My take on Madewell 1937

I was in Soho on my lunch break today and while I am on a month-long clothes shopping ban I thought I'd check out J. Crew's new venture, Madewell 1937. It's a younger, slightly edgier version of J Crew's women's line and was reportedly cheaper. Um, no. Not cheaper! I love a bit of J Crew in my wardrobe but seldom do I feel like spending that much on clothing, so I thought Madewell might be the ticket, but sadly its just not. $100 for blazers, around $200 for coats, $100 for dresses, $60 for thin sweaters, I just wasn't sold. It seemed like they were all of the same quality as J Crew, but they're younger, funner and more trendy, which is exactly the kind of stuff I like to buy at places like Forever 21 because if it feels too trendy and young I don't feel so bad not wearing something that didn't make a big dent in my wallet.

But don't get me wrong, it's all pretty cute. Plus the store is adorable and pays excellent attention to detail -moleskin notebooks, artsy books, and little trinkets are randomly placed around the store for sale. A vintage bike, plants and rustic wood are a bit reminiscent of Anthropologie. In fact, I'd go as far to say that a lot of the things in the store are a collision of J Crew and Anthropologie, with a bit more preppyness than the usual Anthropologie.

All in all I'm not sold on it and probably won't go back unless I'm in the area and they have exactly what I need, but I'm a cheapskate.