#13. Store Wars 2014: J. Crew Factory unseats J. Crew

[Vicious49]

I totally forgot about my JCF pea coat. I got this over the mainline Bayswater because the fit is better on me. With the mainline jackets I'm always in between a small and a medium. I know the quality is better but it sucks that the sizing doesn't work a well for me. With their blazers though, the mainline 38r fits me better than the Factory 38r so I guess fit is the primary factor for me.

[Liminal]

Another big fan of JCF (and JC too for that matter). JCF simply can not be beat on quality per dollar on staple clothes. I don't know another brand that gives you as good well-cut clothes on the cheap.

100% wool suits that fit great OTR and only require a little tailoring for $170 during a good sale?
Great fitting chinos for $30?
Factory Washed button downs for $25?
Awesome Fall Sportscoats for just under 100?
These are staple wardrobe pieces that you shouldn't have to spend an arm and a leg on. JCF is for building a wardrobe, knocking out the basics.


JCrew, in my opinion, is for specific big ticket upgrades (like a nice non-workhorse suit or an amazing year-round navy sportscoat). Their quality is good, but quality per dollar is low (without a sale).

[yoyorobbo]

... Factory... Their slim merino sweaters are the best I've found (that includes Banana Republic, Express, Uniqlo).

I was *this* close to ordering those in black and tan(? - can't recall) before Christmas. They didn't carry the slim fit versions in-store near me.

I had tried on the slim fits at the main JC - and liked them quite a little bit - but they were like $98 or something. What?!!? Plus there were several in the piles that were snagged/pulled/etc, so I was a little worried about how delicate they might be in general.

Passed on both JC and JCF options, and actually ended up snagging both black and brown JCP merino v-necks (along with a couple cardigans) on clearance - and actually I like them much more than the few I have from BR - out with the old, in with the new. We'll see if they hold up over time, but so far so good. The fit (when sized-down) is much better for me, personally.

[mjn082]

Am a huge J Crew fan and the last 3 months recently started making more purchases from JCF as well. All in all no problems w/ JCF but there are some areas imo that can't compare to regular J Crew. JCF casual washed button down shirts are great and have really built up my shirt line up using JCF. But slim oxfords regular J Crew takes the crown in fit, feel, and selection. J Crew Bowery slims have become my go to trouser and a whim tried out the JCF Bedford slim. No go there. The Bedford "slims" seemed huge compared to the Bowery. But JCF slim fit cords are great. I don't have suit from either but when the time comes to pull that trigger I think I will spend the extra money and go for a Ludlow. I have one each regular J Crew and JCF sweaterbut imo Uniqlo extra fine merino is better than both. All in all both have their pluses and JCF has been a great economical choice as I've tried to upgrade and grow my wardrobe but if you have to pick one regular J Crew gets my vote.

[BB]

They're very different in my opinion. I have a Thompson which I really like. It was cheap and cut well, and it will be fine for a while. A great $200 purchase. I also have a seersucker and chino Ludlow, and a few Ludlow tweeds. You can immediately tell the difference in the quality of fabric. For full retail that difference may not be worth it. But I got my JC stuff very cheaply on eBay. It is clear to me what I prefer if cost is equal.

[LosRockets]

They're very different in my opinion. I have a Thompson which I really like. It was cheap and cut well, and it will be fine for a while. A great $200 purchase. I also have a seersucker and chino Ludlow, and a few Ludlow tweeds. You can immediately tell the difference in the quality of fabric. For full retail that difference may not be worth it. But I got my JC stuff very cheaply on eBay. It is clear to me what I prefer if cost is equal.

Agreed. I wouldn't pay retail or even sale prices for Ludlow or most J Crew things (their bowery/ludlow pants on steep discount excepted), but at $160ish the JCF Thompson suit was a no-brainer pickup for me. It's not great, it's got the skinny lapels I don't like, but the fit is good enough that I don't need tailoring and at the price it's an excellent beater suit. In a lighter navy, with the brown buttons, it stands out too.

[MarkB]

JCrew prices are expensive for me so the only time I shop there is during sales. JCF is much more reasonable priced which is why I think it will unseat JCrew in store wars. I own plenty of their button up shirts and have not had any issues with them at all. Same goes for jeans and corduroys I've bought from JCF. I'm sure JCrew has better materials and details but is it worth 2-3 times the price? As long as they're using 100% cotton or wool and not synthetics, I'm perfectly content with JCF.

This. However, I will say that mainline shirts fit me better than the factory ones. When I was first starting to dress better (maybe two years ago) I bought every slim fit button up shirt they had. Most of them fit pretty well (all of the sleeves are about an inch long though), but a few of them are almost unwearably tight in the chest/shoulders. This is where mainline wins for me, a little more room in the chest/shoulders while still being slim in the waist. Also, the lightweight shirts are night and day IMO.

[jace111]

Bought one of the Slim Merino V-necks on the main J Crew site for $35 last week. Best sweater I own now. Very nice for that price

[LCDR]

In my experience, button-up shirts have been equal quality in both. I would recommend JCF for casual shirts. I feel like JCrew is charging extra just for the name.
Lambs wool sweater from JCF has been good so far.
I don't have any experience with suits/sport coat as to say either way.

[MarkB]

Bought one of the Slim Merino V-necks on the main J Crew site for $35 last week. Best sweater I own now. Very nice for that price

I have tried the slim v necks from both JC and JCF. Both were definitely no-go's (waaaaay to tight in the chest and shoulders). I may try sizing up next time I'm in store, but I have a feeling that the sleeves will be too long. So far, the BR
merinos cant be beat.

[jace111]

May have to look into those as well

[jace111]

They're very different in my opinion. I have a Thompson which I really like. It was cheap and cut well, and it will be fine for a while. A great $200 purchase. I also have a seersucker and chino Ludlow, and a few Ludlow tweeds. You can immediately tell the difference in the quality of fabric. For full retail that difference may not be worth it. But I got my JC stuff very cheaply on eBay. It is clear to me what I prefer if cost is equal.

How do you go about buying stuff like that on eBay? Never tried

[TravelingJ]

But I got my JC stuff very cheaply on eBay.

How can you tell the two apart on eBay? I haven't been to an actual JC store, so I've only seen the tags on the JCF. They don't say "factory" anywhere on there, that I noticed.

[Pepetito]

I think the JCF are perfect. Only v's I have found that are not billowing a ton around the waist.

[Trueflame]

Strangely despite its good rep, I have yet to buy anything from Jcrew Factory. And to be honest, it's hard to bring myself to do it. Shopping wisely and waiting for sales, you can buy regular Jcrew shirts for under $30 without much of a problem, or even for $20ish. In that range it's hard to justify moving to the lower quality JCF brand just to save a few bucks here and there. Not that I haven't been tempted at a couple of points in the past few months.