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Chicago (Red)
I came here with two of my bridesmaids to look at dresses. I first went to the North Ave location where they told me that the Michigan Ave location is the only one with a bridal line. The sales associate that we worked with was really sweet and had a lot of information.
So we tried on 5 styles of the cotton cady dresses. While I understand that they have a sample size so that a lot of people can try the dresses on (and they clamp you in) I was a little sad to see that they had chosen the color brown. My friend tried on one dress and we were all cracking up because it was way too big, and brown. She looked like she was wearing a potato sack. And for a petite cute girl, this wasnt really the best look.
The sales associate did find us smaller sizes on the floor to try so that helped a bit. However, she did tell us that one style of dress (I think think the Sydney?) doesn't really fit anyone and always needs to be altered. Well...that is annoying? Why won't they fix the style of the dress so that may fit some people?
At one point, we were all in the dressing room and she asked us if we were in college. Immediately we were all like "hahaha! no" and were annoyed because everyone always tells us that we look younger than we actually are. But then she said "well if you were, you could save 15%!!" Uh, duh, we could have grabbed old student IDs! Maybe not ethical...but those dresses are $225!!! She did suggest that I get a JCrew credit card and put all the dresses on the card and I would save some money there (ack)
Also I found out that the next sale on these dresses won't be until March (with a wedding in June, that seems way too close) I didnt feel comfortable asking my friends to pay $225, it just seemed too much. Which was too bad, because I was planning on having different styles in the same color and same fabric and they could pick what they felt comfortable in (which I found at another store, review when I see the dresses!)
It was fun, the store was clean and we had a big enough dressing room that we could all fit in there. I was just disappointed with the choice of color and size. More the color really, I mean a dress that doesnt fit but in a cute color looks a lot better than blah brown.
I think that these styles of dresses could be really cute for a bridal party, especially if you get them on sale and each bridesmaid can chose the style that she likes and works for her body type. I guess you just have to hit the sales at the right time (though March seemed kind of far away for the next sale?) I did see that in the beginning of this month, a pink color was on sale but the petite sizes went super fast!
this review is for my experience shopping for a wedding dress at J.Crew
As Risa P noted, this is the only location in Chicago that carries anything bridal. Also, they only carry size 8 samples. If you make an appointment at least a week in advance they will order in the dresses that you would like to try on in your size. This is definitely a nice thing, but it also means that you better know exactly what you want to try on. If you don't tell them to get it in your size, then you'll be sol. I should have told them more dresses than just the few I mentioned. Even if you don't think a certain dress will work, it is nice to try on different styles of dresses. Plus, if you are going to make the trip downtown it might as well be worth your time.
If you are coming here for bridal you also just have to be prepared that you will be treated basically like any other customer. They assigned me a "wedding specialist" to work with, but she was also assisting a few other dressing rooms. Sorta awkward when you need someone to zip up a dress or something.
Oh yes, and about those other dressing rooms. There is a chance that they will will be filled with annoying teens that have too much money for their own good. And you will share the mirror with them. And that is also just a bit weird.
My last disappointment was with some of the dresses. The silk dresses they have are basically the most unflattering thing I've ever put on my body. They will show every lump or bump or jiggle you have. They aren't necessarily bad for curves...but they are bad for somewhat untoned or uneven curves. I did really like one of the taffeta dresses though, only to find out that the dress was sold out. That was sort of a bummer. But, they will put you on a "wish list" so that if one in your size is returned you could purchase it. Down side of that? Once it becomes available they will charge your card immediately and send you the dress without asking. So, you have to be super committed to it.
I guess I'm glad I came here. If I didn't, I'd probably always wonder. But, it wouldn't necessarily be something I'd recommend to everyone.
I like the store because not only is it fashionable but it does so without being too pretentious. Yeah I know, it is a little bit snooty. But given its location, it's as close to Army surplus in that mall.
The layout of the store is a big plus for me, not having to maneuver around overstuffed clothes racks and unsold merchandise stacked in the aisles.
Prices are competitive with most chain stores, given that I only buy stuff on sale or clearance prices. Yeah, I'm cheap-so what.
I've had no problem with service or sales people. Unlike gum-smacking teenagers had other mid-priced clothing stores.
I don't know how much more one can ask. Quality clothes, pleasant salespeople, great location to spend the day shopping and close to great restaurants and scenery of downtown Chicago.
The best place to go for the sales is seriously online: J. Crew dot com.
Unfortunately, you don't get the student discount online -- bummer.
The store gets incredibly picked over comes sales time because of its location (obviously). The customers kind of rip the place apart. The sales associates have always been very friendly, though (I think we got a total of 5 "hi, how are you?"s when we went in last). Personal shopping is the best when you're in a hurry (offered to anyone with a J. Crew credit card) and the free tailoring (again, another J. Crew credit card holder thing) is great!
