Brooks Brothers vs. J Press OCBD
As the title suggests, I'm curious to hear if people believe J Press is of higher quality compared to made in USA Brooks Bros.
I'm currently in the market for an American-made Ivy Prep brand, and both Brooks Bros and J Press are the contenders from what I have researched.
56 Replies
idk about higher quality but j.press has flack pocket ocbds!
Yeah, I saw that on their page. I've heard that's one of their staples. Not sure how to feel about them tbh
imo (i am but one person) both are good but serve different purposes
j.press tends to have a larger collar which is nice when wearing it with a jacket and tie; you can get a windsor knot without it warping the collar itself
as benji noted some of their OCBDs also have flap pockets which are a nice touch imo
brooks bros are solid options; smaller collar but more interesting colors/patterns
out of curiosity how big of a deal is miUSA for you, because vintage PRL is comparable in quality to both and usually less expensive
Interesting to note about the collars, but overall, I feel that both Brooks Bros and J Press sort of represent the same thing with their classic Made in USA OCBDs? From what I've dug into, it just seems that Brooks Bros was/is used to be/more of a mainstream "luxury" brand and J press was founded at Yale to serve the needs of the Ivy League
I dislike Polo OCBDs due to the pony logo and their details like not having MOP buttons is a turn off for me. I love PRL trousers and their polos/sweaters, don't get me wrong (I am trying to find a new polo brand because I am becoming less fond of the pony), but I'd also like to diversify my wardrobe with a few brands just so I'm not "loyal" to one
If made in USA isn't huge for you you could look into Kamakura as well. I think they have shell buttons at least some of the time
I have looked into them a bit. They look pretty solid. Do they sell them at any stores in the US?
off the top of my head the armoury (miUSA) and asket (made in turkey, ships to us) come to mind
I'm curious, do you you mean that the collar is thicker or is taller/longer? I will also add that the J press made in USA OCBDs are $145 compared to Brooks Bros which is $200
taller
also worth noting i generally buy ocbds (really most clothes) secondhand or on ebay where the cost difference is less or nonexistent
I do too generally. I just prefer vintage in general. The only reason why I'm buying new for this case is because I'd like a non-stained white OCBD and a few other colors that are usually a pain to find unstained, especially vintage
Contemporary? J. Press and it’s not even close but at the end of the day the “quality” difference is negligible. On sale Press’s OCBDs are like $115. I’m not even sure which BB OCBD you mean because I think they have two MiUSA versions.
Vintage, probably BB just because it has a better collar roll.
What do you mean when you say J Press is not even close to contemporary? I'm just curious to hear your opinion
I don’t trust BB’s recent stuff - it could be great but I’m not paying to find out. BB has two MiUSA ocbds right now - the regular one and a “heritage” one. That seems sus given they are the same price.
Press meanwhile hasn’t really changed much about their shirts so it’s a known commodity. No whacky sales gaming to get the price - it’s like 125 when you buy three or 115 when you buy three during a promo.
With that being said, I really like my made in Vietnam alpha sized BB ocbds from a year or two ago but they already killed those for the “Friday” ocbd
Yeah that's the issue I'm having with BB as well. I just don't want to invest my money into a product that I'm really not sure is good/as good anymore. With the current pieces each brand has up, which brand would you be more willing to recommend?
I just bought 2 flap ocbds and a plain one from Press - very happy. They are a very trad fit though - my size 16 is like 26” p2p
If you can, track down this shirt - wasn’t on the website but I got it from DC.
I heard they come in trad and slim? Is their traditional more on par with Brooks Bros regular or trad fitting? And I'm actually going to the DC Store tomorrow. I luckily live in 1 of the 4 store locations
Trad for sure. Press’s trim shirts are from the Pennant line and not MiUSA
I take that back - it looks like they have a couple MiUSA trim fit ocbds
Oh interesting. Good to know. Then I will ask since I am more of a slim/athletic guy, does J Press' trad fit shirts bag up near the waist if you were to tuck them in?
Yeah but who cares - it works better with contemporary straight/relaxed proportions
That's fair, it is more classic I suppose, thanks for the answers!
