J. Crew's New Raw Denim

[runormal]

just got 3 pairs of the JCrew x Levis collab.... ill post updates and pics once i get them unpacked... 501xx, 501 salt soaked and 501 rigid

How are those Levi's working out I got a chance to see the regular blues and the indigo jeans - which the sales person mistakenly thought were the salt soaked so I didn't get to see those. I was interested in what that finish looked like and what Levi's and JCrew came up with. I came away thinking If those were sold at the same price that regular Levi's are sold at I could see buying a pair and them being successful.

As for the JCrew selvage denim - which I looked at too - it does look a lot like the gap denim, the outer selvage coin pocket.... yuck/yeah. For about the same price I think you can find much better jeans else where - just like others have said.

A small part of the Men's section I went to had a "look" going - vintage phones, old type writers, there is a vintage work wear thing they are aiming for - but being next to modern looking polo shirts and the modern women's section just doesn't quite establish the "mood" I was looking for.

I do regularly browse the J Crew's online store to look at the Men's Shop, Mister Freedom shirts, and the Chambray shirts which I like and also see a lot of people wearing - both on here WAYWT and IRL is a sign to me that J Crew could build a raw/selvage denim customer base - in theory - but personally I'd like to see it separate from the standard JCrew - like Polo did with RRL type of thing. And of course they would need to build a really nice pair of raw selvage jeans - if they are already selling Levis and focusing on the 47 and the 66 501s and the 67 505s then they could aim for something along those lines or take their vintage cut jeans and do a really nice raw version WITHOUT selvage outside coinpocket.

Since I went and looked, I thought I would add my $0.02

[Vinneus]

i returned them all... two pairs werent even chainstitched, and the 501xx where one washed and really slim.

[Guest mattes]

the uniqlo selvedge is 80$ not sure how you got it for 39. all their normal denim is 39$, and the j. crew jeans feel a whole lot better than the uniqlo.

I did pay $39 and model is S001 slim fit.

[DaBestSpoona]

the uniqlo selvedge is 80$ not sure how you got it for 39. all their normal denim is 39$, and the j. crew jeans feel a whole lot better than the uniqlo.

Uniqlo has two Selvedges now. The made in china one us 39, and the made in Japan ones are 69 now.

[nycsurfer530]

my guess is that the raw denim that i bought was just a run through to see how it would do because they only made less than a hundred of these and it was a 484 mens store exclusive.

But the raw denim market is growing. You can really see it with a lot of the mainstream brands making selvedge and the RRL line.

In the future, J crew definitely needs to up the quality of their raw denim WITHOUT A SELVEDGE POCKET, and not raise the price and make the denim heavier

[nycsurfer530]

5 weeks no wash

[nycsurfer530]

J. Crew is collaborating with warehouse denim!!

[madefix]

J. Crew is collaborating with warehouse denim!!

JCrew will probably screw up a good thing.

Also, im really tempted to try there denim detergent

[URALLMORONS]

How are those Levi's working out I got a chance to see the regular blues and the indigo jeans - which the sales person mistakenly thought were the salt soaked so I didn't get to see those. I was interested in what that finish looked like and what Levi's and JCrew came up with. I came away thinking If those were sold at the same price that regular Levi's are sold at I could see buying a pair and them being successful.

As for the JCrew selvage denim - which I looked at too - it does look a lot like the gap denim, the outer selvage coin pocket.... yuck/yeah. For about the same price I think you can find much better jeans else where - just like others have said.

A small part of the Men's section I went to had a "look" going - vintage phones, old type writers, there is a vintage work wear thing they are aiming for - but being next to modern looking polo shirts and the modern women's section just doesn't quite establish the "mood" I was looking for.

I do regularly browse the J Crew's online store to look at the Men's Shop, Mister Freedom shirts, and the Chambray shirts which I like and also see a lot of people wearing - both on here WAYWT and IRL is a sign to me that J Crew could build a raw/selvage denim customer base - in theory - but personally I'd like to see it separate from the standard JCrew - like Polo did with RRL type of thing. And of course they would need to build a really nice pair of raw selvage jeans - if they are already selling Levis and focusing on the 47 and the 66 501s and the 67 505s then they could aim for something along those lines or take their vintage cut jeans and do a really nice raw version WITHOUT selvage outside coinpocket.

Since I went and looked, I thought I would add my $0.02

J.Crew is stepping up the denim program. Within 2 seasons it will be a totally different animal and a monsterous one at that. The LVC collabo price will be coming down considerably to compare to standard LVC price. They are working on a solid Selvedge program with a very well known Japanese manufacturer and keeping the price around mid 200's and doing a lot of collaboration work all together. Hate them or not they are stepping up the game big time.

They also are revamping the womens line so it's like "they are dating" is what they have been using as the inside company term as to how they want the lines to compare to one another(mens and womens.)

If you haven't seen the f/w 2010 lookbook it's pretty nice and not a piece I wouldn't or wont own myself.

Also one HUGE boot collaboration that will shock a lot of people as well, far beyond the Quoddy collaboration they did this season.

[Denim Phenom]

Man, everyone really hates J. Crew. I haven't seen their denim but I can speak to there flannel and denim shirts, the only ones I'll buy. The last denim shirt I got from there is really tough and heavy.

People need to get off the hate train.

Tons of people had a conniption fit when they collaborated with Alden so who knows what will happen when the new boots news is released.

