Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
There wasn't much difference between today's J.Crew sample sale and the one held two months ago, except that to get to this one you have to weave your way through throngs of possibly-drunk tourists in St. Patrick's Day novelty hats. Like last time around, the crowd seemed most enamored of the $60 cashmere sweaters and the under-$30 accessories, although the $10 racks of tops from J.Crew and Madewell felt equally crowded. The accessories section, by the way, is cordoned off against one wall—ladies stood in line ten-deep to examine the jewelry, after which they had to go to checkout to collect it. The same area also housed the bag collection, but unless you're looking for a patent leather bag in an improbable color, we'd avoid it.
Also like last time, the clothes on offer are actual samples, meaning some had "sample" written on them in marker, some were bedecked with stickers in Japanese, and some were just kind of busted. Examine things carefully, especially if you're going for one of the big-ticket items like a wedding dress ($199 for unembellished, $299 for embellished, and all totally reasonable if you don't want to go the Vera Wang route.)
Clothingline, the company that runs the sample sale space, isn't big on frills: Not only were dressing rooms unavailable, but trying stuff on was strictly forbidden. That didn't stop the J.Crew fans, though, who kept up a small-scale guerrilla war against the Clothingline staff, tossing dresses over their clothes whenever no one was looking. By the time we left, a mustachioed guard had taken to yelling "NO TRYING THINGS ON! What part of 'NO TRYING THINGS ON' do you not understand?" like clockwork every ninety seconds. Irritating? Yup, but then again, nobody goes to sample sales for the customer service.
· Lineblogging: J.Crewaholics Converge in Midtown [Racked]
· J.Crew [Dealfeed]
Loading comments...