I’m a big fan of the Crew and often sing its praises here. Thought I’d relay the other side of the coin, concerning their in-house branded shoes.
J. Crew used to sell shoes Made in Italy 5 years or so back for a reasonable price…$100 or so. Then I noticed the wing tips being made in Romania around 2006. And the price jumped up to over $160.
Then this year the Gifford collection was introduced, touting the Made In Italy tag. This time, the shoes retailed at $285. Ouch. I inquired on a well-known forum what people thought of the shoe and I was told in quite plain terms, don’t waste your money.
Just last month I noticed the Gifford Wing Tips were re-marked to $225. I had a 20% off coupon so I decided to give them a shot. Out of the box, they looked great. Loved the shape. Leather seemed good quality. Very comfortable from day 1.
But, after just 5 wears, the damn sole started to come unglued from the welt on the instep of the shoe. Majorly disappointed. Took those suckers back right away.
This is the third pair of J Crew shoes that have given me problems in recent memory. First, my Macallister boots leather lining totally came undone after a handful of wears. Then, the classic loafers sole came unglued. And now these.
All of these defects came with little wear on the shoes ! Granted, J. Crew took these shoes back no questions asked, but still…
I have to say, from my experience, the quality on these shoes is poor. I was warned, but I had to learn the lesson on my own. I think I’m done with J. Crew branded shoes for good.
Hope this helps someone out there who is on the fence about buying J Crew Shoes.
Save up a couple more pennies and give Allen-Edmonds a look...
3 comments:
I have run into this same problem, too. As much as I love JCrew, I feel like I can find solutions elsewhere - I have garnered a collection of Cole Haans that I have been lucky enough to find on sale at Macys, DSW, or other places. These should keep me at least through 2012.
I'm totally with you. My wife is probably tired of hearing me complain about being able to get good quality Made in Italy shoes from J. Crew, Banana Republic, hell even Barneys for under $200, even under $125 for as little as 10 years ago. I haven't bought J. Crew shoes since 1999, but the ones that I still own have held up well. I guess Italy has gone the same way as the USA, where only high-end goods can be produced.
If anyone is interested, Allen Edmonds is having a pretty sweet sale till Oct 12th.
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