J.Crew's Jenna Lyons Makes Her Acting Debut on HBO's Girls

"Thanks!" to many of you, who let us know that J.Crew's Jenna Lyons has been included in this current season of HBO's Girls. The following is an Q&A with Ms. Lyons from NY Mag's the Cut (click here to read in its entirety) about the experience:

Q&A: Jenna Lyons on Her Girls Cameo, Befriending Lena Dunham, and More
By Darla Murray
February 9, 2014

Tonight Jenna Lyons will make her acting debut on Girls. Luckily, the role won't be too much of a stretch: She plays a no-nonsense GQ editor who was, according to Dunham, inspired by Lyons in real life. The Cut spoke with J.Crew's creative director at the Condé Nast Traveler magazine relaunch party hosted by Anna Wintour and Christy Turlington on Thursday night, where she told us how she landed the role, what Lena’s like on set, and how she really feels about fedoras.

So I've had the privilege of already watching your episode.
I haven't seen it!

It's good. Are you in a bunch?
I'm in three. I have no idea to what extent because I haven't seen any of them, so I don't know whether I got cut. I was probably the most excited I've ever been in my life to be included in the trailer. That was so exciting. I was so honored, it was crazy! The whole experience was incredible.

Have you always wanted to act?
Oh god, no. Not at all.

So how did it come about?
I'm probably Lena Dunham's biggest fan, from the moment I saw Tiny Furniture, and I followed her. She is probably one of the most groundbreaking women of today. What's so interesting and incredible is that the girl is 27 years old. She's in her third season of an award-winning show. I'm feeling really not so great about myself!

I know, and of course that's on top of films under her belt.
I know. Her start in life had a few things going — obviously her mom, Laurie [Simmons], is incredible. She talks about Lena like she's an adult, and I think she's always talked to her like an adult. And her father [Carroll Dunham]. They're pretty incredible parents. The whole family is amazing. Her sister — they're all incredible. And what's interesting to me is that you often get a sense of somebody and you don't really know if the person that you're seeing is the person that they are. What's amazing about Lena is I feel like her enthusiasm and her warmth is so genuine and not at all manufactured. Her passion for what she's doing, her passion and interest in what other people are doing and what their lives are, is genuine.

So did she reach out to you or did you reach out to her for this part?
We had met probably about two years ago, at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards, and in her speech she said, "Thank you so much, Jenna Lyons, for making me wear shorts, although it's not going very well." At the end of the night after the dinner, I went up to her and I said, "Sorry!" And then we started to talk and we started a text friendship and started to hang out a little bit when I'd see her at events.

That's awesome.
So she texted me when I was in Barcelona and said, I'm working on a character and it's kind of modeled after you, and we're trying to get you to play it, would you do it? And I literally wrote back expletive yes! Without even thinking about it. After I sent that I thought, Oh gosh, maybe I should have asked what my role is? Needless to say, she sent me the script and I was so excited. To see my name on it? It was incredible, absolutely incredible.

The episode is very cool.
I think what's even more incredible, and what you can't possibly even imagine, is there's the script and the dialogue, but I have never seen [it] before and I have no experience with being on a set, but Lena doesn't say the same thing twice. She comes in and every time her take is completely different. One minute she's coming in and she's talking about chinchillas, the next minute she's talking about the Shackeltons. Every time her references are deep and wide and vast, and they are on rapid fire. Never does she come in and do the take exactly the same. Every single time she includes some new element, and Jenni Konner, her partner, comes in and says, "Let's go with that." I can honestly say it was one of the most dynamic, creative, interesting, inspiring experiences I've ever had.

She obviously is a natural when it comes to improv, but sometimes writers like to do everything by the script.
And not only is it not scripted, but the minute before, she comes in and does that script three different ways. She was the director, she was the boss, she was the writer, she was the friend, and she juggles that incredibly seamlessly. Not only that, one day she had an absolute terrible case of strep throat, and you forget [how] intense and challenging it is. At one point during one of the takes, she had her head on her hands and she was so exhausted, but she never made any of us feel it. I went over to her and said, "Are you okay?" and she perked up. She wanted to make sure I was okay! I'm like, I'm good, I can take care of myself. She just cares so much about the crew, and they all love her. The energy on the set is fun; it's like preschool for really, really smart kids! ...

