Uniqlo > Rugby > J.Crew > H&M > BR > A&F > Gap ...

[Metropolis]

Uniqlo - I always see it in SoHo. Figured it was some ****** ghetto store. However, after all of these reviews - I think I need to walk on in one day.
Rugby - Viewing their website now. It's pretty nice, honestly. Wait. It's not in New York? The ****?
J.Crew - I've bought a few shirts from there. Decent fit. The prices are.. reasonable. They remind me of the good UO.
H&M - I love this store. It's so much fun to see how much you can get with only 100 dollars. As for quality - Eh. It's decent. Not going to last you years on end, but, for a season or two. Their jeans are total crap, though. (And look megafake).
BR - I love this store. It's so.. monotone and classy. However, I really cannot see myself buying a gray cardigan for $250. I already own one and I paid $50. If they dropped their prices, perhaps I'd think twice. But, definitely not paying $200+ for something I can go into AA for.
A&F - Oddly, this store is overpriced. It's odd. I am totally one to spend $80 on a shirt in UO, or even another store - But, A&F? I just.. can't bring myself to paying that much for one of their shirts. Such bad quality, to top it off.
Gap - Ugh. I hate this store. I have this thought, this dying passion to go into GAP and fall in love with something. I pass it often and go in. Nothing ever hits my eye. It sucks. I won't stop going there till I prevail, though.
Target - I saw a cardigan that I liked. Felt like ******* cardboard. It's the cheap version of the already cheap H&M.
American Eagle - I hate this store. Everything fits wrongly and looks absolutely ridiculous. Not to mention, their sales bitches are total freaks. They all are 35, have horrible teeth and look like they just got laid off by Human Resources.
Old Navy - GAP's *****. I hate the store.
Express - Overpriced, ugly, ****. Their graphic tees are disgusting. Reminds me of cheap 'Guess'. .. Not that guess is any good, either. I haaate the way their clothes fit.
Aeropostale - Disaster. This store might even be cheaper than H&M. Especially with their '6 for $12' graphic t-shirt sales.
Club Monaco - I was in there yesterday. I fell in love with that mustard ugly color. I was tempted to buy the sweater. But, for $200? .. Say what? Cut the price in half and I'll definitely do it.

I know, I sound like a total cheap ass. But, I just can't bring myself to spending $200 on a piece of clothing, when I can just go into American Apparel and get that same piece for.. $150 less.

 

[Robert]

Originally Posted by Metropolis

J.Crew - I've bought a few shirts from there. Decent fit. The prices are.. reasonable. They remind me of the good UO.


BR - I love this store. It's so.. monotone and classy. However, I really cannot see myself buying a gray cardigan for $250. I already own one and I paid $50. If they dropped their prices, perhaps I'd think twice. But, definitely not paying $200+ for something I can go into AA for.
A&F - Oddly, this store is overpriced. It's odd. I am totally one to spend $80 on a shirt in UO, or even another store - But, A&F? I just.. can't bring myself to paying that much for one of their shirts. Such bad quality, to top it off.
Gap - Ugh. I hate this store. I have this thought, this dying passion to go into GAP and fall in love with something. I pass it often and go in. Nothing ever hits my eye. It sucks. I won't stop going there till I prevail, though.
Target - I saw a cardigan that I liked. Felt like ******* cardboard. It's the cheap version of the already cheap H&M.
American Eagle - I hate this store. Everything fits wrongly and looks absolutely ridiculous. Not to mention, their sales bitches are total freaks. They all are 35, have horrible teeth and look like they just got laid off by Human Resources.
Old Navy - GAP's *****. I hate the store.
Express - Overpriced, ugly, ****. Their graphic tees are disgusting. Reminds me of cheap 'Guess'. .. Not that guess is any good, either. I haaate the way their clothes fit.
Aeropostale - Disaster. This store might even be cheaper than H&M. Especially with their '6 for $12' graphic t-shirt sales.

I know, I sound like a total cheap ass. But, I just can't bring myself to spending $200 on a piece of clothing, when I can just go into American Apparel and get that same piece for.. $150 less.


I deleted the stores from your list that I've never stepped inside. That said... wow, your assessments are almost spot on with mine. I guess I'd find equivalent BR merchandise at AA except all the AA's I've ever been in just seem to specialize in cheap-looking tee shirts. I honestly have never seen an AA store yet that had much in the way of regular clothes. Must just be something about this region?

I dig J. Crew. But the things I really like there are, while perhaps fairly priced for the quality, just a bit beyond what I'm comfortable spending. The store is also inconvenient to get to--more than 90 minutes drive one-way.

So I go to BR, where I can find stuff I like that, yes, while predictable, is nonetheless, at least in my estimation, a bit classy and timeless. I've never spent 250 on a cardigan there though. I assume you must be talking about the monogram stuff?

