Opinions of J Crew

[ianr]

Not that other stores don't do this, but one problem I have with J Crew is they will go through and retag everything for a sale, but the price will be higher to make it exactly the same as it was before. For example, I bought some pants from them for $40 on sale. Then, I saw them for 50% off. Wow, I thought I paid too much until I looked at them and somehow the price had gone up to $79, so they were still $40.

[Moelman]

J.Crew is my favorite brand, even among higher end brands most likely. Even if I could afford Tom Ford, I'd still shop there. I look at all the catalogs and buy several pieces every season, but typically at 30% off, never full price. I still feel shirts are expensive on sale, but I like the fit of them, and they always have nice fabrics and styles for the price. Overall I think they have the best style of similar brands.

As soon as I saw the title I thought, "I'm going to have fun with this one."

JCrew is good for some things. As a whole, the brand leans HEAVILY on the hipster trend, rather than classic style. Anyone who thinks they could walk out of that store looking like Don Draper or James Bond rather than James Dean with elbow patches is delusional. I do just hate elbow patches though, and for the last two years, most of their sweaters they carried in store had them. Even their blazers, which, I understand, is a Professor Indy thing but still.

However, if you're looking for reasonably high quality fabrics, are willing to shop their web site, and are good at weeding out the crap from the good, you can build SOME basics in your wardrobe. For me, their sweaters, both lambswool and merino, are what I buy. The shirt sleeves and shoulders on most of their shirts are made for men who have different proportions than me. I am very thin, but have long arms and broad shoulders for a man my size. The pant legs aren't long enough after washing. Probably because they'd rather err on the side of short than risk having some shorter legged guys shreik "there's a break!"

They have some good "brands" like Wallace and Barnes and their shoe and boot collections. Yes, all the models they show are wearing their sleeves and pant legs turned up like Steve Urkel but thats trendy today for some reason. I'm not a JCrew fan but they definitely have their uses if you use coupon codes.

I disagree with you about hipster trend. They have some trendy pieces, but I think most of their styles are a great mix of classic and modern. They have plenty of sweaters and jackets without elbow patches. I think it just depends how you wear their clothes, you can wear them more classically, or trendy like their models. I usually cuff my pants (jeans or chinos), but I don't think I dress very trendy wearing clothes from them.

I've purchased a ton at J Crew this year. My wife and I get the catalogs and generally like anywhere from 3-8 items a month, wait for a 25-30% off sale, order them and generally keep about 75 percent of the items. Depending on the store, the selection isn't that great usually but online I seem to find a lot I like. I got two really great shawl collar cardigans this fall and cardigans have never looked good on me from any store in the past. Their pants (Bowery slim, 484 fit chinos) are great but are generally a lot more than BR so I only own a couple of pairs. They have got the most business from any mall store by my wife and I by a long shot this year. Prices at full retail are steep but no it is worth it at 25-30% off.

I like finding items that are slightly more unique from j crew. For example some Spicy Raisin 484 chinos, a nice contrast collar shawl collared cardigan merino blend sweater, etc. I love their shoe collaborations with new balance, etc a lot of the time but don't usually end up getting any because they are almost always excluded from sales.

Sounds like me. I am trying to tone down my J.Crew purchases and branch out to trying other brands. Of course I have things from BR, Gap, Uniqlo etc but over the past couple years my wardrobe has turned into mostly J.Crew. I have told myself I'm done buying shirts from them for a while as now I have too many.

[dpark]

I don't own any of their outerwear, but am definitely interested in picking up a Ludlow topcoat in the spring sales. They are definitely overpriced at retail, of course.

You might want to take a look at their current sale. They have a number of topcoats in their sale items with another 40 percent off with their "Thursday" code. I almost bought their Ludlow in herringbone today, because it was down to $227 and change, but I don't really need it.

Sale is only on for another hour. I don't know what their Friday sale will be, or if they'll have one.

[DMB]

I have yet to find one brand that I could wear exclusively. I pretty much stick to J Crew and Ralph Lauren Polo though. I have purchased about a dozen pairs of shoes from J Crew over the years and found them to be a good deal. Additionally, I've bought sweaters, sport coats, a suit or two, and long sleeve woven shirts from them. Lately, I have gone back to their jeans and chinos and am very pleased with a pair of charcoal herringbone wool Bowery pants that I recently purchased. Like others have pointed out, if you shop the sales it's not bad.

