64 replies to this topic

[Austin55]

I wonder how Jos. A. Bank is doing as a whole, it seems like a tough industry. I bought a suit there for last December and they basically said work from home was killing them. 

 

I also wonder about the long term future of UPV. It seems to be doing well on the whole, but I could also see them capitalizing on the location and making it denser, more akin to Simon's other Fort Worth property at Clearfork. Right now the multifamily pressure is off, but maybe that could return soon. 

[bclaridge]

I wonder how Jos. A. Bank is doing as a whole, it seems like a tough industry. I bought a suit there for last December and they basically said work from home was killing them. 

 

I also wonder about the long term future of UPV. It seems to be doing well on the whole, but I could also see them capitalizing on the location and making it denser, more akin to Simon's other Fort Worth property at Clearfork. Right now the multifamily pressure is off, but maybe that could return soon. 

 

While I can't really speak to the menswear side of things anymore (I don't follow it as much ever since transitioning), you are correct in that workplaces have become more casual. That trend has definitely done a number on professional wear and suiting for all genders. Not to mention, Fort Worth was already more casual than Dallas.

Losing Ann Taylor and Jos. A. Bank at UPV definitely hurts women (for the former) and men (for the latter) who wanted to buy dressier clothes in-person. Some of us still want to look nice, even as broader trends go against this; what matters for the businesses, obviously, is their bottom line. It doesn't matter what I want personally if it is not selling enough...

~~~~~~

 

I tend to be the type who likes dressing up; even before I transitioned, I'd usually dress nicer for the first day of class back in college... despite the girls wearing their oversized T-shirts and short shorts. For more casual, everyday wear, I typically took cues from the preppy fraternity types on the masculine side (boat shoes, polos, etc.), although I was experimenting with my gender expression all throughout college. I wouldn't have been caught dead in a graphic T-shirt, unless it was TCU-related and/or was part of my athletic wear. On the feminine side, I typically followed a more sophisticated and mature look, which became more refined over time, especially once I started wearing WHBM. I never took to the oversized T-shirt and short shorts combo, and I only wore "athleisure" on the days that I went to the gym (or ran outdoors).

I know I sound pretty old-fashioned, despite my youthful appearance. Believe me, I got chastised for liking "old lady clothes" in college. I long for unique experiences, along with the opportunity to look and feel special; looking youthful yet sophisticated just helps me be unique in my own way.

~~~~~~

 

I'll find any occasion to look nice; if I can't make it to an event, I'll use my camera timer (and/or smartphone camera) and tripod to take pictures of myself for the 'gram

[bclaridge]

So now we have our answer as to what will occupy the former Ann Taylor space. J. Crew is getting ready to move three spaces to the south:



The current J. Crew location is just out of view, to the right of Madewell (which is barely visible on the rightmost portion of this image).

This makes me wonder: what will eventually occupy the current (soon-to-be former) J. Crew space? I will admit, I have seen some instances of where J. Crew has built separate men's stores; this used to be the case at NorthPark Center up until a few years ago. I highly doubt they are going to try this approach at UPV; there seems to be enough demand to bring in new tenants.

[Stadtplan]

I'm still scratching my head on J. Crew taking over the old Buttons Jazz Lounge space at Chapel Hill Shopping Center 4701 West Fwy.  Do they really need two locations that close together?

[longhorn_1998]

I'm still scratching my head on J. Crew taking over the old Buttons Jazz Lounge space at Chapel Hill Shopping Center 4701 West Fwy.  Do they really need two locations that close together?

The Chapel Hill location is a J.Crew Factory Store, which sells different merchandise than a regular store.

[Stadtplan]

 

I'm still scratching my head on J. Crew taking over the old Buttons Jazz Lounge space at Chapel Hill Shopping Center 4701 West Fwy.  Do they really need two locations that close together?

The Chapel Hill location is a J.Crew Factory Store, which sells different merchandise than a regular store.

 

 

Do they sell Seconds and NQP's (Not Quite Perfects)?  

