Sunday, June 13, 2010

Mickey Drexler -The Retail Maven Who Makes It Work

While you are sipping your Sunday coffee over the New York Times
a paper that I find to be a plethora of punditry, better avoided
I am perusing the Weekend Wall Street Journal
With the
article about low key designer Richard Chai, John Derbyshire's list of the Five Best curmudgeonly books, and a review of uber Romantic Caspar David Friedrich's "Monk by the Sea", the Weekend Journal is a wealth of wonderment.

Not to be missed is the profile of retail maven Mickey Drexler, the man who made J.Crew. After building the Ann Taylor and Gap brands, Drexler has made J.Crew into the all american clothing company with Michelle Obama as the unofficial face of the brand.
Drexler knows his clients and brings them what they want at an affordable price.
Very smart.

A key step forward for J.Crew was opening the Wedding Boutique and capturing a slice of the huge wedding/bridal market.
I've watched friends put off getting married because the cost of the wedding, especially the dress which is worn only once, is so exorbitant. Drexler's J.Crew helps make an inexpensive wedding wardrobe chic.

How to wed the J.Crew way in Southern California
Start with a Vintage Art Deco diamond ring in platinum $1450 from Beladora.com
of course
Then plan the wedding



Southern California Beach Wedding $1499
(without catering so take your guests to a local restaurant for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres)

Then check into the Laguna Cliffs Resort and Spa
for 4 or 5 nights
and bring your
J. Crew Honeymoon Essentials


I think the wedding, with ring and hotel stay, can be pulled off for under $10,000
depending on how much your guests drink...
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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think I've ever seen a single J.Crew wedding dress that wasn't utterly chic. I've been married nearly 17 years; if they'd been around back then making dresses, it's the first place I would've looked.

It seems like the company's been pretty smart about changing course as needed during the recession.

M said...

Love the WSJ. It's the only newspaper I make sure to read everyday front to back. Great writers.

The NYT has become a "plethora of punditry". You might even say "propaganda". It's hard to over look the bias.

I've followed your blog for a while and really enjoy it. I know you're an avid reader so I'd like to recommend a book I'm reading called "Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory" by Peter Hessler. You can find it on Amazon. Very illuminating and sometimes pretty funny.

Oh, and I just shopped at J Crew today.

mette said...

Thanks for revealing a bit about J.C. But--I´m still not convinced. So much of everything, new stuff all the time. I´d really have to see it IRL. I got enough of Burberry. I´m sure I´m already full of J.C. Sorry to be a downer!

Barbara von Enger said...

I adore the Italian suit. So positively European. Must remember to read my copy of WSJ. XX

Belle de Ville said...

Luxe: It is brilliant marketing for Drexler to move the brand to to the wedding/bridal sector and providing for that sector of the market that want's to save money.
M: Thank you for your comment. I'm going to order that book on Amazon, it sounds really interesting.
Met: I'm not a J.Crew client because and I agree with you that there is just too much stuff out there. But J.Crew has added on the quality side with sourcing from high end manufacturers such as Loro Piana and Alden and that is helping the brand.
Fashion: I actually like the men's clothes more than the women's line. Who needs basic shorts with sequins on them?

David Toms said...

J Crew is just fabulous for every day staples and a few special items as wel. I actually have the Chino suit and love it! It is so easy to wear!

Miss Cavendish said...

Still love the Times but enjoy a guided trip through the WSJ!

I once invoked Mickey's name in a J Crew store when I was not being helped helpfully (and I am an extremely low-key shopper). There was forehead wrinkling and then much scrambling about.

Linden said...

Belle, can you give BCBG some love, if you like them? As you know I work with them closely and think they are on fire with their branding and marketing. Oh, I also have been reading the WSJ cover to cover daily for 10 years. We must come from similar parents, no?
:-)

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