The Jamie Bag From J.Crew

Posted by Siv on August 25th, 2008

11 comments

Photobucket

Italian calfskin Jamie bag, $495.00, Item 97485

I received an email this morning from J.Crew, in which they introduced the Jamie Bag. The title of the email reads, “Card members, you’ve got to see this bag…” When I open the email, the photo above is included. In the description, J.Crew writes that the Jamie bag is “totally worth it.” What do you think? Is $495 reasonable for this bag? Is it totally worth it? The bag is part of the J.Crew Collection. Perhaps that is where they justify the price tag.

Posted in J.Crew Collection, New Arrivals

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142811 ResponsesThe+Jamie+Bag+From+J.Crew2008-08-25+14%3A09%3A32Siv to “The Jamie Bag From J.Crew”

Christine says:

August 25, 2008 at 12:33 pm

I’ll be honest and say that I’m kind of cheap when it comes to purses. I often go for vintage or second-hand before I buy something new. Also, I won’t go over $100, no matter what. So, for me, $495 is way too much for something that size. I think that bag is cute, and I love that the shoulder strap is detachable (I never use one). But it seems too small for me. I carry a lot around, and that bag just wouldn’t do it for me. I do love the tassel though. I wish they sold those separately to add to bags we already have (or for key chains).

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Amy says:

August 25, 2008 at 1:16 pm

I would spend that price, only on a designer purse. For me, J.Crew is kind of a luxury brand, but not enough of one to justify that price tag! Especially since to me, the bag is nice, but it is not that unique/special.

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Julie says:

August 25, 2008 at 3:29 pm

I’ll drop that $ amount for a Coach purse, but not for this meh J.Crew purse. Nothing interesting going on there.

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Leigh says:

August 25, 2008 at 7:25 pm

Christine, the idea for the fringe being sold separately is great! When I was reading your comment, I had a “Why didn’t I think of that?” moment which led to a “Why didn’t J.Crew think of that?” moment.

Amy & Julie, I completely agree with you two. At that price point, I might as well shell out a little bit for a designer handbag like Louis Vuitton or like Julie mentioned, a great Coach bag from their fall collection.

I don’t think the bag is unique or special either. I think J.Crew really wants us to think that it is. We will probably find it in the Final Sale section in a few months.

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caroline says:

August 27, 2008 at 12:49 pm

I have a zillion purses – they are my ‘thing’ and I’ll spend anywhere from $30 to $1000 depending on how unique it is. J. Crew needs to get over itself a bit, Julie is so right, it’s totally MEH.

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Aasha says:

August 27, 2008 at 1:37 pm

In the last few years I have finally ‘moved up’ to some real designer bags eg Coach…and while I love J.Crew, incl Collection pieces, I totally have not thought their bags are worth the price – has any one else noticed how many of their bags until recently incl those in the $400+ price range eg the ‘Oslo’ bag and a similar one last spring were UNLINED!!! This was my biggest beef. While this current bag is I think lined I still think it is pretty ordinary and not worth the price. I also think the quality is not in line with their other things eg I love what J.Crew is doing with their shoes, some of the jewelry and I have not been disappointed with my J.Crew Collection coats or dresses etc, but I agree with everyone else that I’d save my $ for another Coach bag versus this one. I also looked at some of their other new bags from this Fall in the NYC store eg the quilted hobo type one (sorry can’t remember the name) and it is cute but pretty ordinary – I mean you can get bags like it in Gap and similar.. I think they need better finishing, higher quality hardware, and better linings – it was just cheap looking cotton/poly in the bags I looked at – before the bags can compete and be worth these designer prices…

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Erika says:

December 8, 2008 at 4:06 pm

I recently bought the Metallic Jamie bag. I have been obsessed with it for months. As soon as I saw that it was on sale for $299 plus 30% off sale items, I literally jumped out of my chair. I immediately ordered it. I mean a $500 beautiful purse that uses the same leather as the Birkin bag, for $210. I was ecstatic!

The bag arrives and immediately I’m unimpressed. From far away, the metallic almost looks glittery, in a junior high kind of way. Up close, the metallic looks very nice, but that’s where it ends. I was most excited about the tassels on the purse. To be quite honest, they look cheap. The metallic leather is only on one side of each tassel strip, and the other side just looks like white felt, which makes it look poorly made. The inside is nicely lined with two interior pockets. When I take the tassels out of sight, the bag is beautiful up close, but with the tassels and the glittery affect, it looks cheap if you’re not up close to it. If I saw it in store, I would’ve passed it by. I’m considering returning it, $200 is still $200. Especially for a bag I’m so-so about. Maybe it’s just my imagination. Maybe I would’ve liked it better in the grey leather, where the tassels are leather on both sides and it’s not metallic. I could cut off the tassels, but is that worth it? I’m so sad because in the catalog it looks to-die-for! Any thoughts?

On a side note, I was recently in the downtown Seattle store on Black Friday. While I understand that was a hectic time, I was disappointed to see numerous Owen and Quincy purses layered in haphazard piles on the shelves. I thought to myself “These purses may be on sale, but that’s no way to treat $300-$400 dollar purses. They looked completely unappealing and definitely not high-end.” Isn’t that a little that odd?

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Leigh says:

December 8, 2008 at 7:17 pm

Hi Erika, I am sorry to hear your disappointment about the Jamie bag. I hate it when I am disappointed with a J.Crew purchase, especially one that I have been really looking forward to. This happened to me recently with the Cascading Flowers Astrid jacket. It is so pretty in the pictures online, but so hideous in real life.

Do you mind if I post your review of the bag on my blog this week?

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Erika says:

December 8, 2008 at 8:50 pm

Sure, Leigh. Of course!

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Erika says:

December 8, 2008 at 9:04 pm

I was also surprised considering this bag is part of the collection AND recommended by Jenna Lyons herself. I’d love to hear what others think who have purchased the bag.

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Diana says:

December 28, 2008 at 2:39 pm

I am an associate at one of the J.Crew retail locations. I fell in love with the Jamie bag when I first saw it. I had bought the Lulu leather flats and wanted the dark cloud Jamie to match. Recently, a damaged bag was returned to our store and I was able to buy it for 34.99$ after it was kill-priced and our discount was taken off!! A tassel does need to be reattached, but that will be no problem for a cobbler to take care of. I would probably have not purchased the bag had it not been so inexpensive. I realize that it is made in Italy with the same leather as high-end luxury brands, but it is still a lot to ask for a J.Crew bag. Most women do not know about the quality of J.Crew products and cannot justify the higher price points.

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