Excellent Sunspel alternative, cheap and fairly accurate

readpaulb

So I needed some new black polos for work and ended up ordering a dark navy blue one as well since I thought the fit and color might be close. Only thing is that it doesn't have a pocket. I'm really happy with it though and for 13USD you can't beat it. The material is also very stretchy, similar to the Sunspel. If you do think about ordering one order this model, and not the one that's slightly cheaper as it has a very plain feel to it and no stretch. Cheers to H&M. Link is below, along with a picture.

http://www.hm.com/us/product/10988?article=10988-K






As a side note I have it tucked in for the picture, but the length is almost spot on as well when compared to DC wearing it.

If it helps I'm almost exactly the same size as DC (including height of 5'10" sadly) and this is a Medium. Large is too wide in the shoulders but fits almost as tight due to the stretchy material.

Paul

Thunderpussy

{[] congratulations, looks great. -{

JMac88

Looks pretty good, although I've always found tucked-in polos look kind of dorky ) .

And don't feel too bad about your height, I have the same build as you/DC, but broader shoulders and I'm only 5'9 so I feel as if I look like a brick.

welshboy78

Is it made of mesh like material though?

i.e. Have you compared directly with the Sunspel Riveira? The Mesh makes it very light and great for warm days. It also kind of forms to your body shape also

hthomas

Thanks for the heads up. Are these in stores?

readpaulb

hthomas wrote:

Thanks for the heads up. Are these in stores?

They should be. I believe I bought white one about 3 months ago in store and I think it is one of their staple items along with their regular polos.

thelordflasheart

These are in stores and are identical to the polos they carried last year, when I bought mine.

Unfortunately they're not really similar to Sunspel. I almost bought a Sunspel that I found on sale at Club Monaco (!), but the combination of still-high price and the fact that I have four similar polos...I decided to think about it (it was gone the next day).

As stated, the material is totally different. It's pretty light, although the 5% elastine and the type of cotton means it isn't as breathable as Sunspel's open weave. It's still a nice shirt, though.

hthomas wrote:

Thanks for the heads up. Are these in stores?

readpaulb

thelordflasheart wrote:

These are in stores and are identical to the polos they carried last year, when I bought mine.

Unfortunately they're not really similar to Sunspel. I almost bought a Sunspel that I found on sale at Club Monaco (!), but the combination of still-high price and the fact that I have four similar polos...I decided to think about it (it was gone the next day).

As stated, the material is totally different. It's pretty light, although the 5% elastine and the type of cotton means it isn't as breathable as Sunspel's open weave. It's still a nice shirt, though.

Yeah I totally get what you're saying. My thinking is more along the lines of looks and stretch, which this accomplishes pretty well considering it's about 1/9 the price. If the Sunspel was only 50USD I'd complain, but for the sake of looks at about 1/9 the price I'll take it.

Westward_Drift

So if I may ask, what are the shoulder and chest measurements of the medium and large polos? The h&m site doesn't give actual measurements just a general guide.

readpaulb

Westward_Drift wrote:

So if I may ask, what are the shoulder and chest measurements of the medium and large polos? The h&m site doesn't give actual measurements just a general guide.

Not a problem. I should be able to get some measurements in the morning and I'll post

Peppermill

H&M are very liberal in their sizing, you usually have to size down quite a bit.

InternationalExports

I found 2. The first is Primark as they do not have a website with an online store but they do a good one same collar and feel £4 but no pocket. And The officer club do 2 for £20 it does have the pocket however their is a very fine line of lighter blue around the sleeves. Asda do a great replica of the Tom Ford Harrington jacket for £20. Primark do a great dark brown suede desert boot for £14.00. Superdry do a slim fit peacoat called the Titanic peacoat which is a good match for the billy Reid. Next do a great Sand colour Levis Strata style denim very close to the QOS for £25. -{

thelordflasheart

Hmm...stopped by H&M today and they have two similar polos. Here's the one that I bought last year (still available now), which is 5% elastane and feels like smooth jersey:

http://www.hm.com/ca/product/10988?article=10988-K

But they do have one which is 100% cotton and has an open weave. Not as open as Sunspel, but for this price why quibble?

http://www.hm.com/ca/product/05322?article=05322-T

Didn't get the chance to try the second one on as they only had large. Looks like it would look better on someone fit than on the undernourished looking model on the website. And better than their standard pique polo, which is yet a third type of navy polo that they offer.

readpaulb

Westward_Drift wrote:

So if I may ask, what are the shoulder and chest measurements of the medium and large polos? The h&m site doesn't give actual measurements just a general guide.

Sorry for the incredibly slow update but the shoulder measurement on the Medium was 17", chest was 19". I have a 41" chest so as I said, pretty stretchy.

