End of Jcrew OCBD, they all have stretch now

[idvsego]

Timely post. I need a fresh white one for the season and am debating the Pima with the "untcked" fit from the full line or my old standby from factory. Right now its only about $10 difference.

[SpierMackay]

A lot of Mills, both shirt and suit fabrics, are now showing "mechanical stretch" fabrics that don't contain any lycra/spandex. These new fabrics are really quite remarkable as they will maintain the properly for the life of the product, whereas spandex breaks down over time.

This is achieved both in the weaving techniques and how the yarn is treated before weaving. The yarn is coated in a resin that locks it into a compressed state during weaving, then is washed out allowing the yarn to "decompress" and stretch, but is being held in place by the non treated yarn that's mixed in.

[Hebrew Barrister]

There are also 100% wool weaves that have stretch now as well. To keep up with athleisure and so clothes feel like they fit without tailoring many, a lot of the old fabric industries are coming up with new innovations with out adding poly

I have a JCrew shirt that's a cotton / Merino wool blend to produce a stretchy shirt without using poly. It works surprisingly well.

[armedferret]

There are also 100% wool weaves that have stretch now as well. To keep up with athleisure and so clothes feel like they fit without tailoring many, a lot of the old fabric industries are coming up with new innovations with out adding poly

It's indeed a brave new world. What a time to be alive.

[Dun]

The jcrew OCBD shirt actually doesn't have any stretch material. It's a specially engineered cotton. I have a few of their shirts that have what they call mechanical stretch. I think the quality is decent and they are actually very comfortable. Personally I like the hint of stretch that those shirts have.

There are also 100% wool weaves that have stretch now as well. To keep up with athleisure and so clothes feel like they fit without tailoring many, a lot of the old fabric industries are coming up with new innovations with out adding poly

[xucardsfan08]

Saw the 40% code on Jcrew and thought I might get a new white OCBD for Easter. Everything has stretch, ie quality has gone down.

Checked out jcrew factory too. Those jcrew factory ocbd used to be a killer deal on sale. Now its flex OCBD.

The end of nigh, folks. Getting to be a man cant buy a non stretch/non junk shirt these days unless you pay a lot more for it.

I think its just hidden inflation. Man made junk is cheaper than decent cotton. Fill up all the clothes with it, costs go down. Prices stay the same.

As others commented, not all synthetic fibers are the same.

[JBarwick]

Who buys full price JCrew? That's like buying full price JAB.

I did one time in 2010. A purple gingham shirt which I don't own anymore.

[Hebrew Barrister]

You can get MTM shirts from S&M for cheaper than full-priced JCrew.

Who buys full price JCrew? That's like buying full price JAB.

[armedferret]

Lands' End makes great ones still. The extremely nice Supima one is in the $50 range normal pricing, and there's a 40% off code/pin going right now putting it at $30. I have two and love them.

[JBarwick]

You can get MTM shirts from S&M for cheaper than full-priced JCrew.

[smitty]

The jcrew OCBD shirt actually doesn't have any stretch material. It's a specially engineered cotton. I have a few of their shirts that have what they call mechanical stretch. I think the quality is decent and they are actually very comfortable. Personally I like the hint of stretch that those shirts have.

[LesserBlackDog]

Just because an item has stretch doesn’t mean the quality has been reduced. There are high and low quality synthetics, just as there are high and low quality natural fibers.

The fact that you may not like synthetics or synthetic blends is a separate issue from quality.

[edmunder]

Saw the 40% code on Jcrew and thought I might get a new white OCBD for Easter. Everything has stretch, ie quality has gone down.

Checked out jcrew factory too. Those jcrew factory ocbd used to be a killer deal on sale. Now its flex OCBD.

The end of nigh, folks. Getting to be a man cant buy a non stretch/non junk shirt these days unless you pay a lot more for it.

I think its just hidden inflation. Man made junk is cheaper than decent cotton. Fill up all the clothes with it, costs go down. Prices stay the same.