J.Crew prices are laughable

Originally Posted by SenorMatador

Click to expand...

Sure all that you say is true. But you must admit that it still puts the product miles ahead of the competition for similar price points.

Your conclusion does not follow from your premise. Simply slapping extra brand names on does not put them ahead of anything. Especially since it is obvious from the quality of the goods that they were basically a way for the mill to push out lots of lower-quality yarn. As I wrote before, J. Crew's "Loro Piana" sweaters don't seem any better than Lands End's cashmere sweaters, and are a cut below Brooks Brothers' Scottish-made sweaters. And not even close to a real Loro Piana sweater.

On sale, J. Crew has some good deals. I have a couple of the Thomas Mason shirts, because they were good beater dress shirts (sometimes you're afraid to break out the Frays or Charvets). But I paid $30 for them, not $120 or whatever list was.

Originally Posted by SenorMatador

Click to expand...

The reason products like Loro Piana may not be the same is because J.Crew acts as both the designer and retailer, whereas Loro Piana sells the raw stuff to designers (or their own) who ship it out and mark it up and then mark it up once again it gets to a department store or boutique.

Actually, the reason that a Loro Piana sweater is so much better (and, admittedly, more than 3x the price) than a J. Crew sweater is that the cashmere used is leagues better. Worth the difference? Personal preference. But objectively, they are not remotely the same thing.

Originally Posted by SenorMatador

Click to expand...

A very good buy for the money you are paying, one must agree with that.

Why must I? They're the best of the American mass market mall stores, but that reminds me of a line about lipstick on a pig...

Originally Posted by modern_leifeng

Click to expand...

I'm on the side of all the J. Crew defenders. I used to be a big shopper at BR, but now every season its the same damn striped shirts and dark argyle sweaters. It seems the BR color pallete is far more muted than it used to be and is just boring. Plus, their prices have jumped up, but quality and materials hasn't improved at all.

When I was an undergrad, Banana was my go-to store. However, now the only things they seem to have that appeal to me are their boxers, loafer socks, and OTC socks when they're marked down to $3/pr. I feel that fabric and tailoring quality also went down from a decade ago. Also, sometime mid-decade Banana decontented from shell buttons on their shirts to plastic. I will not buy a shirt with plastic buttons. Even a polo shirt.

Originally Posted by playdohh22

Click to expand...

I categorize Burberry in the same list as J.Crew. Over priced, crap. Mackintosh coats> Burberry coats.

Burberry invented the trench coat. I can't speak to the longevity of their new ones as my Burberry dates from the 1950s, but they still look like high quality pieces. Unless most of the stuff in my local Burberry store.

I love J Crew. And anybody who can frequent this board with a straight face and then complain about how J Crew is overpriced (beyond some of their special items) is delusional.

Originally Posted by dusty

Click to expand...

I love J Crew. And anybody who can frequent this board with a straight face and then complain about how J Crew is overpriced (beyond some of their special items) is delusional.

I guess you missed my first post, where they were selling a leather jacket for $800, which for a mall jacket, is rather comical.

I forgot about the other item mentioned later in the thread, the $800 messenger bag.

If you could look at those with a straight face, then you are either delusional, or totally ignorant about leather goods.

Just handled this one yesterday when I was out shopping downtown:



The fit was very nice, the leather was soft, and the inside was quilted. The only imperfections I saw were a few areas where the stitching was a little uneven on the interior. I would have liked to have seen some thicker leather used, but overall I liked it.

Originally Posted by robin

Click to expand...

Just handled this one yesterday when I was out shopping downtown:

The fit was very nice, the leather was soft, and the inside was quilted. The only imperfections I saw were a few areas where the stitching was a little uneven on the interior. I would have liked to have seen some thicker leather used, but overall I liked it.

Uh, that was the jacket I was referring to in the original post.

That's why I laughed when I saw it was $800, a price that would get one a custom Aero.

Originally Posted by dusty

Click to expand...

I love J Crew. And anybody who can frequent this board with a straight face and then complain about how J Crew is overpriced (beyond some of their special items) is delusional.

**** is overpriced.

Originally Posted by robin

Click to expand...

Just handled this one yesterday when I was out shopping downtown:

The fit was very nice, the leather was soft, and the inside was quilted. The only imperfections I saw were a few areas where the stitching was a little uneven on the interior. I would have liked to have seen some thicker leather used, but overall I liked it.

Why didn't you cop?

Originally Posted by jet

Click to expand...

Why didn't you cop?
No need for a leather jacket right now, will wait for my next NYC trip for that. I'm getting lots of other overpriced J.Crew stuff though, I think some people here are going to throw a fit if I post pictures of it all.

Was this dude genetically engineered by Texas Pacific to be the living manifestation of the Ruggedly Handsome American Man Whose Cozy McMansion Existance Has Not Tethered His Frontier Spirit? He probably wears that jacket while riding the motorcycle he bought with his 8,679,494,343 Marlboro Miles.

Speaking of male models...has anyone else noticed this guy. He seems to be employed by every major mall brand. Banana Republic, J.Crew, and two different department stores are using him for fall ads. There's something about his stare that unnerves me. I'm not certain, but he doesn't appear to have a soul. At any rate, I refuse to by any cardigans or pants he models

Originally Posted by mulansauce

Click to expand...

Speaking of male models...has anyone else noticed this guy.

Has anyone tried those featherweight flannels?

Originally Posted by mikejones

Click to expand...

I guess you missed my first post, where they were selling a leather jacket for $800, which for a mall jacket, is rather comical.

I forgot about the other item mentioned later in the thread, the $800 messenger bag.

If you could look at those with a straight face, then you are either delusional, or totally ignorant about leather goods.

Personally, I'm not buying an $800 jacket from J Crew, and this thread is a good indication of how hard they're going to have to work to shake the perception that they're just a preppier Gap/BR.

However, I don't know how they sourced/manufactured that jacket, and I don't think you do either--maybe it's "worth" closer to $800 than you think. Without swallowing whole their marketing the past few seasons about higher-end fabrics, using original makers, etc., I believe they're trying to make a "better" product than they were a decade ago, and they'll gladly pass along the costs of selling a better product.

I also think you're overstating how great their stuff was in the early 90s, and I'd be curious to see a catalog/price list from those years to see how much the prices for staple pieces (khakis, oxfords) have changed.

Originally Posted by constant struggle

Click to expand...

Has anyone tried those featherweight flannels?
The fabric is great and fit is the same as their other shirts.

I am going to probably pick one up... i'm going to try out a new tailor this weekend, if it works out well then i'll be buying one of those flannels as I know i can get it tailored