J.Crew's Fall Collection Is the Best Kind of Nostalgia Trip

The brand redefines its preppy heritage with a refresh of its iconic sweaters, barn jackets, and jeans. Oh, and the catalog is back.

J.Crew
(Image credit: J.Crew)

There are some brands that, as I’ve gotten older, I associate with specific seasons. J.Crew, for as long as I can remember, has evoked memories of crisp fall weather. My mother’s cashmere sweaters were all J.Crew, and I remember curling up in them at dinnertime on the last warm evenings of the year. The brand’s now-iconic catalogs were also must-reads in our house. We pored over them when they arrived, the film images transporting me out of my Manhattan apartment into some coastal Cape Cod town where I could wear white fisherman sweaters well into October. The brand has tapped into this nostalgia for its Fall 2024 collection—and has brought back the catalogs in the process.

J.Crew's fall collection, out now, is the best kind of nostalgia trip. The catalog images, created in partnership with Parisian design studio Atelier Franck Durand, feature perennial style icon Demi Moore in the same types of knits and faded jeans that I remember the brand selling years ago. But now, these pieces are refreshed with modern touches. Details like a subtle slouchy fit through the shoulder and a barely-there cropped hemline prove that the brand’s strong heritage is strongly welcomed in 2024’s post-quiet-luxury-coastal-grandma fashion moment.

J.Crew

Demi Moore curls up in cozy knitwear in the new J.Crew catalog.

(Image credit: J.Crew)

Beyond the knitwear, the brand’s fall collection features everything I need to build out a classically modern wardrobe. Fall essentials like a barn jacket, a trench coat, and a slip skirt feel new. Loafers, my go-to fall footwear option when my white sneakers have gotten too dirty, are embossed in a glossy crocodile print. It’s a dream for someone like me, who relies on brands like J.Crew to provide wearable, trend-informed-but-not-trendy pieces to build a closet worth investing in. The issue will be sent out to top customers, and you can buy the catalog in any J.Crew brick-and-mortar location, or view it on J.Crew's app. The immersive in-app experience lets customers shop full looks directly from its pages.

Ahead, I’ve scouted 27 of my favorite pieces from the line, all of which are available to shop now—save for one heavenly shearling-lined leather jacket that looks nearly identical to one hanging in my mother's closet. But that’s the joy of J.Crew. These are not the pieces my mom would let me borrow. These are the pieces I buy myself.

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Julia Marzovilla
Fashion E-Commerce Editor

Julia Marzovilla is the Fashion E-Commerce Editor at Marie Claire, where she reviews the latest launches from fashion and beauty brands, finds the best on-sale items around the internet, and interviews experts to find the best products in any category to share with her readers. She also creates shopping guides that span every vertical on the site as an expert in everything from the best laptop bags to the best laser hair removal devices.

In her near decade of experience, Julia has both written for several top outlets in the E-Commerce space and worked at major fashion labels. Prior to joining the Marie Claire team, she contributed similar shopping stories to sites such as Bustle, InStyle, The Zoe Report, Who What Wear, and worked as the Trending Fashion and News Writer STYLECASTER. You can find her across the internet at @JuliaMarzovilla. In real life, you can find her creating shopping guides for her friends, cooking or baking in her too-small kitchen, or buying tickets for the next time Harry Styles is in town.

Julia has a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Journalism from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. She lives in New York City, her hometown.