The unofficial Drake's London Appreciation Thread

[Socks_mtg]

it still seems approachable and inclusive. The other end of the spectrum being, let's say, the uber-ridiculous display of "living well" on the account of people the likes of Alexander Kraft.

This - I’ve never been one to subscribe to the “all drake’s everything” looks, where to your point the pricing starts to hit the obscene.

Mine the lookbooks and editorial, know what you can’t get elsewhere for less, and what you have to save/pony up for from Drake’s.

 

[RichNash]

I feel the reality of the situation is that most here cannot really afford to shop at Drake’s.

I can’t really & look to pick up pieces either in the archive sale, eBay or Vinted.

I own a shirt & a mid-blue tie with a nice sailing boat motif. I used to own a fun shirt but it shrunk in the wash despite following instructions.

I do like Drake’s but am completely disinterested in their fleeces or rugby shirts & would never countenance buying a t-shirt & shorts from them. Any knitwear I would get from Reiss, John Smedley or Jamieson’s etc. I would not buy the simple OCBD from Drake’s, & feel collar is no different *when buttoned up* to other good producers.

What I do like Drake’s for, however, are their patterned ties, scarves, the cut of their jeans, chore jacket & Crosby shoes; the astorflex & Valesca just don’t look the same! Sometimes they’ll do a particular stripe of shirt that I cannot find elsewhere.

People like to stay their head to toe wearing Drake’s & feel like they’re let off a club, which is fine.

 

[SimonC]

Thanks, going to Madrid in a couple weeks. Will visit them.

I’ve also had some pieces made by Lopez Aragon. The quality is good, and the price very fair once you take into account the level of customisation available.

 

[Treble]

Drake's see their competitor brands and probably see plenty of scope for further price rises unfortunately. RRP for a Ralph Lauren blazer can be £700, Boglioli £800 - and there are plenty others higher than that.

 

[ubiquitousstyle]

Which of these two would you consider more versatile: the olive quilted Nylon snap vest or the navy linen utility vest?

I think a vest for layering would be perfect for my wardrobe - just not sure which one is better.

 

[sushijerk]

I'm rather surprised people here react so negativity towards dinners and outings, which are basically photo shoots for their clothing. Doesn't drake's get a lot of love for their editorial content and is part of the reason they stood out in the first place? If they want to turn a fancy business dinner that's probably going to happen anyway into a shoot instead of paying for a model/lighting/makeup/magazine space I don't think it's costing them too much extra. I rather enjoy the small articles and photos in my email every weekend more than the overdone product journalism that I get in the nyt and wsj weekend magazines.

One spot I wish they'd spend more money on is the Canal St store. Does anyone else think the "we're in the middle of construction" pop up store vibe is weird? Maybe I'm biased as a fan of the old Crosby St location. There's no way the London or Korea locations look like this....right?

 

[SailingIvy]

Drake's see their competitor brands and probably see plenty of scope for further price rises unfortunately. RRP for a Ralph Lauren blazer can be £700, Boglioli £800 - and there are plenty others higher than that.

You're so right. Ralph Lauren is a great brand, they offer some very nice and unique stuff besides the polos and ocbds but at the same time all of it is crazy overpriced. Tho it's executed so well and sometimes really irreplaceable. So in the end you have to choose to buy it from them and hope you'll get a sale price somewhere. At least they distribution-network leads to a lot of availability and possibilities for scoring a discount of 50% or sometimes even way more than that.

 

[single_origin]

I'm not a fan of the lifestyle type content which sees them going on junkets all over the world. I'd rather not "pay" for those in the pricing, and prefer if they just show us their renowned styling in a studio or some local photo shoot settings. The category I usually shop - shirts - has mid product photos as well where it's not on a model and get a practical sense of styling. I'd rather they invest in that rather than travel somewhere far away to write a profile about some artist somewhere I don't care about.

But those of us here on SF lamenting about it are the minority for sure. On the accounts that someone linked to earlier, ROW sales are up 50% from 2023 from 2024 (low base though - 800k GBP in '23), Korea was flat and UK/EU is up 15%ish, US is about about 20%. What they're doing is working at the moment, but I wonder if the growth from 2023 to 2024 is more a function of revenge/catch up type spending coming out of the pandemic and whether it'll continue in 2025, given these hard sell price levels they're at currently.

 

[NotToryDavid]

The Hitchcock (Chelsea Boots) are at a crazy markdown. Anyone with feedback on how the run size-wise? Thanks.

I bought a pair in 10.5. The size chart sets those at 45 EU which is my normal size. Generally I take 11 and a smaller 10.5 if I need a closer fit. These will be my first pair of Drakes shoes. Hope they fit!

 

[slows2k]

I'm rather surprised people here react so negativity towards dinners and outings, which are basically photo shoots for their clothing. Doesn't drake's get a lot of love for their editorial content and is part of the reason they stood out in the first place? If they want to turn a fancy business dinner that's probably going to happen anyway into a shoot instead of paying for a model/lighting/makeup/magazine space I don't think it's costing them too much extra. I rather enjoy the small articles and photos in my email every weekend more than the overdone product journalism that I get in the nyt and wsj magazine.

This right here, 100%. This is what drakes does better than anyone else. They sell me their clothing best through their editorials, trips, dinners, etc; it all feels so approachable. other brands do runway shows (see the most recent Todd Snyder one, a brand not far away in either style or cost from drakes). How much do those cost to hold? And is anyone actually inspired by how clothing is styled on runway models? I certainly am not, and I doubt I’m alone.

And to criticize having 3 stores in big cities worldwide for the whole company…seems kind of misplaced?

I guess I dont get why a luxury lifestyle brand shouldn’t have stores in major cities where people have money and shop.

 

[csm88]

Which of these two would you consider more versatile: the olive quilted Nylon snap vest or the navy linen utility vest?

I think a vest for layering would be perfect for my wardrobe - just not sure which one is better.

Personally, I would think the olive quilted vest is more versatile mainly because it will actually offer added warmth, whereas the linen vest won’t offer much in that regard. Depends on your weather needs. I also think you could wear the olive vest much easier on its own. Wearing the linen vest alone you run the risk of looking like denim vest guy from Seinfeld if you’re not careful….just my 2 cents

 

[yungchomsky]

Games jacket I got at the last sample sale

 

[Dan Dynamic]

Games jacket I got at the last sample sale

View attachment 2328905

Wallabees?

 

[hpreston]

While I don’t disagree that price have increased significantly (although so have most brands..), it’s not quite that bad though? The $225+ items you refer to are 90x90 scarfs and not small pocket squares are they not? Unless there are some insane mark-ups to your territory.

Yep. That specific example was my bad, just skimming the archive…. Saw square at the price and just kept on scrolling

I still maintain, there’s a lot of Drakes items that seem overpriced (to me).

Examples, the raglan coats at $2000? Similar coats from Kaptain Sunshine or Valstar about half that price…. Drakes prices in case make zero sense to me.

There’s a lot of Drakes items I do really like and would buy at a reasonable price. Their OCBDs remain amongst my favorites. And quality wise, if I needed a tie, drakes would be a top choice.

 

[multiccy-csa]

Wrestling the conversation away from branding and prices for a moment if i may, a couple of interrelated questions regarding the Coverall.
For years i have worn the Barbour Beaufort, but have recently happily made the switch, not least because we don't have the strong wax odour one gets from a Barbour.. which i know some love, but to my mind there's a time and place for that stench, and it's sometimes overpowering, particularly after a downpour. So:
1. How do Drake's do it, without it smelling?
2. How do i rewax it, without it smelling like my old Barbour?