Sales that deserve some attention heading into the weekend, or sometimes, a bit earlier. Might not be some massive once a year event, but still worth a look. Those are what make up these handfuls. Expect these things when necessary. Five of the better sales, one for each finger, are below. Included are a few picks worth pointing out.
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JCPenney: New jcp brand arrivals are starting to trickle in
The Picks: jcp Printed Polka Dot Shirt – $25.00, French Terry Crew – $18.00
“Get dapper in the dots”… there’s that damn word again (and again here). The big d-word has been making a serious run lately. In full agreement with Chava M in the comments over here that it’s gotten too much play as of late. Anyway, looks like there’s a few new arrivals from jcp starting to come in and they have potential. No, dots aren’t as traditional as stripes or a check, but the white on deep navy keeps it from getting too out of control. A risk for some that plenty will take. Meanwhile, along with sounding like a Parisian Gangster, the French Terry Crew looks good for under $20. Might have to size down. Keep an eye out in your local brick & mortar JCPenny for these new duds.
Frank & Oak: Winter Sale & Free Shipping w/ GETSHIPPED
The Pick: Huntsman’s Wool Blazer in rust – $85.00
Ships free with the code GETSHIPPED. Frank & Oak’s site is still confusing. To get to the “sale” section, you have to go to the “edit” (not “shop”). Plus, stuff sells out awfully fast. Some swear by them though. Your experience with F&O is welcome in the comments.
J. Crew: A few more sale items added, now 40% off w/ GET40
The Picks: Danner Vertigo Boots – $179.99 ($320), Ludlow Nailhead Jacket & Pant – $359.99 ($600)
Yes, another handful, another J. Crew extra % off sale items mention. But they’ve bumped it to 40% off, and those Danners are something else. Meanwhile, there’s not many sizes left in the nailhead jacket (36R, 40R, and 40L available at post time), but the pants just showed up in the sale section. Also, in case you missed it yesterday, the code FACEBOOK takes 20% off orders of $100 and up as well as delivers free shipping at J. Crew Factory. That pushes their new cotton suiting down nicely.
Lands’ End / L.E.C.: 25% off w/ CHILL & 2528
The Picks: Coastal Rugby – $26.98
, Suede Boots – $25.50 – $37.47
, Terry Shawl – $35.98
Free shipping seems to kick in at $50 too. You have to wander on over to the “Canvas Clearance” section on the big brother Lands’ End site, but there’s some good finds with a strangely large amount of sizes available. Code expires this upcoming Monday, 1/28.
Techné Watches: Price Drop on 3 Models
The Picks: Merlin – $142.50 ($190), Merlin Multi – $180 ($240) , SparrowHawk II – $274.50 ($305)
Big hat-tip to Ryan P. for the style tip here. A nice sized price drop on a few awfully popular models from the watch brand Techne. Great looking, more than reasonable price, and very well reviewed. Lots of detailed reviews and pics over at Worn & Wound, who seems to be very impressed with these things.
Also worth a mention: UNIONMADE has a sale going on, but sizes are all over the place and it’s a bit of a haystack. Meanwhile, is Banana Republic trying to go 30% off for all of 2013? BRTAKE30 is good for 30% off through 1/26. Saturdays NYC has marked down their own brand of clothing, shoes, and accessories by 40% (hat tip to Jacob D for that info). Rue La La just launched a Coach sale, with men’s accessories included. Couple of sweet card cases here and here.
Does anyone have any experience with the Canvas Men’s Harrison Suede Chukka Sneaker? It’s cheap enough, but “combination shoes,” like chukka+sneaker, boat shoe+boot, etc, seems too trendy.
I like F&O for their shirts and some other items but would not recommend them for their blazers. The sizing is not very consistent on the blazers at all. Neither is the quality. I’ve tried about 6 different blazers (sometimes in multiple sizes) and had to send them all back.
Also some further reductions in the sale section over at brooks brothers, but slim pickings overall.
To clarify “slim pickings” = sizes are hit or miss
Daaang. Those Techne watches are good lookin’. But still overpriced for the specs you get. Anyone jonesing for the vintage pilot look at a lower price range should check out some of the Timex Expedition models available at Target – T49878 and T49875 come to mind.
