STORE WARS: J. Crew vs. Thrift Stores
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: The leader. Out of all of the competitors, J. Crew has most likely had the most influence on how a guy’s clothes should fit (and therefore look) in the 21st century. And they’ve done a hell of a job. Esquire recently summed it up this way: “Everyone Wears J. Crew“. The construction of their suits and blazers is phenomenal, and if you catch a sale, a fused-suit budget can snag a piece of the canvassed & quality-chest-piece high life. Their “in good company” curation and collaborations with brands like Red Wing, Danner, Billykirk, and Barbour. Their slim fit section trims up their already well fitting stuff for those who are on the real slim side. Many of their own in-house shoes are made in Italy with stitched soles. Their outerwear, like the Mayfair Topcoat and University Coat.
Weaknesses: Prices. They’re up there, and a lot of their goods are just flat out of reach until they hit the sale section. Sometimes it feels like they take themselves a little too seriously (see how soaring and over the top the language can get in many of their item descriptions). The price of their Quartz watches. Dress shirts can get expensive. The heck is Wallace & Barnes anyway?
Strengths: There are diamonds in that rough, and when you find one, it’s incredible. In our world where most affordable new clothes are made with some level of disposability in mind, you can still find extremely well made, built to last goods lurking in the racks and on the shelves of thrift stores. From furniture to cars, the variety of desirable, great-looking stuff can be tremendous.
Weaknesses: Not all cities have the same level of thrift shopping and plenty of areas are just duds. So no matter how many terrific guides to thrifting you read, you still might be wandering in a second-hand desert. You can also waste a ton of time in thrift shops, hoping to strike it stylistically rich. Like golf, fishing, and gambling, you hit the jackpot once and the risk is you’ll keep coming back… even if it’s more or less hopeless.
Your votes determine who goes on to the next round. Cast your ballot below. Voting closes at midnight ET.
UPDATE: J. Crew with the decisive victory.
Store Wars: J. Crew vs. Thrift Stores
- J. Crew (82%, 1,564 Votes)
- Thrift Stores (18%, 339 Votes)
Total Voters: 1,901
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this is simply a formality, yes?
One thing left out: J.Crew may have the best customer service. If they aren’t first, they are second to only Bonobos. There should be a list to rank customer service. On one occasion, I had to cancel an order two days before Valentine’s Day when I found out my girlfriend already had a similar item. The people at J.Crew substituted a better item she didn’t have, and overnighted it to me (free of charge). I recently purchased the indigo ludlow sportcoat that was displayed on this site, but in the wrong size. The people are J.Crew once again took the return and offered free overnight shipping to swap sizes. Their prices are high, but you get what you pay for, including people who make the sales/returns/problems side of it unbelievably smooth.
HOLY CRAP, HOW IS J.CREW LOSING RIGHT NOW????
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Made you look, didn’t I?
I love me some J. Crew, but if you’ve got a good G’will in your city, you are MONEY. I enjoy the hunt, and I’ve reworked my entire wardrobe (to Dappered standards!) with smart Goodwil shopping. Gucci loafers for $15, anyone?
As someone posted last week, I’ve gotten more J. Crew from Goodwill than I have from J. Crew. And for significantly less money.
Thrift stores are just too hit-and-miss, and, depending on your location, can be far more miss than hit. In fact, I’m at a 100% miss rate at local thrift stores. So, J. Crew wins this round.
(That said, Etsy sometimes functions as an online thrift store, and I snagged an awesome tweed jacket for $50 from Etsy last year. So, there’s that.)
Goodwill is good- but I would think for many people the opportunity cost can be just as much as shopping at J.crew when you actually do find that pair of $10 whatever- meaning all the time we get skunked has to be figured into the jackpot. Jcrew by a land slide.
This really depends on your city, doesn’t it? We’ve got a Goodwill here, but I’ve never found anything worthwhile at it. The closest I’ve come was a not-terrible London Fog trench, except that it was stained all to hell.
