Remember just a few short years ago when it seemed that J.Crew was running the town, or more accurately, the mall? With Jenna at the helm, the brand transformed into everyone’s go-to we now all know and love. But it seems like its sister company, Madewell, is on a mission to mark its own territory! It’s fast becoming a retail destination for fashion bloggers who are looking for an edgier, younger look and Madewell is continually stepping the style game up.

It’s done such a good job that we’re starting to wonder… is J.Crew’s reign over approachable fashion over?? We’d love to know what you think so we’ve put their Spring 2014 looks head to head in a classic fashion showdown!

The Dress: Well, round one clearly has a winner in our books. The vibrant tangerine orange of J.Crew’s tunic is gorgeous. It celebrates warm weather perfectly and just screams exotic vacation. It’s sexy with a higher hem line and slender arms. We wish we could say the same for the washed out and {let’s see how do you say frumpy in a nice way?} more organic flow of Madewell’s version. Vertical stripes, horizontal stripes, overly large cuffs and multiple necklaces? Way too much going on!

Sporty Chic: Both of these brands have done sporty chic and done it well. Small and less literal doses are key to really pulling of an effortless athletic-inspired look. The dropped varsity stripes are fun on the wide short sleeved J.Crew tee. Finally a fresh take on Sporty Spice! The flirty, barely-there peplum ruffle has us officially counting the days until it arrives in stores. On the other hand, the varsity jacket from Madewell brings just the right amount of vintage and quirk to our favorite style pant, the boyfriend jean {ps they’re on sale!}. But since we’re kind of obsessed with those army green, wide leg, paint splattered pants, J.Crew wins this one!

The Blazer: A blazer is a staple in both the J.Crew and Madewell girl’s wardrobe. Sure we like the idea of styling it over a one-piece, but is it annoying anyone else that that both of these looks are over a jumper? Pretty soon we won’t be able to tell the two brands apart! In this face off, the looser fit, cuffed, boyfriend overalls with a nice used wash to them are doing it for us, in a major way. We love the whole look. JCrew’s piped navy school boy blazer just pales in comparison to the modern cut of the white Madewell blazer. Madewell takes this round.

All White: But then, do the tables turn? You only need a glance at this showdown to see yes, yes they do. We’re loving all of the wide leg pants that J.Crew is having fun with in this collection. The taupe stripe down the side of this white pair make these pants completely covetable. A simple, thin long sleeve keeps this look stunningly sleek. And that pop of black and white polka dot pumps? Classic, J.Crew.

Layer Up: Layers are everything in a good outfit and if there is a brand that knows that, it’s these two. Yet, neither of these looks are wowing us. You probably already have a clear understanding of our distain for grunge, so the plaid around the waist just kills this Madewell look {and not in a good way!}. But the jeans and leather vest are a yes. The J.Crew look screams J.Crew, after all, they’re really the innovators in mixing patterns and print, but something’s missing. We like the pieces separately, not together. Draw.

Good Girl: The tank in the J.Crew look is lookin’ good. The way it defines the shoulder area is sexy and fresh for this good girl look. It kind of has that tennis-inspired, Anna Kournikova feel to it. But the pattern on those pants has us feeling the same way that we felt about Anna and Enrique dating {eww!}. On the Madewell side of things, we love the color palette- the camel trench and pumps with the tomato red tee feels new and a bit shocking. But again, the pant. We would have loved the look with a sleek skinny cut. Since we can’t get Enrique’s mole out of our minds now, Madewell pulls through on this round.

This was a close race and we’re leaning a little towards one brand more than the other. But we left the tally out for a reason because first, we want to know – what team are you on?! Team J.Crew or Team Madewell?

Take your stance fashionistas and share in the comments!

images via Fashionista and Style.com