Unboxed: A Brooks Brothers Shirt

So, you've saved your pennies and splurged for a Brooks Brothers shirt from their website. In this post, I'll walk through some of the finer details of just what makes a Brooks Brother shirt, a Brooks Brothers Shirt, and what you can expect when ordering one. 

With the semi-annual sale right around the corner, now might be a good time to pick one (or three) up!

I've said it many times before, but the oxford shirt is perhaps the most versatile item in your wardrobe: perfect for occasions both casual and formal, while being both comfortable and durable.

BB merchandise arrives in an inconspicuous cardboard box. I take advantage of the free 2-day shipping offered by ShopRunner, which makes ordering online a whole lot more affordable and convenient. 

Here we see the packing invoice, nothing too exciting, but keep this portion if you plan on returning or exchanging the item in a store

This is the included return shipping label. If you use ShopRunner, they provide free shipping back. If you use the one above, they deduct ~$7 from your return.

Another nice feature of BB shopping, is the complimentary gift boxes. I usually request them as they make great storage/mailing boxes even if I'm keeping the item for myself. These beautiful boxes are hard to turn down!

Inside, you will find your merchandise carefully wrapped in signature tissue paper

Warning: Do not put plastic bag over head.

The goods: This is the sport-shirt version of the classic Oxford Shirt, this one woven-up in breathable "Brookscool" supima cotton, making it a more ideal shirt for summer. I will praise the original oxfords (also known as the must-iron) indefinitely, however they are only offered in a limited number of colors, and are a heavier, thicker fabric. As I just stocked up on one of each of the originals, I decided to branch out into some more fun colors, such as the Coral oxford you see above.

Merchandise tag attached with price removed, as standard with the "gift" option.
It may be hard to see from the image, but the sport shirt buttons are also different as well. The sport shirt version is equipped with flatter, laser-etched buttons featuring the Brooks Brothers name engraved on their surface. The dress shirt buttons are plain plastic (with the exception of the mother-of-pearl buttons found on the high-end Golden Fleece or Black Fleece shirts).

The sport shirt version of the oxford has buttons on the sleeve gauntlet, the part of the cuff you see below. There are also two buttons on the cuff itself. The dress shirt version lacks a button on the gauntlets, and has only one button on the cuff.

In comparison, we have three other shirts from BB here.
Far Left: French Cuffs
Center: Brooks Brothers Black Fleece Oxford
Right: Brooks Brothers Original Oxford shirt

As with most BB shirts, we have a single box-pleat on the back of the shirt.

Fabric care tag located on the inside of the bottom of the placket. Note the RN 93986, the FTC Code for Brooks Brothers merchandise.

Here we can see 6 different BB oxfords. The far left is the one featured above. Then, an aqua, followed by a pink, white, white, and blue.

Tags for the Original oxford. The three things to look for are

• Numeric size (eg 15 1/2 - 34)
• 100% American Supima Cotton
• Made in USA

The blue color of the text indicates slim fit. 

The sport shirt version is sized with letters, from S through XL. The sport shirt version, is also differentiated by the presence of an embroidered logo. The "dress shirt" variety do not have logos.

Maxing Out

 

The TJ Maxx /Marshalls stores of the world operate as the clearance bin of retail. These stores take end-of-season, excess, and other unsold inventory from malls and other retailers and price it starting at about 50% off. 

I used to never even consider shopping at these stores...Until I ventured out of my somewhat rural home town and realized that the products carried vary widely by geographic location. Near urban centers, I saw many shirts from Ralph Lauren Black Label, Brooks Brothers, and even items from prep-tailers such as Vineyard Vines and Southern Tide. 

Much like shopping at a thrift store, you have to follow the model that 95+% of everything there is garbage...with a possible 5% treasure trove hidden in the mix somewhere. 

My goal here is to document some of the better finds I've seen/purchased/heard about at these stores, to demonstrate that yes, even in the cesspool of low end garments, there are some gems to be had by the patient.

Advantages:

• Prices significantly reduced from retail MSRP
• Typically have clean dressing rooms
• Generally, items are well organized by size
• Products have fewer unidentifiable stains than at thrift stores
• Stock rotates fairly frequently
• Clearance sections can yield some exceptional buys (if you are lucky)

Disadvantages:

• You might need to be in a nicer area to find higher end products
• Sizes can be limited
• Still lots...and lots...of rubbish
• Still more expensive than the used market
• You will lose a little bit of your soul
• Beware of products designed for sale here. Always check quality and for possible flaws.

