Listen. I know what you’re thinking. Subscription boxes ?
Really Me ? You, who make your living writing about how to curate thoughtful personal style ? The same Me who spent $2k on Japanese raw denim purchases in ONE DROP … curated by an Algorithm ?
Yeah, I know. Lets dive right in.
I’ll keep this brief.
Part of me signed up for all these boxes out of morbid curiosity. Another part of me did it out of sheer laziness. Girlfriend had been teasing me about spending weeks perfecting my strategy for buying a hoodie before ultimately deciding that it just wasn’t worth it and buying all three colorways anyways. “Why don’t you ever let anyone else pick your clothes for once?” Look, she was laughing.
Hard. But man, did it cut deep. Between that, and I actually needed some basics.
Don’t get me wrong, I love putting together outfits with all the weird shit I find online. But my closet was starting to consist of forty different variations of hoodie . I didn’t own a shirt cute enough to take her parents out for dinner in, let alone that didn’t have a logo God forbid I had to wear to meet with a client and not look like a newborn hipster baby.
But before we get to the good stuff. There was a method to my madness. When trying out every clothing subscription service out there, I stuck to a few rules.
1. I answered every style quiz with as much information as possible (Some took much longer than you’d expect). 2.
Wore every damn thing they sent me (Photoshoots for this portion were….humbling. Trust me.). AND 3.
Gave every item at least one month to find its way into my wardrobe and prove its value. So without further adieu, lets get into my comprehensive ranking of mens clothing subscription boxes from pure trash to Actually Really Great : … NUMBER. FUCKING.
ONE. ThreadLab <img class=” wp-image-64338 alignnone” src=”http://joewears.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/threadlab.jpg” alt=”” width=”620″ height=”413″ /> Listen guys. ThreadLab had me at hello.
Literally. “Handpicked selections curated just for you, delivered monthly.” These motherfuckers handed me a brick of underwear. Seriously though, everything I got from them was… cheap. Target cheap.
Worst part? It was all objectively bad menswear. Denim that wasn’t even selvedge started fading after one wash.
Tees that looked like my seven year old brother sewed himself shrank after two wears. Not one item was my correct size. From the: ::thicc::: of a professional sumo wrestler, to the sleeve length of a newborn baby chick it’s like they didn’t even try to look up my size.
Move along. … Runner up for LEAST valuable clothing box goes to Gentlemen’s Quaterly Box . No, they are not affiliated with Gentlemen’s Quarterly Magazine . Trust me, I thought that too.
But your instinct is correct my gentleman readers. They probably are wholesale buying all the same products as GQ Magazine. Full disclosure, each item I received *was* of high quality.
But they advertise everything as “Designer Brands at a fraction of retail price” yet every time I opened this fuckboy box it was stuff I could have picked up myself at Macy’s discount rack. Belt I received claimed to be “Italian Leather” yet when I researched the item.. was literally the cheapest pleather they could source and print “made in Italy” on. I had to do an entire google spreadsheet just to compare their prices to “retail”.
Turns out their so called ‘retail values’ were marked up 40% just so they could give you a bigger discount.. I repeat. Stay classy GQBox. <img class=” wp-image-64336 alignnone” src=”http: //joewears.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Gentlemens-Quarterly-Box.jpg” alt=”” width=”620″ height=”413″ />ThreadCrate wasn’t too far behind.
Hats off to them for having the most in-depth questionnaire I received from any clothing service. Ask about my Starbucks order. The type of watch I wear.
Where I like to shop. All that good shit. All that research lead them to sending me ……..
Gap clothes. Now don’t get me wrong? I don’t hate Gap.
Don’t peg me as that guy. Their clothes weren’t bad? No.
Not by any stretch of the imagination. But there wasn’t anything special about them either. Basic button ups your grandma buys for you to wear that don’t wrinkle or snap at WeWork.
Basic. But hey, at least their sizes fit! <img class=”alignnone wp-image-64434″ src=”http: //joewears.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/threadcrate.jpg” alt=”” width=”620″ height=”413″ />Taking a solid fifth place is Five Four Club . You’ve probably already heard of them.
Warning they’ve since rebranded at least 5 times since doing this. So at the time of you reading this, they probably changed their name to something else. Everything is PRIVATE LABEL.
You will not find these clothes anywhere else. Got some I liked? Others I loved, but couldn’t reorder because they were “discontinued” and replaced with some rubbish I didn’t want..
Seems like hipster office worker types who needs to look business casual for work but hates buying clothes outside of Supreme. Which….is literally every bro I work with in Portland . Okay we can start giving awards now.
Fourth place goes to Trunk Club. Mainly because they’re old and I already had an established account with them before starting this project. Pros?
They’re owned by Nordstrom so everything was QUALITY (even if it was their in-house brand). Styled by an actual WOMAN named Sarah who actually asked me questions about what I liked during a video consultation. When I mentioned I was going to be travelling to NYC that winter she made sure to include me this wool coat that I still wear to this day.
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Cons? Expensive as fuck. Seriously.
You’re basically paying full price + stylist fee. Nothing about this service is cheap but returning things was easy and I ended up keeping way more than I did from other boxes. <img class=”alignnone wp-image-64435″ src=”http: //joewears.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/trunk-club.jpg” alt=”” width=”620″ height=”413″ />Up until doing this, I thought Stitch Fix was COMPLETE crap. But they surprised the hell out of me.
