Brand Spotlight: Beams Plus - Topic of the day 5/17/24
normcore, japan
21 Replies
J Crew, Japan
J Crew, but I don’t fit
Eh tbf Beams Plus is the upscale line. Like most Japanese brands it's import prices aren't worth it, but if you can proxy it/get it on sale, the pricing isn't bad. They do have more interesting clothes than J Crew a lot of the time.
I am happy to say I have 3 or 4 pieces from Beams Plus and they're all very essential items in my wardrobe. However, I feel kinda weird about grabbing any more from them because I don't want my wardrobe to get subsumed by the look of a basics brand
Awesome SSENSE sale brand
I find the japanese made pieces to be very nice but the sizing is chaotic.
i am still traumatized by that beams+ x j.crew pseudo madras blazer
beams+ alone though is cool
the 90s-inspired pieces from ss24 are cool, as is this which i think??? @Shrimp my Ride has https://www.ssense.com/en-us/men/product/beams-plus/multicolor-paneled-vest/13993301
yea for anyone wondering, the jcew x beams collab did not make sizing any more generous
and the quality was disappointing imo. easy return.
I love beams plus, some of my favorite FW garms are from them (including the corduroy paisley blazer below). The import markup is nuts, so I’ve only ever bought stuff from them on sale. I’ve also only ever bought things from them that I could try on in person.
This Beams inspo album from the r/mfa days was very formative in making me realize that Ivy could be colorful and playful: https://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/s/PJ6mNR4ZIH
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Are their baseball caps nice?
Thinking a cord one could be fun
One time I proxied a beams+ oxford from Japan that was $10 because it had yellowing on the collar, stain removed the yellowing and sold it on grailed for $110
So I’m a fan of the brand on those grounds. Don’t own any pieces now
I really like beams plus but its definitely on some Japanese sizing. Echoing that retail isnt worth it but they've got some fun pieces that offer twists. I should really get a picture of the cable knit rugby I picked up
I do appreciate they dont do much heavy branding on their stuff
Theyre pretty standard Baseball caps in terms of construction, though that applies to 99% of brands
I think there are two different points that people need to understand Beams Plus a little better.
First of all, "Beams Plus" is basically just their collab machine. Sometimes they are doing a lot of fanfare and events to make it obvious who they are doing the collab with, while sometimes they are quietly incorporating pieces and slapping the Beams+ logo on them. But this is why sizing, style, fabrics and lots of other stuff can feel all over the place.
The second is that Beams, as a company, started as a select import shop. From a perspective of corporate structure, they give a LOT of power to individual shop managers with regards to how to kit out their shop and what pieces to put in each season. There is way less oversight above the level of shop manager you might expect, other than actually picking the managers. This is why it is a huge deal when managers change.
Beams Plus is really "Beams Plus Harajuku," which is a bit more urban and hipster, and "Beams Plus Marunouchi," which is a bit more ivy and tailoring. Plenty of overlap there, but if you visit the two shops you'll see they are quite different in terms of pieces and tone.
In the Japanese fashion scene there is a lot of talk about the managers and what they choose for each season and who is doing well, etc.
All this can lead to Beams Plus (actually Beams in general) as being a more disjointed label then you might think. You are honestly better off taking each piece or small run of pieces with a brand at face value, rather than looking at them as part of a more cohesive whole which they kind of aren't
Sry that was like seven points...my bad writing.
Nah that was a great summary
I don't fuck that much with beams but I read the entire writeup lmao do not apologize
the beams = j crew thing is basically true with the basics ime. I remember someone here once saying that once B+ gets a bit more bold with their stuff it can kind of just become a worse engineered garments, which I generally agree with. Unless I'm importing, get it on sale, or it's something I'm exactly looking for, it's a hard sell for me overall when I can either save money with J Crew, or stretch for a similar thing from EG
And honestly, if you aren't importing, it's barely a stretch to get EG, if a stretch at all
J Crew did push the fish-hunting jacket on sale on accident and I did scoop it up. Can't imagine paying $700 for it though...
I generally like what no man walks alone selects from beams plus but then they don't bring in the smaller sizes
I appreciate the information! It's fun going through the beams plus catalogue on the beams web store but it's sortve overwhelming lol
Yeah the Beams website is a giant mess and of zero use unless you go in there looking for a specific product you already know the name of.
Today is the first day that I'm wearing a Beams Plus cotton/linen popover that I bought from No Man Walks Alone. Enjoying it very much. I also have a brown patchwork cardigan from them that I like.
for what it's worth my beams + double pleats were (on sale) the same price as anything from jcrew in canada.
i also have a nice wool cardigan that i dont wear because it turns out i can't style turquoise very well
I think turquoise, at least outside of jewelry, is one of those colors seems to only work for some people.