J.Crew Will Offer Sizes Up to 5X

Shoppers have been asking for this, and J.Crew is finally taking a big step towards catering to plus-size shoppers. On July 10, the retailer is introducing a collection of tops, dresses, skirts, and pants that'll be available in sizes up to 5X—a first for the brand.

The brand is going about its most significant size expansion (the collection will run in sizes XXS through 5X) to date with a partner: Universal Standard, the size-inclusive minimalist fashion label. "We wanted to work with experts in the field on this collection to kick off a much larger roll out of extended sizes, new fits, and fabrications across the brand," says Lisa Greenwald, J.Crew's chief merchandising officer.

This is a continuation of an effort that began last spring, when both J.Crew and Madewell introduced extended sizes in its denim—though, some customers felt it wasn't enough to address this long-standing gap in its offerings. "We knew we had more work to do," Greenwald says. "We wanted to be thoughtful about our approach to sizing, and part of that meant working with experts in this field to glean best practices as we work to perfect our approach to fit moving forward."

"We recognized Universal Standard’s highly technical approach and reached out to them to help create a new collection tailored for the real, diverse spectrum of the American woman," Greenwald adds. "We wanted to create a collection of stylish, well-made, great-fitting clothes, engineered to fit the new range of sizes perfectly and Universal Standard offered their expertise to do just that." She says they looked to Universal Standard's expertise for help grading designs for larger sizes, manufacturing, and problem-solving anything that might come up along the way.

Still, J.Crew knows this is a long time coming: "We recognize our platform as a mainstream American brand and feel proud to have the responsibility and the privilege to do more for our customers," Greenwald says of the long-overdue expansion to larger sizes. "We’re excited to continue working toward more inclusivity and making J.Crew available to everyone. This has been a long process, throughout which we’ve worked very closely with Universal Standard to make sure we’re doing this thoughtfully."

Alexandra Waldman, co-founder and creative director of Universal Standard, says this collaboration presented "an opportunity to partner with a beloved American brand to broaden the size spectrum and make clothing available for so many more women." Since launching in 2015, the direct-to-consumer label has collaborated with Nordstrom and Danielle Brooks, and expanded its sizing both up and down in the name of inclusivity. By linking up with a retailer like J.Crew, Universal Standard has "the ability to reach a larger audience with our mission of inclusion and making clothing available to all women—regardless of size," she says.

"We're the brand known for our dedicated focus on engineering and fit, and fit is very important to J. Crew," Waldman adds. "Aside from learning what a wonderful team J. Crew has, we learned how earnestly they were approaching this change, and how willing they were to explore every avenue to make this new consumer base feel great about the clothes."

There's another issue Universal Standard is purposefully addressing with this partnership: how shoppers can feel excluded when their size is kept in a separate section than their friends'. J.Crew plans on merchandising all sizes of its Universal Standard collection together, as opposed to putting the larger pieces on their own. "We hope this will be a big step forward in unifying fashion and removing, once for all, the ‘us’ and ’them’ barrier that has always separated women," says Waldman.

Plus, there's more to come on the size-inclusivity front at J.Crew : Greenwald says "this collaboration is part of a much larger sizing roll out," and customers can expected additional sizing in its upcoming summer and fall collections.

"This is the beginning of a true change in the apparel industry and the start of true inclusivity," Waldman says of J.Crew's milestone. "It’s important because it’s not a separate (sub)category of a brand, or a quick grab for the larger sized consumer. It's a dedicated strategy to bring millions of American women into the fold and make them feel part of the style enjoyed only by the smaller women until now."

Prices for Universal Standard x J.Crew start at $50, and cap out at $150.

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