Epaulet shop - Official Affiliate thread

[tigerpac]

^Yes, they'll be cotton....

Like anything you get what you pay for, but I would agree that there's less of a 'jump' in quality of shirts once you hit a decent grade

 

[SeanMarcellus]

^Yes, they'll be cotton....

Like anything you get what you pay for, but I would agree that there's less of a 'jump' in quality of shirts once you hit a decent grade

What price would you say you hit that grade?

Is cotton the way to go on shirts?

 

[StanleyVanBuren]

Recently I found out what good shoes are, today I ordered my first $200+ pants, epaulet grey tweed.

Is there a big difference in shirts $50 to $100 or $150?

I usually by Van Heusen fitted on sale for $25 or less ($50 retail), then I get them fitted for $8. The world of differences in shoes and pants from what I'm used to makes me wonder.

Well...

your first mistake is quoting retail prices on items that are never meant to sell at retail. A Van Heusen shirt is a $25 shirt. That sticker that says $50 is just there to make you think you're getting a steal.

now, between those $25-50 shirts and a $100+ shirt, yeah, you'll notice a big difference. I think the cheapest Epaulet shirts have been $110 and those will get you far better construction, far more honest methods, likely better fit, and an overall longer-lasting shirt. Then between those and, say, the ones that go for $150 or $165 on up, the only big difference will be the fabric. This will again be a noticeable difference but probably not as vast as the leap in quality when you go from $25 to above $100.

Higher still and you get into MTM and bespoke territory, and there are certainly plenty of things that can be done to set a $300+ shirt apart from what you'd buy from Epaulet or other similar retailers of RTW shirts. That's more extreme connoisseur-level stuff that I'm guessing we don't need to get into yet.

 

[Costa]

I live in MA and wear them all winter and don't find them too warm for indoors....

+1

Also from MA and I have been living in the EP tweeds lately, and do not find them too warm for indoors. Actually really comfortable in a warm office.

 

[NewYorkIslander]



Recently I found out what good shoes are, today I ordered my first $200+ pants, epaulet grey tweed.

Is there a big difference in shirts $50 to $100 or $150?

I usually by Van Heusen fitted on sale for $25 or less ($50 retail), then I get them fitted for $8. The world of differences in shoes and pants from what I'm used to makes me wonder.

SVB is dead on with his retail assessment. Van Heusen is a cheap shirt. I think the biggest difference in terms of shirting is in fit. Whether a shirt is 100% cotton or not doesn't bother me so much, but the cheaper shorts generally have a "cheaper" fit. i love EP shirting because its honestly made (here in the USA), the fabrics are unique, but mostly the fit is awesome for me.

I have spent $250 plus on bespoke shirts, and the quality is no different, but I find that by able to really dial in the collar style it makes it worth it for me to spend that much occasionally on a shirt. But when I'm not in a more dressy jacket and tie, the EP shirts are awesome...to go tieless, or to go with a more casual jacket and tie. But as you can see from the fit pics on the website, the guys at EP really rock the dressier EP shirts well, and they're a great fit for EP jackets (which have slimmer lapels than my standard jacketing from Ercoles, my tailor).

You'll be stoked with the grey tweed pants...and you'll see immediately where the value comes from for expensive pants...thats where construction DOES matter more.

 

[tigerpac]

^They said it better than I would have, nice posts guys.

and NY Islander - when you guys gonna start making a bow-tie or two? Would love some in those great fabrics you use.

 

[SeanMarcellus]

What about the collar points?

Seems like the points on the collars are the fist to show the ware, they get beat up.
Do you not put good shirts in the washer and dryer?

 

[FrankCowperwood]

+1 and +1 for SVB and NYI's comments.

One thing you'll have to decide on yourself @SeanMarcellus is if the EP shirt fit is for you. Get one and try it. All you are risking is return postage.

 

[SeanMarcellus]

+1 and +1 for SVB and NYI's comments.

One thing you'll have to decide on yourself @SeanMarcellus is if the EP shirt fit is for you. Get one and try it. All you are risking is return postage.

Quality pants and shoes can last for years, is how I can justify the extra money on them.

How would you get a shirt to last for years, wearing it. would you have to hand wash it?

