i've always loved clip lamps myself. some shameless, albeit appropriate for this post, self-promotion:
http://timothyliles.com/lamp.html

giggle.. j crew and banana are barely even in view of what i call affordable.

i also doubt thats a painters lamp from home depot or the like. its far too perfect and shiny.

Yeah.. banana republic and j crew aren't affordable to me. :(

I third that -- don't find prices at BR very affordable, but the few things that I bought there haven't had any quality problems. Maybe because I treat them well, since they're expensive to me?

I've been using clip lamps since the first time I saw them. I just lucked out and found someone giving away a box of them, and am in the process of creating a variety of lamps with them.

J Crew and Banana Republic are neither affordable nor inventive, but I do agree the stores often have great atmosphere. The best things you can get from retail stores is when they get rid of their fixtures. Retail fixtures make great furniture because they are strong and sturdy, usually solid wood.

"J Crew, Banana Republic and all those other seductive, affordable clothing stores where we'd purchased too much over the years, and everything is of a quality that it rarely lasts for too long."

Perhaps I'm overly sensitive, but man...that bit of commentary makes me feel like DIRT.

I can't afford to shop at either of those stores (unless it's a very special, rare purchase -- and most likely on the clearance rack), so what does that say about me? I guess it says that I wear clothes that are EVEN CHEAPER than what bargain basements like JCrew are selling (for pennies!). My god, can you imagine?!

Hey, thank goodness I can at least afford CLIP LAMPS!!

:(

(Would it not have been possible to show these lamps without the bit about JCrew and the like being beneath the author's monetary standards? I can't see any purpose to adding that part in other than to add an air of superiority to the tone of the post, which is pretty unappealing.)

Hey Cake,

thanks for sharing; love the stuff!

Anna,don't be so sensitive! You either shop at those venues or you don't want to....

The bit about JCrew and BR can also be applied to a lot of the other postings about $5000 sofas and the like. I can afford to shop at JCrew and BR, but Room&Board and DWR are hardly 'within reach' for me.

Anyway...although I never shop at Abercrombie (not a price thing, purely style), I LOVE their rich, dark hardwood floors contrasted with the off-white walls.

I agree...I get a lot of inspiration from non-residential spaces (hotels, restaurants, retail stores...).

hahahha - eveapple, the way you phrased your comment sounds like there are only two options: "you either shop at those venues or you don't want to...."

what if you CAN'T!?

the JCrew and BR comments were definitely demeaning and rather snobby. Anna wasn't being over sensitive at all.

I still love AT regardless if the editors have more money than I do and can shop at fancier stores than I can because appreciate the information they gather for me every day and the inspiration they provide.

I'm still waiting for the "I decorated my apartment with under $2000 contest"

Using words like "expensive" and "affordable" as absolutes can be problematic unless the audience is of very similar financial means.

Please, guys! There's nothing snobby in this post at all. I find these stores pricey, myself, and I don't shop there.... but I know that these stores are popular, and that many, many people find them affordable. How can one possibly get offended by that? No need to feel like dirt because others think some things you can't buy are affordable.

Oh, and those lamps are ultra cool. Best hanging lamps I've seen in a while. Now I'll have to stop by JCrew just to check them out....

Sea, I am fully aware of the fact that people have different means and that doesn't bother me. It's the wording of the fact that came across a little snooty ("we slipped"). But whatever.

Hey Meg.. I decorated my apartment for under $2000.. and I got second in the smallest coolest contest. You're not alone!

Pool folks unite!

I was a little put off by the post though. Those stores aren't affordable to me and when I make a rare purchase there, I consider that to be "high quality" as opposed to my version of affordable.

"A number of years back, we swore off J Crew, Banana Republic and all those other seductive, affordable clothing stores"

Thank you. I now feel justified in getting your book from the library instead of buying it.

Ha.. I meant poor folks unite!

Well, if you interpreted "pool folks" as those who clean, maintain, or work at pools, they're probably poor too. :)

Please don't get your knickers in a knot, folks. It's all relative. In a landscape (NYC) where most everything is uber-expensive, J. Crew and Banana Republic offer relatively well-made (if not frumpy) clothes for relatively modest (upper) middle class prices. No, they're not WalMart... but then again, it's not like we have WalMarts in the city to compare them with. For those of you who rent in Manhattan, you probably think $2500 for a 1 bedroom apartment is a steal. I'm sure someone anywhere else in the country would think you are either being sarcastic or need to be institutionalized.

Oh come on now. One of my favorite sweaters I got of the Banana sale rack for $7. They are affordable if you are patient, and it seems weird to get offended at the fact that they can be overpriced when so many furniture items shown here are WAAAAY more expensive than anything in any of those stores. That said, I love how they style Anthro stores, the one in my parents' town has the most beautiful massive wrought iron door pulls.

bananna republic pants fit me funny...
and, oh yeah, the light is nice too.