[MNJ83]

JCrew always reminds me of Pottery Barn; common glassware at Baccarat crystal prices.

And it's not that their stuff is bad or ugly or cheap, but I went into their store with a friend and saw some ties I liked and they where around 80.00, I think...

BR may be overpriced too but not as much as JCrew. That's just my experience

[dpark]

My impression of J Crew is that they make nice stuff but that it is overpriced. Their outerwear seems slightly overpriced and their shirts seem significantly overpriced. I wouldn't likely buy anything from J Crew unless it was at least 30% off.

I've actually purchased very little from J Crew at all. I bought a pea coat but returned it. I've got a parka on the way that I will evaluate when it gets here. I don't think I have anything else from them in the closet, mostly because I don't tend to go to their stores (and the selection is always weak when I do, and its never on sale when I'm there) and most of my clothes are bought in person.

[devastitis]

I don't understand the negative opinions of JCrew's retail prices. Never buy anything at full price. Even if using their 25~35% off full price, shop through portals to get a bigger discount. Chase has an extra 6% cash back through their portal. Also, learn to embrace internet shopping, because brick and mortars are on their way out.

[ninpb]

Ahh, still think about that awesome 75% off sale they had in the summer. I didn't get the AS suede monks, but I loaded up on a bunch of stuff: 2 pairs of vans for $15 each, $25 wind breaker, Wallace and Barnes cone denim at $20ish and my wife got in on it too.

[devastitis]

I know the pair of AS navy suede dubmonks you guys are talking about. Had it in my cart as well. Just couldn't justify pulling the trigger because I couldn't figure out what I would wear with it. But my mind was quickly made up for me when it was snapped away.

[kongmw]

I'm not even a bit ashamed to say that at this point, 70-80% of my daily wardrobe is made up of JCrew/JCF. From underwear to outerwear, the only major piece that I have that's not JCrew is a SuSu suit. But as much as I like their stuff, I can't remember the last time I paid full retail for anything from them. Honestly there just aren't that many brands that combine decent quality, convenient purchasing logistics (free shipping above $150, try-on at brick and mortar stores, free return/return to store), a not too trendy design, and affordability. JCrew may not excel at any one of these areas in particular, but they win my money over by offering the combination of these aspects.

[Brent k]

Wait for coupons or when the item gets out into sale. Heck I got a penfield Gibson for $80. I wouldn't pay full price but they do offer some good pieces. I've gotten good shirts, sweaters, suits and sportscoats. not a fan of their pants since they just don't fit me right.

[evanparker]

J Crew gets a lot of credit for pushing the "hip but conservative" look, which is some

overall, i'm probably a good example who wouldn't dive into fashion ever if I didn't have a sort of way to do it that made me feel confident.

I think they have rad clothes. Overall, very rad. There are some misses, and some hits like in any store.

[Hailwood]

Count me in the 'love them, but won't pay full price' camp. Their slim fit shirts are probably the best fitting OTR casual shirts that I've found so far, and waiting for them to hit clearance + code makes them a great deal IMO.

[dpark]

I don't understand the negative opinions of JCrew's retail prices. Never buy anything at full price. Even if using their 25~35% off full price, shop through portals to get a bigger discount. Chase has an extra 6% cash back through their portal. Also, learn to embrace internet shopping, because brick and mortars are on their way out.

The thing is that everybody has sales, so J Crew is still expensive comparatively. If you knock 30% off J Crew and 30% off, say, Banana Republic, you will still spend 25% more for a shirt at J Crew.

I'm personally extremely disinterested in scrounging small discounts through my credit cards. It's not worth the hassle to me. Also on this case it's not applicable since I do not have a Chase credit card.

[AFCForever]

J Crew gets a lot of credit for pushing the "hip but conservative" look, which is some

overall, i'm probably a good example who wouldn't dive into fashion ever if I didn't have a sort of way to do it that made me feel confident.

That is exactly how I would sum them up. As a tall and a little heavy guy I appreciate the variety of fits. The JCF Sutton jeans are my go to and the Ludlow jackets are a great way to get something inexpensive and on trend. I have their Tall Dock peacoat with Thinsulate and I love it so much I would consider getting a second one in a different colour.

I actually tend to find more at JCrew Factory but that is likely because my local JCrew is a postage stamp sized store in a very difficult to access mall downtown and my Factory store is in a much more pleasant to shop in outlet mall.