in the post "J.Crew's Additional 30% Off on Final Sale" post, who let us know that Boden (click here for site) is offering 10% off and free shipping (& free returns) with promo code YB266998. This offer expires 7/20/08.

Also, "thanks!" to La Belle Helene and others in the same post who let us know that Nordstrom (click here for site) is having their Anniversary Sale. Their offer (e.g. prices go up) expires 8/4/08.

J.Crew's Additional 30% Off on Final Sale

J.Crew is offering 30% off the final sale with the code EXTRA30. This offer expires 7/20/08. ("Thanks!" to Silver Lining for also pointing this out in the "Will you visit J.Crew this Weekend?" post.) As many of you have mentioned, the sale section seems to have been re-stocked a bit- so that is good news. It would be even better if they removed the $null items (like the Fiona Jacket).

Moreover... As many of you have pointed out, J.Crew stores also have the "additional 30% off" sale items.

I must say that I am disappointed that in order to enjoy the 30% off, you have to enter the code. Now, you have to decide if you want to use a code like "free shipping" or "an additional percent off" from your order. Remember when the additional percent off was "a given" (e.g. no need to use a code)? I mean, I don't mind entering the EXTRA30 code, if the site allowed for multiple codes to be used per order (e.g. stackable codes).

Will you visit J.Crew this Weekend?

Kater in the "Coming Soon to a J.Crew Near You: New Arrivals!" post mentioned that since some J.Crew stores mark certain items at different prices (during different times) than other stores (and even the website) that we should start a sale watch post. The purpose is to list items currently available in stores and online, but maybe are not yet on sale at all stores (or even online). I think this is a great idea! :)

So if you are stopping by a J.Crew store this weekend, maybe you might be willing to share that with us in this post. In particular, if you could share with us a few sale items that are available, at what prices, and potential sizes the store is carrying (as well as the store location)- that would be fantastic! Moreover, let's make this a weekly post (the "sale watch") so we can help each other out. ;) Thanks in advance!!! :)

P.S. I noticed that some of you have already been reporting sale items (in which stores) in other posts, which by the way "thank you!" :)

Coming Soon to a J.Crew Near You: New Arrivals!

J.Crew sent this email, suggesting that new arrivals should be in-stores starting this Friday. The link for "online" is here and the link for "stores" is here. Neither link is informative. However, I do like the idea of seeing some new items in their B&M stores. :)

Are you excited by new arrivals hitting the store shelves soon? Do you think the "additional 25% off sale items" sale will end soon? Do you think more items will be on sale starting Friday (or less, because they will be shipped back to the main J.Crew warehouse)?

Questionable Item of the Week: Painted selvedge jean

Painted selvedge jean
Click here for product page
Item 98560
Regular: $285.00

In the "Men's Clothing Collector's Items" post, J.H. mentioned the Painted Selvedge Jean. At the time, I checked out what she was referring to and couldn't help noticing anything beyond the price. Did that price tag really say $285? My eyes cannot believe it. Dear J.Crew, is that price just a typo error from the system upgrade? Please tell me that it is so, because the jeans do not look like they are worth almost $300 (after tax is included).

I mean, I think it's great that the "authentic selvedge cotton denim" comes "from one of Japan's oldest and most renowned mills" that are woven on "original 100-year-old narrow looms". No, really that is awesome. But is the "stonewashed, hand-distressed, hand-splattered with paint and hand-finished" attention that each pair of jeans receive really worth that much? I mean, I could probably save at least a hundred dollars if I buy the Straight-fit selvedge jean in vintage indigo wash jeans (Item 92781; $165.00) or the Straight-fit selvedge jean in worn rinse wash jeans (Item 87571; $150.00) and spend a couple of hours beating-up and throwing some paint on the jean myself. ;) In any case if I bought the painted selvedge jeans (or "made" them myself) my husband would still not wear them. (And I would be out a significant amount of money that could go to better J.Crew purchases!) :)

What do you think? Have you seen them in person at a J.Crew store? Do you think I am being overly critical about these jeans? Do you own any of these pants? If you do, please let me know what you think!

Another Article on J.Crew's Website

I am sure you are finding these posts about J.Crew's website a bit repetitive. However, I actually find something new in each article and I think you may find interesting as well. The following is an article from StoreFrontBackTalk (article link here) that was published on July 8, 2008:

JCrew Site Slows To A Crawl As Extensive New Features Launch
By Eric Athas

When the $1.3 billion JCrew apparel chain launched its new Web site on June 29, it was the culmination of a 2-year deployment effort. Seems that customers may have to wait a bit longer to fully use those new capabilities, as the site quickly crashed and has suffered significant slowdowns ever since.

On Tuesday (July 8), the tenth day of the problematic performance and with a "our Web site and call center are running slowly as we fine-tune the improvements" apology replacing JCrew's homepage, JCrew spokesperson Margot Brunelle-Fooshee said the problems are still slowing things down and the associated disclaimer "will probably be up until Friday" (July 11).

The 260-store chain's site changes include real-time inventory shopping carts, an online catalog interface (clicking on a picture in the catalog will display an option to add it to a cart) plus a new zoom feature and enhanced search abilities.

JCrew CIO Steve Dee said the slowdowns had been expected, because of the extent of the changes. "Something this complex and this far-reaching has a lot of different variables in it, so we did anticipate that there would be periodic performance questions, because there's just so many layers to what you're dealing with," Dee said. "We serve images out to a third party provider, so everything needs to be copied down to them. You might find an image or Flash here or there that might take some time or might have even been wrong and you have to reload that. And every time it does that, it has to be cached out to that service provider. So they come back and they hit our server and they pull. So those were some of the periodic pieces that we found."

The CIO said the problems were not extraordinary. "You're going to run into some bugs when every system goes live," Dee said. "So we had to put out bug fixes. Those fixes often require that we would have to take down a server here or a server there, causing us not to be at full capacity."

I highlighted the parts that I thought were interesting. First, for a 2-year project the system roll out could have been a lot smoother. (We have mentioned before how GAP has system upgrades that don't last for weeks with dysfunctional functionality.) Second, it's pass the July 11th mark- so what does this mean (is the website now functioning like it should be)? Third, the problems J.Crew has been experiencing seem like they are in fact "extraordinary". I mean, charging customers for items they never received, not returning credits back to customer's credit cards, not knowing if items have been shipped or not, all seems like a big deal for any retailer. (But maybe that's just me.)

What do you think of the article? Do you agree or disagree? Do you think there were just "some bugs" that J.Crew had to deal with?

Love it or Leave it: Patent Leather Clutch

Patent-leather clutch
Click here for product page
Item 95602
Regular: $98.00

I saw this item (in all three colors) at the store and thought they were quite cute. I think it has just the right amount of shiny patent leather (unlike the Andie Bag which we discussed in an earlier post here) to make the accessory "stand out" while not overpowering the entire ensemble. :)

My main issue is that the price seems a bit expensive for such a small clutch (4 7/8"H x 10 1/4"W x 1"D). When I actually opened up the clutch, I noticed that there is barely any room for anything besides the slimmest cell-phone and some loose credit cards (because lets face, no real wallet is going to fit in there without making the clutch look like it has a massive bulge.)

As much as I like the idea of the clutch (in particular this patent leather version), I just don't think its worth the price. Maybe if they added another half an inch to the depth and shortened the width a bit, it could be more usable.

Do you own the Patent Leather Clutch? Have you seen this clutch in your local J.Crew store? Do you love it or would you leave it? Do you think it is worth the price tag? Let us know what you think! :)