Lately, my field of vision has been rudely interrupted by bright orange and the words, “Joe Fresh”.  But who is Joe, where is he from, and why the hell is he so fresh?

Joe Fresh (Photo Credit: newsfeed.huydang.com)

It turns out that Joe Fresh is a Canadian company that started in 2006 and originally sold its clothes in supermarkets. Today, Canadians can get their Joe Fresh on in the supermarket, at a superstore or at any of the hundreds of stand-alone locations.  Not content with conquering Canada, Joe Fresh has taken a step toward world domination by taking on the NYC region.  They now have 3 stores in Manhattan and one in Long Island.   Impressed yet?  Here is the secret:

First of all, it was founded and guided by Creative Director, Joseph Mimran–the man that helped bring us Club Monaco (which is another Canadian store that moved into the American market) and is basically the lovechild of Ralph Lauren and J.Crew and is a serious threat to my credit rating.

Secondly, Joe Fresh hits a price point that stores like Gap, H&M, Uniqlo and Zara are leaving in the dust.  And you know exactly what I am referring to.  Recession/Smession, fast and cheap fashion is getting more expensive.  Just the other day, I noticed that one of the aforementioned stores is now charging $40 for the same wrinkle-free dress shirt that used to retail for $20.  Our new friend, Joe Fresh, cuts the competition by marketing its bounty at a whopping $2 to $159.

Put simpler, Joe Fresh’s secret is the following:

Put cute and seriously affordable clothes in front of innocent shoppers and lull them into submission.

(Photo Credit: http://ny.racked.com/tags/joe-fresh)

Please beware!  It works! I bought two cute sweaters for $28.  My shopping buddy bought herself a sweater dress, a turtleneck, a pair of flats, a belt, and a scarf for less than $50, which, in her words, was insane.  Within a two-week period, I have been back to buy another sweater for $29 and a dress shirt for $19.  I may soon need a shopping intervention.

Joe Fresh is the new affordable basics store.  Go there and you will walk into a bright, open, and white-walled space that has clothes in just about every color.

And if you are wondering if you should be concerned about the quality of my clothing and the fact that we are in the middle of winter, please know that as I finished my last purchase, I remembered, “Joe Fresh’s clothes are made for people that live way up in Canada–on a budget”.

By: Mijon Zulu