There's a anti-fedora-hat joke in one of your episodes. What are your true feelings on fedoras?
I mean, my true opinion of any article of clothing is: If you wear it well, go for it. I am not at all opposed — in fact, I love the fedora. Anything can go wrong, but anything can go right.

It's the whole idea: You can't let it wear you, you have to wear it?
Yes, Birkenstocks are a perfect example. They can go a lot of different ways. People look at them and go, Damn, that's cool, or Damn, that's not so cute. It's really what you put with it. Did you see that story on Karlie Kloss? She's wearing these cool Adidas flip-flops and I'm like, Why didn't I think of that? It's so genius.

She can wear anything.
She can wear a bag.

One more Girls question: Were you at all worried that they would be like, In this scene, you take off your clothes?
I did actually see the script beforehand. I may have been a little bold in my reply with the "yes" [that] I would do it right away, but I did actually see the script. Again, Lena is incredibly respectful of others. I know she would never have asked me to do something like that because she's just not that kind of person — she's not provocative in that way. She's provocative about subjects she feels she can talk about, but she's not looking to force anyone into a provocative conversation. She's looking to make people see things from an interesting lens or to challenge what you might think is acceptable.

So it's not just for the shock factor.
Yeah, not at all. If anything, it's just the opposite. I think what she's looking to do is desensitize, in a way. Beauty is not just one thing. She's beautiful, I mean, I am so thrilled with all the hullabaloo with the airbrushing and I just looked at the picture on the cover of Vogue and thought she looked incredible and stunning, and she looked like her. That's a face she would make, and it had irony and wit and charm and beauty in it, all the things that she is. I was so happy with that photo.

In all fairness, I am not a big fan of the show. (I am more of a VEEP kind of girl.) However, I did watch the episodes Jenna Lyons is in. I have to say, Jenna is a really good actress or they wrote a role they knew she be great in... because she is quite good. Plus, I spied a lot of J.Crew on her. ;)

What are your thoughts on Jenna Lyons appearance on Girls? Did you notice she was on? What are your thoughts on the Jenna Lyon's outfit in the show?

J.Crew In the News: Will They Be Bought? Go Public? Who Knows?

"Thanks!" to so many of you, for letting us know about the following news about our favorite retailer.

The following is from the Wall Street Journal (click here to read in its entirety):

J.Crew in Talks to be Sold to Japan's Fast Retailing U.S. Retailer Is Seeking as Much as $5 Billion in a Sale
Mike Spector And Dana Mattioli
February 28, 2014

The owners of J.Crew Group Inc. are in talks to sell the clothing retailer to Japan's Fast Retailing Co. for as much as $5 billion, a deal that would help the Asian company fulfill its ambition of becoming a global retailing powerhouse.

Fast Retailing, which owns the Uniqlo apparel chain, approached J.Crew's management about potentially buying the private-equity-owned business, said people familiar with the matter. J.Crew is seeking upward of $5 billion for the business, one of the people said. It remained unclear whether Fast Retailing would pay that much and whether the two sides have yet discussed a price.

The talks, which heated up this week, are at an early stage and could fall apart, this person cautioned. J.Crew also recently received takeover overtures from a couple other suitors, this person said. Their identities couldn't be learned.

The discussions come as J.Crew's owners, private-equity firms TPG and Leonard Green & Partners LP, are considering an initial public offering for the apparel chain later this year. In January, the company asked Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to begin work on a potential IPO, the people said. IPO planning hasn't progressed beyond that, one person said. ...

Mr. Yanai, 65 and one of Japan's richest men, has long been an admirer of J.Crew Chairman and CEO Millard S. "Mickey" Drexler, said people familiar with the matter. From 1995 until 2002, Mr. Drexler, 69, was CEO of Gap Inc. as sales rose to $14.5 billion from $4.4 billion.