I hesitated a moment on J.Crew, if only because of their shirts. I’m like a perfect smedium in their sizing, which has led me to spend a fair bit of coin on stuff that’s just not quite right. In the end, their concept is just too good.
J. Crew is simply my favorite brand. They’re not the best, but they’re just right in my wheelhouse with just about everything they make.
My goodwill has no shortage of Crocs or Faded Glory cargo jean shorts, but nothing else.
I think Goodwill’s spot here must have come from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
I know a lot of you guys love finding deals at Goodwill, but I sort of feel like picking over the racks at a store meant to help out poor folks is a bad idea. I mean, was that clothes donated so that style blog readers can pay less for their clothes, or so that someone who really can’t afford to shop at J. Crew can buy themselves a decent shirt? Either way, J. Crew is where it’s at.
Im surprised that there was no mention all the GOOD that Goodwill actually does- regardless if its hit or miss in terms of your wardrobe. Its a non-profit org that takes donated clothing and turns them into cash that
“provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have disabilities, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges “.
I get that people are voting in terms of whats best clothing wise- its no Jcrew in terms of style and the site is called “Dappered”- but it will always be a winner in my book in terms of social and communal responsibility.
Love J.Crew… have too many of their shirts and 3 of their ludlow jackets. However I always make it a point to stop in goodwill when I visit a bigger city
If you put a value on your time, Goodwill becomes far more expensive than J Crew.
I’d agree, but if you go to a thrift shop, chances are you had the time to burn. No one ever goes to a thrift shop when time is of the essence.
As much as I dislike J Crew’s astronomical pricing and copywriting that reeks of delusions of grandeur, they consistently make quality, trend-setting goods over and over again.
As for thrifting, I live in a college town, so thrifting is a waste of time. Nothing but crap in our Goodwill.
I agree with you to a certain extent, but the real help Goodwill provides comes from the money they make off the clothes. They get the clothes as a donation and then sell them. They then use the money to help the community.
I don’t shop there because I never have the patience to find the good stuff.
…sponsored in part by the Ad Council.
Since I get most, if not all, of my J. Crew stuff at Goodwill, I gotta vote Thrift Store on this one.
Yes, it totally depends on your city, and even then you have to find one in or near an affluent area. But oh, if you do, you can Brooks Brothers/Kenneth Cole/Banana Rep/Thomas Pink/Charles Tyrwhitt yourself all you like.
Not much going on at my local GW, so the vote goes to J. Crew, I guess. I’ve never bought anything there.
The real question is:
Am I the only one that suddenly has the horn from the Macklemore song on loop in my head after clicking on this?
Next year let J.Crew and Banana Republic sit on their thrones and watch the rest of the stores duke it out. It would make for a more interesting race.
Once you know your store, what you want, and where it might be, you can whittle the search down to less than an hour in and out.
Agreed. The quality of merchandise at a thrift store depends on your location. I have found many vintage ties, even one vintage Hermes, at a few thrifts here in NYC and shopping there is always a fun way to burn time. But with all that said, J. Crew wins.
I’m pretty sure I have more J Crew that I’ve got from Goodwill than J Crew. So do I vote for Goodwill bc I got the good deal, or J Crew bc its actually what I’m wearing… I like my local Goodwill, but this isn’t really a competition here
J. Crew is awesome. I love to buy their stuff on ebay.
Every single one of my J. Crew items are from Goodwill. I picked them up for a reason, but honestly I would never have paid full retail for them. Going with Thrift Stores here, considering that I am able to find something good at least 90% of the time, although I do realize that this depends on the area. I hope J. Crew keeps it up though. They put all other mall brands to shame.
Jcrew is awesome, but just about everything I’ve bought from them is still a splurge even though its on sale. I’ve found too much great stuff at great prices at thrift stores. A vote here from the well-dressed, lower tax bracket for Goodwill.
Totally agree that it depends on your location. But when you do find your super deal i.e. Dolce & Gabbana shirt for $4….you can really come out ahead.