J Crew houses my two favorite fashion-related things: argyle, and a man in argyle. Okay, so I can't always be guaranteed a sighting of a mysterious man in argyle, but at the very least I can rest assured that there is a store that can share its beauty with the men of Chicago and hopefully get them out of the frat boy blue oxford/gray or black ill-fitting pants uniform that makes them all look the same to me.
I have been shopping at J Crew since 5th grade and love that very little has changed about their style. Call that boring--I call it classic. Their classic, casual styles are laid back yet polished, and their business/dress collections are fantastic. This store offers it all--it is a great place to find a richly-colored t-shirt, cabled cashmere sweater or little black dress. But they also offer more stylized, unique blouses and dresses that fit just as fabulously as their classics. The trouser cut slacks are universally flattering and their suits are fabulous. And as an added bonus, it is the only clothing store that sells shoes that are actually cute and correspond to the styles of their clothing (yes, Banana Republic, this is a shot at you).
As for the quality--I can honestly say that in all of the years I have been shopping here, I have only had one thing "fall apart" and that was a stretch v-neck tee that ended up with a tiny hole in the seam of the armpit. And that was back in 7th-8th grade. So I'd say their quality track record has been pretty flawless in my experience.
I am giving four stars rather than five because, while this is the location that I come to most often, the North Avenue location seems to have more selection--particularly in the sale racks.
Oh and be sure to check out the J Crew outlet in Aurora--same classic style but way cheap. A great place to stock up on sweaters as fall approaches.
I think we all know J.Crew offers no surprises. It's a perfectly fine place to go for an overpriced white collared shirt or a blindingly bright pink polo shirt, or even a nice cashmere sweater.
When I walked in here I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman before she got her stunning makeover. Nothing to write home about but definitely not white trash. A few of the girls said hello but nobody went out of their way to help.
I had to ask a gentleman there for a dressing room. He was completely unfriendly and not once did he ask me if I needed any help while I was trying things on in the oh so unflattering room bursting with unnecessary fluorescent lights. I am sure he saw I only had a few garments, all of which wouldn't cost more than $100 together, so figured spending any time on me wouldn't be worth his while but still, it's called customer service people.
I give them 2 stars because I do think they have some cute stuff and some super cute shoes lately. It's also quality clothing so even though the collared shirt will weigh the scale in comparison to Old Navy, chances are it'll look better and last longer. 0 stars for customer service. I guess I should only come here when I look super stylish and rich? Um, no thanks. I think I'll only come in this particular store if I need a quick cardigan sweater fix.
This location has to be one of my FAVORITE J.Crew stores. Lots to choose from - from selection, style and size. Every small Asian girl's dream come true!
Best time to go - the day after Christmas right when the store opens.
I probably shouldn't be writing this review, as I'm one of those rare women who hates shopping, but here goes.....
I'd give it one star, but the trouser chinos are worth an extra star. I've never owned another pair of pants that were more flattering. I came in a few years ago to buy a pair of black ones, which I then found out could only be purchased through the catalog. No worries at all; there's a phone in the store for customers to call in orders.
Other than the exceptional trouser chinos, I have no use for this store. The clothes are boring. Yes, I understand that some people are attracted to this classic style, but seriously.......you can do much better. The quality is crap. Go over to Loehmann's or Filene's and pick up some high-quality designer duds for less than what you'd pay for the crap here. My beloved trouser chinos are no exception, but the flattering cut makes up for the poor quality.
It doesn't help things that the sales associates have never seemed all that helpful to me.
Snooty, snooty salespeople. I had to chase someone down for help, despite the fact that the place was empty. The dressing room smelled like vomit.
This review is really just to make sure that everyone knows about J. Crew's 15% discount for students and educators. Makes the bite it takes out of your paycheck sting a little less.
Every time I want to get a dressing room here I have to spend about 15 minutes hunting one of their employees down. I take it they don't make commission? Either that or maybe they're instructed to ignore anyone who looks the least bit "alternative".
Screw that, but I still might buy some stuff from ther catalog.
For a while my boyfriend had developed this annoying late-night drunken habit: He kept leaving his credit card at the bar.
After the last two-a.m. cabbing around Chicago, knocking on doors and crawling thru lawns trying to retrieve the d@mn plastic- I bought him one of the overpriced flipper "magic" wallets from JCrew.
It was worth it. He is now "Holder of The Sacred Wallet".
The leather is pretty, The courdoroy-style ridges keep it in his pocket and the way the elastic on the inside cris-crosses keeps everything in place that you throw inside- spare business cards, reciepts, tickets, movie rental membership cards and yes, even the illustrious plastic.
No more late-night hunts with a flashlight.
Buy one!
I like J. Crew for some basics here and there and sometimes you'll find some great summer dresses here that are of quality and cute and borderline sexy. I don't do all my shopping here but I constantly find that what I do end up buying is comfortable and lasts for years. This is a great location with a good selection. Expect more conservative, classic style... duh it's J. Crew. Again.. summer dresses ladies.. it's here or Nordstrom, sometimes Urban Outfitters for me.