 

[FrankCowperwood]

Well, ceteris paribus, a higher quality shirt (better construction, better fabric) is going to last longer, just as higher quality shoes and trousers will. I'm wearing a shirt I bought in 2007 right now. It's not perfect these day, but still a great shirt.

The general rule here is cold machine wash and hang dry. I didn't bother with that in the past. I do now.

Also, I think you may find that clothes of a certain quality go better together. So a $25 shirt may seem out of place with EP trousers.

All just my 2 cents of course. You decide what's right for you.

 

[NewYorkIslander]



What about the collar points?

Seems like the points on the collars are the fist to show the ware, they get beat up.
Do you not put good shirts in the washer and dryer?

Quality pants and shoes can last for years, is how I can justify the extra money on them.

How would you get a shirt to last for years, wearing it. would you have to hand wash it?

Wash and hang dry. But I don't wear my clothes very hard like some guys do. This isn;t about what you do in your clothes either...I try and beat the hell out of my jeans, and never can get the sick fades that others manage after 2 months.

 

[Dbear]

Cold wash low tumble dry the shirts

Whats the point of higher quality stuff if you have to baby it?

 

[MGoCrimson]

Anyone know if all Epaulet shirts are made at the Brooks Brothers shirt factory in Garland, NC? I know at least some of the line is or was.

 

[Epaulet]



The Snorkel is amazing. When I bought it a couple of months ago I was really disappointed at how lightweight it was and I intended to return it as I didn't feel it would be good for Toronto winters.

Luckily I forgot to return it because it is soooo warm and the looks are killer. Has kept me super warm on -20 celcius days this week.

If you're cold...don't sleep on it.

Ah, that's great to hear! I was always curious to know how the Parka would perform in Canada. Fantastic. Thanks for picking it up!

I'd really be interested in this as well.

My tailor was blown away by the wool-cashmere-mink pants when I brought them in to be hemmed. Thanks again for offering those up!

Thank all of you for buying them! That was one of the most exciting things that we've been able to do, and it's great that everyone is keen on the special order programs. We'll definitely expand this for the Springtime so that the choice of Walt/Rudy fabrics will be vastly expanded.

Mike-

What would the magic number need to be for the Cramerton rerun? I see 7 that have publicly stated interest...6 works for Carmina MTOs....

I dropped a line to the fabric mill a few days ago, and I'm just waiting to hear back.

When we first ran the Cramerton trousers, the minimums to get the fabric were HUGE and I was only able to do it by purchasing some overstock fabric from a pal at Orvis. But who knows, maybe things have changed since then. I'll report back when I know. I'm 100% sold on doing it - the fabric is really exceptional.

The "Driggs" pant is going to be introduced in a new English Drill cotton which is a bit lighter than Cramerton, but actually pretty similar in its properties. We're angling for a January launch on that.

Been slammed at work and now catching up on the board.  Mike, I love shooting skeet.  My wife's family owns a bunch of land here in SC, so we get to duck hunt, shoot skeet, camp, ride four wheelers, etc., but the only problem is that it's about 3 hours away and the paying hunting club members get first dibs of course.  Those pics really makes me wish we could go more often.  

BTW, there are a bunch of awesome photos for the contest.  I'm looking forward to seeing them all in one location.  

Oh man, that sounds great! I'd love to make it out there some day!

Out in CA at Disneyland on a post-exam vacation and tried to swing by SM today to say hi. Did not realize Tuesdays were closed too (remembered talk about Mondays from the thread). So, my heart was in the right place, Mike!

Store looked great though, having only been here for the opening last Summer. Got to see some stuff through the window that I'd been debating from the e-store that I'll now have to pull the trigger on (charcoal/ultraviolet flannel for starters). Whatever that flecked, grey, long-sleeve polo is also looked immensely appealing. The color on the new rust DWR rivet chino is great too.

Ah man, I'm sorry that we missed you! We're officially closed on Monday and Tuesday, as I don't have any employees out here. I'm typically open on Tuesdays anyway, but we had a smattering of meetings for production work next year, so we were away that day. That's a bummer - it would have been cool to say hi in person! Hope that Disneyland was killer.

I'm considering purchasing a Southwick MTO Hopsack Sportcoat in Navy wool. I want to upgrade my work attire and I've read that a Navy Hopsack sportcoat would be a versatile option. Would this sportcoat work well integrating into a variety of business outfits? What options would you go with?