Third place was such a gamble for me too. Went into this experiment thinking “…nah bro these guys are plastering BILLBOARDS at rest stops. Probably targeting dads who only shop at Costco and think this is what ‘suit attire’ looks like.” Keep reading buddy.
Their picks got WAY better with each box. And I mean WAY better. The algorithm definitely learns what you like and dont’t like quickly.
First box was…. okay? I picked stuff I liked but clearly told them I was a “freelance designer” so they sent me the stupid trendy shit they think I would wear. But by shirt 3 they were on fire.
Got me this merino quarter zip I wear all the time now, nailed down my love/hate relationship with graphic tees ( I’ll wear minimalist and well fitted ones), and weren’t afraid to pick a crazy colour I probably would have skipped over. Price was right where I like to stay as well. Not cheap?
But definitely not “ need to save for a month to afford these “ expensive. <img class=”alignnone wp-image-64436″ src=”http: //joewears.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/stich-fix-men.png” alt=”” width=”620″ height=”413″ />Which brings me too …. Lyon + Post for SECOND PLACE. Their model is slightly different than most other boxes.
They send you several clothing items, you try them all on and ONLY send back what you want to keep (AND PAY FOR). Simple as that. No monthly fees or styling costs.
What I loved about their style was their curation and brand choice. Solid workwear inspired jackets that didn’t make me look like a carpenter. Durable denim.
Knitwear that didn’t pill after two wears. Also opened me up to smaller brands I now purchase directly from. The only reason they didn’t take the number one spot is price point.
We’re talking Investment pieces here, not your Friday shopping dumps. And Leeds selection can get pretty niche. If you don’t like THEIR style, you’re SOL since they don’t tend to carry many options outside of that. <img class=”alignnone wp-image-64339″ src=”http: //joewears.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Lyon-Post.jpg” alt=”” width=”620″ height=”413″ />And drum roll please……
THE WINNER IS…. Bespoke Post. Yes Bespoke Post DOES more than just clothes.
They also have you covered with grooming products and shit. But holy shit do they know their stuff when it comes to clothing. The biggest reason I loved them was their MODEL.
They literally show you EVERYTHING that is available for that month. Then you can choose if you want to receive it that month, or skip it. No more being forced a box of shit you’ll literally wear twice.
AND because they don’t push stuff on you, everything they send you is WELL CURATED. It shows. Everything I got from them was from small companies that actually care about the fit and construction of their garments.
Stuff that will last you years, not what the fuck is trending on Tumblr this week. Learned about this Japanese denim company from them. Now own 3 pairs.
They also have great non clothing items as well. Picked up some cool bartending tools and grooming goodies I still use today. Best quality to price ratio by far.
Hands down. <img class=”alignnone wp-image-64337″ src=”http: //joewears.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Bespoke_Post.png” alt=”” width=”620″ height=”413″ />Moral of the story? I learned a few things.. • Style quizzes are IMPORTANT. Didn’t take one service seriously and pretty much got underwear and clothes suitable for a middle aged beard stain screaming Lynyrd Skynard at a fantasy football watch party.
These algorithms only know what you let them. Be thorough ! • You do get what you pay for. Any boxes under $100 had serious quality control issues that were evident after one wash or wear.
Sweet spot I found was $150- $250. You start to receive way better materials and construction without breaking the bank for bragging about the brand. • Human Stylists FTW. Any box where I could actually TEXT or talk to a human being sent me WAY more consistent winners than fully automated services. • And frequency MATTERS.
If a box comes monthly you will overdose on clothes. Quar Quarterly boxes are where its at my friends. Allows you enough time in between to actually wear what you got and know what you NEED next. … My favourite takeaway from all of this ?
Subscriptions boxes are great, but they’re supposed to SUPPLEMENT your wardrobe. Not completely be the way you shop. Use them to try styles you wouldn’t normally buy for yourself, or replenish basics you know you’ll wear but don’t want to browse 15 different sites to find.
Hell, I didn’t even end up keeping full boxes from some. But don’t rely on them to give you a full closet. There’s still a time and place for browsing yourself. … Would I recommend any of these services?
ABSOLUTELY. In fact I’m currently signed up for Bespoke Post and they send me a box every month. Depending on the stuff they pick out that month I either keep it or skip it.
Easy as that. And I will still “temp pop” into Stitch Fix about twice a year. Helps me restock on basics whenever a season changes and I need new clothes without having to deal with the annoyance of shopping.
Like any shopping service, it truly depends on your personal needs.
If you HATE shopping, and want something convenient to help you look good af with minimal effort. Go all in with Stitch Fix and their fully automated process.
If you like shopping but have VERY strong opinions about what you like and just don’t have the time to browse every niche site yourself. Try out Trunk Club and pay for their high tier service ( pricey but worth it ). But like shopping on your own time and want some good handpicked recommendations?
Bespoke Post’s model is perfect for you guys. <img class=”alignnone wp-image-64438″ src=”http: //joewears.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/bespos-logo.png” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”163″ />Just remember, no algorithm or stylist is going to know your style better than YOU know yourself. Learn how to use these tools to your advantage. But at the end of the day some self exploration on your end is mandatory if you want to dress well.
TLDR: Most clothes subscription services SUCK. But the ones that don’t will truly change how you view shopping forever. Just don’t think they’ll make you stylish by doing nothing.
You have to put in some effort as well.
