About the Author: Jason P. is a Dappered devotee, having curated the majority of his wardrobe through the site. He is an enthusiast of wool sweaters, chino pants, and affordable automatic watches. In his free time, you can find him at his boxing gym or antiquing with his wife.
“Fast fashion” has been, to me, the demise of American style for the past few years. Quick-turn, trendy, poorly constructed garments made of low-quality materials have driven down prices and hurt once-glorious apparel brands. But, an unexpected hero is among us. Amazon has quietly, and quickly, grown an in-house portfolio of fashion brands over the past 24 months and now provides a surprising wealth of options delivered to your door in 2 days (w/ Prime) at a bargain price. And their interesting fall collection that’s out now? It leans into a fairly niche, but much appreciated fashion trend: workwear, refined.
I was born and raised in American farmland. And frankly, seeing items like a “barn coat,” and corduroys come into the Dappered fold makes me raise an eyebrow. These were never fashion items where I come from, but instead items of pure utility. BUT. Times have changed. Welcome to a selection from Amazon’s Goodthreads Fall/Winter line. For a fit perspective, I’m 5’7″ / 175lbs. All shirts/jackets are size medium, except for the slim fit chambray which is a large. The pants are 32×30. The lighter colored boots are Woolrich Yankees. And they are spectacular.
Functional basics are a staple of workwear-inspired style, and perhaps no piece exemplifies this as much as the ubiquitous henley. Goodthreads’ effort is appreciated, with one big drawback. The sleeves run exceptionally long. Around 3″ too long, in fact. I had to cuff my sleeves in order to get a proper length, and found myself mostly just rolling or pushing them up to make it a ¾ sleeve shirt. As for the good? The “sueded jersey” is super-soft and the raglan shoulders provide great mobility and comfort. I have found that, for those with larger builds in the shoulders, raglan sleeves are unmatched in comfort. Construction is great, with zero issues in the stitching. The aforementioned raglan seams look and feel particularly strong. I have the assumption the color might fade a bit in the wash over time, but this is neither good nor bad. It comes down to preference, and I imagine this will create a sort of worn-in look in the same way leather patinas over time. The transformation is befitting of the workwear theme of the collection and season. It’s just too bad about that sleeve length, but GREAT if you have longer than average arms. Twelve, count ’em TWELVE colors to pick from.
The fabric on this is all kinds of right. It’s rugged in the right way, but not overly rough. This coat is dying to be tossed on and worn all-day for some cooler-temperature yardwork. I say cooler temps, because there is no breathability in this coat. Zero. Zilch. The contrasting black collar is a nice corduroy fabric, providing a break in both color and texture from the rest of this all-blue coat (other colors available: black, khaki, slate gray, and olive). The overall silhouette is well shaped and very comfortable, with a catch. The size medium fit my 5’7″ 175 pound frame pretty well, but if you have larger shoulders like me, it can get a bit tight in the midst of performing your outdoor duties. A piece meant for getting your hands dirty needs to move with you while also providing necessary durability. Any activity with your arms raised, like chopping wood, will give you a decent squeeze. It’s manageable, and a momentary inconvenience, but it was something that jumped out for me. That’s not to say I don’t like this coat- I really do- and would enjoy wearing it while getting work done outside or wandering the woods in deep fall. I would reach for this coat when my go-to quilted jacket wasn’t right for the scenario. Like, doing work in a barn. Just don’t wear it to a trendy barn wedding. This was my runner-up for “best in show.”
I still can’t believe this is a thing (again, shirt jackets are farmland staples) but it is indeed a thing. The material is quite thick, too thick to be truly a “shirt” at all. It’s somewhere between a heavy flannel and the barn coat previously mentioned. It’s a solid transitional layer, especially for doing work outside. Lots of pockets, and really good mobility- better than the barn coat. A size medium fit me a bit large, so layering it over a thicker shirt like a flannel can work well on balmier mornings so you can shed a layer when needed. The utility of the shirt is nice, but stylistically, this wasn’t for me. It was an item in no-man’s land. Between a shirt and a jacket, it didn’t work well enough as either for me to opt for it over a comparable item in either category. I just don’t see myself ever wearing this jacket. Shirt,Shirt-jacket. Shacket. Whatever. Black, Ivory, Navy, Khaki, and Olive are your color choices here. Black is the option shown above.
