EastDane.com: Amazon’s New Shop for Guys
The #12 Prediction for Men’s Style in 2014 was about Amazon getting their men’s clothing act together. Right now, shopping for men’s clothes on Amazon is a bit of a nightmare. Too cluttered, plus the photography & selection is often sub-par. It’s one of the few things Amazon just doesn’t do that well. But hang on. After the post fired off, this comment came in:
I’m sorry. Whut? Amazon has a new shopping site for guys?
And the speedy shipping isn’t just for Amazon Prime members. If you do have Prime, then the same free, 2-day shipping applies to purchases on East Dane. If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you get free three day shipping. Free returns for everyone, as long as you turn it around real quick: “To qualify for free return shipping, your return must arrive at East Dane within 15 days of the date you received it. Please allow 7 days transit time.”
Never heard of this East Dane site until now. Let’s take it for a spin. Some poking around was done in the regular priced areas, as well as in the sale and final sale sections. Y’know, Just to get an idea. Final sale items are noted. Analysis after some picks…
Miansai Card Holder – $95.00
Pricey, but pretty awesome looking. Made in the USA and available in four slightly unusual, but not too wacky color combos.
Seavees 05/65 Westwood Tennis Shoes – $29.40 FINAL SALE ($98)
Suede, low profile sneakers with a contrast sole. Nice price. No returns on these though. Meanwhile, they also have the super-lightweight Tretorn Nylites for twenty bucks.
Filson Plaid Tote – $72.50 ($145)
Don’t laugh. Some of us use these things. Also available in a standard red buffalo plaid. Made in the USA. “Might as well have the best”.
Gant by M.B. Herringbone Blazer | Barleycorn Blazer – $225 FINAL SALE ($750)
Both from the Michael Bastian line. Herringbone option on the left has a 100% wool exterior. Barleycorn on the right is 60% wool / 40% poly. Both are made in Portugal. Both have those terrific, rectangular corduroy elbow patches. Both are final sale.
Eastland Made In Maine Belfast Boots – $118.50 FINAL SALE ($395)
Hang on, the Kiltie is removable? Even if it’s not, these are made in the USA from Horween Chromexcel and “welted to a vibram lug sole.” Hell of a deal for $120. Sizes are a bit scattered, and they’re final sale.
Hudson Bay Cashmere Scarf – $150
Light in color, with lots of colors, but still masculine. Bit of a 70s vibe to it. Made in Scotland. But… how much?
Shipley & Halmos James Polo in Grey or Navy – $37.50 FINAL SALE ($125)
97% Cotton, 3% spandex, rubber rugby-like buttons and contrast at the collar and sleeves. Rounded hem, so be aware of that. Looks like something Michael Bastian would design for UNIQLO. Awwww… remember the M.B. polos at Uniqlo? Wonder if they’ll do those again this year. Maybe they won’t sell out in 2.8 seconds this time around.
Filson Cover Cloth Weekender Coat – $160 ($320)
Half off isn’t half bad. Made in the USA. Sizes are getting limited though.
Citizens of Humanity Core Selvedge Slim Straight Jeans – $112.00 ($224)
For the denim heads. Slim straight selvedge that’s made in the USA. Half off, but not final sale. Lots of sizes. … yet, you could get three or four pairs of Levi’s for that.
Mark McNairy Suede Pennys – $135 | Chukkas – $127.50 BOTH FINAL SALE
Were both going for $425 and $450 respectively. Limited sizes available for each. Goodyear welted. Both are made in England.
The Bottom Line
It’s pricey. Lots of high end (and high fashion) names. Feels like something between CLAD and Park & Bond. Which… are now both dead. But the experience is a big improvement over Amazon. Browsing is easy. Photographs are clean and attractive. And when an item is listed as “imported”, they even give the country of origin (China, Turkey, Spain, etc…)
What’s your take on East Dane? A well executed branch of Amazon? Or an experiment doomed to fail? Probably something in-between? And have you shopped there yet? Leave it all in the comments.
That tote looks kinda fresh if you ask me! When I read that Amazon had a store I was thinking prices would be cheaper but this is the same high end stuff you always see BUT that Prime shipping is probably going to be the biggest draw for me. I am liking that I see brands such as Apolis on there as well so maybe the sale prices will be some items I want down the line.
I’ll keep an eye on this and maybe I’ll be more motivated to get Amazon Prime due to this.
This is a bonkers price: http://www.eastdane.com/twill-river-check-button-down/vp/v=1/1533781488.htm?folderID=19407&colorId=45378 I had it price-matched at Nordstrom a few months ago for $90 and was really happy. The colors are not nearly as washed out as the images show. I’d almost buy it again. Also bonkers: http://www.eastdane.com/shawl-collar-chunky-cardigan-gant/vp/v=1/1545475214.htm?folderID=19407&colorId=12560 Runs small but very cool. Ultimately returned it because I was in-between sizes.