And yeah, the GAP. I do the same thing. I go there because I think the prices are reasonable, and online the clothing looks decent. But I try it on and it always looks bad. And I've never come across one thing I've fallen in love with. Whereas I can walk into BR a few times a year and inevitably come across something I feel I have to have. But I'll keep going to GAP until the day I can no longer walk into a mall, just vainly.

And yeah, again, my apologies to any kids who like the AE stuff, but frankly, it is truly ugly.

 

[sushijerk]

Rugby is in NY. Thier flagship is on 12th and....University I think.

 

[Metropolis]

I deleted the stores from your list that I've never stepped inside. That said... wow, your assessments are almost spot on with mine. I guess I'd find equivalent BR merchandise at AA except all the AA's I've ever been in just seem to specialize in cheap-looking tee shirts. I honestly have never seen an AA store yet that had much in the way of regular clothes. Must just be something about this region?

Oh, they have more than tee-shirts here, in New York. They are not so big into unique designs, which is what I love about them. They take basics to a whole new level. Usually, stores sell the basics in black, heather gray, navy, and perhaps even white. AA makes those colors with steel blue, asphalt, purple, yellow, red, green, baby blue, ethehdfg. You name it, they have any style in that color.

I dig J. Crew. But the things I really like there are, while perhaps fairly priced for the quality, just a bit beyond what I'm comfortable spending. The store is also inconvenient to get to--more than 90 minutes drive one-way.

Oh, it's definitely not worth that long of a ride. Another thing about that store, though - I always feel like I am in New England when I walk into there. It's very.. boat-esque. Pick up a pair of khakis, grab that anchor polo, throw on some boat shoes and head to the harbor. That is so far off of what I wear, it just looks ridiculous. However, their dead-colored sweaters and shirts are not that bad.

Rugby is in NY. Thier flagship is on 12th and....University I think.

Oh, wow. You are right. I will definitely have to check that out sometime. Thank you for that.

 

[~Stangzorized~]

J Crew
Uniqlo
Zara
H&M
Gap (a year ago I would have put this at the bottom)
American Apparel
Banana Republic
Club Monaco
Target
Old Navy
American Eagle
A&F
Aeropostale
7-Eleven
Express

 

[Warren G.]

lol @ 711.

 

[bluemagic]

Scores are curved, with the highest store receiving 100 and the lowest receiving 1. Others are judged accordingly.

This is a holistic assessment.

Tier 1: A tier one clothing retailer usually will have multiple items available to a buyer of varying taste and budget upon a visit. It is probably possible to outfit one exclusively in clothing from one of these stores and still turn out decently.

J. Crew = 100
Barney's New York = 95
Uniqlo = 90
Rugby = 85
Hickey = 82
Filene's Basement = 81
H&M = 80
Bloomingdale's = 76
Century 21 = 71
Neiman Marcus = 70
Zara = 70
Club Monaco = 70

Tier 2: Tier 2 stores usually have variances in quality from item to item, aspect to aspect (fit is prime, here), or season to season. Still, there are strong redeeming features.

Brooks Brothers = 69
J. Press = 65
American Apparel = 60
Banana Republic = 55
GAP = 50
L.L. Bean = 49
Lord and Taylor = 46
Dillard's = 46
Nordstrom = 45
Belk = 45
Urban Outfitters = 45
Target = 41

Tier 3: Tier 3 merchandisers are at the bottom of the barrel. It takes work to find something good, and at this level, diminishing returns from time spent starts to kick in.

Jos A. Banks = 40
Old Navy = 39
Marshall's = 33
Macy's = 33
Abercrombie and Fitch = 30
Saks Fifth Avenue = 30
Sears = 30
JC Penney = 30
Kohl's = 25
Eddie Bauer = 19
Express = 19
Guess = 19
Mervyns = 15
WalMart = 10
Men's Wearhouse = 1

Factors considered include quality, style, fashion-forwardness, integrity of vision, success in bringing vision to consumer, value, and others. All merchandise carried is considered; with some stand-out merchandise potentially lifting up a ranking (i.e. Peal shoes really helping Brooks Brothers). I'll let the numbers speak for themselves, but will take questions on any aspect of these rankings.

This list is subject to revision. I'm sure I forgot a lot.

 

[Robert]

^ I would say that's fairly accurate, based on the places in that list I've frequented--except I'd really be inclined to put J. Crew somewhere only a little above BR, and the GAP a few notches lower.

 

[TheDroog]

Originally Posted by bluemagic

Scores are curved, with the highest store receiving 100 and the lowest receiving 1. Others are judged accordingly.

This is a holistic assessment.

Tier 1: A tier one clothing retailer usually will have multiple items available to a buyer of varying taste and budget upon a visit. It is probably possible to outfit one exclusively in clothing from one of these stores and still turn out decently.

