This isn't the first time that J.Crew has offered friendship bracelets through a partnership (refer to 2008's "Questionable Item of the Week: Friendship Bracelet for Men"post). At least these newer bracelets are cuter... but those prices are still outrageous to me! One of the benefits of friendship bracelets is that they are inexpensive gestures of kindness.J.Crew Partners With Frieda & Nellie Jewelry
By Jennifer Paull
July 28, 2010
The latest J.Crew accessories partnership debuts tomorrow, July 29, with Frieda & Nellie's winsome, one-of-a-kind woven friendship bracelets. The line pulls elements from vintage costume jewelry, summer camp crafts, and Latin American folk art.
Your fabulously eccentric great-aunt might have spun it if she was moonlighting as an arts instructor at Camp Kippaweechee.
Each bracelet is assembled with rhinestone or metal chains or links, knotted with toucan-toned cotton embroidery thread.
On some, lozenge and chevron patterns wind through the sparklers. Others have long knotted bands with vintage decorative links at each end. These particular combinations were created exclusively for J.Crew.
The BFF founders (and fingers) behind Frieda & Nellie are Stacy Herzog and Sarah Reid, who were inspired to make these mash-up designs after Herzog visited the Galapagos Islands last year. She brought back knotted bracelets that recalled her summers at Stagedoor Manor -- and noticed how good they looked when paired with heirloom costume jewelry. The duo quickly revived the knotting technique first learned at camp.
Several J.Crew staffers, including Marissa Webb, the vice president of women's design, noticed the jewelry in editorials. The partnership was forged in a flash; Webb met with the designers just last week.
"Everyone asks if they can buy one when they see them on my desk," Webb told StyleList. "I have three of them on right now, all layered up -- they feel so right for this moment."
While the duo races to prepare the bracelets, Reid said, "I don't know if I've stopped smiling for the past week."
Like J.Crew's other recent partner, Imogene + Willie, Frieda & Nellie was named for the founders' grandmothers. (Do we smell a family names trend?)
The bracelets will first be available at J.Crew's Soho and East Hampton stores in New York, with prices ranging from $130 to $250.
It's enough to make you dredge up your old lanyards.... And who, we wonder, will get to trade friendship bracelets with J.Crew's new president?
On a different topic... It's nice to see a new J.Crew executive name being mentioned: Vice President of Women's Design Marissa Webb. I wonder if this is just the beginning of seeing her name in print! :)
What are your thoughts on this latest partnership? Do you like the design of the Frieda & Nellie for J.Crew bracelets? Will you get one? If so, please share! Also, do you think we will be reading and seeing more from J.Crew's Marissa Webb?
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