Last night, a reader of this blog, who would like to remain anonymous, emailed me after attending the Holiday Event at the J.Crew Collection store in New York. I first wrote about this event in the post, “Holiday Preview at J.Crew Collection Store.” The following is her review.
Hi Leigh!
I have been reading your blog for some time now and I was excited to see you post about the holiday party at the new Collection store in Manhattan. I received an invitation to this event and RSVPed to the number on the card. It was a special phone line just for this event. I was told that I could bring a guest so I invited one of my good friends to accompany me.
Before this event, I had never been to the Collection store so I was not sure what to expect. The invitation mentioned a holiday preview so I thought I might see some models dressed in fancy holiday wear.
I have been invited to special events like this before. The boutique or store will usually serve hors d’oeuvres and champagne while live models walk around in the clothes. The attendees ooh and aah and eventually, purchase items.
But I’ll admit, I was excited for this event. It would be a chance to meet Jenna Lyons and experience J.Crew in a different way.
My friend and I arrived promptly at 6:30 pm. There was a sign on the door which said the store was closed for a private event. Upon our arrival, we were asked if we there for the event and someone checked for my name on a list. She found it and checked it off. From the quick glance that I got, I could see that there were about 25 other names. I guess it was quite exclusive.
During this brief time, I also spied a side table near the entrance. It was covered with tiny silver boxes with yellow grosgrain ribbon. I assumed those were probably little gifts for the attendees.
We were the one of the first to arrive so everyone there eagerly greeted us. All of the J.Crew employees at the event were dressed in all J.Crew ensembles. The catered staff were all males wearing white button down shirts with jeans and tennis shoes. They were also wearing the same ties, item 93338 in a red and navy combination. I thought they looked great.
There was a coat check and we gave our coats to be hung up. I was approached by a caterer who offered me champagne. I took a glass and walked around the store, taking it all in.
The store is divided into about four rooms. There is the first room that walk down into when you first enter the store. The entrance is higher and you must go down three steps to be in the main room of the store. Off to right is another room where the cash register is. To the left of the main room is smaller little room where you can go up some steps to the two fitting rooms in the store. Off of that little room is a another room where the shoes are housed neatly on shelves. This is also where the champagne bar was set up. Also in this room is the entrance to the bathroom, which an employee told me I had to visit. I was surprised as I have never been in a bathroom at J.Crew store before.
The store had a very luxe feel where there were only three sizes of each style out. I walked through and looked all of the clothes. There were so many items that I had never seen in other stores or the catalog before. They also had items that were believed to be sold out. I saw the following items in person.
- Leopard-beaded dress, $3,500.00, Item 96082
- Leopard-beaded cardigan, $2,800.00, Item 96123
- Gstaad shearling jacket, $3,000.00, Item 10615
- Stormy tweed Lille coat, $525.00, Item 10663
- Herringbone Hayward coat, $495.00, Item 96636
- Metallic jardin sheath dress, $328.00, Item 96145
The store also had many items I had never seen before. There was a coat done in the same fabric and color as the bright berry Astrid bouclé jacket (item 10293). There was also a wool pink version of the Teagan ruffle swiss-dot top (item 99679). It was a deep fuchsia color.
I was also introduced to Jenna Lyons, which was the highlight of the evening. She was wearing a sequin tank from J.Crew that is not available in all the stores yet. In fact, it wasn’t even at the Collection store yet. She also wore a yellow skirt and a cardigan. She wore many long necklaces where were layered over her tank. She wore her hair down. She also had brown readers on. We chatted for about twenty minutes about many different things J.Crew. She was very well spoken and personable. I was surprised about her height; she is six feet tall!
Overall, I had a great time at the event and did purchase a few things. The card members received 15% off any purchase. I met some great employees who I look forward to establishing a personal shopper relationship with. Upon our exit, we received one of the silver boxes.
In the cab home, we opened our boxes to discover a thank-you note and the Jenna bracelet. All in all, it was a great night.
It sounds like the event was small and intimate. I wonder what the other attendees thought. Thanks so much to this reader for the review. She also sent me some photos of some items that she tried on in the fitting room. I will have those up this weekend.
What are your thoughts on this event? Did you get to go? If not, did you want to go?
Here are some other posts about the J.Crew Collection store.
- J.Crew Collection Store Now Open in NYC
- J.Crew Collection Store Officially Open!
- The Ever Fancy J.Crew Collection Store
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