J. Crew = 100
Barney's New York = 95
Uniqlo = 90
Rugby = 85
Hickey = 82
Filene's Basement = 81
H&M = 80
Bloomingdale's = 76
Century 21 = 71
Neiman Marcus = 70
Zara = 70
Club Monaco = 70

Tier 2: Tier 2 stores usually have variances in quality from item to item, aspect to aspect (fit is prime, here), or season to season. Still, there are strong redeeming features.

Brooks Brothers = 69
J. Press = 65
American Apparel = 60
Banana Republic = 55
GAP = 50
L.L. Bean = 49
Lord and Taylor = 46
Dillard's = 46
Nordstrom = 45
Belk = 45
Urban Outfitters = 45
Target = 41

Tier 3: Tier 3 merchandisers are at the bottom of the barrel. It takes work to find something good, and at this level, diminishing returns from time spent starts to kick in.

Jos A. Banks = 40
Old Navy = 39
Marshall's = 33
Macy's = 33
Abercrombie and Fitch = 30
Saks Fifth Avenue = 30
Sears = 30
JC Penney = 30
Kohl's = 25
Eddie Bauer = 19
Express = 19
Guess = 19
Mervyns = 15
WalMart = 10
Men's Wearhouse = 1

Factors considered include quality, style, fashion-forwardness, integrity of vision, success in bringing vision to consumer, value, and others. All merchandise carried is considered; with some stand-out merchandise potentially lifting up a ranking (i.e. Peal shoes really helping Brooks Brothers). I'll let the numbers speak for themselves, but will take questions on any aspect of these rankings.

This list is subject to revision. I'm sure I forgot a lot.

Ah, the precision of the Pitchfork-style 100 point scale. Love it!

If you're going to throw department stores like Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue up there, though, they need to go much higher. With the number of styles and brands carried, along with their generous clearance sections, they easily fit your Tier 1 criteria.

 

[TheDroog]

Originally Posted by andyliu52

gotta agree with somatoform... i've found that american eagle, and abercrombie especially have very well made clothes, especially the outerwear

the "mall brand" discussion is kind of like the "pop music vs no name indie music" discussion, sure the pop music might be unoriginal and bland sounding, but you need to admit that it is much better produced

in the same vein, the factories that make mall brands probably have great economies of scale and very good machines, even if the designs and details are lacking

I agree with this sentiment. I think much of the hate for mall brand clothes at SF is generated because these clothes are commonly available to everyone (lack of exclusivity) or because the general public wears them in unoriginal ways. But there is good quality control at the chain stores, and these garments will last just as long as any designer item.

 

[Kohan]

Originally Posted by bluemagic

Wal-Mart = 10 Men's Wearhouse = 1
lulz. I understand the general vibe of hate towards BR on this forum, but they do have some nice pieces. You'd be a fool to buy their shoes, and half their inventory would only be a logical buy at half-off, but I've gotten some really nice sweaters and like there. random side-query: if this car coat is horrendously overpriced, what would you recommend as an alternative? http://www.bananarepublic.com/browse...scid=593781012 And the H&M at my mall is women's only. very suck. Last question: if you had to buy jeans at the typical mall, where would you go?

 

[TheFusilliJerry]

Uniqlo - I have limited experience with this brand, decline to comment

Rugby - my current favorite of this price range. shirts are great, sweaters are great, don't really wear rugbys but I still love it. wish they get rid of sweapants/hoodies/tees that are A&F-inspired.

J.Crew- the best clothing company on this list. extensive selection of basics, great quality-to-price ratio, decent fits, amazing sales.... they use the word 'italian' in thier advertising too much

H&M- the best value ever. the low quality is overcomed by the designs, fits, and prices.

BR - bland, boring, way to 'businessman who has no style but thinks he should be spending this amount on clothes' feel

A&F - do I really have to explain? gets no love on this board, and rightfully so.

Gap - no fan of gap, but from time to time they offer good products. own the slim straight jeans in raw

Target - I don't see why everyone likes this place so much. H&M is a much better option at the prices.

American Eagle - also don't really like AE. however, its cheaper and better then A&F. still sub-mediocre

Old Navy - don't really shop here, but I suppose you could look good in it if you know what to buy

Express - waaaay to guido inspired. 'my new haircut' approved

Aeropostale - see 'American Eagle'

Club Monaco - I actually like this brand. Its like H&M, but used way better materials, and charges way to much to do so.

 

[captainmo]

Filene's Basement - if there's one around you check it out. I got a nice cashmere Vneck sweater for ~$30. I've never heard of the brand - Stile de Vita (vida?) - but it looks to be decent quality. We'll see how it holds up after a few wears. They do have a lot of stuff crammed in, so shopping isn't a enjoyable at places with nicer layouts, but price to quality is awesome.

