Emperor1956 -> RE: Our Friendly Neighborhood Wal-Mart (10/15/2006 10:42:25 PM)
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ahh...a derailment of a thread waiting to happen: quote:
Lordandmaster: Yeah, I know whatcha mean. I've always thought prices like that for dress shirts were insane. You can have one tailored for less than that, and YOU get to choose the fucking fabric. It's also pretty rare that you're in a situation where an old-fashioned Arrow or Geoffrey Beene just won't cut it. I've never had some motherfucker tell me, Gee, that was a great presentation, but why the fuck are you wearing Geoffrey Beene? quote: ORIGINAL: LTRsubNW My shirts cost 17 bucks (yeah, I know....but I've checked, and your stories about sweat shops just ain't true) and they look better than anything I USED to buy from Nordstroms for $125.00 ea. I don't know much about WalMart -- the ones IN Chicago are pretty crummy, but I love 'em on road trips in rural areas. Costco always strikes Me as overrated. I like Target. And I shop online. BUT I do know men's shirts, from the sales point of view (how do ya think this po' boy got thru college?) and from the wearing point of view...and LTRsubNW I'm calling you out. (and LaM you can play along). If you really were spending $125/shirt at Nordstroms, you were probably getting the John W. Nordstrom shirt (or were you getting a designer?). They run from $95-150. The J.W. is one of the finest off the rack dress shirts made, and it bears the same resemblance to a $17 WalMart shirt as a mid-priced Mercedes does to a Pinto*. Yes, they are both cars. Yes, they both have 4 wheels. If that's all that matters, drive the Pinto. A J.W. is 100% cotton, usually 60 singles, often 80, always 2 ply.(NOTE: If this stuff doesn't mean anything to you, dear reader, just keep in mind the Mercedes vs. the Pinto). What are your shirts, LTR? Plastic? If you are wearing ANYTHING 100% cotton and $17, I'm amazed and skeptical. But it could be possible. Still, there's no comparison. The J.W. is single needle tailored. It has a full placket, and true pleats. The buttons are always shell, except for certain custom runs which are mother of pearl. The shirts have a gorgeous hand, they launder wonderfully, and they last. But yes they are $125 and up. By the way, your WalMart shirt is made...where? Indonesia? China? The JW used to be made in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania by the Fleetwood Shirt Company (I'm not sure all of them are still made there). hmmmmm. Weren't you getting all smarmy about how "American" WalMart was vs. Costco? Now I don't wear many JWs. They are pricey, and they tend to have an athletic cut, and my shoulders no longer taper as neatly to the hips. I wear some Paul Frederick shirts, a lot of Lands End (we'll see if Sears ruins them) both of which are also made in the USA by custom shirt makers...and I wear custom made shirts, which, as LaM says, run me less than the off-the-rack JWs. Am I a snob? You bet I am. BUT -- and this is something you may not get, LTR -- I'm a snob for quality, NOT for labels. I don't care what label my shirt has, and I don't care where I get it...Bluefly or Overstock.com or Nordstrom Rack. I LOVE scoring a great $175 shirt for $40. I'd wear a WalMart shirt in a minute if it approximated the quality of a good man's dress shirt. But it doesn't. And it looks cheap when you put it on, and shabby after you launder it a few times. I don't drive a Mercedes (65K+ on a car is just silly, even if you have it to spend) but I don't drive a Pinto either...and if I DID drive a Pinto, I wouldn't go around claiming it was a Mercedes to bolster my politics. LaM, Geoffrey Beene is a perfectly respectable off the rack shirt (made by Phillips Van Heusen). Why wouldn't you wear 'em? They are midprice, fairly good quality. Arrow is a sad story of a once great product run down. I have some for casual wear, but with a suit? Naaah. and LaM, wanna know something *whispers* clients DO look, and they do notice what you wear. If you wanna dress cheap and sell cheap...go ahead. If you wanna dress money and sell money (which I do, usually)...you don't wear an Arrow shirt for the presentation. Go ahead, LaM...I dare ya to post on men's suitings *GRIN* .. no...don't. E. ____________ *When I first wrote this note, I compared a Bentley to a Pinto...but the JW isn't a Bentley...its a Mercedes, or a nice Lexus. A Sulka shirt is a Bentley.
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