The Official RRL Thread

[RRL CLOTHING]

J.Crew has a few awesome pieces.. priced as such.

http://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/shirts/utilityshirts/PRDOVR~50532/50532.jsp
http://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/denim/484slim/PRDOVR~18975/18975.jsp


and some nice colored $98 selvedge chambrays worthy of RRL fit and finish (*** fabrics - made in China)

but in general their denim, flannel and utility shirts are nothing special.. don't know why their website refers to almost everything above a $70 price point as "a collector's item"

 

[clee1982]



J.Crew has a few awesome pieces.. priced as such.

http://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/shirts/utilityshirts/PRDOVR~50532/50532.jsp
http://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/denim/484slim/PRDOVR~18975/18975.jsp


and some nice colored $98 selvedge chambrays worthy of RRL fit and finish (*** fabrics - made in China)

but in general their denim, flannel and utility shirts are nothing special.. don't know why their website refers to almost everything above a $70 price point as "a collector's item"

don't forget their aldens, got to wait till sales

 

[paul_s]

If they do start selling online, it may finally mean they get their sizing more consistent. Can you imagine the amount of returns on denim if they don't?

 

[kmdsimpson]



Actually, after having not checked out jcrew in a long while I checked the site and I like more and more stuff, especially some of the indigo shirts. Elsewhere, that K&TH madras they did for $200 made in Japan:

has been just as good if not better than most of RRLs recent shirts, cheaper, and not made in China.

J Crew does some nice things once in a while, but I have learned to be very selective in what I buy there. I have been very disappointed with the quality of their items and how they hold up over the long run. There is no comparison to RRL - or to RL in general - in that respect. Even though RRL is mostly made in Asia, they have great quality control.

As for J Crew collabs - yes, they are often great. And on sale, it's a great way to pick up some high end stuff. But what does that make them, other than a curator? How are they that much different than going to a shop like Context or Blue Owl or Blake's?

That madras looks awesome, though.. but it's not theirs.

 

[kmdsimpson]



If they do start selling online, it may finally mean they get their sizing more consistent. Can you imagine the amount of returns on denim if they don't?

I would be very happy if they made their denim available online. It might force them to be more consistent with sizing, as you say. It would also be great to be able to see all the cuts, colors, and washes in one place. And it would be especially convenient at sale time. I'd have no problem with them putting denim and icon items up.

The limited edition stuff... seems like the secret would be out, so selfishly I'd hate to see that. But I could see them putting select pieces up to give people a taste.

 

[somatoform]



J Crew does some nice things once in a while, but I have learned to be very selective in what I buy there. I have been very disappointed with the quality of their items and how they hold up over the long run. There is no comparison to RRL - or to RL in general - in that respect. Even though RRL is mostly made in Asia, they have great quality control.

As for J Crew collabs - yes, they are often great. And on sale, it's a great way to pick up some high end stuff. But what does that make them, other than a curator? How are they that much different than going to a shop like Context or Blue Owl or Blake's?

That madras looks awesome, though.. but it's not theirs.

Oh sure, I understand that. But I was talking less about the branding per se (it's K&TH, not even a Jcrew collab) and more about overall shopping experience. I knew of K&TH before but just regarded them as a relatively eccentric brand off limits to me. But if Jcrew is bringing them in , retaining their quality, increasing exposure, and offering a more American sizing, then at the end of the day if I have $200 in my pocket to burn on a shirt then from an overall shopping model I'm liking jcrew.

Now, speaking as a happy RRL jackrabbit shirt consumer, that kind of matters. I bought that shirt at full retail, and with shipping and tax was nearly a $300 shirt, made in China and with a small, fixable defect, but a defect nonetheless. That's unacceptable. There are at least a half dozen made in Japan wabash shirt offering out there for substantially less who no one is complaining about on sufu.

The $250 Kato chambray on jcrew is another case in point. That's right around RRL pricing for a chambray of the same style, except RRL would be making theirs in China, and wouldn't even be providing visual access to it before hitting ebay. Not Jcrew to be sure, but all this matters, as far as I'm concerned, to shopping interests and brand image.

$250 Kato chambray, made in Japan, and thanks to jcrew I can see it and order it:

$250 RRL chambray, made in China, and I can finally see it no thanks to RRL
:

They are not identical, but obviously appeal to similar audiences, and Jcrew's or not, they are showing RRL to be a cheap, pretentious brand that is overly full of themselves. From an overall shopping experience, my $250 is gravitating to different places and I'm thankfull for that.

 

[kmdsimpson]



Oh sure, I understand that. But I was talking less about the branding per se (it's K&TH, not even a Jcrew collab) and more about overall shopping experience. I knew of K&TH before but just regarded them as a relatively eccentric brand off limits to me. But if Jcrew is bringing them in , retaining their quality, increasing exposure, and offering a more American sizing, then at the end of the day if I have $200 in my pocket to burn on a shirt then from an overall shopping model I'm liking jcrew.

Now, speaking as a happy RRL jackrabbit shirt consumer, that kind of matters. I bought that shirt at full retail, and with shipping and tax was nearly a $300 shirt, made in China and with a small, fixable defect, but a defect nonetheless. That's unacceptable. There are at least a half dozen made in Japan wabash shirt offering out there for substantially less who no one is complaining about on sufu.

