JCA "Help Style Me!" Weekly Post

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! :)

"Looking to LOVE" with J.Crew

This is the weekly "Looking to LOVE with J.Crew" post, a place to share our favorite experiences with J.Crew.

If you have recently experienced a positive 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 stellar experiences with purchases & orders, promotions/ offers, in-store visits, transactions with store associates, etc.

JGIC Product Review: BR vs. 'Crew Round Two

A big "thanks!" to J.Crew Guy In Canada who is graciously reviewing Men's items from J.Crew with us.

I'm a dyed in the merino wool J.Crew guy.  Over 75% of what I own and wear comes from the mother-ship.  But even I have to admit that BR does do a few things better.

Shorts are more than pants with less length.  They more casual, less buttoned down and for many of us a sign of time off.  J.Crew makes some good ones, but I find the ones getting the most wear time with me are from BR.  Jenna and Frank have many options including the very good broken in chino short #67140 and the utility corduroy short #64198.  Over at BR the solid short with a regular price of $49.50 is a winner.  Soft cotton, good colour choice and even some patterns.  Current favorite is the burgundy plaid short.  More washed dark red than burgundy, they look killer with a white oxford or denim shirt.  And they are cheaper than the ones at 'crew.

Speaking of denim shirts this is another area I'm constantly looking for the 'one'.  Denim shirts seem to be tough to pull off properly.  They are either too heavy a fabric, cut too full or just a little too full on cowboy.  I have a Polo button down in a washed denim, and the possibly over exposed chambray from J.Crew.  The selvedge chambray utility shirt #84018 has great fabric, but has been around for several seasons.  Both of these are alright.  As previously mentioned in another post the button pockets on the J.Crew option are not working for me.  But the BR Heritage chambray for $89 is slimmer and a heavier weight cotton without feeling like you're wearing a pair of jean as a shirt.  The colour is dark and rich and a hands down winner.  And is $25 less.

This doesn't mean I'm jumping ship, it's just means I'm honest.  The J.Crew boxes will continue to outnumber the ones from Banana and company, but they won't be the only ones on my doorstep.

Another fantastic review! "Thanks!" again to J.Crew Guy In Canada for his view on BR versus J.Crew.

There are definitely a few pieces from Banana Republic that I find are much better at holding up than J.Crew's alternative. (I remember picking up a peplum sweater from BR that has held up quite well in the wash. Something I don't take lightly with J.Crew's sweaters.) However, as a whole, I love J.Crew's cut, fit, and styles much more. That is where my heart (and wallet) are at!

What are your thoughts on post? Are there items from Banana Republic that are better (in terms of quality, fit, etc) than J.Crew? If so, please share! :)

Extra, Extra! 30% Off Everything at J.Crew Factory

"Thanks!" to many of you, who shared the following email & promotion for J.Crew Factory.

J.Crew Factory is offering 30% off merchandise with promo code SPREE. This offer expires Saturday, June 15, 2013. The fine print includes:

*Offer valid on purchases made at jcrewfactory.com from June 12, 2013, 12:01am ET through June 15, 2013, 11:59pm ET only. Offer not valid in J.Crew or J.Crew Factory stores, at jcrew.com or on phone orders. Offer cannot be applied to previous purchases or the purchase of gift cards and cannot be redeemed for cash or combined with any other promotion. To redeem, enter code SPREE in the promo code box at checkout. Offer valid in the U.S. and Canada only. Terms of offer are subject to change.

There are so many pretty new things over at J.Crew Factory. It is definitely worth a look.

Did you check out the Factory site today? Were you able to snag any amazing deals? If so, please share! :)

J.Crew Sale: 100 Brand New Styles

"Thanks!" to many of you, who let us know the following news from this morning.

J.Crew has a nice update to their Summer Sale (click here to shop online) section online this morning. Lots of merchandise for everyone. It's pretty amazing how much stuff is getting stocked in the morning.

J.Crew also sent out an email letting us know that 100 new styles were added to the sale section. Yey! Great timing to use with the the additional 30% off all sale items (no min) with promo code SUMMERTIME. This code expires tomorrow, June 13, 2013. 

Ladies and gentlemen: if you live near a brick & mortar store, go now! Really. I am serious. I stopped by today and they were literally ticketing pieces in front of me, reducing a lot of prices. Even better? The prices are way better than their online counterparts.

The following list contains just some of the amazing deals (some of which have been mentioned by fellow JCAs in previous posts- thank you for sharing!!!) to be had in store:

• Jeweled medallion sweater (item 76408; $138.00) online $99.99 in store $39.99
• Convertible jewel-collar linen sweater (item 46965; $148.00) online $99.99 in store $39.99 
• Collection featherweight cashmere Tippi sweater in multistripe (item 40649; $238.00) online $199.99 in store $89.99
• Merino Tippi sweater in stripe monarch (item 01006; $98.00) online $69.99 in store $29.99
• Twisted stitch open-neck sweater in stripe (item 56836; $85.00) online $69.99 in store $39.99
  

Keep in mind, that the prices above are before the 30% off discount is applied at the register. So there is even more money to be saved!

