Let's discuss: COS, Collection of Style

EDITED WITH LINKS TO LOOKBOOKS IN HIGH-RES: FW11 SS12

H&M's premium line.
Looks like a nice change-up from uniqlo / +j, price is just as if not more competitive.
They launched their e-store a few weeks ago and are having mid-season sales. Though They only ship to European countries at the moment and have no North American presence.
Has anyone handled their stuff in person? How's the quality? I've see in stated more than once that their stuff looks a lot better in pics than in person - though mostly in reference to previous collections.

From AW11, I'm liking these items:









Some of the items are so reasonably priced that I seriously wonder if quality must be crap. If you've handed stuff in person please share!

Here's their AW11 Men's looks:

EDIT: CLICK HERE


They have a lot of nice-looking women's items too (I should probably post these in the girls thread, but whatever).





AW11 Women's:

cool, i didn't know that there's an onlinestore
i visited a store (hamburg) 2 years ago, the items looked okay in person

It's okay if you're looking for decent basics or minimalist garments.

Most of the fabrics of shirts/knits/trousers are more than decent (100% cotton or wool) and cuts are perfect for tall and slim/average people.

Some fabrics are actually pretty nice. I've tried on a suit in a thick wool flannel which looked pretty solid to me. Cut of the jacket was quite nice too (minimalist and slim fit ala Jil Sander/Prada/Marni), but the construction was probably mediocre (made in China). I dont know anything better in that price range though.

They have a large variety of knits and most of them are really awesome. Merino wool, silk/wool blends, chunky fabrics, etc. Lots of colors and great prices too.

I dont like their outerwear. Not bad, but definitly not crazy. I think hollow is the right word. Tailored coats are too short for my taste and lack of padding/structure. Meh.

Dont know about their footwear. It looks decent but I wouldnt buy a pair of COS boots or lace up shoes...

Oh, and I'd say the garments are TTS.

Any pics of the knits?

Edit: just noticed your Screen name, Johan, did you just cop two pairs of 3sixteens yesterday ?

Looks great, shame they don't sell over here.

Cos is a brand that always gets a lot of editorial play. A lot more than the average high street brand in the menswear arena. I am a big fan of their pieces in lookbooks and magazines but have not held a garment myself.

Good stuff. I have a couple of sweaters, shirts, a blazer and two pairs of shoes which I all purchased 2-3 years ago and worn pretty often. It all holds up very well. The cut of their shirts and sweaters are great. No complaints yet.



Master Milano said:

Any pics of the knits?
Edit: just noticed your Screen name, Johan, did you just cop two pairs of 3sixteens yesterday ?

Click to expand...

Nop wasnt me.

Some pics of the knits :

Wow, that red one is quite awesome

Appreciate the very helpful feedback / info guys.

Zeemon said:

cool, i didn't know that there's an onlinestore
i visited a store (hamburg) 2 years ago, the items looked okay in person

Click to expand...

There's no news anywhere of the opening of the online store. I chanced upon it a few days ago and now I can't even find the link that led me to it.
Allegedly they got better both styling- and quality- wise from a few years ago.

Johan said:

It's okay if you're looking for decent basics or minimalist garments.
Most of the fabrics of shirts/knits/trousers are more than decent (100% cotton or wool) and cuts are perfect for tall and slim/average people.
Some fabrics are actually pretty nice. I've tried on a suit in a thick wool flannel which looked pretty solid to me. Cut of the jacket was quite nice too (minimalist and slim fit ala Jil Sander/Prada/Marni), but the construction was probably mediocre (made in China). I dont know anything better in that price range though.
They have a large variety of knits and most of them are really awesome. Merino wool, silk/wool blends, chunky fabrics, etc. Lots of colors and great prices too.
I dont like their outerwear. Not bad, but definitly not crazy. I think hollow is the right word. Tailored coats are too short for my taste and lack of padding/structure. Meh.
Dont know about their footwear. It looks decent but I wouldnt buy a pair of COS boots or lace up shoes...
Oh, and I'd say the garments are TTS.

Click to expand...

Very helpful, thanks.
Yeah, the idea is to find an inexpensive source of raf/jil influenced minimalist basics (esp. now that +j is coming to an end). I get tired of clothes much faster than I do footwear so may as well buy new clothes each season and concentrate kopping power on boots/sneakers. Plus a lot of the jil/raf outerwear I like are hard to track down anyways - I've been trying to find this fw10 jil coat for a year now with no success so I'm inclined to make do with the COS light grey wool coat if the quality's decent.
Hence a little bummed to hear the outerwear is so-so. But may still try to kop the wool bomber & wine hoodie I posted and a couple knits.

driveslowk said:

Looks great, shame they don't sell over here.

Click to expand...

Hopefully they will soon, at least they seem interested in expanding. I emailed them and here's their reply.

Hey ***
Thank you for your question, it’s so nice to hear that COS would be welcome in the US!
We want everyone who likes COS to be able to shop with us online one day, and we’re working hard to extend the list of countries that we can ship to in future. Signing up to our newsletter at www.cosstores.com means that you will be one of the first to hear about the interesting things that we are working on, including all of the new places where the COS collection will be available.
Thanks again for your interest in COS, and if there’s anything else we can help you with, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Best wishes,
COS Customer Services

Click to expand...

Wupper said:

Good stuff. I have a couple of sweaters, shirts, a blazer and two pairs of shoes which I all purchased 2-3 years ago and worn pretty often. It all holds up very well. The cut of their shirts and sweaters are great. No complaints yet.

Click to expand...

Good to hear!

Shoes are really flimsy but tees and knit seem to hold their own. Dress shirts I've seen were also decent...

I was a bit disappointed by quality for the price range when I handled the clothes last week.

kinda reminds me of this 06 mmm knit



Does anyone proxy COS stuff? Thinking of getting the wine hoodie and a couple other pieces.

Same. I'd like a scuba hoodie

Just found high res pics from the fw11 collection, details are a lot more visible in these