As much as I like going to actual stores and trying things on before I buy them, I’ve been ordering most of my stuff online since we moved here. The problems is that unlike in DC, when I could just stop at the Pentagon City metro stop on my way home from work, many of my favorite store are 45 minutes away in San Diego.
So I was pretty pumped when a salesperson at the J.Crew at Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego told me several months ago that they were building a new J. Crew in Carlsbad — even though I’m a little sad that the Z. Gallerie in town closed.
I got even more excited when I received my invite for the opening party, though I wasn’t totally sure what to expect from the store itself. It actually is quite a bit larger than I expected on the inside, and while some of the non-mall stores I’ve seen outside of large cities only carry women’s clothing, this one also stocks men’s and children’s clothes.
Obviously it’s pretty awesome that there’s a great new store nearby, but the opening event itself was also really fun. They had a bar with manly drinks (beer and Manhattans) in the men’s department and more girly drinks (prosecco and blackberry brambles) in the women’s area, a photo booth-type area in the kids’ department, and tons of delicious snacks (like bacon-wrapped dates and grilled cheese + butternut squash sandwich bites) available for everyone.
I apparently can’t read a calendar, so I had been thinking the event was the next day. Luckily, the person who organized the party sent out a “today’s the day” email that morning, or I would have missed it! But I had spent the day in San Diego and it was really, really hot, so I felt gross and needed to change out of my work clothes. I ended up wearing an old J.Crew skirt and T-shirt along with my (really old and worn-out) camo Converse and go-to Madewell tote.
I’m really glad I didn’t wear heels, because my feet were already sore — and it also would have made it a lot harder to balance on one foot to try on NEW camouflage sneakers! I ended up buying several items, including some stuff for Toby, because most of the regular-priced stuff was 25 percent off and the sale items were something like 40 percent off. But I think I’m most excited about my shoes.
Want to check it out? The new J.Crew is at The Forum on Calle Barcelona in Carlsbad, between Sur la Table and Lululemon.
My family lives in San Diego and Fashion Valley is one of my favorite malls! I do wander up to Carlsbad from time to time to visit the outlet. Definitely want to explore more of the town when I’m back!
xo Jen
Skirt The Rules
I love Fashion Valley! You should definitely check out the Forum if you are up in Carlsbad, though. It’s pretty nice.
Good News! Z Gallerie is moving just 2 blocks away from the Carlsbad Forum! I’ve been watching the HUGE reconstruction in the Target/Stater Bros center…where Party City used to be. I’ve been looking for a hint of what’s going in- and it’s Z Gallerie! Probably no time soon, since they tore the building down almost to the ground, but the sign says Z Gallerie! Strange to have two home decor stores so near- there’s a Pier One Imports in the same center, but nobody asked for my opinion!
That’s awesome news! It does seem sort of weird to have it in the same shopping center as Pier One, but I guess if one doesn’t have what you’re looking for, you can hit up the other!