Banana Republic vs. Target – #StoreWars Rd. 2

STORE WARS: Banana Republic vs. Target

Starting March 19th and running through April 8th, Dappered.com is hosting a bracket based tournament with the purpose of eventually crowning the all around Affordable Men’s Style Retail Champ for 2013.  For a full introduction see this post.  The bracket on the right will be updated as the tournament progresses.  Click on it for the full size.  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:

Strengths:  Last year’s champion and for good reason.  You can’t please everyone, but Banana Republic comes awfully close.  Almost everyone can walk into a Banana Republic and find something they’d like to wear.  Other strengths:  Their tailored fit cotton blazers.  Their outerwear (both their updated trenches and wool topcoats in the fall).  Their tailored fit suits, while fused, are probably the best fused suits for around $300 (with codes of course) on the market.  The fabrics and blends that they use like the silk/cotton/cashmere blend for sweaters, and the linen/wool or cotton mix they can use for summer suiting.  The Navy, 2-button, Italian wool suit.  Their line of soft wash slim fit shirts.  The luxe touch polos.  The perfect, not too thick, not paper thin line of pima cotton dress socks.  They’re incredibly accessible, they offer free shipping at $50 from their website, and returns are free if you drop the item off in store.

Weaknesses:  They’ve recently started excluding blazers from almost all of their codes.  Most of us have gotten used to playing the code game with the GAP Inc. brands, but the long list of exclusions for their codes has gotten frustrating. Perpetual sales have conditioned most if not all of us to ignore their retail prices.  The expensive “Monogram” line of suits… does anyone buy those?  Shoe quality can be hit or miss (many would say mostly miss).

How They Got Here: Won decisively over Indochino in round 1.

Strengths:  As affordable as it gets this side of a thrift store.  One of the places that those who are on a real strict budget actually like to shop at.  You could easily assemble an entire, good looking outfit from Target’s merchandise if you had to.  Terrific basics like t-shirts and shorts.  Their substantial collar, decent enough fitting Ultimate Dress Shirt, which plays extremely well under blazers and sportcoats.  The Merona Kensington blazer.  Dirt cheap pocket squares. Timex weekenders.  Even pieces of furniture for your place if need be.  God bless ’em for making the Mossimo Kimono Sleeve Dress.

Weaknesses: Still waiting for them to bring back the Mossimo athletic fit polo.  Collaborations can be a let down (see The Shops at Target and the Neiman Marcus collection).  While obviously affordable, sometimes the quality of their goods can feel… a little on the wimpy side.  Lots of things to be happy with, not necessarily a ton to be thrilled with. You can’t wear a red shirt and khaki chinos to their store (not that you were itching to do so).  Fitting room dimensions in some stores are downright coffin like.

How They Got Here: Despite all the new excitement around jcp, Target upset them in round 1.

Your votes determine who goes on to the next round.  Cast your ballot below.  Voting closes at midnight ET.

UPDATE:  And the champ moves on to face the winner of Bonobos vs. J. Crew Factory in the semis.