My finds:

Some shorts from Southern Tide- normally $70, here found marked down to $15. These weren't my size unfortunately, but the fact they were here demonstrates that TJM and others take inventory from even the smaller independent retailers, as Southern Tide isn't sold in many large stores.

These yellow chinos from PRL are somewhat of a niche item... but at $10 new they were hard to pass up. Original retail is $98

The tie section at these stores can be hit-or-miss. The majority of what they have will usually be junk ties from cheap China made brands, but you will on occasion see ties from Brooks Brothers, as well as other higher-end brands.  This tie was from last year's Spring/Summer collection at Brooks, and was a good buy at $17 (compared to $79 new).

This shirt was actually at a Nordstrom Rack, which is Nordstrom's own discount store chain. A lot of what they carry comes directly from Nordstrom stores, which typically have higher-end brands and products. Since Nordstrom changes up what brands and collections they carry on a seasonal basis, there are always interesting finds to be had.  This shirt, was a real surprise to find because it is a J.Press York Street oxford. Unfortunately for me, the fit was way too slim and they didn't have the next size up.

 To get the best prices at Nordstrom Rack, try to take advantage of special sales such as "additional 30% off clearance" to maximize your savings.

 Later in the post I'll share one of my best Nordy Rack finds ever.

This slim-fit Vineyard Vines tucker shirt, did fit however and despite the christmasy pattern, decided to pick it up as gingham is definitely underrepresented in my current wardrobe. 

J. McLaughlin is a clothing brand that doesn't really get a lot of attention. They have unique stores scattered around the East coast in quant, preppy towns. I was rather fond of these two ties, which were on sale at a TJX for $12 each, and normally are sold for about $80 new. 

Spotted here was one of the Brooks Brothers Signature Tartan ties from Fall/Winter 2014. Had it been in the blue or red designs, I probably would have bought it but I wasn't a big enough fan of this one to take it home. 

Don't let the "Irregular" label scare you-- Brooks marks overproductions with this label to prevent returns to retail stores. There's (usually) nothing wrong with these ties.

In my local store, I came across a trio of these Vineyard Vines party shirts. Unfortunately they are in one of the least-appealing designs of all time, so there was no way I was spending $40 to look like a circus clown. More importantly however, is the fact that you can even find "exclusive" brands such as VV at these stores for a significant discount.

Just a canvas tote, with Anchors.

Found: A pair of Bills Khakis for only $15. Considering these are sold for over $100 new it was a cool find. Notice the red tag: Once an item has been on the shelves long enough, they start knocking the price down incrementally. These started at $40 before becoming $25, and eventually $15. 

These blackwatch slippers were only $7...and since I don't have the bankroll for $400 slippers, these will have to do for now.

These Brooks Brothers shirts had generic tags with possibly inflated prices. In either case, based on the labels I could tell they were some special production run...or something different that what is sold in the mainline stores. In either case, they are made in USA which is always nice to see.

Some brands will even go to the effort of relabeling their items when they are sent to places like TJ Maxx. Others will mark the tags in some way as to prevent returns to the original store. 

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Below are some finds from friends on the AskAndy forums, to show you some of the other high-end items that are out there at deeply discounted prices.

Ralph Lauren Made in Italy Brogues 

A Ralph Lauren Purple Label sweater.  Purple Label is the absolute highest level of luxury that Ralph Lauren offers. This cashmere sweater would be over $1,000 new... but my buddy found it at 90% off for $100. 

Also purchased by him was this RL Purple Label shirt. Originally retailing at $465+ he was able to buy it for only $70. I have yet to be lucky enough to add a Purple Label garment to my wardrobe...but I'm patiently waiting for the day that I can. 

A pair of Brooks Brothers white bucks, seen here for $79 (Normally over $200)

Seen here is an Isaia 7-Fold tie (see my tie article for details) that was found at a Marshalls for ten bucks. As you can see, the original price reads $235.

Also spotted was a Brooks Brothers Golden Fleece 7-Fold, which clock in at about $175 ea. normally. I think that "Compare at" price is a little low there, bud! Needless to say, I'm pretty devastated that I never find ties like these whenever I go looking...but they are out there.

