The New-Old J.Crew Isn't Cutting It for Longtime Fans

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.

J.Crew leaned hard into its history of classic prep for the brand's Spring 2016 collection, and J.Crew's outspoken fans aren't in love with the results. "This is the worst example of trying to make fetch happen that I have ever seen," a Reddit commenter posted on a thread discussing the looks. "Have the designers at J.Crew seen an actual woman's body before?" another comment reads. "These silhouettes are ridiculous and hideous. No wonder their sales are plummeting; there are only so many 5'9'', Size 2 women in this world."

J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler has been waxing poetic on getting back to the brand's heritage roots for quite some time now — he brings it up repeatedly every quarter when the company reports struggling sales numbers and J.Crew's newly relaunched Style Guide catalog featured heritage themes in its debut issue. However, finally laying eyes on the actual interpretation of heritage in product has many J.Crew fans up in arms (even though these clothes are designated as J.Crew Collection, a more expensive spin-off of the main brand).

J.Crew Aficionada, a popular brand blog for the retailer's most dedicated fans, had a similar reaction to the new collection. "So. Much. Gingham." one commenter wrote. "And I just culled all but one of my gingham shirts from my closet last week thinking, eh – too preppy and dated... Do I need to go dig them out of my eBay pile now?"