[longhorn_1998]

I'm still scratching my head on J. Crew taking over the old Buttons Jazz Lounge space at Chapel Hill Shopping Center 4701 West Fwy.  Do they really need two locations that close together?

The Chapel Hill location is a J.Crew Factory Store, which sells different merchandise than a regular store.

 
Do they sell Seconds and NQP's (Not Quite Perfects)?

Don't think so. They sell regular merchandise made specifically for that store.

[Stadtplan]

I'm still scratching my head on J. Crew taking over the old Buttons Jazz Lounge space at Chapel Hill Shopping Center 4701 West Fwy.  Do they really need two locations that close together?

The Chapel Hill location is a J.Crew Factory Store, which sells different merchandise than a regular store.

 
Do they sell Seconds and NQP's (Not Quite Perfects)?

Don't think so. They sell regular merchandise made specifically for that store.

https://factory.jcre...ut-jcrewfactory

We re J.Crew Factory.
We think shopping should be fun. Actually, really fun. As in scoring our exclusive collection of colorful, classic styles at prices that cant be beatperiod. A fan of timeless silhouettes and amazing fits? Weve got you. Like mixing in extra-special details, of-the-moment fabrics and prints you wont find anywhere else? Check. Need to get dressed for your first job interview, a special wedding or an upcoming vacation? Youve come to the right place. Whatever the occasion, weve got great styles for the whole family thatll have your crew looking good. Plus, we believe that picking up your favorite looks in stores and online shouldnt mean spending an arm and a leg, so there are always deals waiting for you. Were talking 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

https://www.quora.co...ries, and more.

J.Crew Factory is a more affordable brand that was launched in 1988 as J. Crew Outlets. It offers similar but not identical products to J. Crew, such as shirts, pants, dresses, sweaters, jackets, shoes, accessories, and more.Feb 15, 2017

++++++++++++++

JCrew factory is a diffusion brand of JCrew, which attempts to use the power of the JCrew name to lure in customers. This is similar to how Ralph Lauren has sub-brands such as Lauren Ralph Lauren and Polo Ralph Lauren that serve different demographics and tend to be cheaper.

The drawback of a diffusion line is that the quality tends to be lower than that of the mainline. The company would like the customer to believe they are getting an incredible deal on brand-name merchandise, even though the diffusion line was likely made with entirely separate manufacturing processes

tl;dr JCrew factory is the JCrew look at a lower quality and price point

[Crestline]

So now we have our answer as to what will occupy the former Ann Taylor space. J. Crew is getting ready to move three spaces to the south:
...
The current J. Crew location is just out of view, to the right of Madewell (which is barely visible on the rightmost portion of this image).

This makes me wonder: what will eventually occupy the current (soon-to-be former) J. Crew space? I will admit, I have seen some instances of where J. Crew has built separate men's stores; this used to be the case at NorthPark Center up until a few years ago. I highly doubt they are going to try this approach at UPV; there seems to be enough demand to bring in new tenants.

 

Hah, I've never seen a retailer pop up next to itself, besides Starbucks.

[Stadtplan]

So now we have our answer as to what will occupy the former Ann Taylor space. J. Crew is getting ready to move three spaces to the south:
...
The current J. Crew location is just out of view, to the right of Madewell (which is barely visible on the rightmost portion of this image).

This makes me wonder: what will eventually occupy the current (soon-to-be former) J. Crew space? I will admit, I have seen some instances of where J. Crew has built separate men's stores; this used to be the case at NorthPark Center up until a few years ago. I highly doubt they are going to try this approach at UPV; there seems to be enough demand to bring in new tenants.

 
Hah, I've never seen a retailer pop up next to itself, besides Starbucks.

Chick-fil-A on Blvd 26, to build a larger one across the way.

[bclaridge]

It's definitely interesting to see J. Crew moving locations like it is! And as I mentioned before, it does make me wonder some things about what might move into their old space.

I'd be elated if a popular brand like Aritzia moved in, even though I doubt that particular brand would be looking at UPV. While they have a location in Southlake (and Dallas), I honestly think they could do pretty well close to TCU. Given the footprint of their Southlake store (which is one of their smaller locations), I do think that particular store would need a larger space than what UPV currently has available. Still, having something that's popular among the Gen Z set, and that's upscale, would fit right in with the area.