Embrace the bag. It looks good
I guess since I like vintage PRL "baggy" trousers, I should embrace trad baggy shirts
the trad fit does not bag up that much in my experience fwiw
I've had issues with some PRL OCBDs in the past where they were so full that there were just so many wrinkles/bagging in the back of the shirt to keep the front of the shirt flat.
Is this an issue in general with these brands?
It also might "feel" baggier because you're into slim athletic stuff
Well I'm just worried about it bagging up in the back. It looks sloppy in my opinion at least
If you’re wearing stuff like Andrew’s you need trad fit. Slimmer tops look out of proportion with fuller pants
Agreed. Do you just tuck them normally or is there a specfic way to make the lines of the shirt look more clean?
Normally. Look into the military tuck if it really bothers you
And just roll with the baggy-ness in the back I assume?
Yup
yup
Understood 🫡
I'll add the the Press trim fit are not super slim either, comparable to BB Regent and nowhere near as slim as BB Milano . A 15.5 neck has around a 22.5" p2p. The classic fit in the same size is like 24-25" - more like BB Madison. I've come to appreciate the more classic full cut although both the Press trim and classic have their place. I'm not a fan of BB Milano - too slim and constricting.
I'm a 38" chest, I hope I don't get swallowed by the J Press trad
I was looking on J Press' site earlier and the fits are quite large. I'm very intrigued to see how they look in person/on body
I have a similar chest size and I can make the full cut work. It takes some getting used to though at first if you're used to slimmer shirts. Getting the top and bottom proportions right helps a lot. The full cut shirt looks better tucked into wide chinos like the PRL Andrews above or wider legged jeans rather than slim fit chinos or jeans. Helps minimize the poof too.
For reference my chest is somewhere in the 38-40” range and this is a yellow full cut (Madison, trad, etc) BB shirt with a 24-25” p2p.
^ This one is the Press trim fit.
The excess material in the chest makes them super comfortable as well
Very interesting. This is great feedback.
And do you feel that to keep the front part of the shirt flat that you have excess baggage in the back?
No I just embrace the excess material for the most part. Higher rise pants help. Those jeans above have like a 12” front rise. They’d really poof at 10-11” front rise
I see, that's a fair assessment. Do you not recommend darts?
Oh and a brief correction - the white shirt above is the Press trim fit. I noticed the flap pocket at second glance
I would not get darts but I guess it depends on how you want to wear them. This is where having a trim shirt and a trad shirt can come in handy. If you want a cleaner look for say a suit, then maybe the trim would be a better option.
Yeah I was going to ask how trad J press goes with something that isn't a sack suit? I have a few vintage Italian suits that wear more like British styling and I am a bit concerned with how that would wear
J Press historically has had fewer diffusion lines so if you’re buying vintage, you need to do less research than buying used/vintage BB
But the good vintage BB is very good
Higher ceiling, lower floor
Contemporary goes to J Press by a country mile
But stick to MiUSA over made in Canada with contemporary press
Also just to quickly piggy back off of the whole baggy conversation we had earlier, what brands/fits would you guys recommend for polo shirts?
I have a few vintage PRL ones that are custom fit, but I am curious if they're any out there that are "better" for the look?
There are some gems out there but a lot of them have smaller collars. I’m not a fan of the custom fit stuff though
Bit of a digression, but I find really loose shirts don't work well untucked. They just look billowy and absurd. I'm 39 or 40R and 15.5 or 16 collar, and prefer around 22 P2P on shirts. Anyone else?
Agree but I always tuck so 🤷♂️
I tend to agree too. I untuck my bigger shirts at the end of the day sometimes if I fee like it but I feel like it’s trickier and you really have to have idgaf energy to pull it off well
Other details for big shirts make a lot of difference in this application too imo. For example, the shoulder seams and type of hem. I think it’s easier to do untucked big shirt if the shoulders are dropped some for maximum loucheness. Fabric makes a difference too - linen is super easy to wear this way, Oxford cloth a bit harder
I find they work well if they are cropped; I have a couple of oversized ones that I got made shorter and now they look really nice when untucked!
Nope - I love big billowy shirts in the summer, especially with wider shorts like Andrews and baggies. Not the best pic but this is from last week
I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to this thread. I went to the DC store today and loved the trad fit of the J Press OCBDs. I ordered 3 (they had to ship the white one) and am incredibly pleased.
platonic ideal
