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Store Wars 2014 – Where Style and Brackets Collide

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Store Wars:  March 18th – April 7th 2014

Welcome to the fourth annual Store Wars competition. Sixteen retailers enter this tournament. Only one will finish unbeaten. 16 of the top retailers in affordable men’s style have been chosen by the selection committee to compete. Unlike that other bracket based tournament which happens around this time of year, YOU have a direct say as to who wins and who loses.

The tournament begins tomorrow, with a different head to head match-up each weekday until one champion is left standing. You pick which store you prefer (how you come to this conclusion is totally up to you) and click to leave your vote. Sometimes it won’t be easy to decide.  The store with the most votes at the end of the day moves on to the next round. The comments section will be open for you to debate the merits of each side..

Store Wars 2014
 

After years of asking for “regions” comprised of stores that share a similar theme, you guys are getting that this year. Mall Staples, The Web, Big Boxes, and Wild Cards are your four regions. The committee did their best with seedings and placement (not every mall has a Brooks Brothers, and while UNIQLO does have some brick & mortar locations, they’re few and far between), but it was awfully tough this year. Also, last year’s finalists, J. Crew & J. Crew Factory, ARE separate once again. You can find the argument as to why over here.

New competitors this year include UNIQLO, H&M, and perhaps a controversial pick, Billy Reid. Once again, “Thrift Stores”, as a whole, have decided to wear their Goodwill Industries jerseys for the tourney, but they represent all thrift stores, everywhere.

So did the committee get it right? Which “bubble” retailers got unfairly left out? Predictions? It all goes in the comments below.

Region 1 – Mall Staples

  1. J. Crew 
  2. Banana Republic
  3. Brooks Brothers 
  4. Gap 

Region 2 – The Web

  1. Suitsupply  
  2. Bonobos
  3. ebay 
  4. UNIQLO

Region 3 – The Big Boxes

  1. Nordstrom 
  2. Target  
  3. Macy’s
  4. JC Penney (back to their original logo/unis now. Gone is the “jcp” square)

Region 4 – Wild Cards

  1. J. Crew Factory
  2. Thrift Stores (Repping all, but sportin’ the Goodwill jerseys for the tournament)
  3. Billy Reid
  4. H&M

Comments

  1. J Crew (Brooks Brothers is my favorite but J Crew is more accessible and has reasonable regular prices), Uniqlo (closely followed by Bonobos; Uniqlo wins because of how good the quality is for the price specific for OCBDs), Nordstrom (all the other stores suck!), J Crew Factory (Thrift stores and Billy Reid don’t make the cut, H&M makes sweet clothes but they tend to fall apart after a few washes. JCF makes decent clothes and has pretty crazy prices if you wait for codes to stack).

  2. Region 1. J crew vs GAP, J crew gets my vote. Don’t care for BR or Brooks brothers.

  3. J Crew was great but their prices went up. NORDSTROM is where it’s at now. If you pay attention to the sales you can stock your wardrobe with quality shirts for like $35 a piece.

  4. My bracket would have Banana Republic squaring off against J. Crew Factory in the finals for their consistent affordability (yes, I know you have to play the sale/code game) and great fitting shirts and blazers.

  7. Curious what metrics you guys apply in deciding your picks? Do you go strictly value or quality? A combination of everything?

  8. Nordstrom over J. Crew in the final. I’m a brick and mortar and quality over quantity fan. Target, like some of the others here, has some great values, but sturdy construction and classic lines will take my vote every time.

  9. I predict JCF defeats J. Crew in the rematch. JCF’s expanded Thompson selection will help them to overcome J. Crew and their price hikes.

  10. I would humbly submit that Express is far more of a “Mall Staple” than Brooks Brothers.

  11. Mine, too.

    I ended up giving the win to BR for a bit better quality control over JCF – not to mention better fabrics.

  12. For me, it has to be both. Dappered is all about the best style per dollar value. Splurge where you need to (shoes/outerwear) and save where you can (shirts/socks).

  13. Here’s my finished bracket.

    I chose BR as the overall winner for wide availability, great prices (with frequent codes), very decent fabric selections, and the ability to return in store without penalty.

  14. I would have left eBay and Goodwill (thrift stores) off the bracket. To me, they’re too general and random to be a reliable option. In other words, if I need to buy a foundational navy suit, I know I can do Bar III, Suit Supply, J.Crew, etc. and know I’m getting a reliable product in terms of price/quality.

  15. Here’s my finished bracket.

    I chose BR as the overall winner for wide availability, great prices (with frequent codes), very decent fabric selections, and the ability to return in store without penalty.

  17. Agreed. I have four mall near me (within 45 mins) and ALL have an Express store. Only two have a BB, one being a 346 outlet.

  18. I need a new mall, apparently. I have all of those big box stores in my local mall, but none of the mall staples.

  19. I could see Mall Staple being a tough battle in the Elite 8. I’ll be wearing my Sutisupply jersey, hat, and foam finger throughout.

  20. My vote goes to J. Crew. Yeah they’re expensive, but with all the 40% off reduced items, you can get great deals. Just today, they had another 40% off sale items and I was able to get a new Ludlow suit for $310, a Bengal striped shirt for $29, cotton crewneck sweater for $30 and some great slim fitting dress pants for $40. They also have great heritage brands like Thomas Mason, which is expensive at retail, but reasonable when discounted.

