STORE WARS: J. Crew vs. Banana Republic
Starting March 15th and running through April 4th, Dappered.com is hosting a bracket based tournament with the purpose of eventually crowning the all around Affordable Men’s Style Retail Champ for 2011. For a full introduction see this post. To see the updated bracket, click on the image to the right. Make a case for your preferred competitor in the comments section, but don’t forget to vote at the bottom of each match up. On with today’s showdown.
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Strengths: The top of the non department store food chain. Their run of success over the past few years has been remarkable. Their Ludlow fit, their suits in general, and their sportcoats/blazers are certainly something. They get subtle patterns. They’ve partnered up with some heritage brands to offer unique, almost always incredibly good looking items. Their “Factory” line gives those of us without a huge bankroll an opportunity to get the look at a reasonable price.
Weaknesses: Can get a little too big for their britches sometimes (see the patent pending Muyjens-ometer for examples). Selling a Timex for $175 is ridiculous. Those damn “final sales” when you can’t return items. The high shipping costs from Jcrew.com. Overall, pretty expensive.
Strengths: Self described as “accessible luxury” which is about right. The top of the GAP inc brand pyramid, so they’re everywhere. They’re using better and better fabrics in their blazers and suiting. Design of many pieces can look incredible. Their silk/cotton/cashmere v-neck is the best on the market. They stumbled a few months back, but their suit fit has come roaring back with their tailored fit leading the way. Free shipping from their website with a $50 purchase, free returns to their brick and mortar stores if you don’t like it. And their sales associates, who yes can sometimes be a little too attentive… but well… two words: pencil skirts.
Weaknesses: You really have to play the retail waiting game with BR. One day it’s full price, the next day it’s 40% off with a coupon or online code. But by then your size could be gone. Much of their stuff is made in China. Jeans are expensive. The colors of clothing on their website won’t always match up with reality.
Your votes determine who goes on to the next round. Cast your ballot below.
UPDATE: J. Crew maintained a steady lead all day and punches their ticket to the semis.
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Store Wars: J. Crew vs. Banana Republic
- J. Crew (58%, 277 Votes)
- Banana Republic (42%, 202 Votes)
Total Voters: 477
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Banana Republic, hands down.
Now this is a tough one. I think this matchup is the true “Super Bowl” if this competition.
J. Crew wins the style competition in my book. But Banana Republic wins the value portion of the battle pretty easily. The quality battle is a dead heat (not counting the heritage colabs at J. Crew).
Im gonna need some time to think….
Definitely J. Crew for me. Haven’t enjoyed many of my BR purchases (except for my messenger bag, which I do love). J. Crew’s provided a little more for my wardrobe though, and I think their clothing in general looks better.
Banana Republic has the best value. For me, that’s the very essence of “affordable men’s style.” I really do enjoy J. Crew’s style, but at 6’6″ 240lbs I just can’t wear it. J. Crew’s overall fit for their clothing is geared towards shorter, very trim men. Gap, Inc. always provides a wide variety of sizes and fits. Plus, J. Crew can’t compete with Banana’s sales (both online and in-store). To each their own, but Banana fits me better, is better-priced, and offers precisely the style and pieces I need. Come on, BR!
J. Crew for me as well…even with the higher price tags.
As an FYI, another 30% off final sale started up today. That black watch sportcoat from a few weeks back is still available in a number of sizes.
Banana Republic.
In the future, you should put online retailers (Zappos, Topman, Amazon) and department stores (Macy’s, Nordstrom) on the same side, and clothes-specific retailers (BR, J. Crew, Brooks Brothers) on the other side. Then the finals would be more interesting.
J Crew wins it for me. Their style, fit and quality are above BR.
Agreed. This is the real match-up of the tourney – which, has turned out to be about as frustrating as the real thing, in my opinion.
@Dave S not Brock – sorry
J. Crew for me. It’s more expensive, to be sure– but I’ve never been won over by anything I’ve come across at Banana Republic. If I’m going to spend the money, I’ll pick J Crew where I’ll get some ROI in both the quality and appeal.
Agree with this completely. Happy to see J.Crew in the lead. It’s my go-to for most of my clothing, to the point that I actually wish there were other vendors that could compete with it for quality and style (BR and others take notice). I don’t mind the additional cost and lack of sales.
Working on some picks as we speak. And yes, that black watch sportcoat will absolutely be one of them.
Gotta go with Banana Republic on this one
J.Crew hands down. And when their sale stuff goes an extran 30 or 40% off some of the deals are hard to beat. Silk ties 10 bucks oxford cloth shirts 15-20. J.Crew is my go to for everything. Prices seem to have gone up a little even in the last year. BR is fine but I would honestly pick LEC over BR. This matchup is a landslid to me, J.Crew all the way.
