 |
| Slight difference in color can make a shirt a favorite or a return (and in the catalog, the shirt on the left looked more like the shirt on the right). |
The shirt on the right "pops." It looks great. It is one of my favorite shirts.
The shirt on the left, with the exception of the navy stripes, is drab. The light blue is more of a silver(y) light teal, and the collar and placket are off-white, not pure white. (It is not yet worn and will be returned). The one on the left would look uninspiring on a man or a woman and the one on the right would be great for either.
These items can look the same in a catalog or on a web page. Even under store lighting the differences can be obscured. (Thus another negative aspect of shopping in malls - it is often a challenge to take a good look at an item in daylight. I am forever getting permission from shopkeepers to take items I am considering purchasing outside, in order to make a more accurate assessment.)
The point is not to judge people for wearing "the wrong shade." People should wear what they like.
Rather, it is to appreciate that these subtle differences at all, just a few hertz, can often make or break an item. It can determine whether a shirt is destined for heavy wear, or the back of the closet. (If you buy well, you don't have to think about what you put on each morning.) For the vendors, getting the color right can mean the difference between happy and repeat customers vs. returned items, and correspondingly the difference between financial success or failure.
See also: Blacklisted Colors
24 comments:
The differences in what seem like ordinary shirts is stunning. Wow.
Wow what a difference! I was thinking oh maybe you just had the rugby for twenty or so years or something, but guess not!
An excellent post, as always. Might one ask where the one on the right came from ? My girlfriend could really use a nice rugby shirt. The recent Land's End models have very thin fabric, a far cry from the older models I have in my closet. LL Bean doesn't seem to offer much in women's rugby shirts lately.
-- TJ
@Worthington - It surprised me.
@Joy C. - Ironically, the shirt on the right is five years old, and the one on the left just arrived.
@TJ - It is a five year old Ralph Lauren, and I can't find them now anywhere. You are so right about Lands' End. I tried one and sent it back. LLB has nothing.
Too true. Sometimes even the good vendors can be somewhat misleading about color on their websites; or worse, a fabric square will be one shade and the model photo another. This happened to me with a Ralph Lauren polo once. It was marketed as a magenta-like pink, but in the clear light of day it was almost more of a plum.
A colleague suggested I look at Columbia Knit's Factory Store. Sadly, I'm not very enthusiastic about the current colour offerings for their women's rugby shirts.
Apparently Columbia Knit were the suppliers of the good thick rugby shirts to Land's End and LL Bean.
Their factory has been in Portland, Oregon since 1921, according to their web site. It is interesting that the quality manufacturers in the USA do a visibly better job than the overseas mass-market suppliers. I'd much rather pay a bit more and have the clothes last long and wear well, than save a few dollars and have to replace them in a few years.
--TJ
@John - That would be bad!
@TJ - I so agree about paying a bit more. I should disclose that the shirt on the left is from L.L. Bean (Men's) and made in Peru. What I do like about it is the fabric, which is quite thick, and also that they are generously sized.
Quite a difference!
I have a rugby shirt that I bought at the LL Bean store in Dedham MA about a year ago that I haven't worn yet. It is a dark blue (almost a navy blue) with a white collar, made in Vietnam. I suppose I didn't really need it. It was just one of those days when I felt like buying something for the sake of buying something. I won't know for sure that it is OK until I have worn it & washed it. But it is a nice color with a white collar.
I had a feeling the one on the left was Bean's. Their colors aren't exactly known for their "pop" factor lately. I never really noticed the off-white shade of the collar, either, until you put it next to RL's. Why do they keep trying to get away with this? Does Polo have the patent on white?
@John - Was the Navy this Lightweight Rugby they offered last spring? I never noticed the heftier one in the plain Navy, which I would have grabbed, even with the off-white collar.
What a difference! It is like the Clorox commercial where they ask which sock is whiter : (
I'm very happy with a long-sleeve polo shirt I got from Charles Tyrwhitt a few years ago. Not quite the same as a rugby shirt, of course. A nice shade of blue. The fabric is somewhat thick. I would not call the cut generous, but it is a comfortable fit and not unflattering. They have quite a variety of colors, some I wouldn't want, but some are very nice, IMHO. I like many of their clothes, but I'm not sure it's a brand one would consider preppy, but if not, certainly very close to being preppy.
@ Muffy -- Yes, that Lightweight Rugby Shirt is the same shirt as the one I bought. Looking at mine now in the electric light in my kitchen, the white on my shirt is not as white as the white in the picture on the website, and the blue of my shirt is darker than the blue in the picture. The blue of my shirt is slightly more attractive than the blue in the picture, but I wish the white of my shirt were as bright as the white in the picture.
@LoneStarPrep - That's perfect!
@John - It's British - that's preppy enough for me! Thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to stop in at their Madison Avenue store next time I'm in the city.
Funnily, I can completely follow your color comments! :)
The accurateness of color is definitely a concern with online shopping. I really hate off-white collars, because they always look old and dingy to me. Maybe they should consider photoshopping the image to make it look more accurate.
Catalogue colors are so often inaccurate. I try to call and ask or get them to send a swatch.
Don't know if you can get them in the USA, but the best brands for Rugby shirts are Canterbury - a new zealand brand.
I own the RL and LLB rugby versions I like both minimal schrinkage. I think rubber buttons are a plus to the rugger shirt. Also own a Canterbury of New Zealand "All Blacks" rugby team shirt with the NZ fern logo motif on it.The shirt also has a 3 kiwi bird head logo on them also.
I immediately noticed how much nicer your older shirt is, and you're right about how difficult it is to find quality rugbys for women. Last spring I purchased a few Brooks Brothers youth rugbys in large and extra large that fit (I'm about size 8-10) and were well made. You're very similar to me in that you take great care of your clothing, which is why each piece looks so new and beautiful. After discovering your blog, I even tried looking for your pink and green polo - to no avail, but I now understand why!
This is all fine - to purchase items of superiour quality if your size doesn't change, but I am in the middle of teenager-ness and I can go through 3 sizes with my preppy addicted 14 year old (kind of like the toddler years!) so it is off to the local LLBean outlet. Plus, they are not as careful with cleanliness!!!
Any suggestions for teens?
J. Mosby - Thanks for the Canterbury recommendation. For everyone else, here's the link.
HipWaldorf - I think the outlets are perfect for your situation. (Although I have always had a hard time finding anything I wanted from the Bean outlet - even when I was buying a lot from them.) I was actually in a Ralph Lauren outlet the other day and although the vast majority their Women's things were pretty dreadful, they still had the good oxfords, polos and cable sweaters. I'll bet your kids will want to go to the J. Crew outlet as well. (Take a look at the last question on this post as well.)
Here's something funny: When I first read this post, the shirts looked very different. Then I saw the post on a different computer, and the shirts look almost exactly the same! It's so funny what different computers do to color, and now that I know it is probably not the company's faulty photos, I am even more wary of buying online. Always see the item in person!
i agree the one on the right is beautiful in comparison.
The shirt on the right is far more appealing and I would wear that one. You are right, mall lighting is dreadful. Back in the 80's, the GAP (I know, I know) had a great line of rubgy shirts. From what I can remember, they had all of the great authentic qualities of the "real" rugbys; heavy duty, with all of the right detailing. Surprisingly enough, I wore one up until about 7 years ago when I was just plain tired of it. --Holly in PA
Post a Comment