    Banana Republic has some decent stuff but, to my eyes,it’s just bland office wear. Although, you can get great deals and grab some stapples, by and large it doesn’t seem like an actual designer is behind their clothes. Feels like they just pump this stuff out. My .02.

  23. The Big Boxes don’t deserve their own region – reminiscent of all the crappy teams that make it into the NCAA bracket by winning their piddly little conference. Of the ones included here, Nordstrom deserves to stay – but that’s mostly based on their web presence. How many people here actually shop at Nordstrom in person? Would expect it to be far fewer than those drawn in by that wicked temptress, free shipping & returns.

  24. Nordstrom Rack always has a lot of Billy Reid – new with tags. If you’re lucky to have a near you.

  26. I too see them duking it out in the Finals. However, I’d put my money on JC (mainline) to win it over JCF- simply based on some of the steals.. err, uhm… *deals* that some folks got during their botched 40% everything (or whatever) sales. Many Alden Indy’s were scored during that debacle.

  27. Nordy Rack beats them all! Patience and return browsing trips required there, of course.

  28. I shop at Nordstrom, but I work about 10 minutes away so I can hit the sales on my lunch break. I still like to try things on, see how they look on me. Free shipping and free returns are great, but if you’re not sure of your size, you’re still floating a lot of money out there.

  30. Definitely don’t agree with the Billy Reid selection, their stuff is outstanding but it is nowhere near affordable (in terms of this site). They get a lot of play on this site. I see Uniqlo making a run this year….

  34. As far as the dappered target audience goes…you may have nailed this man,
    While building my basics and ’learning’ my personal style, BR and J.Crew were invaluable…

    I’m searching for fault with your bracket…and I can find none.
    Dappered, we need more teams.

  35. Agreed, Nordstrom Rack is solid for ties and shirts. Suits are hit or miss, but occasionally good deals turn up. Good assortment of jeans and other casual essentials.

  37. Really sad to see Land’s End go from top contender to not even making the cut. Not that they don’t deserve it. I just hope they take notice and rethink their strategy in the upcoming year. I used to buy everything from them.

  38. Their shipping policy is ridiculous and if you pay attention and use their crazy-generous price match policy, you can freakin kill it with Nordstrom. I got some staple-tier (aka not crazy colored) Sebago Docksiders for like $35 when some site did a crazy flash sale. Here’s the thing, I noticed the deal at like 12:30AM on a Saturday and the boat shoes were completely sold out in every size expect for like 1 or 2 outliers. Guess what – their customer support is still open at that time (till 1:00AM I believe) and they price-matched for me without even hesitating.

  39. Despite the uproar over their advertising, I still think SuitSupply got unlucky drawing Uniqlo. IMO, they’d probably take out Bonobos and Ebay.

  41. Bracket 1: jcrew
    Bracket 2: BR
    Bracket 3: Uniqlo
    Bracket 4: eBay
    Bracket 5: Nordstrom
    Bracket 6: Target
    Bracket 7: J.Crew Factory
    Bracket 8: GoodWill

  42. I appreciate their advertising and I think suitsupply is great for suits. However, while the style is certainly there on the other pieces of your wardrobe, the value is not, IMO. Bonobos stuff is great (despite their ever-changing return policy) and can be had for a song if you’re patient. If I’m filling my closet, it’s Bonobos, but I don’t work in a place where I could wear a suit everyday. Of course, I have gotten more than a few pairs of Bonobos NWOT off of ebay, so I’m conflicted even in the first round there.

  43. Yep-yep! And my best shoe deals (price for quality) have come from there too. Red Wings, Allen Edmonds, Florsheim/Duckie Browns, etc

  44. Region 1: I’m conflicted, can’t decide yet. I’m a fan all of them. J Crew or Banana on sale, Brooks Brothers Fitzgerald suit fits me perfectly (great on sale). Gap is my favorite place for jeans (I avoid their T-shirts though)
    Region 2: Uniqlo is the best. Shirts and linen/cotton blazer are great
    Region 3: Target wins it for me (based on my wardrobe)
    Region 4: H&M, but you need to pick the quality items, i usually get their casual shirts (the cotton ones fit well and last) or plain T-shirts

    Also, where is Zara? My favorite 2 winter coats are from there, plus some of my best shirts (especially the made in Portugal ones)

    I haven’t tried JC factory, bonobos.. maybe I’m missing out

  46. Anyone in favor of expanding the field to 64 next year? I can imagine the first round matchups now: Nordstrom vs. WalMart, J. Crew vs. Hot Topic, etc.

  47. Agree that they would have taken out eBay, but Bonobos would have been a challenge. Like Patrick says below, I don’t wear a suit every day. Bonobos is where it’s at.. for me. When it comes to chinos, Bonobos has the best on the market, hands down.

  49. Ok, here’s my bracket. I don’t anticipate all of this to happen (frankly, I could easily see another JC v. JCF final the way these are “conferenced”), but I had to go with an underdog I’d like to see do well against a past champ. Seems like a better story to me.