 

[dfagdfsh]

I love J crew, but rating them over stores like Barneys, Saks or mainline Ralph Lauren is marsupialed.

 

[Marcus Brody]

I like the concept of this thread. It makes for a fun debate. My take

Uniqlo - n/a I've never been in one.

Rugby - a speculative 60/100 - I like some of the styles, and apparently the things here are well made, but they a lot are fairly expensive for "vintage" looking stuff, and I'm rarely a big fan of that. I don't have extensive experience with the store though, as we only got one in DC (where I lived until a few months ago) a little while ago, and there isn't one where I am now. I think my personal ranking is lowered due to the kind of douchey vibe I got from the clientele of the attached bar in the DC location, which admittedly isn't fair to the clothes, but it colored my view of them.

J.Crew - 75/100 - I own a fair amount of stuff from J.Crew, including a few blazers that I like a lot for casual wear. The quality of the stuff I've had from there has always been good. I probably like it less than I could as living in Georgetown it was basically the wardrobe of everyone, so I was a bit tired of the look at times.

H&M - 55/100 - It's an exceptional value, I just can never find anything I really like there. Part of the problem was that the men's section of the store in Georgetown was really lacking. When I lived in Spain, I found a lot nicer stuff, so I assume it was just a branch problem (there was another store downtown which was much nicer, but I rarely went to). In all the times I ever went into the G'town store, I only ever found one shirt that I bought.

BR - 70/100 - This one is trading on history a bit, as it has been a long time since I found anything here I really liked. At one point, though a ton of my basics were bought from here. What's keeping the rating up is my main casual winter coat, bought probably 4+ years ago that I still really like stylistically and is basically in like new condition despite me having worn it hundreds of times, tossed it everywhere, etc. For that alone it gets a 5-10 point bump.

A&F 10/100 - Once again I can't comment on the quality of the clothes as I have none. In fact, the only A&F item I own is some cologne that an aunt gave me for Christmas. Few brands spark such a visceral aversion in me, though. I always really hated the pre-distressed, novelty tshirt thing, as to me it is basically trying to buy the experience of having an interesting life, so I started out on the wrong foot with the brand. Its legion of wearers never helped me though. There is no brand on this list that I'd less like to go out in public with a logo t-shirt than A&F.

Gap - 60/100 - solely for their stretch, athletic fit t's, which I think are basically the perfect undershirt. They'd made them thinner for a while, but my most recent batch is back to the thickness that lasts for years. During the aforementioned time in Spain, I rented a room from a woman who also had a small time laundry service. She was amazed by my Gap tshirts. She always was talking about how she knew quality clothes and those were quality clothes. She basically refused to believe me when I told her I wouldn't pay more than 12 dollars for them.

Target 55/100 - I've only had a few clothing items from the store. I've mainly bought other things. What I have bought has been serviceable though.

American Eagle - 20/100 - Somehow I like it more than A&F despite that it is a lower quality copy. Probably because I used to pick up stuff from time to time during their sales and it was basically free. I had some sandals from here that I wore for years.

Old Navy 50/100 - I hated the "Magic" commercials like no other ad campaign I've ever seen. We got an Old Navy in my small, rural PA hometown and I never even went to it (preferring to shop at Ross), which tells you a lot given my town's limited options. My mom got me a safari style coat from there not long ago, though, and I like it more than anything I've seen from the store, so maybe I should give it more credit. For the price, it's a nice piece.

Express - 65/100 - there was a period in college where about half my wardrobe came from Structure (which became express during this period). They always had great sales, so this rating is basically predicated on the assumption of never paying anything close to retail. I liked the style a bit more during the Structure years, but I haven't been there recently, so I don't know what they are doing at the moment.

Aeropostale - 20/100 - A store that I probably wouldn't even go into, but interestingly one shirt that I wear all the time comes from here. I bought it three years ago or so thinking I'd use it as an outdoor work shirt for a summer job I had as it was nice, light cotton, but we ended up getting issued shirts and I've worn it as a casual shirt ever since. So much that over this summer my friends made fun of me as I was wearing it in a good 40% of pictures people put on facebook.

Club Monaco - 65/100 - Are the retail prices absurd? Yes. But if you live near one you should never pay retail. The Georgetown store at least at least 25% of its men's floor space devoted to sale items, a lot of them at a very large discount. As the style is understated, you can buy things at after Christmas sales and the like and not worry about them going out of style immediately. I've never bought anything here at retail (except maybe a belt), but I do own a number of things from the store that have held up well. They're cotton, ribbed turtleneck sweaters used to be some of my favorites and I had several in different colors.

Zara - 60/100 - kind of the opposite of Club Monaco. Fairly reasonably priced at retail, but trendy and not superbly made. I have a few nice things from the store, but a lot of it is actually overpriced for me as it would look silly soon. Still, I enjoy the store and stop in when I see one.