I think this conversation has soured.

hejiranyc -- you must be kidding! NY probably has the best, most interesting cheap shopping in the country (well, if you consider options other than enormous chains like JCrew and Walmart). And, actually, even if you don't (HM, Zara, etc.).

I think the point was that the the goods were pricey for the quality -- something I agree with, by the way -- don't know that I'm quite as enamored with the design of either the stores or the clothing they sell, though.

Laura,

You had me spit out my beverage because i was laughing so hard...pool/poor (actually never noticed it until you mentioned it)
funny!

BR and JCrew are more expensive than they should be for the quality. Personally, I only buy on sale from these places. I feel that at least some of the clothes from JCrew are worth the [sale] price in terms of quality (full price is never worth it). Since JCrew has a large distribution, I only buy things that you can't tell are from JCrew - dependable, simple shirts and pants. I would hate for someone to know exactly where I got my clothes! JCrew could be more inventive, but then I could tell where you shopped...and I often do recognize those dresses on women around here from the catalogs. So none of their in-season patterns or dresses or funky sailor pants and skirts for me.

Maxwell's comment was unfeeling, though, I must say.

Calyx, you have to compare apples with apples. The key term here is "relatively well-made." I defy you to assert that H&M's offerings are as well made as BR or J. Crew. And although Zara quality is arguably better than H&M, their price point is quite comparable with BR. But what I love about Zara is the way their clothes smell like Crayola crayons... or is that just me noticing that? Anyway, if Zarahome comes out with a house scent like that, I am all over it!

You may find NYC to be teeming with bargain shopping, but then again, you invariably get what you pay for. All I know is that clothes shopping in NYC is often a demoralizing, humbling experience for me.

I find this conversation strange, as I do find BR and J Crew affordable for the most part, yet don't find a LOT of the stuff described on this website to be "at a decent price point" to be reasonably priced at all. Maybe I am just more used to spending money on clothes than other things, but where is all the yelling about the description of the $78 throw pillow featured today as reasonably priced? Or the thousand dollar beds that are regularly featured? This just seems to be a strange post to react to, given that the majority of home items featured here are too rich for my Banana-Republic-shopping blood.

As someone who spends way, way too much time obsessing about how their J. Crew store looks, I have to say that more thought and attention go into making these stores look a certain way than you could probably imagine. Not all of our stores have these same light fixtures, though...I wish I could tell from the photo which store this was...Someone should tell them to clean up all that clutter behind their cashwrap; it totally distracts from the presentation...

the point isn't whether or not jcrew and br are affordable - the point is that the way in which maxwell so contemptuously described the two stores makes anyone who can't afford that quality of life (actually better than that quality of life!) beneath him.

i don't mind looking at jcrew or br or $78 throw pillows and $5000 couches as long as i'm not being made to feel cheap and worthless for not being able to afford them.

Meg - you got it right.

I know I can't afford 99% of what is featured on here but at least I'm not made to feel like a class-less low life for not being able to afford it.

I'd like to point out that "A number of years back," JCrew & BR clothing was (IMO) more affordable than it is now.

sandyliz, how did you get fixtures from their stores? I'd like to buy some of the tables that they use, but I've never seen them sell store fixtures before.

Laura-

You, me and all the other pool [sic] people should have a party :)

Meg

Pool party?

Can someone talk about the fixtures instead of whether they can afford Banana Republic? Personally, I don't like the fixture all that much. You can find a cheap pendant light of a similar style, already wired for $20 or $30 at IKEA. The savings doesn't seem worth it.

I can afford to shop the Banana, but find the comments about their poor quality and "frumpiness" to be as insulting as the comments about affordability.

And c'mon, HM? Maybe a slightly hipper chain store, but a (discount) chain store nonetheless. The Ikea of clothing.

But I've always found design inspiration at BR. And mourn the loss of BR Home stores.

"made to cheap and worthless"? A "class-less low life"? I really, really don't get where this is coming from....

Can I still come to your pool party?
- Since I'd qualify, otherwise. :)

Wow, this discussion is nutty. I worked at BR in college, which is the only way their clothes were affordable for me (and part of the reason I don't shop there now) because of the 50% discount. But on the scale of price points, BR and J. Crew ARE affordable. Especially when you compare their $78 sweaters to the $600 sweaters available at other chains like Neiman Marcus or Lord & Taylor.

Seems like people love to jump down MGR's throat whenever they get the chance. And for the record, as Eleanor Roosevelt said: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

And the clip lamp? Eh.

I admit.. I've been more sensitive about my bank account since I started working in Beverly Hills. It really does have a way of making you feel really poor.