Madewell News: Loving the Online Shop!

As mentioned in last week's "Shop Madewell Online Now {+ free ship on jeans!)" post, customers can finally shop Madewell items online. "Thanks!" to many of you, Rosa in DC who shared the following article from Fashionista (click here).

6 Things We Love About Madewell’s New Website
By Lauren Sherman
June 1, 2010

Madewell quietly launched its e-commerce site on Friday, and while there’s a brick-and-mortar store just around the corner from our Nolita office, it’s always nice to peruse the goods via our Macs.

Here’s what we love about the site:
1. “Jenna’s Favorites” has been transformed into “Get the Goods.” We love the feature on J.Crew’s website called “Jenna’s Favorites,” where creative director Jenna Lyons cherry picks pieces from the current collection. Madewell does something similar with “Get the Goods,” a collage of cute clothes and accessories mixed with inspirations for the line.

2. Bensimon’s pop pink sneakers. Bensimon was already a favorite summer shoe of ours, but this highlighter pink color made us love it even more.

3. Brunch shorts. Any piece of clothing named after a meal is okay by us. These happen to be perfectly rumpled, which means they are indeed ideal for a lazy brunch.

4. The Denim Bar. Each style hangs on a virtual rack, and you can click through until you find your ideal fit. There’s also a cute video featuring one of the brand’s denim designers.

5. Looks We Love. Much likes its sister brand J.Crew, Madewell’s got a host of incredible stylists on hand to make the clothes even more desirable. This virtual look book allows the user to shop each page. We’re particularly keen on the layered lace t-shirt featured in Look #4.

6. Alexa Chung. We can’t wait to get our hands on Chung’s collection for Madewell, scheduled to hit stores this July. The site’s teaser builds even more excitement around the collaboration.

So I really like the layout of the new & improved Madewell site. It's easy to navigate as it resembles its older sister's (aka: J.Crew's) site. The only thing that struck me odd is that there is no Sale section. Did I overlook it?

I have mentioned my thoughts on Madewell before. But for those who are new to this site... I am not a big fan of Madewell. Mainly because I am not the targeted demographic that Madewell is after. They generally are looking for hip & trendy high school/ college students. With that said, there are several cute pieces at Madewell that I would love to get. But now comes my second point... Madewell's prices are pretty darn high for what was to be the dressed down version of J.Crew! Since prices are comparable (not less) than what I can get at J.Crew, I rather just stick with my true love. ;)

What are your thoughts on Madewell's new site? Have you already purchased through their e-commerce website?