The Official RRL Thread - Page 173

Hi, I was there today.

They had a ton of demin. At least 5 or 6 different cuts/colors in lots of sizes, including a real cool looking brown selvege. They also had a officer chinos, and a few type of chino in military green that was awesome.

Had about 5 or 6 different henleys, a few t-shirts, a bunch of flannels, and some great chambary button downs.

Best selection of RRL I've seen outside of ny polo manison.

Hmmm...is finding fakes through E-bay a common thing?

I had thought, perhaps naively, that if the seller had ratings in the 99-100% and displayed the item with tags that it couldn't be fake, but who knows - maybe there's a whole industry of fakes out there?

I've never heard of fake RRL. Almost all of the ebay stuff just comes from the outlets.

^ i agree, i've seen those RRL jeans go for $50 in the outlets

Thanks man, where did you find this? What's the waist size used for these measurements?

Thanks, I'll probably be keeping a look out for it.

I almost wear BD shirts exclusively, as a part of my daily uniform, so I'm sure that you'll be able to find cooler shirts in some of the collections, but I'll probably not be wearing them. Unless they have the native thing going on.

Do you really think it is a question of admitting it?

Maybe being anal about country of origin is part of their style? And wanting to break stuff in themselves is part of their style too? And trying to create honeycombs on their navy sweatshirts is part of their style too?
Pre-distressed stuff can look just as costumey, if not more.

Don't want to derail the thread, so will keep it short. Wasn't trying to be insulting regarding the distressed aspect since you can't tell tone through a post, was just sharing my opinion. But yeah, if they could look past the country of origin, I guarantee they would like a lot of the stuff as I have similar if not identical tastes to most of those guys.

Personally I put fit above country of origin, and I think that's what most people would as well when it comes to clothing. And hands down, RRL fits spot on for me and others and is why there are diehards for the brand despite it being primarily made in china. As much as I love Japanese brands, the narrow shoulders kill it for me and I hate having shirts that billow out when tucked in if I have to size up.

I'm the same way- it's the narrow shoulders that get me most of the time on Japanese clothes, and sometimes overly short body lengths.

I won't deny that the lower price that one can get RRL for via ebay/b&s these days is a huge mark in its favor.

Lots of RRL is basically the kind of stuff you'd find in thrift shops in a perfect world. High quality clothing that's worn in but not worn out, and the kind of good fit and color combinations that can be very, very hard to find in actual vintage clothing. There's no shortage of RRL that I wouldn't wear for whatever reason, but I love the stuff that does work for me.

Their clothing being made in China (and actually, I think I have something made in Malaysia, too; maybe some other places?) sounds off-putting at first. But their quality control is impeccable. Compare their construction from something by J Crew, for example, who also manufacturers in China - there is no comparison in quality. I've become comfortable with it, and I doubt that the quality would be any better were their clothing made in the US; don't know about Japan, but I'm sure it would be much more expensive. It's more of a label/branding thing than a real issue about quality. Of course, that puts aside any political or ethical reasons people may have for wanting to buy made in the USA.

I don't think discussing these issues would be derailling the thread. I think it ads some character instead of just asking where you can get this and that.

I get your points. But I actually prefer breaking most stuff in myself. Therefore most pre distressing is a deal breaker for me, which is also why I haven't bought much RRL. I simply don't like it - but RRL has such a vast collection of stuff, that it's impossible to not like something.

And I'm very ethical about my clothing, so I tend to buy my stuff based on origin AND fit. It's hard but it's possible. So I never buy J Crew either, Nor do I buy Polo Ralph Lauren, which has a lot of good things too. So for me it's a hunt because you could basically buy all RRL, or all J. Crew or all PRL and look amazing, but I prefer hunting down lambswool sweaters for example that are "made in Scotland", has the right fit, the right quality, the right colour and at the right price.


This is why I'm primarily interested in RRL pants because some of them carry a "Made in USA" tag.

I totally agree with you about pre-distressing. I really hate it. Part of the break-in process for me is the personalization, both in how the fabric weathers, and also how you create your own memories and attachments to a garment. Whenever I see someone wearing something that is very expensive and pre-distressed, the first thing I think is that they are trying too hard to look cool and casual. I know this is just my own thing, as you could make an argument that someone wearing raw denim is doing the same thing, just at the opposite extreme.

I also understand wanting to pay attention to the source of your clothing. I have several pieces that I like because they were made in the USA. Maybe I overstated this issue in my previous post. I think because I am so impressed with RRL's quality, I'm willing to overlook that it's made in China. As another example, I used to really like Rag & Bone; but I won't buy their newer made in China goods. So maybe it's a matter of having to have positive proof before buying China-made goods. Reiss is another brand that I find to have great quality control while being made in China.

I agree with both of your points to an extent. I still have yet to see someone posting pics of nicely worn in tops like duck jackets, vests, etc. I fall in the middle of the two extremes, I'm fine with mixing both raw or distressed pieces due to the fact I work in an office job, live in an apt, and drive to work. I would need to manually dirty the pieces up by rolling them in dirt which can be deemed just as poseur-like as wearing distressed pieces in the first place. I know this discussion could go on back on forth, but that's the end of my thoughts on this topic.

As for RRL, really only a handful of pieces (excluding pants) are heavily distressed per collection. If they do have distressing, it's almost always subtle, limited to light fading in contact areas, or things like flannels with muted fabrics that look like they were washed a bit.

Regarding origin, only their denim and certain Limited Edition items are made in USA. Then there are random accessories or suits which are made in Italy. Everything else in made in Asia (China/India/Indonesia, etc). But like you said, the level of quality is high even on the made in China goods. Only thing I have to do occasionally is re-sew buttons which happens for every brand regardless of origin.

At the risk of sounding like a cheap bastard, does anyone know where I can get raw slim fits for less than retail?

Ebay or outlets. Might want to call first as not all of the outlets get RRL merchandise. When it first arrives it's still expensive ($199 for $350 jeans, etc.) but when it goes on 50 or 75% clearance that's your chance. I've never actually seen any raw jeans at my outlet--usually the pre washed stuff only makes it that far and there's never very many pairs. Considering the timing and uncertainty of outlets and ebay, I'd suggest visiting a RRL store and ponying up if you really want something specific.

I tend to agree. RRL, despite most of it being made in China, is surprisingly high quality. When I visit the Chicago mansion, their RRL room is pretty impressive. It almost has a museum exhibit quality of vintage US-inspired clothing. My wife is always jealous there's no significant RRL presence for women besides jeans. The RRL outerwear and specialty items I've seen have the same tag as their women's Black Label line, also made in China but superior quality. My RRL peacoat has this tag and it's nicer than any "designer" peacoats I've seen and is an accurate WWII repro to boot. I also know for a fact that they use Caruso (a high-end suitmaker) for their RTW jackets that are made in Italy. This puts their quality above most half-canvassed (or fused) designer house suiting, as Caruso makes jackets for RL's Black and Purple Labels which are fully-canvassed and utilize top quality material.