I have spent the past month telling anyone and everyone that they need to read this book. It’s absolutely one of my favorite books of the whole year. I chose to listen to it as opposed to reading in paper form (I always do better listening to non-fiction) which was a good decision. This is the story of J.Crew from the beginning. Before there was Mickey and Jenna, there was Arthur Cinader and his daughter Emily… who built the brand out of nothing. I knew absolutely nothing of their story but found it inspiring, interesting, and honestly: relevant for anyone building a brand. The way that they conducted their lifestyle photo shoots, Emily’s discerning eye (with parallels to Anna Wintour). Then we get to Mickey and Jenna, which is simultaneously nostalgic but with new information. I couldn’t tear myself away from it. I simultaneously learned so much about the company (and thought a lot about how I run my own business) while simultaneously experienced a ton of nostalgia (both from nineties era J.Crew when I would save my babysitting money to order from the catalog) to early aughts era J.Crew when I lived in stripe tees, colored denim, and bubble necklaces. This is one of my favorite books of 2023 and a must-read if you ask me!
Author: Maggie Bullock