You may even encounter shirts from the upper-tier brands such as Isaia, Eton, Kiton...the possibilities are endless, and also weirdly random. Here were a whole rack of Isaia dress and sport shirts at $129...which is steep....but remember, if no one buys them at this price, they will be discounted further.
Isaia dress shirts normally retail for about $475

Perhaps my favorite discount store find to date, has been this brand new pair of Cole-Haan penny loafers....for $5

I don't know how or why they were only $5.00, but at the Nordstrom Rack in Boston I spotted them and was quite happy I did. It wasn't even the only $5 pair in the store! So I purchased these, in my size, and a second pair, which I resold. I haven't found any more $5 shoes since then, but it's always a fun day when you can pick up a brand-new $160 pair of shoes for less than the price of a Subway sandwich. 

Thrifty Retail

 Retail doesn't always have to be expensive, and with some intelligent shopping, you may never need to pay "full price" for anything. Retail stores have limited room for products, and as new items come out, the previous stock must go somewhere. If you're clever with combining discounts, you can score exactly what you've wanted at a price that's friendlier on your summer paycheck. With many stores preparing to offer their summer clearance sales, now is a great time to look for big-savings when it comes to preppy style.

Here's a great example. I was recently in a J.Crew store and noticed they had a sale section. These ACK red chinos for example, originally retailed for $75.00.
They had been marked down to $50, and then again $40, as you can see on the tag.

Now the day I happened to be in the store, all men's sale items were an additional 40% off. That brings the price down to $24.  But it gets better, as I learned that the student discount would apply in addition to the previous markdowns, (an additional 15% off in-store purchases) knocking the price down to about $20.
So by careful selection (and some luck) I was able to get these for less than 1/3rd of their original price

Even better were the grey herringbone trousers which (origionally $88) only ran me $15 after the discounts.

A similar story can be had at a recent trip to a Brooks Brothers "factory store" where I picked up this D-Ring belt (A mainline Brooks product, not made for the outlets) for under $10. The MSRP was around $58.

Continuing with Brooks, who hold frequent sales, I took advantage of a recent sale which offered (If I remember correctly) an additional 40% off on clearance items. I'd been eyeing this particular OCBD with a grosgrain ribbon trim on the placket. 

This ribbon-trim feature I had only previously seen on shirts by Thom Browne (The designer behind Brook's Black Fleece line of what-the-hell fashion). These retail for over $300 so finding a more affordable version (with details such as flap pocket and a slim fit) was a real treat. With the discount applied, I got the shirt for just under $30, and for fun added on a cotton pocket square that was under $10 with the discount applied. 

Further taking advantage of 2-day free shipping (offered when you sign up for a trial of ShopRunner) my $100+ dollar order was reduced to under $40 for an incredible shirt and square...saving me money for future purchases. 

A word on ShopRunner...

One must be careful when signing up as the whole ploy is that this subscription based service will be happy to charge you on a monthly basis even if you aren't buying anything. A discerning consumer however, will be able to cancel before the trial period ends. When I did this, they offered an extension for a few months. I'll have to make sure they don't end up charging me after that but in the meantime it's free shipping so I'm content. Certain American Express cardholders are eligible for a free membership as well so check it out if you've got one. 

So what's next? Well Brooks should be having their summer semi-annual sale soon, which in the past has been ~40% markdowns store wide in mid-late June (after Fathers Day). 

Here are a few items look for: 

THE Brooks Brothers OCBD
Must-Iron, 100% Supima Cotton
Made in USA.

Madras Flip-Flops 

Bow Ties, including some of the reversible variety

Belts, including this one I find really unique from Kiel James Patrick

A variety of boat shoes that may spark your interest. I know these got my attention.

Aside from retail, thrift finds haven't been particularly amazing lately, but here are some things I did catch. 

J.Press Oxford in yellow. I sold it due to the extra-baggy fit but these are a trad holy-grail item, and to think that I found it in a ratchet part of Worcester Ma is even more baffling. 
Paid $5. Retail $101. Sold.

5-Pocket shorts by Rugby Ralph Lauren. Since this (beloved to some) brand doesn't exist anymore, eBay and thrift stores might be your only way to shop for it
Retail ??? (estimated ~$80) Paid $6.

An L.L. Bean Made in USA sweater- Again, a product I don't think is made anymore. I practically want to buy everything I find that's made in America given the rarity at this point, and the fact that it's pretty close to my school color didn't hurt. 
Retail ???. Paid $4.