Madewell brand history - YouLookFab Forum

Stumbled across this article from a couple years ago and it really resonated with me -- I was only dimly aware of Madewell's former incarnation and how J Crew resurrected the brand: https://www.buzzfeed.com/danno.....erm=.xqzZj

As someone who shops vintage/thrift quite a lot, and has a real love of authentic workwear, I've always been slightly turned off by the new J Crew iteration of Madewell, and I could never quite put my finger on why. This piece is written by the great grandson of Madewell's original founder.

I don't have enough time to flesh out my thoughts right now, but the author's remarks on the current marketing themes of reproducing authenticity/telling a story juxtaposed with previous generations' emphasis on just making stuff that wouldn't fall apart (because that's what sold and turned them a profit) is pretty striking. I guess we now live in a world where the challenge for marketers is to figure out how to sell us stuff that they know is going to fall apart...? Reaffirming, perhaps a bit bitterly, my preference for vintage and handmade articles.

7 years ago

cindysmith

Veteran

It's really sad how it's so hard to find buy-it-for-life stuff anymore. I did a lot of lurking on Reddit, the buy-it-for-life and Goodyear welted subs, researching boots so I could choose well last Christmas. I'm glad there are still people out there willing to sort through the mass of stuff and share their experiences so the rest of us can find the good stuff without all the expensive trial and error.

Also, yes, vintage is awesome. I've gotten my hands on some majorly awesome base layers at Goodwill.

Jules

Great article and way more nuanced than I was expecting. I'm someone who's all about the 'genuine' artisanal pickles and really turned off by corporate versions of 'authenticity'. I'm also reminded of Indian Motorcycle - at one point the brand was relaunched to sell t shirts at theme bars, and I believe they made just a few bikes a year, if that.

Astrid

Interesting read! Thanks for posting.

kkards

i grew up in the shadow's of many of these factories...massachusetts in the 70s was, it seemed, over run by old textile and shoe factories that could not longer make a go of it....
i am saddened by the loss of many of these businesses,..but these where businesses, and if you read this article, it was a business not immune to helping themselves to others ideas....lets be care not to romanticize them into something else.

as the last paragraph says....
My great-uncle Aaron didn’t recognize anything on the Madewell website. And I think he would probably look at the exposed brick in a Madewell store and wonder why they didn’t finish putting up the walls. If Julius were alive, I think he’d be very impressed that a company called Madewell posted revenue of over $180 million in the fiscal year 2013. He would care not at all about whether it was authentic, or what the word “authentic” even means.

LaPed

kkards -- yeah, that's exactly why this resonated with me. I totally get that even small businesses and artisans are profit-driven, and the bottom line is always king, and everyone is trying to figure out which corner they can afford to cut.

I liked the article because the author brought with him certain romanticized notions about his family's business, and once he examined them, he realized he was basically just buying into the mythology we’ve created around that older generation’s business model. I don't think the solution is bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US -- that's just not going to happen on a mass scale, and moreover I’m well aware that domestic manufacturing is inherently superior to overseas manufacturing.

However, in my direct experience, old vs new does make a difference. I’ve had to retire three pairs of jeans this year: two of them were skinny jeans purchased new in the past three years, and one was a pair of cheap bootcuts I bought new in 2002. The surviving jeans in my closet are from the 80s and 90s. Does that make the old ones "better"? Maybe not for everyone, but for me, for my goals and according to the criteria I use when I make wardrobe choices, it does. I’m sure plenty of crappy clothing was produced in previous decades, but it’s long since been discarded — survival of the fittest? And I do wonder about percentages — I feel like my wardrobe “turns over” at a higher rate than it used to, mostly through wear and tear rather than boredom. And I’ve definitely bought duds at the thrift store, too, things that fall apart after a few months. But at least I’m only out a few bucks, not a few hundred — and keeps my “carbon footprint” smaller too.

I don’t have any direct experience with Madewell, jeans or otherwise, largely because J Crew’s sizing doesn’t work well for me 95% of the time and I’ve kind of assumed Madewell uses similar fit models. I do like Madewell’s aesthetic; I’m 30 and I assume this is partly generational, and I’m aware that the image they’re cultivating taps into that desire for “authenticity” or “looks like I found it at Goodwill” etc. But it does feel like a shortcut to me.

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