TGIF, people. I’m borderline giddy because I think we’ve finally — sorta — reached spring. (I’m still wearing a trench coat half the time, but CLOSE ENOUGH.)
Today, I’m reviewing J. Crew’s latest style guide, which is chock full of its warm-weather offerings. (There’s virtually no office wear on offer, so apparently, J. Crew customers have nothing to do but summer in the Hamptons.)
J. Crew is in the midst of a major turnaround after sagging sales and waning interest in the brand’s stale hipster formula. So did this collection sink or swim?
I’m not interested in the daffodil, infantilized swimsuit — but I’d gladly purchase an inflatable swan. (There’s a turkey version here, and that’s amazing, too. Unfortunately, it’s not available at J. Crew.)
Woof. Where do I start? For one, we have a color palette that makes zero sense for a summer catalog. Instead of azure or gold, all I’m seeing is “dusty pick-up” and “Everglades gator.” And those iridescent shoes look like an oil spill.
Here’s a close-up of that weird oil spill shoe collection again. (The color is called petrol, which makes me think the unsavory connotation is no accident. Ooh, gasoline — SUMMERY!) This type of novelty color is great for nail polish but really underwhelming for shoes — especially when they cost $285.
Behold: J. Crew’s utter ineptitude with pattern mixing! (This is safari meets Office Space, am I right?)
This type of rookie mistake makes me worried that J. Crew’s stylists are trying incredibly hard to create new trends instead of sticking to its core mission: above-average clothes in normal colors that can be worn to work and dates.
But not everything was terrible:
Once again, J. Crew’s highlights come from the kids’ department. This dress is absolutely adorable — great cut, great trims, great chambray and fabulous accessorizing. (That hat!) It’s only $60 and it goes up to a size 16, making this my pick of the week.
What do you think of J. Crew’s latest catalog? I’d love to hear any dissenting opinions.