Club Monaco: Adventures in decent clothing and horrible marketing

I was in Montreal this weekend and had an unfortunate red wine accident which rendered a white Uniqlo oxford shirt useless. This was from about 3 years ago when Uniqlo oxfords were a great item (unlike the crap current versions), so I was quite upset and hit the streets near my hotel to find a replacement.

I stumbled into Club Monaco and was rather surprised at how decent a store it is. My memories of it from the last time I went (late 90's?) was that it was similar to a French Connection or a similarly "club clothing" douchey store, but I was pretty impressed with their offerings. Some really nice coats, a saw an awesome fair isle sweater, great slim chinos, and a good selection of what seemed to be well made shirts. Their marketing is complete crap, because the brand still carries a eurotrash club aesthetic in my opinion, and they have a 1.0 online presence which is poorly handled.

I'm not saying it's a destination spot, but they have some basics that are definitely worth checking out

Yeah they're kind of like a better fitting BR.

I've worked there off and on for several years and buy a lot of their stuff. I'd say it's like a nicer H&M and Zara, closer probably to a Polo (they are owned by Polo afterall). Their style aesthetic is generally "chanel" like. Simple monotone colors. Black, white, grey, beige, navy, etc. Ocassionally some patterns, mostly stripes or something. Then every season they throw in 2-3 colors. Regular retail prices are a little high (sometimes very high) but everything ALWAYS goes on sale ever 3 weeks. They're like a classy modern version of the The Gap. in the past 2 years or so, Thom Brown (yes, that one) started doing some design work for them, so their fits are according. Cardigans have side buttons at the bottom, suits have functional cuffs and high rise pants, etc. Their image has changed a bit over the years. Many years ago they used to self-brand/logo their clothes quite a lot (like FCUC). They still have a "heritage" limited line that's more like sweats and stuff (think Roots) that has large logos.

Student cards get a 20% discount.

If you got any questions, let me know.

PS - I've got some of their seasonal colored chinos for sale at a super low price incase anyone's interested.

Originally Posted by the_state

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and they have a 1.0 online presence which is poorly handled.

I'm not saying it's a destination spot, but they have some basics that are definitely worth checking out
they made a big deal about selling the women's collection online through shopbop a while back. Like "omg you can Club Monaco on shopbop! Movin on up!!"

If anybody works at a CM please hit me up....looking to grab a few cashmere cardigans.

their stuff is really over priced imo, its just gap with a higher price point, same ****** fit.

Everytime I go to Club Monaco I see a decent piece or two at insane pricepoints. Never brought myself to try any of it on... For me it occupies that niche of "If I was going to spend that much, I'd spend a little more and get something better."

I stop by every now and then when I'm at the mall that has it. I like their pieces, especially on sale. I got a polyester Mac coat for $30 that fits me great and I also got a couple shirts there for $30 each. Fits better than anything they have at Gap, BR, J Crew, and other mall brands.

It's one of the better "mall" stores IMO.

Fit is decent, though depends on the item. Sweaters usually fit good if you size down one. Their sportcoats/suit jackets in the slimmer fit are quite slim and almost exact copy of TB, all the way down to grossgrain details and etc.

Quality/construction is pretty decent Fabrics feel good enough (for mall brand) and none of the few items I've bought there have ever had any issues.

Their pants in the past have fit huuuuuge, though apparently that is changing?

As was mentioned above they do a 20% student discount, and unlike J.crew you can use it on sale items.
Their stuff is overpriced (like pretty much every mall store) but with sales and the student discount you can get stuff pretty cheap. I have a couple cashmere sweaters that were $50-60 and a khaki sportcoat that was $80. Also, pretty much everything makes it to the sale/clearance rack so you don't ever have to fork over full $$ on anything really.

I got a grey merino wool cardigan from them. Great fit and feels really nice. They definitely need to offer online shopping or something though.

Originally Posted by Master-Classter

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I've worked there off and on for several years and buy a lot of their stuff. I'd say it's like a nicer H&M and Zara, closer probably to a Polo (they are owned by Polo afterall). Their style aesthetic is generally "chanel" like. Simple monotone colors. Black, white, grey, beige, navy, etc. Ocassionally some patterns, mostly stripes or something. Then every season they throw in 2-3 colors. Regular retail prices are a little high (sometimes very high) but everything ALWAYS goes on sale ever 3 weeks. They're like a classy modern version of the The Gap. in the past 2 years or so, Thom Brown (yes, that one) started doing some design work for them, so their fits are according. Cardigans have side buttons at the bottom, suits have functional cuffs and high rise pants, etc. Their image has changed a bit over the years. Many years ago they used to self-brand/logo their clothes quite a lot (like FCUC). They still have a "heritage" limited line that's more like sweats and stuff (think Roots) that has large logos.

Student cards get a 20% discount.

If you got any questions, let me know.

PS - I've got some of their seasonal colored chinos for sale at a super low price incase anyone's interested.

Hit me up with a PM with regards to discount, I like some pieces they carry but would only buy on sale or with a discount

I quite liked them back in '91 - then next purchase a couple years ago bought a fab grey oversized leather bag which is great for airline-carryons.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the Thom Browne influence yet. He left CM in 2001 to start his own line, but there's still plenty of influence in their current line, intentionally or not.

Originally Posted by Master-Classter

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in the past 2 years or so, Thom Brown (yes, that one) started doing some design work for them, so their fits are according.

my mistake, didn't catch this.

CM is probably the best mall brand shop