I remember the days of wishing I could order everything from the J. Crew catalog. When I was younger, I had a friend who seemed to always be in J. Crew, head-to-toe. Oh the envy! I had a few pieces and wished I had all the money in the world to simply live in J. Crew, but by no means could my family afford to drape my teenage self in the clothes. Once I hit college, I was more into hitting the local city thrift store and contemplating the hummingbird neck tattoo, than I was claiming my duds to be J. Crew. Yet, once the real world came into the picture and I lost that musician ex-boyfriend, J. Crew seemed to creep right back into my wardrobe and into my heart. The simple, yet cute patterns, the perfect colors, and the fit is what drew me to the clothes and does to this day. As I look down at my current outfit, I’m currently head-to-toe in J. Crew, something that happens more often than not.
The Vanity Fair article
When I read a recent Vanity Fair article about the company and their major troubles with some heads of the company no longer with them and piles of debt, I grew to be a concerned consumer. The article states that the first catalog photo shoot took place at Harvard’s Weld Boathouse, practically in my backyard, home of the women’s crew team. The company wanted to start to bring this casual privileged look to consumers around the world. I feel as though it certainly has done that and has stayed true to that vision since I was a girl. However, the company took a hit when two leads, Lyons and Drexler, stepped down and there was a period of time when the company was run by the many executives, with what seemed to look like no one taking the wheel. They also felt that their sister brand, Madewell, was a much better investment. Madewell is (IMO) a more casual, over sized, younger looking brand. Certainly you wouldn’t pop into that store to find a suit for an interview, but I sure do live in their t-shirts, having at least 6 in my closet at the moment. So why is Madewell doing so great? And why is J. Crew suffering?
For the past several years, I have heard the rumors about stores closing or my husband saying to me that J. Crew isn’t doing well and that I should be worried. Again, my entire wardrobe consists of J. Crew – so I should be worried because honestly, what would I do! The Vanity Fair article leans towards bad management. Older employees not being able to keep up with the times of social media, or not listening to others thoughts and feelings, or not using more diverse models. Price points skyrocketing more and more. This may well be true or not. It certainly is easy to always blame the person at the top. Some others say the consumers started to question the quality. Saying that these expensive pieces should last forever, yet seemed to be falling apart at first wash. Or perhaps it’s the sizing, it seems interesting that all of a sudden an XXXS size needed to be created. Whatever the real reason may be, the downturn has outright scared me. There are few stores that fit into my style, size, and age. I find J. Crew to be one, if not the one, that fits perfectly into my life.
The hopeful news is that new blood is now at the top. Not because I think the executives or past company heads didn’t do a great job, simply because I hope the brand reinvents itself and comes back to a place where other consumers feel it used to be. I hope these rumors will soon be put to bed. I am still that teenager that wishes I could buy the not on sale items, I am still that career girl looking to buy that silk blouse for a job interview, and I’m that weekender looking for my stripes and perfectly fitted jeans. This consumer hopes that J. Crew is a brand that will last and continue to produce that privileged casual style.
