BB slim fit vs RLBL

[intfxdx]

how are bb slim fit dress shirts compared to RLBL shirts ? at price level difference is huge, but how about the quality ?

 

[rebel222]

Not even close, on both quality and fit.

 

[bananananana]

BB slim fit is still baggy as hell. Quality is mediocre. Fabric is ok, but small plastic buttons and I've seen a lot of resewn buttons on BB shirts.

 

[intfxdx]

Thanks ! so what about sport shirts (polo label), RL is still better than BB ?

 

[kmdsimpson]

I will echo others on fit - the BB slim fit is not as slim as RLBL. RLBL is tight in comparison. I have not tried the BB Extra-Slim Fit, however, and cannot comment on those.

As for quality, my experience is that it depends on the specific shirt and fabric. The made in Malaysia shirts - which I think are all the non-iron and most of the mainline shirts - are crap. I have had Lands End custom shirts in the past that are better (also made in Malaysia - I wonder if they use the same factory?).

However, I have several BB slim fit shirts that are made in the USA of "imported" fabric. from their "luxury" line, I believe. These retail at around $135, and I have bought them all at half off sales. These are really nice, both in construction and fabric. And they have even resisted wrinkles well.

In fact, my new rule of thumb when buying BB shirts is to only buy the made in America ones.

 

[Achilles_]

Originally Posted by kmdsimpson

I will echo others on fit - the BB slim fit is not as slim as RLBL. RLBL is tight in comparison. I have not tried the BB Extra-Slim Fit, however, and cannot comment on those.

As for quality, my experience is that it depends on the specific shirt and fabric. The made in Malaysia shirts - which I think are all the non-iron and most of the mainline shirts - are crap. I have had Lands End custom shirts in the past that are better (also made in Malaysia - I wonder if they use the same factory?).

However, I have several BB slim fit shirts that are made in the USA of "imported" fabric. from their "luxury" line, I believe. These retail at around $135, and I have bought them all at half off sales. These are really nice, both in construction and fabric. And they have even resisted wrinkles well.

In fact, my new rule of thumb when buying BB shirts is to only buy the made in America ones.

Those of us without a BB store around cannot know where they are made though

 

[phoenixrecon]

the extra slim fit fits much better than the baggy slim fit BB shirts

 

[js4design]

Originally Posted by Achilles_

Those of us without a BB store around cannot know where they are made though

most shirts are folded in such a way in the website photos that you can see where they are made on the tag in the picture when you zoom.

 

[sportin_life]

The extra slim fit BB shirts fit pretty well for me, although the waist is still slightly large. For some reason, BB is adamant about flaring out the waist on all their shirts. I think the quality is fine. I usually toss my shirts annually, and have found that the BB hold up to an average of 25-30 wears w/o a major issue. As someone else mentioned, my only issues with the BB shirts have been the cheap buttons but most of the time it is fine.

One thing that I would add is to get the regular fabric, which doesn't wrinkle much. I've found that their non-iron extra slim fit shirts have funky fabric that is rough and tends to be uncomfortable. One caveat is that the non-iron fabric also seems more stain resistant.

I only own a couple RLBL shirts but the fit is slimmer than the BB extra slims, mainly with slimmer arms and waist. I might have bad luck or be a poor judge of quality but I don't find anything in particular about the RLBL shirt fabric or build that makes it that much better than the BB shirts, except for better buttons --- but hard to justify the large mark-up. I end up wearing lots of BB as daily shirts and love the fact that I can get them in the correct length.

 

[Achilles_]

Originally Posted by js4design

most shirts are folded in such a way in the website photos that you can see where they are made on the tag in the picture when you zoom.

Good to know, thank you!