Joseph A Banks just tried to upsell me a "life-alert"

[LEAKYSEALS951]

yup. they did.

You want a rant?

I went in to buy some shirts. Staff wouldn't let me try them on due to covid.
Lazy bastards.
So I went online. Ordered shirts I knew fit from past experience.
They didn't fit. Seems murica got all fat so the shirts got upsized. My new 15.5 collars were larger than my previous 16 collars (fit more like 17)
I compared them all - the new ones to the old ones- in real life. The 15.5 are bigger than the 16, which didn't help since I just lost a bunch of weight.
So I called JosABanks tech support.

They asked me one question with autoreply "are you 50 or older"
I didn't reply
They asked again "are you 50 or older"

"Great- I thought, I have to respond, as they are not providing a person to talk to. Maybe... just maybe... as a 50 year old, I will get better service"
Nope. I must have been smoking something out of a pipe that could catch my hair on fire.

They patched me through to a life alert scam

"Have you been hurt?" They asked.
"I'm sorry, I must have called the wrong number" I replied. "I am trying to reach JosABanks."
"No- We are JosABanks" they replied. We are here to offer you lifealert. You know.. the alert button you can wear around your neck...."

I would like to talk to JosABanks....
Yes, but first we need to talk life alert....

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE ****ING KIDDING ME" I replied.

FLIP PHONE HANGS UP.......... (yeah, I flip phone smacked em'" )

This weekend I will drive 150 miles to Charles Tyrwhitt english mofo in NOVA for my dress shirts you ***** .

I'm going to let ppot *** out my properly spelled cuss words. **** that ****!

Seeing that my favorite JosABanks store in Hilton Head got overrun by their buyout company "mens whorehouse" and then went out of business, I wish them the best.

Put the life alert around their own necks biatches!

[wildthing]

Have you tried AmazonBasics dress shirts? I bought two before the pandemic and initial quality seems good. But since the pandemic I haven’t worn them nor washed them so I don’t know if they hold up well.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

To the perpetual one star wonder who one stars everything- just wait until you get upsold a life alert. How you going to one star that?

[john70t]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

FLIP PHONE HANGS UP.......... (yeah, I flip phone smacked em'" )

(a bakelite rotary would have taken all you could give and then ask for more)

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by wildthing

Have you tried AmazonBasics dress shirts? I bought two before the pandemic and initial quality seems good. But since the pandemic I haven’t worn them nor washed them so I don’t know if they hold up well.

I will take pretty much anything so long as it fits and doesn't disintegrate upon removing from the pins/cardboard that holds it together.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by john70t

(a bakelite rotary would have taken all you could give and then ask for more)

That what I'm talking bout!

[asphaltgambler]

I'm kinda of a clothes horse, there is a local JAB store near me. I went there a few years back and found nothing that felt or looked like quality for the prices they were asking. I tried a few things on, reminded me of a slightly upscale Sears or similar retailer. I don't see who they are marketing to really.

Best bet for me is Macy's which a huge men's department. Lots of styles, manufacturers. I do have a few Charles Tyrwhitt shirts that I found on Ebay, believe it or not

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

I'm kinda of a clothes horse, there is a local JAB store near me. I went there a few years back and found nothing that felt or looked like quality for the prices they were asking. I tried a few things on, reminded me of a slightly upscale Sears or similar retailer. I don't see who they are marketing to really.

Best bet for me is Macy's which a huge men's department. Lots of styles, manufacturers. I do have a few Charles Tyrwhitt shirts that I found on Ebay, believe it or not

Living near charlottesville, it seems I either need to drive to short pump macys, or tysons corner to get a decent selection.

What I did notice in the hilton head outlet stores, is, regardless of company, stock is limited and everything was needing to be ordered. Although I'm poking fun at the local charlottesville JoABanks store for not letting me try on a dress shirt (not like it isn't their business)- I am concerned to see retail offerings get hammered by online. As much as I poke fun at banks ( and they deserve it, for several reasons), I am doing my best to support retail. I don't want to see it die to online (despite the local store's own best efforts to drive a wooden stake through its own....).

[jyl]

I used to buy suits at JoS A Banks, in the 2000s, they had decent workday stuff for reasonable prices. I’m surprised they still exist, what with casual dress and now WFH.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by jyl

I used to buy suits at JoS A Banks, in the 2000s, they had decent workday stuff for reasonable prices. I’m surprised they still exist, what with casual dress and now WFH.

Jos Banks seems to have dropped down to kohls.
Kohls has dropped down to peebles.
Peebles went out of business in these parts, so I don't know where they are right now quality wise.

edit- Tractor Supply seems to have some nice stuff

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

yup. they did.

You want a rant?

They didn't fit. Seems murica got all fat so the shirts got upsized.