I will definitely be picking up the JCP shirt later today. I’ve always had a soft spot for dot shirts, but seeing as I’m in college I cant afford the Fifth&Brennan haha. Any word on sizing this badboy? I’m a 16 4/5, 38 chest
I tried some of the new JCP stuff. I got a pretty nice tattersall shirt (didn’t like the sweatshirts). The good news is that they fixed the sleeves. I didn’t really mind how the old shirts were super-thin around the wrist (made them great layering shirts) but they aren’t so thin anymore so feel free to wear a watch or roll your sleeves or whatnot.
The bad news is that there seems to be a really downsizing of the JCP line. There were maybe a half-dozen new shirt styles and with them practically burning away their old stuff (honestly, at $14 a shirt, how can you not have a JCP shirt in your closet?), the JCP store is going to be much smaller next year (which is a shame because I loved that line)
I’ve had positive experiences with Frank and Oak. Received a couple button-downs and a shawl collar sweater at Christmas. They initially sent one wrong item, but once I contacted customer service they immediately (within an hour) shipped the correct one before receiving the return. They even credited back the shipping on the original order. I was very impressed and I have been happy with the quality. Their sizing is right on for me (Medium- 5′ 10″- 175 lbs.- 15.5 neck- 32/33 sleeve). It’s definitely worth giving them a look.
Same here–I love their shirts and the sweater I bought from them is great, but I’ve returned all but one of the four blazers I’ve ordered from them.
I’m also getting a bit tired with their return policy and customer service. The last blazer I returned was delivered back to them three weeks ago, according to the tracking info. When I questioned it, I got this response:
“Hope all is well. Very sorry for the delay. Just so you know, when an
item is marked as delivered on FedEx, it only means we received it at
our freight forwarder in Champlain, NY. Returns are not processed in New
York. They are only processed once received in Montreal.
As an
exception, we will process your return for you, but generally we rather
wait until we actually get the returns in our office.”
So I’m supposed to wait a month to get credited back? And they don’t even give you your money back, just store credit!
Once I spend the last of my credit, I’m done with Frank & Oak. Great idea; very poorly executed.
Every month I contemplate cancelling my F&O account. I have ordered three shirts in Large and those things all shrunk what seems a full size, maybe more. I have somewhat broad shoulders compared to my waist, so they fit great out of the box, but if your girlfriend tosses your laundry into the dryer for you without grabbing your hang-dries first… rendered worthless. It’s too bad because I like them at first. I will say they I got a couple pairs of socks from them (trying to spend out my account credits) and they’re pretty nice, if anything a little short. All this leaves me hesitant to even try the blazers.
I’m actually wearing a JCP ocbd right now, so maybe I’ll have to make the trek to JCP this weekend to check out their collection.
As far as LEC shoes, I have a pair of chocolate suede chukkas, and they’re just OK. Not nearly as nice of a silhouette as Clark’s even, let alone some higher end options.
I grabbed some things from their Black Friday sale. I really liked the blazer that I got and loved the Henley. On a tall body (6’4″) like mine, there were a little chopped but it wasn’t an issue. The button-down shirt I bought was unwearable, though. It was so short that I could tuck in for a about a second. I think I’m going to have to stay away from their BD shirts until they introduce some tall sizes.
Same issue here with their shirts. They fit great out of the box but if I dry them on anything higher than low heat for a few minutes they shrink significantly. I wish they’d start selling stuff that was already pre-shrunk.
Ha! I got the exact same response when I recently asked about my store credit taking so long. They gave me the same excuse that it has to be processed in Montreal and they would make an exception for me.
At this point, I’m sticking strictly to my Hunt Club selections. That way I can try the stuff on before I get charged anything and send back whatever doesn’t fit and not have to deal with waiting to get credited anything.
I have to agree with Graig. I finally used up all my account credits (they only offer credit on returns). I’m 6’3″, 195, 42″ chest, 18.5″ shoulder to shoulder, 36″ sleeve and I can’t find anything of theirs (shirts, sweaters, jackets) that fit properly. All of their shirts are way too short in the sleeve and the shoulder yokes are too wide in the back leaving an unpleasant wrinkle diagonally across your shoulder blade. I sized up two sizes in the blazer to get one that would fit in the shoulders only to then have a box hanging off me – not going to spend the money to tailor a blazer when the whole idea was getting it for <$100. Not to mention my most recent attempt with their sweaters was disappointing – paper thin and for $50ish not worth it when you can land a quality J.Crew one for the same price on sale. I started only buying ties and pocket squares from them (can't mess that up can you?). Wrong. Their wool ties are so thick it's almost impossible to tie a decent knot that doesn't look ridiculous (keep in mind their slim ties) and most recently a silk tie came completely unstitched along the seam. The pocket squares are alright, some of my friends think they run a bit large.
