“We’re here to be good neighbors,” said J. Crew’s chairman and CEO, Mickey Drexler, when I dropped by the new Crewcuts Tribeca store yesterday evening. “We’ve preserved a wonderful space.”

Indeed: The storefront at 50 Hudson, most recently Paul Kohn Design, hasn’t changed all that much—a wall was put up in front of two windows to better show off clothes, and dressing rooms were built. Beyond that, the big differences are decorative. A company called Confetti System designed the pom-pom-style installation over the check-out, and artist Rebecca Maysles embellished the Tribeca-themed wallpaper in the foyer (worth a visit even if you don’t have kids). Art from Clic and 20×200 adds a bit of edge, although parents may have to explain the point of that boombox pictured in a photo.

Girls’ clothes are on the left as you walk in, and boys’ clothes are on the right (would that some adults’ stores were so clearly delineated!).  The clothes are for ages 2 to 14, which is new—Crewcuts used to be for kids 2 to 12, and before that, 2 to 10. “We try not to speak down to children,” said Crewcuts designer Jenny Cooper. “We keep it simple, sophisticated. The goal is that both parents and kids will respond.” There’s also more non-Crewcuts merch; as anyone who has visited the Liquor Store knows, J. Crew is embracing a Steven Alan–esque model that allows for competing brands (such as Sven clogs, in Crewcuts’ case). The store also has exclusives like sunglasses made by Selima Optique for Crewcuts, individually modified Crewcuts totes (see the one pictured below), and little knickknacks and toys to keep grabby hands occupied.

According to one staffer, it was Margot Fooshee, J. Crew’s head of marketing and PR, who was “banging on the table” for a Tribeca location—in good part because she and her family live here, and she has seen firsthand the population shift. That’s one reason the store plans on hosting events: “I’m always looking for things for us to do Saturday mornings before naptime,” she says. The store opens at 10 a.m. today, and there will be a party from noon to 4 p.m., with cupcakes, hot chocolate, and a balloon artist. Moreover, for the store’s first two weeks, 5% of all sales will go to Friends of Hudson River Park.

Crewcuts Tribeca is at 50 Hudson (at Thomas), 212-587-3139; jcrew.com/kids-clothing.jsp.

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