Which catalog is best if you want to buy clothes that way?
Have you found any that are reasonably priced, have nice quality, and actually look the same when you get them as they did in the catalog picture?
Eddie Bauer would be my first choice.
LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, J. Jill (women only for J. Jill)…
LL Bean, J Crew, Land’s End are all pretty good.
I’m a Lands’ End junkie . . . I have three drawersful of their cotton drifter sweaters.
I used to be wild about J. Peterman, for skirts and suits, but they went out of business and the new catalog is just a sad shadow of its former self.
I order lots of stuff from Chadwick’s of Boston. They have pretty inexpensive prices, but for the most part, the stuff is sufficient quality for me, and tends to last long enough.
One thing, though. If you find an item out of stock - forget about it. They will send you the postcard saying it’s out of stock & anticipated in 3 months later. Then you’ll get the damn shipment 2 days later. So unless it’s in stock, I don’t bother.
I was a huge J. Peterman fan, but I’ve ignored the fact that it’s back since my first perusal of the “new” catalog.
I don’t do a lot of catalog shopping, though LLBean is usually where I end up if I’m hunting for casual type clothes in a mail-order/online environment.
Well, great minds think alike. I was going to say LL Bean and Lands End. You can’t beat them for quality or service.
The J.Jill stuff looks very nice, but I’ve never ordered from them. I have never ordered from Eddie Bauer, but I have bought from their stores and the quality is excellent.
If you want a laugh, get a look at the Lane Bryant catalog. (Lane Bryant catalog is no longer affiliated with the Lane Bryant store, btw). For some reason, the catalog, which has plus-size clothes, insists on using very skinny models. The models are absolutely swimming in the clothes, and the clothes are obviously pinned in the back to take up the extra fabric. The clothes look like circus tents. In all fairness, I don’t know if the Lane Bryant clothes would look any better on a plus-sized model, because the clothes are remarkably ugly.
The problem I have with most of the ones mentioned (LL Bean, J Crew, Land’s End) is that they assume everyone lives in Colorado. All their stuff is wooly and warm.
I live in Tucson. It’s in the 70s most of the winter. Last year we ate Thanksgiving dinner outside, and only in the evening did i have to slip on a sweater.
When I look through those catalogs I feel like such a freak because it doesn’t appeal when I read “Soft chin flap feels good against your skin in frigid weather.”
Brooks Bros. for the good prices you can get on shirts.
As Autz said-
The problem I have with most of the ones mentioned (LL Bean, J Crew, Land’s End) is that they assume everyone lives in Colorado. All their stuff is wooly and warm.
This is why I like jjill, the prices are a bit high (watch for clearance sales) but the pieces are well made and light. Good for layering and wearing in warm places (like Atlanta, where some nut always turns on the heat when it goes below 50 degrees).
And another plus? Vanity sizing. Their stuff tends to run a tad large.
Filson’s
Land’s End, and Deva.