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

The cool thing about urban outfitters is that they have no shame about discounting **** no one buys down to around $10. At that price you really can't lose, ironic hipster trash or not

All in all:

Zara
H&M
Club Monaco
J. Crew
Uniqlo
Armani Exchange
Express
Gap
Banana Republic

anything else is just too terrible to bother ranking.

I don't know what BR some of you shop at but in my few experiences with BR the quality/materials have always been pure ****.

My list (again this is what I have experience with) is as follows:

Rugby: (I have several pairs of their university chinos which are great and a few sweaters/cardigans)
J-Crew: If you use their sales and get their sale cards in the mail you can not beat their price to value period
Uniqlo- bought a few of their tees and they are usually pretty good
Abercrombie-you have to search long and hard but I have about 10 of their vintage looking shirts that if you find the right ones are incredible. Most of their stuff is pure crap though
H&M-most of their stuff isn't very good but I've gotten a few good buys. Bought an unlined cotton suit that is great







BR-terrible

Originally Posted by robertorex

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At that price you really can't lose, ironic hipster trash or not

False.

What about stores like Hollister, Pacific Sunwear, and The Buckle? lol those probably are near the bottom of the list. What about the refined Abercrombie, Ruehl?

I don't really shop at mall stores anymore, but I still have a guilty pleasure for J Crew (even if its made in a sweatshop)

Originally Posted by adamha21

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What about stores like Hollister, Pacific Sunwear, and The Buckle? lol those probably are near the bottom of the list. What about the refined Abercrombie, Ruehl?

I don't really shop at mall stores anymore, but I still have a guilty pleasure for J Crew (even if its made in a sweatshop)

those are all awful. Once in ten trips or so you'll find a fun shirt at PS but the rest aren't even worth stopping in.

Three months ago I never thought this would happen, but I now, for the most part, can't stand BR. The vast majority of their stuff is horribly bland. I have recently come to like J Crew much more once I figured out their sizing. I especially appreciate J Crew's interest in 'vintage' styles and fabrics, not to mention their ridiculous sales as of late.

So, while I don't have much experience with the other brands, I'd rank J Crew way above BR at this point.

Originally Posted by whacked

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^ That ranking only applies to the North American market, BTW. In Europe, Zara is the lowest of low when it comes to garment construction, even below H&M and prob on par with Topman. And we all know that in Japan, A&F is the ****.

... and in much of Asia where Uniqlo's are everywhere, they are considered just ... blah. and yes, A&F is viewed as highly desirable in Asia. People lined up for the opening of the first H&M in Shanghai. People lined up for the opening of the first Gap store in Singapore.

perceived exclusivity due to lack of local retail presence can do a lot to make what's boring and passe in one place into *the* must go store in another place.

hence the ga-ga'ing over Uniqlo in the U.S.

i like uniqlo since most of the sizing is asian friendly.

My opinion of BR also has slipped since becoming more aware of J.Crew's offerings. J.Crew does have the appeal of doing vintage well. That said, I think BR still does a few things well, namely winter coats and sometimes other outerwear. You just have to be much more selective at BR whereas I feel I could pull almost anything off the shelves at J. Crew and be very satisfied. And like others have said, you really can't beat those J.Crew sales.

J. Crew always has some crazy deals online that make me buy some clothes... but I'm almost always dissapointed.

For me it would probably go:

#1 Uniqlo for all the reasons listed. I like almost all their stuff and the prices are right.

#2 Banana Republic. I feel weird putting this one so high, but for decently priced (at least with sales) "dress" clothes I'm not sure what would be better.

#3 Zara. Horribly disorganized and sometimes their quality is atrocious. But often you can find great items for a great price, if you are willing to wade through the piles at their store.

# 4 J. Crew. Fantastic deals, but the cuts and styles always disappoint me. Bland preppy stuff. I bumped this to four since it is so damn cheap though.

#5 H&M... although I try to avoid it, seems like they carry decent stuff.

#6 Gap. Poor man's uniqlo as the first guy said, but still a place to get simple stuff with fair quality.

#7 American Apparel. I enjoy their clothes, but they seem way overpriced for almost every item. If you can find them on sale on Ebay they make good items though.


Of the above, Uniqlo is the only place I shop on any kind of regular basis.

Most of the other stuff listed here is either way too expensive and if I'm paying that kind of money I'm getting something better (Club Monaco type places) or just horrible (American Eagle type places). A&F seems to stamp some ugly fake faded logo on every item. can't get down with that.


I don't think I've ever shopped at a Rugby store though.

That "bland preppy stuff" is what others, myself included, might call "vintage American," meaning non-fadish, classic, timeless. Yes, BR has good "dress clothes" for work if what you want is a rather contemporary but yet plain look. But J.Crew, imo, has some edge to it due to its vintage styling.

No, I mean bland preppy stuff, not what I at least would call vintage american. J. Crew isn't brooks brothers. I don't find their stuff to be timeless at all. Just looks like bad versions of a style popular in the 90s.

But I think I actually have to reorganize my list. BR at 2 and Zara at 3 seems wierd.

Okay, well, that's a unique view, anyway.

I mean they deals are pretty unbeatable. And they do have plenty of classic clothes... but those same classic simple clothes can be found at most places like the Gap or whatever. on the flip side, they have a lot of stuff that just seems like A&F without the logo and a lot of other pretty stuff that I wouldn't consider timeless or classic (glancing through their sales now, I mean stuff like this or this). Mainly though, the clothes I have bought, while great deals, seem to be cut poorly (for my body at least) and have patterns/colors that just don't do much for me. Lots of little things, like the shape of pockets or collars or the shades of the colors used, that in person make the stuff look kind of blah to me. but to each his own.