I was VERY disappointed with the bridal services at this store. I went with my friend who made an appointment for noon to try on 3 bridal dresses. We left our previous appointment, rushing to get to J Crew only to be left wandering the store for 20 minutes while the sales associate finished up her previous appointment. In addition to a very late start, the girl went to take a phone call for a majority of the appointment. I was left to assist my friend with her dresses rather than the sales associate. I helped her with getting them on, fitting them, taking them off, and hanging them up. Wedding dress shopping is a big moment for brides and they should be made to feel special, not second best to other customers and store issues. If we had been trying on regular clothes and didn't have an appointment fine....but a bride with an appointment should be treated with some sense of importance. I was though impressed with their bridal collection. The dresses were beautiful, elegant and VERY affordable. I was unaware of the bridal collection offered by J CREW, and the dresses were a plesant surprise.
Mmmm, J. Crew. This store gets a lot of my dollars; I have a severe weak spot for their argyle and madras. Last Saturday (on my third J. Crew trip that week) the girl at the register asked if I wanted to open a J. Crew credit card...should have thought about doing that on Tuesday!
The North Ave store is a bit smaller than this one, and I feel like their salespeople are more attentive. However, nothing beats Michigan Ave for selection - they're definitely more likely to have a variety of sizes/colors in stock.
Mike who works in this particular store helped my friend and I in the dressing room, and fully supported my declaration that "madras is my religion." Thanks for that, Mike.
5 stars for the service here! Michael in shoes was the bomb and super friendly. I wished all j. crew associates were like him!
4.5+ I'm a closet Jcrew girl. I love their bathing suits, pjs, basics and men's basics. Nice staff and worked here long ago in my college years. I can get stuck in the casual chic here. Great sales and cool classic colors.
The dye in their shirts never fade. I know American Apparel is sweatshop free but I just started shopping there. Who knows what that cotton shirt will look like after 50 washings. My rich brown shirts never wear out and look cheap. I'm so glad they have a store Downtown. Buy your basic colored tops here and your all-whites at American Apparel.
As much as I enjoy shopping here, this review is based on service. Almost every time I come in here, I'm greeted with a friendly hello/ welcome. When it comes to finding someone to help me, however, it's like "hunting wabbits" (not that I've ever done that!), but you know what I mean. In the amount of time I wait for someone to actually acknowledge me (and open a dressing room), I could have visited every store in the 900 N. Michigan building and gotten something to eat. Boo. I have found many good deals here, but I guess I'll be shopping more from the catalog/Internet or the North Ave. store.
So I've shopped at many a J Crew in my day and the service at 900 N. Michigan can't be beat. Ask for CT - he's one of the personal shoppers/stylists and he's frankly amazing.
I love J. Crew, so it was an automatic 4 stars. This location has more in terms of sizes and colors than the North Avenue equivolent; it's just a bigger volume store because of the location. They get certain items that North Ave doesn't get. On the down side, you can't drive here unless you want to pay a ton to park on Michigan Avenue and the service isn't very attentive at all. Because of the volume they do, apparently they aren't required to be as friendly. Note to the Michigan Ave J. Crewers....you are not Abercrombie, try saying hello to your customers!
The only reason to go to this store as opposed to any other j.crew is if you want to buy the latest items (or more specifically the latest colors of the same items) first. Of course the clothes all come out months before you would actually wear them in Chicago, so why bother? That being said, if I am shopping on Michigan Ave at all, I usually stop here.
This is a great location ... its very big and has a great selection of jcrew apparel!
I have worn their suits for...well...a long time! They hold up well, are not too terribly expensive and as I've mentioned before...baby got back. That said, I need suits that fit well. I also love how they have pretty good sales. I 'work' in my suits, so I can't imagine spending too much for them...that said, I tend to favor J Crew, The Limited and Ann Taylor. But, I have to agree with the other reviewers...the people at this particular store are a bit "frosty". I really noticed it this past weekend when I was in Cincinnati. The sales team in Cinci were fantastic...helpful but not hovering...smiled...made eye contact...acted like they actually thought I was a real human being!? Hmmm. Perhaps the group on MI Ave could learn a few things? Sidebar: I have found that many of the stores in Chicago are like this...the sales associates talk amonst themselves, joke, file their nails...do anything but actually SALE their merchandise?! So, five stars for the CLOTHING. Minus one star for the service?! PS Love, love, love their catalogue...gives you lots of "how to" ideas.
Also known as Mecca to me. While I find the sales people to be a bit more helpful at the North Ave location, I chalk that up to sheer volume. The Mich. Ave location is bigger and more popular. Even so, I love the selection here as far as sizes and colors; I rarely have trouble finding what I want. If they don't happen to have what I'm looking for, I love their policy of free shipping on anything ordered from the catalogue while in the store. Take advantage! Also, their sales are quite impressive and usually ongoing.
Neighborhood: Streeterville
Category: Cosmetics & Beauty Supply
Neighborhood: Streeterville
Category: Lingerie
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