Rob
Member
Does anyone have an opinion on the clothes and deals from these two sites?
I bought a couple of items from Jos A. Bank when I was in the USA a couple of years ago, and have been on their email and the Paul Fredrick email for a while.
Clothes look to be good quality, and some of the "special" deals look good, but deals and prices seem to change so spectacularly and wildly that it is hard to know what the "real" price in when trying to figure out how good those "deals" are.
Thanks,
Rob
Other folks have said that the Paul Fredrick prices follow their quality. The expensive items are good quality, but it's buyer beware for one of their $20 dress shirts.
Agree with Hardrain about JAB. They have ridiculously high retail prices with very aggressive discounting. Again, lower priced items will be their lower quality products. Has its place, but it's not for daily wear and tear.
Bookman
Member
I have a different opinion. It has become popular to say that "everything JAB has is crap," mostly because my friends at AAAC parrot the saying so much. It is simply not true. The construction on many things at JAB is fine or quite good (certainly better than the average clothing you will find at Banana Republic...); but, you do need to be a careful shopper. As was mentioned, you should never buy anything there for a discount less than 50% off (and you should usually wait for a better discount than that). Avoid the executive line like the plague, at any discount, and I also wouldn't bother with the ties.
Occasionally you can get their signature dress shirts at a major discount, and they are about as good a quality of shirt as you will find off the rack; the traveler dress shirts are not bad either. Signature Gold suits are half-canvassed and of good quality, especially if you can get one at around $300 (which you often can). JAB does cater to bigger guys, so you are unlikely to find anything particularly trim fit (their "Joseph" line is trimmer fit; but, I rarely see them in stores).
Paul Frederick is another good option for the price; but, I definitely agree that you need to stick with the higher-priced items....or, more appropriately, buy items on clearance that used to be higher priced. This is especially true of their dress shirts. I like their sport coats, and have several in my wardrobe; but, several of them have a tendency to be a bit outlandish...so pause and think before you commit.
Vinny B
Member
When I got my job after after finishing school I realized that I needed to get more suits/button downs and ties. I really didn't know much about dressing for business at the time, so I just stocked up on JAB mostly on the advice of the salesmen.
Shirts
Executive - DO NOT BUY. Their cheapest line. I had two but gave one to good will and another to a friend. Cheap material, lots of shoulder padding, fits huge.
Business Express - A slight step up from the Executive, but not a big one. Styling is very similar; with big shoulder pads and cut for a very large guy. Improvement comes from material quality.
Traveler Tailored Fit - These will still need a good deal of work from your tailor. They are cut for an overweight man, and the shoulder pads are quite substantial, with fairly low armholes. On their description of the Tailored Fit line they actually say that they leave the arms the same as their regular cuts. I actually like the fabric on this one, both of the lining and the suit itself. It does however fail the "Do I actually still wear it" test because the pants are pleated. Unfortunately, if you want flat front pants your options will be VERY limited at JAB.
Shirts
Traveler Tailored Fit Non-Iron Button Down - I wear a non iron button down to work every day. I actually like these. While not the best looking shirts in my wardrobe, I have 5 or 6 of them and wear them to work all the time. While not as nice as some other non-irons, they are super easy to take care of and are very durable. If they drop down into the $35-40 range, worth pulling the trigger if you have to wear button downs to work every day.
Tailored Fit Polo - Not a huge fan. The material, while soft, is very thick and heavy. It also is still pretty big and baggy. My Merona Polo's from target fit closer. I'd stay away when there are so many better and cheaper options for polos.
Ties
I got a few standard ties free when I bought suits. Not really impressed. While better than ties from target, they aren't that special. Not as good a quality as you can find at the tie bar, Marshall's or Nordstrom's Rack. Also most of their ties are 3.5 inches wide. Too wide for my tastes.
taz20075
Member
JAB doesn't usually carry anything above their Signature Gold line in the store.
The Signature and SG line is of much better quality than the Traveler.
I'd love to try out a Joseph line suit. I think I may just bite the bullet the next time they have the Buy 1 suit get 2 suits, 2 shirts, 2 ties sale.
