Thursday, March 3, 2011

My Love, Not-so-love Relationship with J.Crew.


If anyone asked what my favorite stores are, J.Crew would definitely be among them. But to be honest, my feelings about the store are divided. Here's why:

love: their classic style.

By classic, I'm referring to the style of sophisticated-yet-casual clothes they've had for a while...like the Jackie cardigan:

It comes in a multitude of colors, and the length/arm length is perfect for petite ladies. It's a classic fit that reminds one of the sweater's namesake, the lovely Jackie O. I wish I had every color!

not-so-love: the sequins!!
I'm sorry sequin-lovers, but this gal is a FIRM believer that sequins are only for cute evening dresses and New Year's. I understand that J.Crew's trying to appeal to a more broader, hip young market, but I'm not a fan of the unnecessary glam; give me glam cocktail dresses, not this madness:


love: the quality.
Although I definitely can't say the same about some of my other favorite stores, J.Crew has never let me down in the quality department. Their clothes are always (in my experience) well-made with great fabrics. Take the "Perfect Tee" for example:


This t-shirt is the only one I've ever seen that is thick enough to not have to layer. The cotton is soft, the variety of colors are wonderful, and I can feel confident that I'm not giving the world a view of my bra underneath. I recently picked up a spearmint-colored one that perfectly matches one of my pairs of Jack Rogers sandals. :)

not-so-love: the sizing.
  Alas, my age-old problem: Their clothes are too big. I applaud them for having a petite line, but it would help if the petite sizes were petite-friendly! Blogger PetiteAsianGirl from Extra Petite sums it up perfectly in this picture of  her wearing a size 00P skirt:



Sad, right? A size 00P should be much smaller and should fit ladies at LEAST as small as me and Jean without all the clippage! I make due by buying clothes that a totally perfect fit isn't necessary for (3/4 length sleeves are good normal-length sleeves, for example...) Their petite sizing is definitely an area of improvement...but the same could be said for many other petite brands/lines.

love: the student discount
Yes! Being a college student means that I get 15% my J.Crew purchases. Woohoo!

BUT....

not-so-love: the student discount can no longer be used on online purchases.

Boo. Considering I do about 2/3 of my J.Crew shopping online, this is a major disappointment.


What do you think of J.Crew? 

6 comments:

kSm said...

Thanks for visiting T&C Prep and entering the giveaway! I love your entry and I'm a new follower :-)

I agree with all your points! I love the teacher discount and the petite offerings but the sizing is totally off. When I was working at my local J.Crew back in college, I had to get all my slacks altered because it was before their 00 sizes and the 0 were way too big!Hopefully they will work on that.

R.L. said...

I totally agree with your reviews. Love the chic casual but not the sequins or overly done ruffles. They seem to be moving toward casual lace this season and I can't wait until those go on sale! And J. Crew offers 15% discount for students? That's great news (if only they sold XXXS and petites online)... Do you happen to know if it applies to sale items as well?

C said...

I'm a huge J.Crew lover as well. I agree with most of your take on their styles... except I'm finding myself drawn to their sequin tops! Overpriced yes, and I can probably find a cheaper version elsewhere, but if J.Crew says sequins can be preppy, then I'm a believer, haha. I'm so easily influenced.

I think most of their quality is pretty good, but some of their tees/tops are so thin that it just doesn't do their quality control any favors.

Keep up the good work, Elizabeth!

Emily said...

I love being close to the J.Crew outlet... the deals are great. Although their sizing isn't consistent what so ever! I worked there as a seasonal employee, and the quality on some things isn't great and like i said, some of the sizing is just SO off!!!

ShortBlonde said...

R.L.- I may not love sequins but I'm definitely loving the casual lace! Unfortunately, the 15% discount only applies to full-price items. Banana Republic's student/teacher discount, however, applies to ALL items no matter how much they're previously discounted, and I've gotten some seriously great deals.


Thanks for all of your encouragement, ladies! :)

Stylepint said...

I love J.Crew however, their sizing makes it difficult to actually buy their clothes without alterations. I tend to see them as a great style inspiration though! =)