Reviews - The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew

204 reviews for:

The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew

Maggie Bullock

4.0 AVERAGE

tiff123_reads's review against another edition

5.0

informative reflective medium-paced

lauryl's review against another edition

4.5

informative medium-paced

This is maybe a niche subject for a book, but I’ve always loved J Crew and loved this book too! It was really well written and researched. The book works as a business case study, but it also was fascinating to learn about all the characters who made this brand I’ve worn for years. I loved learning about Arthur and his daughter Emily (the two original cofounders) and then loved and remembered all the details of the Jenna era. I’m hoping the Olympia era we’re in now brings them back to a good place! If you loved or wore J crew this book will be a fun read!

The only thing I didn’t love is the recap of the last few years. 48% of the book was about Emily and Arthur, another 48% about Jenna and Mickey, then the final bit was everything that happened between 2015 (?) and today all crammed together including a national racial reckoning, a pandemic, etc. I would’ve liked to have heard more about the implications of the bankruptcy, how the businesses are today and the current head of design and the business side. Regardless, this is still such a fun interesting read!