Friday, October 17, 2008

J.Crew and Dulken & Derrick Flower Pins

Brief background: Dulken and Derrick haven been making beautiful silk flowers since 1941. J.Crew used D&D for J.Crew's vintage flower pin collection throughout their October catalog. The flowers sold out online (click here) and are selling out quickly at the J.Crew Collection Store in NYC (click here). Silver_Lining mentioned (in this post) that D&D had a "J.Crew Inspired" section on their website, which was later changed to "Special Collection" (even though the URL still contains "JCrewInspired"). :)

Also, Anon at 3:37PM (in this post) shared with us the following: ''The story with the flower pins is this: D&D was going out of business. J Crew bought some of their vintage pins to use in the catalog and then sell afterward. There were only a few. Someone then decied to buy D&D soon after (either the name, business, or both.) The pins in the catalog were vintage and sold out almost immediately. These pins for sale now are new and not quite the same."
Anon at 11:25AM (in the post "Interesting Take On J.Crew's Collection Store") suggested a great topic: "Could you maybe do a post based on the D&D flowers that some have ordered to review their quality, design, color etc, and also if they come with a pin attached ready to wear ..."

The flowers in the images are beautiful! Although I have not purchased any, either through J.Crew or through D&D's website, I am curious to hear from those who did. :) Are the flowers worth the price tag? Are the flowers from J.Crew "finished" (e.g come with a pin or sash already attached)?

Were any of you Aficionadas able to purchase one (either through J.Crew or through Dulken and Derrick's website)? Please let us know what you think of the pins (in terms of quality, design, color, price, and the like). :)

38 comments:

  1. New Arrivals have debuted at J.Crew online.

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  2. I don't see the new stuff?

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  3. I don't either. Just a new homepage & stuff.

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  4. The crepe suit is on sale.. And I think there's a new day coat? Or maybe it's just available in more colors? It's shown in hot pink with an orange dress. EGAD, so bright!!

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  5. Woo hoo... I see some new stuff. I don't think they'v al been added but the Maggie coat is now up:

    http://www.jcrew.com/browse/single_product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441771953&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302024147&bmUID=1224222239061

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  6. New items!!! :)

    Favorite fit chino+Cambridge cable crewneck cardigan+ shirt with ruffles=GREAT!!!!

    ...and then another attack of the bug pins!

    Savvy, educated shoppers beware of this Jcrew fashion faux pas! :) I appreciate the fact that they are "unique and different" but aesthetically speaking they are like "make it yourself at home for your kids" pieces-they offend me when I see them on the website (yikes, I think I had too much coffee today....I hope no one gets offended but I really dislike these bug pins -it's a personal JCrew least favorite...ever!)

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  7. I do not like the direct J.Crew is taking.

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  8. yawn. come on j.crew, is this the best you can come up with when your stock hits at 52 week low of $17/share?

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  9. Ladies- Even better than the new stuff. Take a look at the sale section. Last year's coats. Yeah!!!!

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  10. They have (or had, depending on when you check) the heather azalea bella's!! I got one for me and one for my sister!

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  11. No Bella's left...lucky you:)

    I love these D & D flower pins. They are gorgeous but I just can't spend that much on a flower pin. (Rather buy clothes;)

    I did find some nice ones for much less and am happy with those for accessories....

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  12. yey! Finally J.Crew updated website and new items arrived:)

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  13. To anon 3:57, I missed bella in heather azalea again. What sizes were available when you saw them?

    I did get some other stuff.

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  14. The other blog www.jcrewaholics.com has a great review of the flower pins. One of her readers bought three flowers and wrote a great review. The pictures of the flowers are gorgeous!

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  15. Not impressed with new arrivals... But I did manage to get a plaza coat from the sales. It's not a showstopper but it's what I'm looking for...

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  16. Oh, and I really wanted to thank Alexis and everyone on this board... I wouldn't have looked at the coats if jenn brak hadn't posted the information, or known to bypass on the Bella coat (sigh) because it's too thin to brave northern European winters...

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  17. Audrey,
    I live in Europe, too. How do you acquire your purchases? Do you have them sent to Europe? I have to collect them once a year when I visit my Mom in Phoenix!
    Saluti,
    Lisa from Italy

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  18. Hi Lisa,
    Much the same as you... I try not ask my parents to ship to France because it is so expensive (about 35$ for 3 pounds), so I usually make purchases when I know someone is coming to visit me or when I know that I'm going back home. My best friend is coming in November, so that's why my credit card is seeing some activity... The delivery will be slower than the pony express, but it's worth it.

    Biz

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  19. audrey, maybe you can try ave pique coat.

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  20. audrey, maybe your parents can try "flat-rate" priority boxs next time. its weight limit is 70lb, so if clothes can be folded well, it is a very efficient way.

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  21. back to the dulkin & derrick conversation... :) i purchased 2 pins from dulkin & derrick a few weeks ago. both were on sale for $8 each. neither are roses - i honestly can't remember what kind of flower they are. one is black and the other burgundy. they came wonderfully packaged - wrapped carefully so neither were smooshed or folded, etc. they both have pins attached to the back, and the back of the pin area is wire so the flower can be easily, gently molded to face forward when pinned to a shirt or jacket. both flowers have beads on wire in the center, and the quality of this detail is wonderful. my total purchase after shipping & taxes came to $27 - definitely worth it to me for 2 pins. these are far better quality than i could make myself. i'm totally pleased! highly recommend dulkin & derrick - especially if you can find something you like on sale. :)

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  22. "Thanks!" everyone for letting me know that the J.Crew website has been updated.I made this info into its own post: J.Crew Updates Website (With New Arrivals!) .