Overall, I think if you're an average sized guy then it might be worth it, but otherwise I think the recent charge by LEC and J.Crew to bombard us with sales is more attractive.
They got one more of those black/tan Victorinox chronographs at STP, bought it at a good discount only to find that it is slightly too big, boooo
I was going to ask about the F&O blazers yesterday with the blazer post, but decided not to. After seeing some comments below, I think I’ll hold off and try to find a store I can go into and try on first rather than dealing with the shipping for an item just because it costs 10-15 bucks less.
I use F&O all the time and love them. From what I’ve gathered it really depends on if the fit is good. Personally, I have a really hard time finding button-up shirts (FYI to other comments, button-DOWN refers to collars, button-UP refers to shirt style, just useful to know) that fit me OTR, and the ones from F&O fit like a glove. I’ve also purchased a pair of pants that fit very well. I personally think the quality seems great for the price as well…mainly everything seems very solid to me. As for shrinking problems, I don’t dry any of my nice clothes so that hasn’t been an issue for me. My girlfriend got me a Huntsman blazer for Christmas, and I actually like it a lot. Compared to other blazers at similar prices, the one I got has slimmer sleeves, higher arm-holes, and a generally closer-cut look, which will cut down a lot on tailoring costs (especially if you follow the ‘every blazer should visit the tailor’ rule). I will probably have the sleeves brought up a tad and I need the collar adjusted to fix some collar gap. I did only get the one blazer though so I can’t speak to other commenters complaints about inconsistencies with fit and quality. Customer service has been great in my opinion, but I am more forgiving as far as shipping times/processing times. I figure they are a small company doing all the work themselves, which is why the prices are so low, so I’ll cut em some slack! Just my opinion!
I can’t say that I’ve had the same experience as most people with Frank & Oak. I haven’t tried a blazer, but I can say through the Hunt Club I’ve been pleased with their button down shirts, the terry zip sweater, and the baldwin chinos (they fit similarly to a Levi’s 513). For now, I’ll stick with them, I think.
I have a few JCP ocbd shirts. Picked ’em up for cheap. They’re not bad. Only thing I don’t like about them is that the collars are too small, even for button down. Not really a dealbreaker for me, as I wear them casually.
How did the French Terry Crews fit? Can you give us your measurements for reference and the size you tried?
Joe,
I am digging the polka dot shirt. I’ve been thinking of going with one for the spring and I might give this one a try.
I have a fair amount of stuff from F&O that I’m very happy with but I’ve also probably returned just as much if not more stuff. Part it was finding my sizing which seems to be medium for button up shirts and small for anything that can stretch. I’d advise at this point never to buy anything at full price and while returns are free it takes forever for them to be processed so really only buy stuff if you think you’ll love it (good advice in general).
I’m 6’4″ with a 46 chest and I got an XL. It’s been several weeks, so if I remember correctly it fit mostly true to size. It was not slim, though, and I remember there being extra fabric on the sides. I was struck by how much it made me look chubby (chubbier) and that little neck triangle thing was kinda offputting. It really broke up the pattern of the stripes and not in a good way.
Hope that helps!
Not sure how well known Frank and Oak is nowadays, but I’ll vouch for them. I ordered a Dark Blue Terry Cardigan from them a month ago or so in Small. It’s a little baggy because I’m only 5’7 and 116 pounds but it looks quite good. Haven’t tried their Club thing yet though, does anyone have any experience on that? Tried reading the specs on how they run it but it’s not very clear.
I recently read an interview Nick Wooster did with esquire, which included some things about the new JCP stuff for the spring. I’m pretty excited to see what he’s come up with.
http://static2.fjcdn.com/comments/YO+DAWG+I+heard+you+like+pools+in+pools+thats+_682d709ffe90dbfc707472cc2944ae6f.jpg
Last week Banana Republic’s Wednesday 40% coupon in stores was expanded to unlimited items and no exclusions at all (originally blazers and some other items were excluded). Even suiting was 40% off. I’d put good odds on them doing the same thing for next Wednesday’s sale. Good time to get one of the tailored fit suits.
Banana Republic is having a 35% sale till 1/29 with code BRSAVE35. Not quite like their 40% off sales but awfully close!
Here’s a link to that Esquire interview w/ Nick Wooster on the Spring JCP line & beyond. Interesting stuff for sure: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/nick-wooster-interview-121812
polka dots. now there’s a timeless style.