Banana Republic, not that bad - Page 2

It doesn't matter how they fit, their clothes are so, so ugly.

I've seen Get Smart dress like this on the weekends. No. Joke.

Please explain ... I have never once had a pair of pants just fall apart on me.

The only thing I really buy from BR is their pants. Thats mainly due to my fat legs/ass making it VERY difficult to buy pants online that arent complete nut huggers.

For every day stuff I can wear to the office and look decent in I think BR is perfectly fine.

(Side Story: There is this one british guy at work who LOVES BR. He is always bragging about his monogram suits and how we all need to start shopping at BR and look more professional, lol. They do look pretty good in my noob opinion, but not daily brag worthy)

.....

But there is.

Maybe so, but I bet he doesn't look like a neutered Mr. Rogers like the above BR model does. Get Smart always seem to have a bit more "edge" to his argyle sweater looks.

"Joy. Color. Warmth." WTF? Whom are BR attempting to market their product at? That sounds like something you'd see on a clothing site that sells garish looking holiday sweaters to older women.

And the other other BR pictures I posted (all taken from the company's current site) portray the men looking like embarrassed little giggly girls. Why do their stylists and photographers aim for this look and what does it say about the type of customer they are targeting?

Don't buy into the e-hype, Get Smart is a neutered Mr.Rogers.

BR is targeting the wives/girlfriends.

I bought 4 slim fit shirts from BR online with heavy discounts a couple of weeks ago. All 4 have nice patterns, two turned out to have very nice fabric and two have crap fabric. The fit to me is better than Jcrew shirts especially for sleeves, but one is too long to be worn untucked. I guess occasionally you can find some decent stuff at BR.

+1. I was already thinking that might be the case. It would appear BR is trying to sell their product to guys whom are clueless about clothing and style and have no idea what they want. The type that would rely mostly on their woman to dress them by bringing clothing home for them. My father is like this and will never buy anything new on his own unless my mother buys it for him. This would explain the overly safe, neutered, semi-effeminate looks. The menu's on the BR are all oriented towards this "help dress me" theme with links such as "going out", "work", and "how to match shirts and pants". Reminds me of what you'd see on the Men's Warehouse site. But missing on the BR web site is a "Party Looks" link. For that gem you have to visit the Gap's web site, which is where all the cool guys shop. Evidently the BR gentlemen has a bit too refined sense of taste for such a simpleton party look.

this is one thing I never understand. do people really have clothes that "fall apart"?

I have 5 or 6 pairs of wool trousers from BR in my closet that are holding up fine after 6 years. I have one shirt that finally gave out after 7 years.

I have a coat which looks perfect *except* the fabric in the pockets feels cheap and I need to get that fixed. but everything else is perfect and it's 6 years old.

Save for a couple pairs of jeans I picked up last Summer, BR just does not do it for me anymore.

The clothes that fall apart argument is indeed overblown. I'm a washer-dryer guy [the horror!] and have yet to destroy a piece of clothing, even H&M or Gap. It's not good or bad - it is what it is - $30 shirts priced at $89. Just don't spend too much on it.

I have many pairs of pants/trousers from BR that haven't fallen apart in years. I've burned holes in one or two of them, but that's another story. A few shirts from a long time ago that held up fine, as well. Guess I'm a freak.

I don't feel most of the BR, J. Crew, etc. type of brands fall apart as quickly as people claim. While these brands may often use cheaper feeling fabrics, the construction quality appears to be good enough to hold up. The reason is simple. These brands sell a lot of more volume than most designer brands. Additionally their customers are far more likely to abuse the clothing by just throwing it in the washer and drier. If their stuff falls apart too easily, they will gain a bad reputation really quickly. I actually think you are far more likely to have longevity problems with many of the lower end to mid-priced designer brands, especially if you abuse your clothing.