Absolutely, Navy Hopsack is far and away our best selling sportcoat AND it's a very versatile piece.

If you're looking for matching trousers, I'd recommend four of them:

1) Grey Super 120s
2) Espresso Super 120s
3) Either the Walt in Olive Sanded UK Canvas or the Rivet Chino in Khaki Canvas / Windsor Tan
4) The matching Navy Hopsack trousers. This works brilliantly as a whole suit. And the trousers are extremely wearable on their own

What is Chinos?

Check this out - it's a great read. Taken from the Duchamp London site.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

THE HISTORY OF THE CHINO

By the end of the Second World War, the US Army numbered 8.3 million men and women. They required a mountain of uniforms. After the end of the hostilities, a tidal wave of military surplus clothing swamped markets in America and Europe and millions of clothing consumers became familiar with the attractions of the chino pant.

Chinos are, unmistakeably, military trousers. They are functional, sturdy and reliable. In their purest form chinos are made of 100% cotton twill cloth – that is a weave with small diagonal ridges – and are khaki in colour. They are flat-fronted, parallel or slightly tapered legs, with slanting side pockets and one or two back pockets.

The mass of cheap army surplus after WW2 meant that chinos were picked up, along with blue jeans, as the uniform of the new consumer group of teenagers in the US. The pale brown cotton pants became an essential ingredient of the preppy look. Unlike denims, they were both casual and smart. Fifty years later, and sometimes in somewhat changed formats, they are still a wardrobe essential.

But it would be wrong to think of chinos as just being a phenomenon of the second half of the 20th century. In fact, their origins go back to the mid- and late 19th century. In 1848 a British Army officer called Harry Lumsden decided the Corps of Guides he commanded on the north-west frontier between India and Afghanistan would be more suitably dressed in drab-coloured clothes rather than bright red tunics and white trousers. Using local knowledge, the cotton cloth of the uniforms was dyed in mulberry juice and the resulting drab yellowish shade was called khaki, after the Hindi or Urdu word for dust.

From 1848, Indian or British troops wore khaki uniforms in the area and the practice was followed as the British Army as they fought for Queen Victoria and Empire in dusty campaigns such as Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in 1867-68. Khaki was adopted as battledress colour in 1897 and by the Second Boer War in 1899-1902 the British Army were known as “Khakis”.

Other military forces were quick to appreciate the camouflage qualities of the dull light brown shade. In the short Spanish-American war of 1898 – it was only four months long – the US army occupied the Philippines and returned singing the praises of khaki-coloured trousers they called chinos. There are various theories why the Americans should have given these cotton pants a corruption of the Spanish name for “Chinese” or “China”. Some say it was because the twill cloth was woven in China. Another version says that the pants themselves were made in China. A more fanciful explanation is that some US soldiers had their pants made by Chinese tailors in the Spanish colony.

In any case, the comfortable and hard-wearing khaki chinos had proved their worth. They were adopted as an official US Army uniform in 1902. The utilitarian appeal of these reliable uniforms was soon picked up by the general public. In the US at least the terms “khakis” and “chinos” became interchangeable and remain so today. Levi’s introduced a line of “khakis” as early as 1906. Preppy palace Brooks Brothers started selling chinos as early as 1942. In the Second World War, US officers’ chinos were made of a quality known as Cramerton cloth – Levi’s used the same cloth for a line of post-war preppy pants.

I recall reading somewhere that the term "chinos" is what the English (and maybe Europeans) call what Americans typically call "khakis".  I use the term interchangeably although I prefer chinos because with khakis, I'm never sure if one means that they're the color khaki as well or another color.

That's totally true. Most Americans will use the works interchangeably. But a "Chino" refers to the whole category of casual cotton trousers, while "Khaki" is more specifically referring to a casual cotton trousers in a shade of tan.

Anyone know if all Epaulet shirts are made at the Brooks Brothers shirt factory in Garland, NC? I know at least some of the line is or was.

No longer, sadly. Our Navy Label shirts were produced there, but they've been put on indefinite hold.

 

[Epaulet]

EPLA Preview

We're shooting everything and building it out as we speak! The Sweatshirts will be delayed by a week or so, but all of the denim and tees are here. I found a proper East LA setting for the fit shots as well...