Pros
Most of my co-workers were nice and the managers were enthusiastic, respectable, and professional. The company does take the time to recognize successful employees for both their small and great achievements (good customer service, a fantastic sale, etc.). The managers were very good about making sure employees took breaks according to legal standards. There are many different positions - stock support, cashiers, sales associates, etc. If you like variety, there's opportunity to move around and try different things. As a store with a big fan following, many customers adore the product and are a pleasure to work with. The company encourages you to go the extra mile to make it a great experience for the customer, so they do let you take ownership in dealing with many issues, and your hard work is often rewarded with loyal, appreciative customers. The employees with full-time positions (personal shoppers, visual assistants, etc.) were good at what they did and seemed happy working there. The benefits for full-time employees is good. (There are benefits for part-time employees, but it's not that great.) J.Crew is a good place to work part-time for students or people just looking for something to do. The employee discount is a reason to work there by itself! I left when I found a full-time job elsewhere, but if my circumstances change later in life, I'd definitely consider going back to help with shipment and rollout (it's fun being the first person to see the new stuff, and the hours are more consistent).
Cons
If you depend on your job for income to pay bills, the hours you may need aren't always available. They schedule a lot of on-call shifts - the penalty for not calling is the same as not showing up for work, but you get no reward for being prepared to work that shift. If you do want more hours/have a more open availability, the hours you get can also be all over the place - you may close late at night and then be back to open bright and early. This can be especially rough during extended holiday hours. You also will be expected to have some sort of weekend availability - but that's standard in retail. The pay is moderately fair - probably better than many retailers, but nothing to get too excited about. The company also has a lot of standards for folding, hanging clothes, etc. While I admit a certain fondness for a perfectly folded stack of sweaters, the 2-3 hour closings that are necessary to create those picture-perfect piles can be a bit tedious. My biggest disappointment with the company was the lack of education about policies and products - I had a short orientation with the handbook and a cheesy video, and from there figured out a lot by myself (no shadowing, etc.). I'm sure that a lot of this has to do with the high turnover rate in part-time retail.