Re: the MB x Uniqlo polos, I did read somewhere that he signed on to do another run this year. I will buy them all.
Very interesting….
i hope it’s better than myhabit (also run by amz). personally, i think that site blows and lives off of weird hype cycles. they pretend to keep things in stock and then when you add it to your cart it will basically say “sorry, not in stock – we’ll notify you when we never get this back in.”
you’d think amazon would be dominating this market already. it’ll be interesting to see if this works out.
Oh shit…they have the Filson blackwatch plaid cruiser jacket on sale. Crap, there goes my no spend. Must. Not. Buy.
Phew, not in my size.
Your last line is a great point. I think personally, it goes to show that there is a difference between putting together a great warehouse-style site and a more curated, stylish site/experience and that it’s not that easy, it takes more than just solid e-comm DNA to make this happen.
I saw so many emotions occur in your three previous posts.
Thanks Joe! Just browsed through during my lunch break and got a cable sweater and winter chinos from Gant. I really appreciate that they include model measurements to help with sizing.
Awesome. Thanks!
would cop those eastlands so quick if I didn’t have the AE yumas recommended here last year
Kinda looks and feels like a USA Mr. Porter…
“Model Measurements
Model is in size S
Model is 6’1″ / 185cm, chest 40″ / 101cm, waist 32″ / 81cm”
I think it’s fantastic they’re giving you all the information, but I will never understand why some dude that’s 6’1” with a 40” chest is the prototype for a small.
Right???? Drives me crazy! Where does that put a 5’8″ guy with a 36″ chest?
As a 6’2″ guy with a 41″ chest, it’s baffling to me that a small/medium is the size that fits in the chest/stomach best – but inevitably has super-short arms/torso.
It would be great if they had two models displayed to better represent customer body types. That said, the sizing for the one of the models actually works for me. I’m 6’2, 41.5 chest, around 190-192 lbs, 35 sleeve length, and for some clothing lines (e.g. JCrew, Bonobos), medium works best. For Billy Reid’s slimmer offerings, I’m a large. That’s why I appreciated seeing the model’s fit with M size Gant sweaters. It appears to have proper torso and sleeve length for me. I’m more muscular than the model so it may lead to some shortening, but I think a Large would’ve been more ill fitting. Either way, I’ll find out in 2 days!
I was thinking the exact same thing since those are ALMOST exactly my measurements (5’7”).
Their clothes must run large as hell.
70s vibe on the scarf is right … the 1670s! The Hudson’s Bay Company was incorporated in 1670 and had a monopoly to trade in the northern part of North America. Those stripes are borrowed from the Hudson’s Bay “point blanket”, which was made in the UK and traded for furs in the 18th and 19th century (so I guess the vibe is a little more modern than I first claimed). The blankets were often made into clothing (coats) to combat the harsh Canadian winters, and over 300 years later they continue, along with the clothes they inspire, to be Canadian fashion and home decor icons. They are still sold at the Hudson’s Bay Company department store.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%27s_Bay_point_blanket
It looks like they have a refer a friend program that gives the person who referred new shoppers a $25 gift certificate for each person they refer. Not sure what all is involved, but I know I wouldn’t mind giving Debo credit for the referral.
Haha. It was indeed a rollercoaster.
way too expensive for my taste. I’m over websites where I’m hoping they have one or two items super discounted so I can afford them.
If I hadn’t JUST gotten a mack cruiser on ebay…
I’m guessing it was their after christmas sale, but I got a pair of Tretorns for $20. And with prime, it was free shipping.
Dang, I’m impressed. $20 Supergas? $130 for goodyear welted Grenson gunboats? $50 for a Gant Rugger sweater? This place is awesome. I’ve been spoiled by the Italian clearance websites like FarFetch but this is going into my bookmarks right alongside them.
I wear your great-great-great-great…. great-grandpa’s clothes
Well, that particular pattern is more 1870’s (sorry, I’m a fur trade nerd), but your point stands. The original patterns were a little more basic, in grey/black, red/black, green/black, white/red, and white/blue combinations, like the rightmost two examples in the photo below. Interestingly, the blankets (which originally were distributed by the North West Company, the HBC’s main competitor and who are the “Montreal-based private traders” referred to in the article) are heralded to be waterproof, due to the exceptional (and tight) weave and the lanolin remnant on the wool fibers.
The capotes (coats) made from them are exceptionally warm, as I can attest to from personal experience. The trouble is finding a blanket, then finding someone to make you a coat…
What I find amusing is that most of the slides, on the front page, of the website basically just uses what’s trending …
Amazon also owns myhabit, which is a pretty good flash sale site