Crewcuts

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Crewcuts is the children's division of the well-known specialty retailer J. Crew. It features unique apparel for kids who wear sizes 2-14. Though the J. Crew brand didn't officially launch until 1983, its roots actually go back to the mid-1940s. Popular Merchandise was founded by Mitchell Cinader and Saul Charles, and it sold apparel through in-home demonstrations. In the 1980s, catalog retail saw a huge resurgence, so Popular Merchandise entered the market with its first J. Crew catalog. In 1989, J. Crew opened a flagship retail store at New York City's South Street Seaport, which ushered in the company's next exciting phase.

J. Crew's retail presence has steadily grown over the last few decades. The company's profits started to dip by the early 2000s, but new CEO Mickey Drexler joined the company in 2003 and turned it around. J. Crew Group, Inc. went public in 2006. Today, the company has officially attained a global presence with several stores in Canada and e-commerce sites in more than 100 countries. The company operates retail, clearance, and factory stores in addition to a few niche stores for sub-brands like Crewcuts and Madewell. The catalog division also continues to be a successful source of revenue.

Babies & Kids Merchandise

Products

J. Crew has described the Crewcuts line as producing smaller versions of the company's popular styles. As such, the line has a more mature reputation than other kids' brands. For girls, you'll find options like sweater-dresses, puffer dresses, and jumpers for casualwear, as well as party dresses for more formal occasions. The knits and tees category is more whimsical with graphic tees and some bright colors, but it also includes trendy and stylish hoodies and sweatshirts. Options like blouses, sweaters, and cardigans round out the selection of girls' tops. Leggings, pants, shorts, skirts and cords run the gamut from fun and youthful to more muted. You'll also find a selection of jeans. Outerwear is one of the brand's top categories and includes jackets for all levels of cold weather.

For boys, Crewcuts includes a variety of tees and polos--several of which feature solid colors or simple patterns, while others have youthful graphics. The same balance between casualwear and formalwear can be found in other options like button-down shirts, cardigans, sweaters, and pants. Entire categories of suits, blazers, vests, and ties further establish the Crewcuts line as a brand that leans a little more toward the preppy side. Other garments you'll find for both genders include swimwear, underwear, sleepwear, and accessories like socks, slippers, hats, gloves, and shoes.

Swap.com's Rating of Crewcuts

Crewcuts hasn't done much in terms of advertising to dispel the myth that its clothes are designed for little adults rather than kids. Still, this often-perpetuated idea isn't entirely accurate. While J. Crew's children's line isn't always particularly youthful, several of its garments for both boys and girls clearly evoke a sense of whimsy with their unique prints, patterns, and designs. On the other side of the spectrum, the brand also has an assortment of formalwear that kids can don for almost any special occasion. In between these two extremes, the majority of the Crewcuts clothing you'll find is relatively traditional--which means these garments are sometimes perceived as preppy or uptight. In reality, the brand is much more accessible than others with this reputation, however, which is why we give Crewcuts 4.5 stars out of 5.