Westward_Drift

readpaulb wrote:

Westward_Drift wrote:

So if I may ask, what are the shoulder and chest measurements of the medium and large polos? The h&m site doesn't give actual measurements just a general guide.

Sorry for the incredibly slow update but the shoulder measurement on the Medium was 17", chest was 19". I have a 41" chest so as I said, pretty stretchy.

Thanks, much appreciated.

I too have a 41" chest, but I guess I'd go with a large due to my shoulder size. I may have to stop in at h&m (about 30 miles away) to try them on to see if a medium will do.

readpaulb

Westward_Drift wrote:

readpaulb wrote:

Westward_Drift wrote:

So if I may ask, what are the shoulder and chest measurements of the medium and large polos? The h&m site doesn't give actual measurements just a general guide.

Sorry for the incredibly slow update but the shoulder measurement on the Medium was 17", chest was 19". I have a 41" chest so as I said, pretty stretchy.

Thanks, much appreciated.

I too have a 41" chest, but I guess I'd go with a large due to my shoulder size. I may have to stop in at h&m (about 30 miles away) to try them on to see if a medium will do.

I would definitely try the medium. I wear a large in most things, but the shoulders seem to pop out on these in the large

hthomas

I am going to be going by one today to check out this polo!

readpaulb

Enjoy! As others have pointed out the material is wrong. I think the fit is accurate enough to make it a worthy purchase however.

thelordflasheart

Tried on the "open weave" polo at H&M yesterday. Tried both a medium and small (I'm a hair under 5'9" with a 41" chest and 33" waist).

First, the fabric is surprisingly nice. Very light and very breathable. Seems sturdy enough to last for a while, too. My experience with H&M and other high street stores is that if you're patient and quite picky you can find items that are quite well made (I have a couple of dress shirts from H&M that are now almost ten years old and still look good, although they don't seem to offer that quality in dress shirts anymore).

The bad news - the styling on the shirt just doesn't work for me. There's a button on the back of the collar which makes it look a little too casual for me. The collar itself is a bit undersized (though it's nice that it's in the same woven material as the shirt's body, much like Sunspel) so I can see it looking dated fairly quickly. And the placket is exceptionally short. If someone was quite slim then the shirt may look better on them, but the lack of "up-and-down" lines to the shirt just looks wrong on me.

The medium had too much extra space in the shoulders (and mine are not that small) and I couldn't see it forming to my body even after wearing it for a while. As well, it was too large around the waist and a bit too long. The small fit much better in every way although it was a tiny bit too small in the chest. A longer placket would have sorted that as it would have opened up that area of the shirt more.

A shame because the fabric is really, really nice. But the cut/dimensions of the shirt and the lighter colour mean that it isn't a viable alternative for someone wanting the Sunspel look.

readpaulb

thelordflasheart wrote:

Tried on the "open weave" polo at H&M yesterday. Tried both a medium and small (I'm a hair under 5'9" with a 41" chest and 33" waist).

First, the fabric is surprisingly nice. Very light and very breathable. Seems sturdy enough to last for a while, too. My experience with H&M and other high street stores is that if you're patient and quite picky you can find items that are quite well made (I have a couple of dress shirts from H&M that are now almost ten years old and still look good, although they don't seem to offer that quality in dress shirts anymore).

The bad news - the styling on the shirt just doesn't work for me. There's a button on the back of the collar which makes it look a little too casual for me. The collar itself is a bit undersized (though it's nice that it's in the same woven material as the shirt's body, much like Sunspel) so I can see it looking dated fairly quickly. And the placket is exceptionally short. If someone was quite slim then the shirt may look better on them, but the lack of "up-and-down" lines to the shirt just looks wrong on me.

The medium had too much extra space in the shoulders (and mine are not that small) and I couldn't see it forming to my body even after wearing it for a while. As well, it was too large around the waist and a bit too long. The small fit much better in every way although it was a tiny bit too small in the chest. A longer placket would have sorted that as it would have opened up that area of the shirt more.

A shame because the fabric is really, really nice. But the cut/dimensions of the shirt and the lighter colour mean that it isn't a viable alternative for someone wanting the Sunspel look.

I'll have to check that one out next time I'm in store. Sounds like the right build might work if you removed the back button, but I don't think I will fit. Still, I'm curious as a lot of their clothes fit me either very well, or incredibly poorly.

Westward_Drift

I finally got the chance to go to H&M and try on the polo. readpaulb, you were right, a medium fit very well. The large was too baggy in the shoulders. I did not by any of the polos, however. It came down to the shoulder seams. You can see it in your photos, readpaulb, they stick out too much for my taste. It just looked wrong to me. Thankfully I had picked up some cheap polos on sale at Kohl's ($8 apiece on sale and promo) earlier and have some slim fits on order.

thelordflasheart, I also tried on the another polo that I think was the one you linked to (it was also $14.95). Even completely unbuttoned I could barely get it on over my head.