The fit in the torso is sublime. Slim where it needed to be, roomy where it needed to be. Remembering that this isn’t a dress shirt, there was adequate room in the shoulders, chest, and midsection for movement like raking leaves or lifting and tossing, but without the billow that many workwear items can exhibit. Fabric was thicker than your typical casual button down, but adequately comfortable. I could wear these all day. The singular issue I had in my size medium for these shirts was the same I experienced with the henley in the same size: sleeve length. I have a unique build for my height (at 5’7″, most guys would go with a small, but at 180 lbs I’m not a small) and because of it, I’m usually plagued by sleeves that are too long for long sleeve shirts. The issue with these button downs was less pronounced than the henley, but they both required cuffing/rolling all the same. Nice shirts though. Seventeen difference plaids and checks to choose from here. Just three colors for this shirt. Light Gray heather, Olive heather, or Navy heather which is shown above.
Same issues as with the flannel shirts. Torso fit was great. Room in the shoulders and chest that allows movement. Comfortable. Just fine there. But for my build, the sleeves were just too long. Once again they required cuffing/rolling all the same. You might have better luck? Seventeen difference plaids and checks to choose from here.
98% Cotton and 2% Elastane blend is the source of the “comfort stretch,” but I wouldn’t call them super stretchy. Or, well, stretchy. The denim was a bit stiff, and the overall fit was a bit large in the, uh, “frontal area,” but the legs fit nicely. No squeeze despite the stiffer fabric. Buttons are a unique black color, but I wonder if they’ll lose color in time. Size shown is a 32×30. First featured in our big athletic jeans round up from a few weeks back. Boots shown above are the Allen Edmonds Higgins Mill.
***BEST IN SHOW*** The corduroys were, by far, my favorite piece in this round-up. Upon first wear, they fit slightly snug in the quads and seat in my usual 32×30 size, but the waist fit true. If you’re a slimmer guy, or don’t have as much meat on your legs as my thunder thighs, these should serve you quite well. They wore lighter in weight than expected, as they were a touch on the thin side. As I wore them, they just began to simply feel great. The construction is solid, and the fabric is soft to the touch. Simply, a real winner. For $30, an absolute steal. Get yourself a pair and don’t look back. Seven colors available here. Everything from burgundy to black to the khaki (not light khaki, that’s another option) shown here.
Shown above is the sweater we bought for the full in person review from Novebmer. Stephen (in the photo) is 5’10” and 170 and wearing a size small. Doesn’t seem like they changed these for this year. And that’s a great thing. A basic, but extremely well executed. 100% merino wool. Tons of colors to pick from. Also made in a more casual crew neck. Ships super fast like the rest of these Amazon Prime exclusive goods. Also available in tall sizes for those of you who have a bit more to your Y axis than the rest of us.
Went off the “Goodthreads” script here for an item from another Amazon in-house men’s style brand. This time it’s from their more dressed up line, Buttoned Down. This jacket hit all the right points for a basic mac / lightweight car coat. Why did I include this brand outlier? Unexpected versatility. you can dress this thing up with ease, yet it plays just fine with the workwear items in this round-up. From the very first in-hand feel, I could tell this is a good value for the money in the category. You wouldn’t go wrong buying one of these and wearing it all fall. 65% Polyester, 35% Cotton. Sold in more precise, suit-like, chest sizes. Size shown above is a 40s.
As someone coming from a blue-collar, working class rural town with many farms and barns; where hard physical labor of some sort was the most common skill set, I appreciate where Amazon took Goodthreads this season. They executed some great pieces like the corduroy pants and barn coat, while making a good effort at other basics. As is usually the case with in-house brands, they provide a good value for the money. Amazon really has something strong building in their portfolio with Goodthreads, and Buttoned Down is gradually improving with time. The pieces that didn’t work out for me might very well fit you like a glove; a well-worn, leather work glove to put on before you grab Paul Bunyan’s cherry oak axe handle and get to work.
Got something from the Amazon brands Goodthreads or Buttoned Down that should have made this fall round up? Send those tips into joe@dappered.com. Big thanks to Jason for taking their new, workwear-inspired goods for a spin!
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