Did you check out the Summer Sale section today? Were you able to snag any amazing deals? If so, please share! :)

J.Crew's First Quarter Fiscal 2013 Results

J.Crew recently shared their results for the latest quarter (for the three months ended May 4, 2013). The following are some highlights from the investors call (click here to read the Seeking Alpha article in its entirety):

• Total revenues increased 12% in the first quarter, with the total company comparable sales increasing 3% on a realigned basis. This was on top of a 23% total revenue increase in the first quarter last year and a 16% increase in total company comparable sales.
• Total revenues increased 12% to $564 million.
• Our store sales increased 7% to $380 million, with net square footage increasing 9% versus last year, driven by 8 new store openings during the first quarter.
• Direct sales increased 23% and includes our J. Crew Factory and Madewell direct businesses.
• Gross profit was $252 million, with gross profit margin of 44.7% compared to 47.6% last year. The results reflect a promotional environment that we saw during the quarter, which led to a 280 basis point reduction in our merchandise margin year-over-year.
• Our inventory balance was $308 million at the end of the first quarter compared to $251 million at the end of the first quarter last year. Inventory increased 23% versus last year or 13% on a per square foot basis. 
• ...we are preparing for the opening of our first store in London on Regent Street prior to the holiday, which represents an exciting milestone for us in our international expansion efforts.

There was also a Q&A time with the J.Crew executives. The following two questions I thought were the most interesting:

• Question: When we look at the promotional environment and the hit on gross margin, I mean, do you feel that, that was driven by the need to clear out some of that more let's say cold-weather inventory? And how do you feel that that's going to trend going forward?
  Answer (from Libby Wadle): ...I don't really -- it really doesn't have to do with clearing through, I'd say, cold-weather inventory. I think a few things going on: a tough sort of macro environment out there. I think everyone was feeling the pressure. And with J.Crew specifically, we have a very tough full price comparison, so had some pressure there. And we had to change really how we had planned to do business based on the environment, and we did have to be more promotional. But it wasn't really about sort of leftover inventory as much as it was about sort of navigating through the environment in the healthiest way we could with the inventory we owned.
   
• Question: I am certainly not much of a fashionista, but can you talk a little bit about your fashion trends and how you feel about this summer's versus last year, whether there's enough newness that's going to get consumers shopping, anything you could provide there?
  Answer (from Libby Wadle): Of course. We feel good about our product and our fashion and our newness. What I will say is that, to be frank, we had a lot of competition on our franchise items at much lower price points this year. So what we did really well last year and we had been doing, we invented a lot of great franchise businesses. We saw a lot of that out there in the market and less expensive. So we are -- we remain focused really on innovation, moving forward, inventing new franchises and looking ahead, we feel good about our fashion. So that would be my answer about how we feel about our fashion.

Overall, our favorite retailer is still performing well. Although I am not too surprised to hear about the inventory / increased promotion situation. We have all seen how many {wonderful} back-to-back promotions J.Crew has been offering in the past few months. Plus, it does seem like the Sale section is plentiful right now. I can't really complain except for my spending has increased because of it! ;)

I did find it interesting that J.Crew's competition is starting to impact them though. For the longest time they seemed kind of invincible to the alternative offerings at lower price points. I guess it finally caught up with them. For example, how many of J.Crew's jewelry pieces are getting knocked off for a fraction (and I do mean, a fraction) of the price? 

What are your thoughts on this latest news? Any points you found interesting?

"Looking to VENT" with J.Crew

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.

Weekly Share: Other JCrew-like Retailers

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.

J.Crew's June 2013 Catalog {take a look!}

The June 2013 catalog is now up at J.Crew's website (click here to view). It is definitely worth looking at if you have not already.

The styling is back to being simple (as in no more crazy layering!) It is really nice to see some laid back outfits that look timeless.

On a positive note: most of the items in this catalog are already on sale! If only J.Crew could manage to update the catalog the same time they release the new arrivals on their website and in their stores.

What are your thoughts on the current catalog? Do you like the outfits featured in the catalog?

J.Crew Reviews {straight from the JCAs!}

This is the weekly "J.Crew Reviews {straight from the JCAs}" post, to help each other share our reviews.

So if you have recently purchased, or stopped by a J.Crew store to try on an item (or two) from J.Crew, maybe you might be willing to share that information with us in this post.

Also, this request is not just limited to clothes. Please feel free to discuss bags, shoes, jewelry, accessories, etc.

In particular, if you could mention a few of the noteworthy details like fit, size, fabric, and the like— that would be fantastic! Thanks in advance! :)