J.Crew Sizing and Fit

The sweaters fit like this on me: I hear sizing down works, but I can't 'cause I'm a small. I've largely given up on J-Crew.

Call them up and give the item number, they'll give you basic measurements. Compare those measurements with good fitting sweaters you currently own. Choose to buy accordingly.

In my experience, J. Crew is very true to standard sizing. I'm just over 6 feet and 185 pounds, and consider myself a true "large" by most common measurements: between a 42 and 44 regular in suit jackets, 16.5 in shirt sizes, etc. Their large is perfect on me.

My recommendation is not to size down or up with J. Crew, generally.

they are slim/regular fit when sized normally, but since sf likes super slim clothes, they say that you should size down one, but it might be bad because it might end up too tight or short.

They fit you like the cartoon character on an animated television show for small children???

Exactly. I learned this after a little experimenting and several returns. J. Crew tends a bit toward a "classic" look, which means not overly slim. At the same time, I personally think the stuff fits well and isn't the "generous" cut you'll get with the likes of Eddie Bauer and department stores. My experience sizing down with J. Crew is that you get the slimmer fit at the expense of other key things like drape and comfort.

There's a certain look to J. Crew stuff, and it generally looks best in your true size.

In the pain to state the obvious, he'd likely implying that the sweaters fit boxy... Hence, the characters shape. There now a decent joke ruined.

Ah, I didn't see spongebob as a box, merely as a sponge. Obviously, he didn't mean to suggest the sweaters fit spongey.

I have to disagree about J Crew being true to size. I am consistently a medium in almost all other clothes that I wear, but if I were to try on a medium J Crew shirt or sweater, I would be swimming in it. For the longest time, I didn't think I could wear J Crew until I recently started buying smalls, which fit me perfectly. I'm 6'2", 165lbs, and I haven't bought small clothes in about 20 years until recently at J Crew.

It floors me that you're an inch taller than me and you swim in a J. Crew medium! It must be the 20 pounds I've got on you that makes the large fit me. Still, that's TWO sizes!! I guess it must depend a lot on build (I'm sort of broad in the shoulders but slim-waisted--not overweight) and also on the kind of fit you want.

If I size down to a medium, I begin to feel weird things going on in how the sweater or shirt drapes, especially in back. If I go down to a small, I feel like I put on a little kid's sweater--the sleeves pull up my wrist when I reach for things, the shoulders feel binded, the buttons tug in front, the elbows do weird bunchy things.

How about a pic in a J. Crew sweater? It's not that I don't trust your word, but I almost feel I have to see this to believe it.

Take 3 minutes and call them about whatever your interested in getting measured. You'll get more accurate and much quicker service than you would taking the time to keep checking back on this thread.

They're excellent about quoting measurements. A couple of important things I learned about sweater measurements: 1 inch, even 1/2 inch, makes a big difference in how the sweater "feels" on you. That extra 1/2 inch in the shoulders or the neck circumfrance can spell all the difference between a comfortable fit and one that's too tight.

i just got a j.crew sweater that fits me very well. i'm a 36" chest and got an xs. it fit me slim without being too short in the sleeves or body. probably gonna pick up more down the line.