Archive for June, 2016

The popover shirt is one of my favorite types of shirts to wear in the summer. A popover is a woven shirt with a placket that stops somewhere around the chest pocket. It looks a little nicer than a polo and because it can be found in very lightweight fabrics it is probably cooler to wear than most polo shirts. The last few years have seen a resurgence of popovers with everyone from J.Press to J.Crew including one in their summer roster.
                                                                 Blue Linen Popover (see here)

This year is no different except that there are some cheap options. Hence the PSA. I was looking for a popover to pick-up, but had not settled on one. I was actually shopping the Target site for porch accessories when I got sidetracked in the clothing section. This is where I found the $20 popover.

Navy Popover with red stripes (see here)White Linen Popover (see here)Camel Popover (see here)

Target currently offers 4 popovers in a linen/cotton blend for $19.99. The colors are blue, white, navy with red horizontal stripes, and a tan version that features camels (this one is only available in stores). My local Target closed recently so I had to order via the web. I purchased the blue version and the white version. I will know more when they arrive.

I thought that this popover deserved a PSA strictly from a pricing perspective. It is hard to pass on a $20 popover when most of the other popovers that I see go for 3 to 5 times the price. Now there are certainly going to be questions about quality and fit, but for $20 it may be worth rolling the dice. I thought that it did.

Every now and again I hear murmurs that Lands’ End has restored its Hyde Park OCBD to its former glory. Last week the internet chatter grew too loud for me to ignore with many, including an alleged Lands’ End CSR touting that the Hyde Park’s collar points were now 3 1/8”. Being one that needs to see it to believe it I placed an order.

I purchased a blue Hyde Park in traditional fit. Though the shirt is priced at $49 I was able to pick it up for half of that, because there is always a sale going on at Lands’ End. When I pulled the shirt out of the box I was cautiously optimistic. It looked as if there might be a little roll to the collar. I was excited. Could this mean that I can once again get an OCBD with a legitimate collar roll for under $50??? I went for the measuring tape.

I removed the shirt from its plastic wrapper, unbuttoned the collar, and got down to business. The results were what I had expected. No change, or at least not much change. The collar points measure 3”. This may be a bit longer than some of the 2014 reports that the collar was 2 ¾”, but not the 3 ¼” that they used to be.
I really did not expect Lands’ End to have returned its shirt to glory, but I was hopeful. I had told myself that maybe they were watching the sales of new old Brooks Brother OCBD which is reportedly selling well (I hear that it is selling well, but again “hear.”) and saw the opportunity to compete. I even had a more far fetched theory that they were just tired of having people from Ask Andy Trad calling in asking them to measure the collar points. It was neither. Just more of the same small collarness.

The Hyde Park is still a decent OCBD. If you have no need or desire to wear a tie it is a great option. However, if you are reading this blog chances are you know what you want and that is collar roll. There is no roll to be had here. Like most things that Lands’ End does today it is so close yet so far away.