political style

J.Crew’s Traffic Booms Thanks to Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama told Jay Leno on the Tonight Show on Monday she purchased her yellow outfit online from J.Crew. J.Crew swiftly capitalized on this marketing opportunity by making “Michelle” and “Obama” searchable on their site. Type it in and the gold Pembridge Dot Camilla Skirt she wore pops up. That item skyrocketed to the most-viewed item on the site yesterday, receiving 464 percent more hits than the day before. Traffic on J.Crew’s site as a whole increased 64 percent. They must still be dealing with a traffic spike because the site crashed as we tried to purchase the skirt, though it seems to be working fine now.

The top and cardigan she wore were far from overlooked. By yesterday afternoon, the J.Crew in Rockefeller Center pulled all the cardigans off the racks to reserve for customers who called that morning and put them on hold. We called the J.Crew on Prince Street this afternoon, and they had the skirt and cardigan in our size.

A spokeswoman for J.Crew told us the company is “very excited” by the response and could not reveal the quantity of Obama duds still in stock, but said the clothes are “selling out.” She added, “We’d love to do a ball gown for her” — as in for the inauguration ball if Obama wins. She said they’ve tried to approach the campaign but haven’t been able to get through. “I think they’re thinking about Tuesday.” Hm … maybe.

150G? Try Michelle Obama’s $340 [NYDN]
Michelle Obama: The Best Thing to Happen to J.Crew Since Madras [Racked]

Earlier: Michelle Obama Wears J.Crew on ‘Tonight Show’

J.Crew’s Traffic Booms Thanks to Michelle Obama