The $250 Kato chambray on jcrew is another case in point. That's right around RRL pricing for a chambray of the same style, except RRL would be making theirs in China, and wouldn't even be providing visual access to it before hitting ebay. Not Jcrew to be sure, but all this matters, as far as I'm concerned, to shopping interests and brand image.

$250 Kato chambray, made in Japan, and thanks to jcrew I can see it and order it:


$250 RRL chambray, made in China, and I can finally see it no thanks to RRL



They are not identical, but obviously appeal to similar audiences, and Jcrew's or not, they are showing RRL to be a cheap, pretentious brand that is overly full of themselves. From an overall shopping experience, my $250 is gravitating to different places and I'm thankfull for that.

Fair points. I'm surprised to hear about your problems with the jackrabbit shirt.

But the Kato chambray is not a J Crew product. Even if J Crew wants to order a special color or something, in order to make it a "collab", it is still being manufactured by the original brand. And my opinion is that the collab items are almost invariably of noticeable higher quality than the J Crew items. For example, compare their Aldens (custom colors) to the J Crew in-house longwing - the J Crew shoes are truly pieces of crap, even a the lower price point. And I mean that sincerely.

I guess I'm just making a semantic argument here - if it's sold in the J Crew store, then that's still a reason to go shop there. So maybe by making them more widely accessible, due to their much larger footprint than a mom and pop store, they are doing a service.

And as I said, I do shop them, but very selectively. I just sold a pair of shorts that were the wrong size, but were quite nice otherwise. I just think in general their quality has really declined.

 

[kmdsimpson]

So sorry for the tangent on J Crew....

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of RRL putting their denim online. I hope they do. I think their denim is one item that really is a good value compared to other jeans of similar quality out there. It would be great for them to make it more readily known and available. I don't see their denim as being something that has cache only because it's rare; and it would just make it so much easier to get reliable sizing and access to the good washes (like raw or blue on black), without having to order sight unseen from a store or from ebay.

 

[Froosh]

I don't know, I love how relatively unknown the brand is so I'm on the fence about RRL being put online. On the one hand like you said, it'll be much easier to buy items. On the other, everyone will have it.

Off topic: Can anyone with a tagged size 33 or 34 in the RRL red line selvedge chinos provide BiG style measurements? Any difference in sizing or cut between the 9.5oz and 10.5oz chinos other than fabric weight? Which ones are Blake, Context and RRL selling now?

 

[NAMOR]

Froosh, I wish I got a buck for every time you request measurements of the RRL selvedge chino.

 

[solexmoneyla]

where can i score a pair of selvedge rrl chinos? i checked the polo store and they didnt have any my size!

 

[NAMOR]

the RRL Selvedge Chino Tooth Fairy has some

 

[solexmoneyla]

any 31-32s on hand? if anyone needs a 28-30 in the selvedge chino, i can do pickups.

 

[whodini]



The $250 Kato chambray on jcrew is another case in point. That's right around RRL pricing for a chambray of the same style, except RRL would be making theirs in China, and wouldn't even be providing visual access to it before hitting ebay. Not Jcrew to be sure, but all this matters, as far as I'm concerned, to shopping interests and brand image.

They are not identical, but obviously appeal to similar audiences, and Jcrew's or not, they are showing RRL to be a cheap, pretentious brand that is overly full of themselves. From an overall shopping experience, my $250 is gravitating to different places and I'm thankfull for that.

I'm not sure if I follow the logic of this argument because it look a lot like, "Shirt A and B are priced the same but because Shirt A is made in Japan and is easy to order then Shirt B is overpriced ****."

The whole "China is one giant cheap sweatshop" argument aside, I don't think it really matters at this point where RRL is manufactured from a quality standpoint. The only time I read about people complaining about the garments being made in China or India are from people relatively unfamiliar with the brand or are oblivious to buying by brand and factory than country alone.

I think it's a fairly presumptuous argument to make when you're assuming the margins that both companies are working with in this case. While I can understand RRL inflating their margins a bit due to brand image, I certainly see Kato's price as paying more for their overhead, labor, and import duties than the actual fabric itself in comparison to RRL.

 

[Froosh]



Froosh, I wish I got a buck for every time you request measurements of the RRL selvedge chino.

too paranoid after buying some incorrectly measured items! Now with jimmyfingers offering to proxy, gonna have to jump on it!

EDIT: Check out these measurements for a size 33. Waist size varies from tts 33" to 35" and thighs from 23" to 25". Would suck to have to return/exchange given how expensive Canada Post is.

Blake (BiG method):
Waist 17.25
Front rise 11.25
Back rise 14.25
Thigh 12
Knee 9.5
Hem 8.75

Context:
Waist 16.5
Front rise 10.5
Back rise ??
Thigh 11.5
Knee 9
Hem 8.5

Measurements provided by a few kind members here (BiG method):
Waist 17.6 (or a bit more)
Front rise 11.5
Back rise 15
Thigh 12
Knee 9.25
Hem 8.5

Waist 17
Front rise 10 3/4
Back rise 15
Thigh 12.5
Knee 9
Hem 8.75