Made Well

Once upon a time, there was an Urban Socialite who thought it would be a great idea to get a job at J. Crew. Her friend was a manager there and this particular urban socialite thought it would be great to work a couple days a week, reap the benefits of the great employee discount, and be on her way. Ok. Fine. It was me.

The fairy tale aspect of the job ended when I realized the problem with the job: the job itself. Finding things for people. Greeting people… and my least favorite thing, working the cash register. The main manager was awesome. She graduated from RISD, had an amazing fashion sense, and had worked her way up the ladder to manager. The assistant manager was like my arch nemesis. He was a trollish man, kinda like that guy Dwight on “The Office.” He paced the sales floor, dolling out duties and wielding his authority.

Things were going well for me until he caught onto my “mess up a display and spend half-a-shift refolding it while humming the songs on the annoying, yet catchy J. Crew soundtrack” plan. He “punished” me by designating me store greeter. “You need more face time with the customer!!” he said cheerfully while pushing me to the front of the store. It was a sinister cheerfulness and to this day I pity the poor greeters at J.Crew.

Anyway, that trip down memory lane was brought to you by J. Crew offshoot Madewell. Urban Socialite Amie told me about this store a while back. Being my usual flighty self, I forgot about it until I needed to pick up some quick gifts for friends.

What I like about Madewell is that its an ultra laid-back collection that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s already a cult favorite with fashion editors, particularly for perfectly cut jeans (I like the bootlegger). Based on the Madewell brand founded in 1937 (right here in Massachusetts!!), the label is modern but always inspired by vintage, with an effortlessly hip, layer-it-up charm. I’m also big fan of their t-shirts.