    Everything looks so pretty! :)

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  23. New stuff is nice but not seeing anything I have to have or that can't wait until it goes on sale...last season I went crazy and saw so much I liked. But then again, that is fashion...some seasons are good, some not so good......

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  24. jenn_brak - thanks for the heads up!! I'm so digging last year's coats!

    lisa - where in Italy do you live? We're returning next spring for a month and will be revisiting the middle and north. We are so obsessed with Italy!

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  25. Ooh, and last year's bags, too! And sweaters. I'm loving it!!!

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  26. I just ordered a bunch of D&D flower pins two days ago and can't wait for them to arrive. I'll let everyone know how they turn out!

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  27. I ended up getting the heather azalea bella in a 2 and a 6. I'm hoping they show up! :)

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  28. I placed an order this morning (7am est) of J Crew's sale stuff, last year's Bella coat, an adorable sweater, and a cashmere skirt....and it's already shipped!!! Holy cow! I wasn't even sure I'd get it! So cross your fingers ladies, that those sale items this morning you ordered this morning might actually come!! I just checked out the sale section now, and I'm glad I got in when I did!! :)

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  29. ooh, anons et al,
    do tell what else was up this morning and let us live vicariously. any small sizes? 7am EST = 4am PST, not going to happen ; )

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  30. MAGGIE COAT - Last night I happened to be online when the new items popped up on the site and was able to order the Maggie in camel. It comes in the following colors: ivory, camel, deep yellow, heather bright berry and black.

    Reg Size 0-14 #99322
    Petite Size 0-12 #99250
    Tall Size 2-14 #99363

    I can't believe the coat has already disappeared from the website. I hope it becomes available again soon.

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  31. So I guess last night was an exception, but do we have a consensus on when the sale page is updated these days? Or is it still just 8-9ish? God I'm such an addict.... Thanks!

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  32. Alee -- when my puppy wakes me up at 4:30 or 5, it doesn't seem that anything has been updated, but when she wakes me up at 7 or 7:30, it seems like it has been update. (I'm in central time)

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  33. sweetmint - so all the flowers in the sale section have pins in the back? its hard to tell on the website if youre being sold just the flower or a flower pin.
    how heavy are the flowers? i'm concerned they might droop down if i pin them on a cardigan.

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  34. hi, eeps! the flowers i received are very light. when pinned, they do not droop at all. the back of the flower is very sturdy, but not heavy. the descriptions of the flowers i purchased on the site did not explicitly say that they came with pins...i was just happily surprised and thankful that they did. i highly suggest taking a leap and making a purchase if you see an inexpensive flower that you like. i can't say enough good things about mine. :)

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  35. I just received a beautiful dark red/burgundy rose from Dulkin & Derrick today. Unfortunately, I had ordered the grey Cabbage Rose pin on sale for $7.50 (+$5 shipping). So, I called and told them that I loved the pin they sent me, but it wasn't what I ordered. They said they would send me the grey cabbage rose pin I ordered at NO CHARGE! I was so surprised and happy!

    The pin is beautiful that I received and now, I can't wait for the new one to arrive-- and all for $12.50!!

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  36. I just received a few pins from D&D, and they are absolutely beautiful. They do come with pins, which is great, and they're extremely light. My favorites are the painted gardenias in both colors (peach-plum and apricot-green) and the violet cluster in brandy, which turned out to be the perfect size, even though I was worried it would be too large. In fact, I can't say enough about the painted gardenias -- truly beautiful and wonderfully made.

    I didn't so much like the satin camelias, which were much harder than I expected, and the open round organza rose in charcoal, which turned out to be huge. I think I'm going to exchange them for the fall twirled peony in multi-brown, which I hope isn't huge and will look fabulous pinned to my camel Plaza coat.

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  37. I just ordered a couple of flowers from Kathlin Argiro and am very excited for them to come.

    I ordered a pink zelda and a chocolate magnolia flower.

    I want to wear them on my red winter coat. I hope the color look good!

    http://kathlinargiro.ecrater.com/

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  38. so i have a predicament that i want to run by other D&D customers: based on everyone's raves here about the quality, etc., i caved and ordered two. because i wasn't sure what i was getting, i went with two relatively inexpensive flowers from the sale sections. as i am based in nyc, i was debating over whether to have these mailed to me or picked up from their nyc warehouse, but as i was perusing D&D's shipping fees, i noticed that the charge for UPS Ground was $0! as in ZERO. i figured i must have lucked out because the company must offer free shipping for customers located in nyc, so i picked that option. the total came out to the price of the two flowers, no shipping fee. i got my package last night, and took a look at the invoice -- i was charged $7.50. i am irked that they charged me a price when their web site didn't have one, plus they didn't make an effort to email or call me about it and ask whether i still wanted the flowers; my position is that they could have charged me any price for that shipping and i wouldn't have known unless i looked at my invoice. i left a vm to complain, and they left me a vm saying that they had written me a note on the invoice explaining the charge -- but my invoice doesn't have that note at all. what should i do -- pursue this or let it go?

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Dear J.Crew Aficionadas & Aficionados: Please feel free (and encouraged) to share your thoughts and opinions. :) However, please note that this is still a personal blog. So comments that are considered inappropriate (e.g. obscene, racist, homophobic, personal attacks, rude, and just plain mean) will be removed.

And now back to J.Crew! :)