Not just shirts, underwear too. I've worn large for 30 years. 3 years ago large became huge. But medium are way too, uhh, snug.

I hate fat people.

[MRM]

Walking into a Jos. A. Banks store is kind of like answering a Nigerian prince email scam. If you're not savvy enough to avoid responding, they figure you're fair game to be taken advantage of. The store was actually high quality and expensive through the 1980s. Then they got sold a couple of times and became the Walmart of crappy business dress but kept charging Macy's prices. They merged with Men's Wearhouse a few years ago, which should tell you something, namely not to buy anything from them. At this point they're the Marshall's discount outlet version of menswear, but they still want to charge Walmart prices.

Macy's quality has gone to the dogs a long time ago, too. There's not much difference between Macy's and Kohl's and Target. If you want good quality at a reasonable price (and you don't want to haunt Goodwill shops like Tabs') surprisingly, the best option is probably Brooks Brothers slim fit 100% cotton non-iron shirts. If you're careful you can get them for about $40 a shirt. They are fitted to the true half inch and wear like iron. On most builds BB's slim, medium and "full" sizes fit like custom made. My custom made shirts may fit a little better, but the BB finishing is actually better. I must have a hundred of them and I'm always on the prowl for more when they show up on sale. You'll pay more than that for the crappy stuff Macy's wants to foist upon you, and Jos. A. Banks will gouge you for more and give you less.

They're currently on sale for $49 or three for $109. They'll embarass anything from Macy's or Charles Tyrwhitt for half the price. https://www.brooksbrothers.com/APPAREL/Mens_Apparel_sale,default,sc.html&prefn1=itemType&prefv1=Dress+Shirts

[Pazuzu]

Try Indochino, especially if you can get to a brick and mortar store.

My wife dragged me kicking and screaming in there, telling me that I cannot shop at Jos A Banks (or Men's Wearhouse...) anymore, since they only sell suits from the 90s that look like Herman Munster.

Point taken. I assumed that loose pants and big shoulders were still in...
The dude at Indochino was super helpful, and didn't at all make me feel my age while I asked for his suggestions on the various suit styles and nuances that made no sense to me (short pants???)


Ended up with a suit that made me look much more like David Bowie than Huey Louis, which I was very proud of.


And I think I've worn it one night since then. Stupid COVID, stupid bankruptcy, stupid new job in the trades...

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

Ended up with a suit that made me look much more like David Bowie than Huey Louis, which I was very proud of.


And I think I've worn it one night since then. Stupid COVID, stupid bankruptcy, stupid new job in the trades...

Sounds like you need to take your wife out for a date night where you both get to dress properly for dinner.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Sounds like you need to take your wife out for a date night where you both get to dress properly for dinner.

No bright ideas from the peanut gallery!

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by MRM

Walking into a Jos. A. Banks store is kind of like answering a Nigerian prince email scam.

They're currently on sale for $49 or three for $109. They'll embarass anything from Macy's or Charles Tyrwhitt for half the price. https://www.brooksbrothers.com/APPAREL/Mens_Apparel_sale,default,sc.html&prefn1=itemType&prefv1=Dress+Shirts

I was just looking at the brooks brothers site. Will probably hit up their store today to see what fits. I think I've had good luck with the milano shirts in the past. They key is the sales. My problem is that once I found a good fit at banks, I was just going in and buying more, even as the short quality declined. Now that they changed the sizing, there's no reason not to hunt elsewhere.

LOL at all the munster comparisons. Time for my 1990's George Costanza look to end!

[masraum]

Wow, that's crazy.

[MRM]

I think you’ll like BB. Despite the company’s problems, their shirt quality has remained constant and the sizes are true and consistent. Get measured carefully and they’ll be able to fit you well. Then you can just keep ordering the same size when they go on sale online.

The non-iron thing really works, too. They crisp up easily if you do hit them with an iron, but you don’t need to. I just dry them to the point that they’re still a little moist and then hang them on a hanger to dry the rest of the way. Without looking closely you’d never notice they weren’t hand ironed.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by MRM

The non-iron thing really works, too. They crisp up easily if you do hit them with an iron, but you don’t need to. I just dry them to the point that they’re still a little moist and then hang them on a hanger to dry the rest of the way. Without looking closely you’d never notice they weren’t hand ironed.

That's the other kicker- getting something wrinkle resistant enough to allow easy laundry. Some things say non iron, but they wrinkle anyways, especially slacks. The Charles Tyrwhitt shirts I have are alright qualitywise, but wrinkle like a sob, so it's either iron or dry clean.

The current sale is for 3 shirts 105. 35 a piece I - not bad. Might pick up some pants while there.

[Zeke]

Did they ask you for your change?