[fatass]

please, dont bother linking us the lookbook. make vague general statements about j crew and spread some rumors. thanks

[gfunkdocta]

i'm gonna make a track, like ether

but instead, "fuck j. crew"

[Medine]

lol, this hate for j.crew is funny. there is no reason. its a cheaper place to find stylish items, nothing bad about that.

[fatass]

i think the last round of chambray shirts from j crew were pretty popular with superfuture?

[URALLMORONS]

please, dont bother linking us the lookbook. make vague general statements about j crew and spread some rumors. thanks

http://www.inventorymagazine.com/updates/?p=12489&cpage=1#comment-8644

[Dead_Wizard]

J. Crew are just one of the first brands who have wisened up and realized that instead of wasting the time to do a reproduction of an on-trend item just to go to the source. They have the capital to push out huge production runs of this stuff.

Just be glad they're not doing a shit load of diffusion lines with these brands like Urban Outfitters.

[URALLMORONS]

^^^Correcto!!!!

I mean straight they could just knock off everything but Mickey refuses to. Would rather support the brands that created the original product and support them then just be another brand knocking off everything new under the sun.

Denim link http://hypebeast.com/2010/04/jcrew-warehouse-denim/

[braille_teeth]

Warehouse from BiG : appx. $275

Warehouse from JC: $300

You really mean to tell me that it is worth $25 MORE to have a J.Crew label on there? One would think there would be a discount.

Oh, and rust stains. Sweet. I love rust stains. REAL WABI-SABI.

blech.

[fatass]

$25 isn't such a big deal when you are paying $250+ for jeans. plus j crew has promotions and a great return policy

[DaBestSpoona]

fuck J crew, and their 175 dollar non selvedge made in mexico Levis collabs

[fatass]

here's a thought, don't buy em?

[nycsurfer530]

haha yeah if its really that big if a deal to you then why bother shopping there

@fatass j crew does have a sweet return policy, if something is damaged most of the time we'll return for full refund

[blm14]

I just want to say: Whenever cheap wears J Crew in WAYWT everyone loves it. Just sayin.

It's a solid alternative to eg: hanes, uniqlo, etc for basic items. It's not like BiG sells underwear, socks, basic white T's, and so forth. Also if you don't live near the TWO locations in the US that happen to sell the stuff we all hype on here, then this is an alternative.

[dawei69]

I think $300 is quite reasonable, if you compare the retail price of sugarcanes and flatheads in SE, $300 is seems pretty good, i'm actually quite keen for a pair. Note: in japan, these brands collaborate with mainstream retailers as well...

can someone proxy me a pair when it comes out? preferrably someone that works at jcrew.... ofc i'd cover the cost of everything

[aho]

dawei, not sure if you wanted a j.crew worker to proxy for you because of the employee discount, but that discount doesn't usually apply for the collaborations if I'm not mistaken...

[fatass]

damn, no employee discount on the collabs? so tough.

anyone have an idea of what kind of cut the collab jeans will be? i was thinking about some 3sixteen SL, but I'll hold of until jcrew puts out theirs.

[nycsurfer530]

not positive about the cut, but a more classic fit. My manager said it will be like a blend of a slim fit and the 501... whatever that means

[cash]

J Crew has really stepped up their game in the last two years. Find a pair of J Crew chinos from 2006 and compare them to what you can pick up in the store today and you'll be impressed. However, the denim commitment, in my opinion, is misplaced. J Crew's success is rooted in a certain WASPy/trad aesthetic. The store's bread and butter is affordable mid-quality chinos and button-down shirts. Everything else is sort of perefrial. I'm sure they sell a hell of a lot of denim, but real denimheads, the ones that care about selvage, are not going to J Crew or The Gap for their gear. Now, they'll sell some selvage to guys who read about it on the internet. Those dudes, however, fall into two categories: The guy who bites hard and moves on to more obscure pieces or the dude that's wearing the-next-big-thing in a year. Also, the price point of mid-$200s is high for J Crew-labeled gear -- clothes nerd won't bite and mall-shoppers won't pay that much. Thus, it's more of a vanity project. It'll give the chain some cred -- it'll get them another write up on ACL. In the end, however, their cred and respect from those in the know was always rooted more in delivering a decent polo than from fetish denim.

[giantsdrink]

We went through all this J Crew hate when the Alden collaboration came out a couple months ago.

Did we get any resolution there?

[Stacks]

However, the denim commitment, in my opinion, is misplaced. J Crew's success is rooted in a certain WASPy/trad aesthetic. The store's bread and butter is affordable mid-quality chinos and button-down shirts. Everything else is sort of perefrial. I'm sure they sell a hell of a lot of denim, but real denimheads, the ones that care about selvage, are not going to J Crew or The Gap for their gear. Now, they'll sell some selvage to guys who read about it on the internet. Those dudes, however, fall into two categories: The guy who bites hard and moves on to more obscure pieces or the dude that's wearing the-next-big-thing in a year. Also, the price point of mid-$200s is high for J Crew-labeled gear -- clothes nerd won't bite and mall-shoppers won't pay that much. Thus, it's more of a vanity project. It'll give the chain some cred -- it'll get them another write up on ACL. In the end, however, their cred and respect from those in the know was always rooted more in delivering a decent polo than from fetish denim.

end discussion; plus rep.