I’m a short skinny guy. Just did a major clothes clean out. Most of the stuff I threw out was BR that was entirely too big but that seemed awesome at the time. Gotta go with J. Crew on this one.
@akshay I think this is set up perfect, just like the tournament its self. It wouldnt be MARCH MADNESS if all the most similar teams were matched against eachother. That is what makes it fun. As for this bracket these matchups make the bracket more interesting and in some cases harder to choose.
JCrew, simply because they carry tall sizes and their shipping is Canada-friendly. BR, on the other hand, only carries tall sizes in their US store and charges Canadians a fortune for ordering from it (why not just add tall sizes to BR.ca? *boggle*).
That’s a good point. They also carry x-small in-store, which B.R. does not. Also, B.R.’s x-smalls are very oddly proportioned imo.
Banana Republic. J. Crew is always priced out of my reach.
I got the black watch sportcoat on Friday and had about 20 compliments (no kidding) by 8PM. JCrew wins for me b/c things I get from them fall into the “special” category.
Oh man. This one is really tough for me. I’ve regularly gotten some really great pieces from Banana Republic, but ever since J. Crew Factory launched I’ve bought some great stuff there, too. I’ll have to think about this and possibly flip a coin.
I’m a BR man. How have you guys been responding to people asking “why you are so dressed up today?” I tell them: 1) I’m in my thirties now. 2) 80-90% of people judge you by the way you dress. It takes an extra 5-10 minutes to look good. 3) I work out everyday. Why hide it?
I get that question alot at work. I work for a company that has about 50 buildings, but only one that technically encourages “Dry Clean Only”. The rest of us can fare day-in and out with jeans and a t-shirt. I choose to dress it up for the same reasons as you; I’m 31 & I care about how I look. Tell ’em either you’re “dressing for life”, or that “it’s too easy to dress down”. Don’t be ashamed about it, it’s what separates you from the rest of the pack.
Jcrew definitely. Banana Republic would have been my choice a few years ago, but since then their quality has dramatically fallen off. I really love buying the same shirt and pants over and over and then learn that a company swaps out the materials to something far cheaper at the sake of quality… thats the best way to build loyal customers…
I’m a Banana Republican, but I do enjoy the J Crew polo shirts and discount shelves.
Its the concept of Supply and Demand. JCrew has less stores, higher prices overall including shipping, and less items on sale. Quality is also a bit higher for JCrew because of the prices that they charge. I lust after more JCrew items because of this.
As a 16 year old with a diverse wardrobe, I would have to say that I like J Crew a lot more than I like Banana Republic. I shop in a lot of different stores but I think that as far as aesthetics are concerned, J Crew takes the cake. Sure BR is more affordable, but J Crew is money well spent.
Jcrew for chinos,banana republic for button shirts
I visited a JCrew store one month ago. In comparison to the offerings from Banana Republic, JCrew’s clothing for men was decidedly lacking in taste, style and quality/creativity of fabric and materials. It was a palpable and substantial difference. BR clothing features some interesting blends of materials (cotton-silk-cashmere), and interesting uses of modal, alpaca and merino wool fibers, and their designers generally seem much more attuned to European sensibilities in fashion, which I find more sophisticated and tasteful than the bland, generic stuff offered by JCrew. BR makes some thick-gauge cotton sweaters that are wonderfully soft, and their merino wool sweaters are excellent. Their cashmere sweaters are very nice, but cashmere is such a terrific insulator that, unless you live in Siberia or Antarctica, the sweaters are too warm to be worn comfortably.
I’m a guy in his mid-thirties. I buy dress pants, scarves, sweaters, hoodies, polo shirts, sweaters and coats from BR.
When BR’s stuff is on sale (which it often is on the website), their clothes are much more reasonably priced than Crew. But, again, it comes down to aesthetics for me, and BR beats JCrew handily in that category.
I think Banana Republic is better. I walked into two J. Crew stores – one in Stamford, CT and one in Rockefeller Center in NYC. I was not impressed. Their shirts, while nice, are not any better than Gap’s. The quality of their ties, work shirts, and casual shirts are the same as Gap. Those shirts to have the small, stand-out details that Banana Republic shirts have, such as color blocks on the inside cuffs, and on the inside shirts.
I wholeheartedly agree. I was not impressed with J. Crew’s men section at their location in Rockefeller Center in NYC.
Who cares if you work out everyday? I’m fat and I look damn good in BR clothes. I get complimented ALL THE TIME, even by women, when I happen to be gay.
The J. Crew silk ties for men at their Rockefeller Center location in NYC looked cheap to me.