Once upon a time, there was a girl who went to college at William & Mary and discovered the fabulous little J Crew outlet up the road. Never mind that you would see 20 other people on campus in the same rugby. That's just what we did. And it was fun. Sweaters (roll-neck!!), shirts, cute little dresses, plaid shorts. It was all good. Then the girl grew up, graduated, and moved to Maryland, and started expanding into other mid-90's phenomena such as Valerie Stevens at Hechts (cheap cashmere? yes please. satin trim tee? yep.) and she really forgot all about J Crew even though there was one at Montgomery Mall about 10 minutes away from her house.
As you have no doubt guessed...that was me. To me, J Crew was college casual and "back in the day". I didn't really need any more rugbies or roll-necks. Then in Spring 2006, I was browsing around the mall, picking out the Mothers Day present for my hubby to give me, and I wandered in. I was specifically looking for a cotton cardigan, and figured that could be the right place. Well, I fell back in love. With all of it. And scored the lovely navy cotton cardi that I'm wearing today. It has the pre
ttiest detailing up and down the length of the placket - navy bugle beads and French knots - can you see the pic at left? So pretty. Not too sparkly at all. (I'm better about wearing it for the every day than I used to be.) I will admit I was slow getting back into J Crew after such a long absence. But I am happy to be home. It's my top choice for tops. (Don't get me started on my pants issues.) I do have issues with the website (don't we all), and some of the pieces; however, overall I am such a fan. I love their clothes and I love the styling too. I love that Jenna Lyons is 6'2", so I feel like they "get" my height. (I'm only 5'10" but it's close enough, especially if you've ever stood in front of a mirror and tried to rationalize that a shirt may actually grow an extra inch.)
What's your J Crew story? Long time fan? New recruit? I would love to hear!
