Quality and Fit of JCrew Factory vs JCrew

[doublemazaa]

I hardly ever shop factory stuff and just prefer to get the real thing on sale, but curious about how JCrew's factory line stands up to the retail brand?

Do the sizing/fits align? My wife has bought a few items from factory, and it seems like the styles are similar but the fabrics are a step lower. Is this about right?

Are there any factory items that are pretty comparable to the retail line? I could image that button downs might be quite similar.

Thanks!

 

[jrd617]

Probably about the same.

Nice Feynman avatar I almost put that up once as mine

 

[BrizzleCizzle]

Some of the button downs are identical, especially with regards to fabric, and the others are very, very good. The cardigans lack the detailing, and it shows in the price, but if one wanted a staple garment without dropping incredible coin, it'd be the premiere candidate. Their suiting isn't as great, but their most recent navy blue wool suit received rave reviews at dappered.com. Their bags are identical unless you're going for the abbingdon line. Ties are more plentiful, cheaper, but some are definitely lower quality (but probably fine for those not buying turnbull and asser, drakes, etc). Their pants are identical, some even better in fit in my opinion, and way cheaper. Boxers... identical. T shirts... identical. Shorts...80% the same offering. No shoes that I've ever seen. Hoodies, sweaters, etc, you don't get the absolute top line, but you can get great cashmere/cotton and merino sweaters at factory for much better prices and their offerings are still great. So will you get the flagship line up from a factory store? No. Can you get great clothes, by any measure, at awesome prices? Yep. I hardly ever leave empty handed and never unhappy.

 

[Beatlegeuse]

I'm not typically a J Crew shopper, but I went to an outlet once and got a couple of 95% cotton/5% cashmere v-necks that were a decent deal for the price (paid maybe $20-$25 for each after all the discounts, can't remember the exact price). Not sure how it stacks up vs their typical in-store offerings, but the quality seemed to be pretty good for what I paid.

 

[HughJ]

I find for most stuff it's a noticeable step down (from their already inconsistent quality).

 

[FlyingMonkey]

I find for most stuff it's a noticeable step down (from their already inconsistent quality).

This. Factory shirts tend to be 80s rather than 120s, for example.

 

[NachoBroadway]

Avoid the outlet, noticeable lower quality fabrics, closer to Old Navy.

 

[pvoytko]

outlet is worth a gander. for the prices you pay you might do alright if you see something you like aesthetically.

also full retail stuff makes its way into factory, sometimes all the way to sale. ive picked up full retail jcrew shirts in the factory sale rack for 10-11 bucks