J. Crew vs. UNIQLO – Store Wars SEMIS

STORE WARS: J. Crew vs. UNIQLO

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: The defending champ, and probably the odds on favorite to repeat. Has been one of the top leaders in men’s style for the past few years. Blazer & suit construction is terrific, with substantial chest pieces and canvassing. Many of their suit jackets, blazers, and even sweaters come in high quality fabrics sourced from English or Italian mills. Non functioning buttons at their jacket cuffs make for easy tailoring. Cuts are already modern, but they make an even trimmer “slim” cut in many styles. Sales & codes seem to now be pretty plentiful, and if you’re good at playing the game, you can land high quality goods for a very fair price. Some of their in house shoe offerings are made in Italy and/or have stitched (sometimes Goodyear) soles. Their 3rd party “in good company” offerings showcase brands outside of their own corporate umbrella. On trend but doesn’t veer into crazy-town that often.

Weaknesses: Prices sure seem to be going up. Suits are real pricey compared to competitors like Suitsupply. Basics like shirts and sweaters can be crazy expensive… ($88 for a dress shirt that doesn’t even come in neck & sleeve sizes?) until they go on sale and an extra % off code gets posted. Leather goods can feel flimsy. Their watches are awfully expensive for being quartz. They killed off the plain, but still sharp-as-hell Super 130s Ludlow Navy blazer. And as much as some like their Ludlow suit jacket/blazer/sportcoat design, it might be time to widen those 2.5″ lapels a bit, and extend the jacket tail some too. At least on the suit jackets.

How they got here: Took down GAP easily in Round 1. Wasn’t as easy in round 2, but they still beat Banana Republic by a good sized margin. 

 

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 upset when they snuck by Suitsupply in round #1. Followed that up with a solid win (57% to 43%) over Bonobos in round #2. 

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