I see a possible niche waiting to be filled.

[shanejrhere]

 

So now we have our answer as to what will occupy the former Ann Taylor space. J. Crew is getting ready to move three spaces to the south:
...
The current J. Crew location is just out of view, to the right of Madewell (which is barely visible on the rightmost portion of this image).

This makes me wonder: what will eventually occupy the current (soon-to-be former) J. Crew space? I will admit, I have seen some instances of where J. Crew has built separate men's stores; this used to be the case at NorthPark Center up until a few years ago. I highly doubt they are going to try this approach at UPV; there seems to be enough demand to bring in new tenants.

 

Hah, I've never seen a retailer pop up next to itself, besides Starbucks.

 

So do i. 

[bclaridge]

This image is a repost from my photography thread, but I just learned that the White House Black Market boutique at University Park Village was their second location in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, based on a search I did using the Wayback Machine! Apparently WHBM first opened at UPV in 2002 (either August or September of that year; the Wayback Machine archived their site on 8/6/2002 and 9/23/2002, with only the latter mentioning the then-new Fort Worth boutique). WHBM's very first DFW-area location was at Preston Park Village in Plano (opened 2001), and their first Texas location was at Rice Village in Houston. The brand itself got its start in Baltimore in 1985, initially as a boutique known as "The White House" which sold women's fashion exclusively in shades of white and ivory; a separate concept known as "Black Market" focused on women's fashion in black opened in 1995, and the two concepts combined a few years after that. For the longest time, I thought that WHBM's first DFW-area boutique was at Stonebriar Centre in Frisco; it turns out that was their third DFW location (WHBM Stonebriar moved to a new space a few weeks ago), although the first time I personally noticed a WHBM boutique was when I was a kid visiting Stonebriar circa 2004.

What I'm curious about is if this storefront design actually dates from 2002, or if they renovated this store sometime after that. I've seen some mid-to-late-2000s era WHBM boutiques use a similar design to this one, so that's why I'm wondering. I'm not sure if too many people on this forum have paid attention to the comings-and-goings of retail at UPV over the last 22 years, let alone women's fashion retail, but I just got a little curious about this. Chico's acquired WHBM all the way back in 2003, so it would be fascinating if this was an original design that predates the Chico's acquisition. I know the Plano WHBM (the first in DFW) has a similar interior to the UPV location, at least judging from my last visit there back in November 2022.

Those who know me know that WHBM is my favorite fashion brand; I've been doing a little deep-dive into the brand's history.

[John T Roberts]

That one portion of the facade is original to the second phase of the shopping center.  The two adjacent stores have covered over that brick facade.  I will go back and check some of my archives to see what I can determine.  With all of the construction and with Barnes & Noble and Blue Mesa closing, I don't go over there at all.

[bclaridge]

That one portion of the facade is original to the second phase of the shopping center.  The two adjacent stores have covered over that brick facade.  I will go back and check some of my archives to see what I can determine.  With all of the construction and with Barnes & Noble and Blue Mesa closing, I don't go over there at all.

I remember when they built the Freebird and Gorjana stores! They opened in spring 2023.

It's interesting to see how they've added new façades on the newer stores instead of showing the shopping center's original façade. This seems to be a trend in retail as of late; it makes the individual brand's look take priority over that of the entire shopping center.

It does make sense as to why you might not visit; UPV definitely has a lot less in their lineup for those who aren't feminine-identified like myself, at least on the fashion side of things. There's still J. Crew, and Lululemon and Nike have some men's stuff, but as far as I can tell, every other fashion retailer there exclusively caters to those who would wear women's clothes. As a feminine-identified person I don't mind, but as someone who used to be a guy, I can sympathize with guys being "brought along for the ride" by their female partners.

Since my transition I've almost exclusively visited UPV for White House Black Market. I've actually shopped at their North East Mall location since 2017, mainly because they had a newer store (opened 2014) with more-spacious fitting rooms, but I started going to UPV in early 2022.