J.Crew RTW S2011

Though I’ve been less than pleased with J.Crew’s sudden spike in prices for trendy items that can be purchased for about $15 at Forever21, I am reluctantly starting to realize that the brand does in fact have high fashion potential. In the past, I’ve scoffed at the lace camisole being sold for over $300 and the sequin sweatpants for $600, but as I flipped through the Spring 2011 look book, I found myself swooning. The only thing wrong with this collection is that it doesn’t hit stores for another few months.

The vision: Jenna Lyons has always tried to incorporate her own personal style into the vision she has for the J.Crew collections. This season, she focused on a creative play on minimalism, a stark contrast with the billions of brooches presented on the fall collection. Lyons creates looks that may seem mundane if she followed suit with many other designers and used a strictly neutral palette. However, in typical J.Crew fashion, the line is filled with bright colors and dazzling patterns. With several different shades of hot pink, bright orange, burnt red, sea foam green, and cyan blue, it’s hard to imagine why the industry is so dead set on such a basic color palette.

The outcome: Bravo! Each look successfully masters the art of pairing several pieces of color together without looking insane. One look had three different pieces all in different shades of hot pink, while another played with color and texture using chambray, cashmere, and sequins. There honestly isn’t one look within this collection that isn’t completely wearable, whether you’re going to class, to work, or an after hours party. Hopefully, J.Crew’s RTW line will cause its customers to begin experimenting a lot more than they have in the past. After all, these looks will be sold as deconstructed individual pieces, so it will be difficult not to play around a bit and develop new, but equally fun outfits that fit a myriad of different styles.

Standout pieces: It’s hard to say which pieces deserve the standout title, because there are just so many of them. However, after careful consideration, I’d like to nominate the magenta paper bag shorts, the white and gold striped sweater, the pleated khaki skirt, and the sequined maxi skirt used in the final look. Though I love the way each piece was used in the collection (especially the skirt being paired with a chambray button up and leather waist belt), I can clearly envision at least 3 different uses for each one- which makes them well worth their estimated prices.

I’m still not ready to start adding J.Crew to my list of favorite high-end designers, but this collection has definitely stolen the prize for most anticipated spring collection. Perhaps this is because it is so on point with my own individual style, but I can totally see mothers and daughters alike purchasing (dare I say) the same pieces and using them in completely different ways.

By Ali Antonucci