Styles change. Skinny jeans, sequins, bellbottoms, mullets, ripped jeans, high-waisted pants and oversized bags. The list could go on. These are just a few of the items that have been or will be in one day and out the next. So how does a retail store maintain a certain feel and look while rolling with the ever-changing cycle of style?
J. Crew's style can be defined as classic, comfortable, and upper-class with a pop of eccentricity and a dash of the East Coast. They encourage women to ditch the shoulder-padded blazers and shapeless suit pants for a pair of cropped pants and a comfy button up. Jenna Lyons, J. Crew’s creative director, offered a plethora of pieces of advice for men seeking to put a bit of pop in their style. She encouraged men to spice things up and said “get dressed, and then change one element.”J. Crew’s style also somehow manages to transcend time. Catalogues often feature a “Jackie O. look”, and customers are continually inspired by Jackie’s incredibly sleek and chic style that never seems to grow old. Although, J. Crew caters to a middle-aged demographic, men and women of all ages shop there. It is not uncommon to walk into a store and see a daughter, mother, and grandmother all looking for something that will fit their unique style at J. Crew.
Over the past few decades, J. Crew has become a store associated with high-quality clothes that are comfortably classic. Even though the patterns change and the pants sit lower on the hip, they do a wonderful job of keeping their “look” and appealing to their fashionably minded customers.
