UNIQLO vs. Bonobos – Store Wars Rd. #2

STORE WARS: UNIQLO vs. Bonobos

Starting March 18th and running through April 7th, Dappered.com is hosting a bracket based tournament with the purpose of eventually crowning the all around Affordable Men’s Style Retail Champ for 2014.  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: Another recent addition to the Western Hemisphere men’s style market that has become a favorite of many. Nice and affordable basics in trimmer cuts. Producers of the best slim fit OCBD out there at present time (especially when they drop to $19.90 on sale!). Their Michael Bastian polo collaboration. Plenty swear by their underwear. Probably the strongest #4 seed in the field, and while they’re in the “web” category this year, they’re expanding their brick & mortar footprint.

Weaknesses: Quality can sometimes be just so-so (but what would you expect at their price point?). Blazers and jackets have a tendency to not just be shorter in the tail, but downright chopped. Meanwhile, the sleeves can run too long on their jackets, while the button stance is usually a touch high. Website can be a little clunky to navigate, and sometimes they put awfully similar looking products on their website… that don’t match once you get them. Great basics but… they’re basic.

How they got here: Pulled the only upset of the tournament so far, and it was a doozy, when they snuck by Suitsupply in round #1.

 

Strengths: Their brand. They somehow balance having a passion for their clothes and customers, yet don’t take the entire #menswear thing so seriously. They really seem to genuinely have fun. Customer service Ninjas are incredible. They built a business around pants, and to plenty, their pants really do fit better (especially in the seat). Their travel jeans are awesome. Oxford cloth pants in the summer are as comfortable as it gets. Their expansion into suits, shirts, blazers, and carrying 3rd party merchandise has been well executed. After a code-drought, it seems like they’ve started to run extra % off sale items codes every so often. (Although it seems like they haven’t done much discounting to start 2014?)

Weaknesses: Prices. They seem pretty high. $88 for a pair of their flagship, washed cotton chinos is just not something most of us are going to be willing to spend, when there are much cheaper alternatives. And they’re now in the $1000 suit game? Good gravy. Suit jackets & blazer tails can seem short… if not chopped to many. Return and Shipping policies have been unstable as of late.

How they got here: Took down the always-well-supported eBay in round #1.

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