Fast Retailing, which employs more than 23,000 people and has a market capitalization of about $36 billion, owns other brands besides Uniqlo, including Comptoirs des Cotonniers, Helmut Lang, Theory and Princesse Tam Tam. Uniqlo sells T-shirts, sweaters, and cold-weather gear to men, women and children, with prices as low as $9.99 for a pair of jeans. ...

Mr. Yanai studied Gap's retail aesthetic under Mr. Drexler, and used it as a model for Uniqlo's lineup of T-shirts, sweaters and khakis, the people said. Mr. Yanai was so consumed with Gap's look during the 1980s and '90s that he referred to Mr. Drexler as "professor" when the two eventually met in Tokyo, said a person with knowledge of the meeting. Mr. Yanai for some time had a photo of them together in his office, this person said.

In the past, Mr. Yanai and investment bankers discussed Fast Retailing buying Gap, which currently has a market value of nearly $20 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Drexler is known to have an eye for spotting trends early and an obsessive attention to detail. In 2011, J.Crew opened its first store in Canada. More recently, the company opened stores in London, aiming to take its classic American looks abroad. In addition to its namesake stores, J.Crew also has a brand called Madewell, outlet stores and a children's line.

Former Fast Retailing executives have said Mr. Yanai, who along with family members own more than a third of the company's shares, wrestles with two sometimes opposing wishes: his eagerness to make a splashy deal in the U.S. and his refusal to pay a penny more than what he perceives to be fair value.

As a result, former executives have said, the company has studied potential U.S. acquisitions, only to see Mr. Yanai scrap the deal at the last minute over small differences over price. Still, Fast Retailing has been snapping up American brands. In 2012 for example, it acquired an 80.1% stake in premium denim company J. Brand for $290 million.

But the company's U.S. expansion has been bumpy. In 2006, Uniqlo rolled out mall stores throughout the U.S. only to close them within a year because of poor results.

Well, they did not plan to stay private for too long, now did they!?! ;) Interesting to see what ends up transpiring. At this point, nothing is certain.

I personally think J.Crew will go public again, instead of being bought outright. In any case, I hope J.Crew can maintain "the things they do best" like their amazing customer service.

What are your thoughts? Do you think J.Crew will be bought out or go public? What do you hope they do?

J.Crew in the News: Prices the Same or Lower?

"Thanks!" to Cubbiccino (in this post), as well as others, who shared the following quotes from J.Crew (check out Huffington Post article here to read more):

J.Crew Appeals To The Masses By Balancing Prices
By Jamie Feldman
January 29, 2014

....According to the report in Women's Wear Daily, we can expect more reasonable price tags on the racks at J.Crew as well.

"For spring, you'll see our prices much more friendly this year," said Drexler. "We can't compete with designers. Our Madison Avenue and 66th Street Collection store does an enormous amount of business."

UPDATE: Women's Wear Daily reported Tuesday on comments made by J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler that the company would have "more friendly" prices in 2014. And of course, we all rejoiced. However, it turns out this is not exactly the case.

A representative at J.Crew clarified Drexler's remarks to The Huffington Post, stating that the retailer will not in fact be lowering their prices. The goal, however, is "simply maintaining a balance of pricing across the board and better communicating to our customers what we have and why it is worth the price it is."

The original quote from J.Crew's Mickey Drexler caused quite a stir online last week. A lot of high-fives until J.Crew dropped the second quote. ;)

In all fairness, the first quote totally made it sound like J.Crew was going to start introducing more reasonable prices to avoid lowering them later on. Which would make sense if they were going with the, "let's not run all these sales and have things properly priced, right at the gate" strategy. Especially considering how many things are lingering in the sale section these past few months, even with the additional 40% to 50% off sales.

Well, J.Crew can keep their "balance of pricing" strategy "as is". It is fine with me. Why? Because I can wait a few weeks, when the item I am interested goes on sale. (And 9 out of 10 times, the item goes on sale. HA!)

What are your thoughts on the initial price points at J.Crew? Are they on-target, too high, too low? Share your viewpoint!