pendragon
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2007
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I recently spilt coffee on my trusty Kent Wang rubgy shirt, so decided to find a replacement, and thought I'd share the results.
I restricted my search to long sleeve, cotton, polo / rugby shirt of similar or better quality than KW, so I ignored the likes of J. Crew et al.
BB Golden Fleece & RLPL had contenders, but BB lost me with tennis tails, and RL wanted over $300. (And don't even get me started on the prices of LP and the rest of the Swankerati. I can buy a bottle of vintage Barolo and a cheap puttana for less than they charge!)
So. I ended up with one from Luca Faloni, and one from G. Inglese (via NMWA). Both pale blue, size 48/M. Here's how I thought they compare with KW:
Price: KW wins hands down. Followed by LF and then GI.
Size / fit: KW as any fule kno has to be upsized to an L. Once you do that, they are all within an inch of each other in any dimension. KW has longer sleeves (too long for me), followed by GI and then LF. Chest goes in the other direction GI, LF, KW. If you're okay with a trim fit, you'll be fine in any of them, but there's no room for shrinkage.
Fabric: KW is heavier, coarser knit, solid color. Plain, but hard wearing. LF is softer, finer and has a heathered blue coloring. GI is lighter although not softer, and has blue yarn knitted with white, which makes it a shade paler. You could wear either of the latter with a sports coat and look dressy enough for dinner. Not so much KW.
Buttons: All three are MOP. KW & LF are smaller in diameter & thick. GI are wider, but thinner. On close inspection, some of the LF buttons had slight flakes, as though they had only just passed quality control.
Style: They are all cutaway collars, three button plackets, with buttoning sleeves. There are slight variations between them (KW has the most cutaway collar; GI has mitered cuffs), but there's no better or worse.
Construction: Oy, what do I know from schmutter? Ask Shirtmaven.
Random notes: Customer service is personal from all three. LF & GI come in posh packaging, which is a nice touch for a gift.
Final thoughts: They are all high quality, good value, and hereby awarded the SF stamp of approval. If I had to sum it up, I guess I'd go sailing in the Kent Wang, and save the other two for the yacht club.
That being said, my personal favorite was the Luca Faloni.
I restricted my search to long sleeve, cotton, polo / rugby shirt of similar or better quality than KW, so I ignored the likes of J. Crew et al.
BB Golden Fleece & RLPL had contenders, but BB lost me with tennis tails, and RL wanted over $300. (And don't even get me started on the prices of LP and the rest of the Swankerati. I can buy a bottle of vintage Barolo and a cheap puttana for less than they charge!)
So. I ended up with one from Luca Faloni, and one from G. Inglese (via NMWA). Both pale blue, size 48/M. Here's how I thought they compare with KW:
Price: KW wins hands down. Followed by LF and then GI.
Size / fit: KW as any fule kno has to be upsized to an L. Once you do that, they are all within an inch of each other in any dimension. KW has longer sleeves (too long for me), followed by GI and then LF. Chest goes in the other direction GI, LF, KW. If you're okay with a trim fit, you'll be fine in any of them, but there's no room for shrinkage.
Fabric: KW is heavier, coarser knit, solid color. Plain, but hard wearing. LF is softer, finer and has a heathered blue coloring. GI is lighter although not softer, and has blue yarn knitted with white, which makes it a shade paler. You could wear either of the latter with a sports coat and look dressy enough for dinner. Not so much KW.
Buttons: All three are MOP. KW & LF are smaller in diameter & thick. GI are wider, but thinner. On close inspection, some of the LF buttons had slight flakes, as though they had only just passed quality control.
Style: They are all cutaway collars, three button plackets, with buttoning sleeves. There are slight variations between them (KW has the most cutaway collar; GI has mitered cuffs), but there's no better or worse.
Construction: Oy, what do I know from schmutter? Ask Shirtmaven.
Random notes: Customer service is personal from all three. LF & GI come in posh packaging, which is a nice touch for a gift.
Final thoughts: They are all high quality, good value, and hereby awarded the SF stamp of approval. If I had to sum it up, I guess I'd go sailing in the Kent Wang, and save the other two for the yacht club.
That being said, my personal favorite was the Luca Faloni.
