The BB 25% off applies to sale shirts which brings some of them down to $30. Worth a look.

 

I have both. BB OCBD is definitely nicer. But the Hyde Park is nice too, and actually fits me better.

I avoid non-irons now because:

• They always need some ironing -- might as well do the whole thing
• They don't last very long, and don't age gracefully
• They're uncomfortably non-breathable, even sweaty

All-cotton OCBDs are sturdy enough to stay fresh looking all day. Forget the non-iron.

 

It takes five minutes to iron an BB OCBD--and that's ironed, not touched up. That's 25 minutes per week, or 17.5 hours per year, assuming six weeks off for vacation/holidays and a hotel every work day. It works out to a bit more than .0019 percent of your time in a given year devoted to ironing shirts, which I argue is a worthwhile investment of time for anyone. I have no issues with a cheater shirt here and there, and plead guilty to possession myself. But I would never, personally, make non-irons the base.

 

Get the BB OCBDs instead. Better collar, better fabric, more fit options. You won't regret it.

LE makes a decent OCBD for the price, but the the button spacing is too small. As a result the bottom button with the horizontal buttonhole always ends up above your belt. It also doesn't look that good with the collar open. AFAIK, they have still yet to fix this.

I second 32rollandrock, oxford cloth takes a fraction of the time to iron compared to other shirtings. So does twill, but it doesn't breathe as well. If you want your shirts to survive the plane trip, it's best to fold them up or have a commercial laundry do so if you use them. No need to resort to non-iron.

 

...the the button spacing is too small. As a result the bottom button with the horizontal buttonhole always ends up above your belt.

The tall sizes do not have this problem, as they are significantly longer in the body.

 

Not all of us wear 36" sleeves and longer, though!

 

I like the slim fit hyde parks -- the BB are a little nicer, but not a huge difference to me. No reason to get a non-iron OCBD. I'll grab a BB pinpoint white non-iron every once in a while, but thats for help when i need a crisp dress shirt for a long day. OCBDs are more causal and dont need that perma-crisp.

 

I have both and I find I don't like the Lands End as much as the BB when wearing a tie. The Lands End collar points seem to be a bit shorter than the BB and don't roll as nicely, at least on me.

 

Both LE Hyde Parks and BB OCBDs have been the core of my shirt wardrobe for 25-30 years. Frankly, I like them both pretty much equally...though they do have their differences. The problem is, LE has reduced the selection of Hyde Parks they offer to basically white and blue. I've not bought any since they were offering them in the same line-up of solid colors that BB offers and annouced that they would be discontinuing them. I stocked up, and they decided to bring them back in white and blue. Some who have bought the newer Hyde Parks contend it is not the shirt the older models were. I don't know and will probably stick with BB from here on out since I have more confidence in their consistancy and sticking with the real deal...and there is more variety (5 solids and 2 stripes).

As for non-irons, I have to say that I run hot and cold on them. Most on this forum only run cold. However, you asked for an opinion on which of the two is the better shirt. When it comes to non-irons, in my experience Brooks Brothers is--by far--the better shirt when it comes to doing what non-irons are supposed to do, and that is shunning wrinkles. I find that the BB non-irons I've had can truly be worn without ironing. The LE non-irons come out too wrinkled to wear without a substantial touch up. Without making a judgement on whether you should go with must irons or non-irons, I just say BB has the best non-irons I've found.

Finally, if it matters, when I travel I don't carry non-irons. For ease of packing, I have my cleaners fold instead of hanging. Of course, I don't carry non-irons to the cleaners, so that's not really an option for me. After all most of the appeal in buying a non-iron is not having to go to the trouble or expense of taking it to the cleaners.

 

BB collar is slightly bigger (and better for me for tie wearing) and I am on record as favoring the baggy BB fit. It makes me feel slimmer....yes, that's it.

 

The same guys who wear Traditional Fit in BB could probably wear Regular Fit just as well...

 

The same guys who wear Traditional Fit in BB could probably wear Regular Fit just as well...

BB Regular is almost the same as LE Traditional. I happily wear this size for softer sport shirts, but for an OCBD I need something slimmer. Stiff oxford cloth billows out in a bad way when there's too much of it.

I agree a lot of people could/should probably go slimmer.

 

^^^
Just because they could, doesn't mean they should. I've always liked the traditional cut, whether I was slim or not at the time. It lends more "substance" to the shirt. As Mercer says...Baggy is better. But that's a matter of personal taste.

 

BB. My .02

Looking at my closet I count something on the order of about 20-25 shirts. About three quarters are brooks brothers. Two of those are non-iron. One of those non-iron shirts has been sent to the laundry along with my other "gotta-iron" shirts for, what...about 6-7 years? Its held up fine and feels comfortable enough. The other non-iron always looks great right out of the dryer.

Having said all that, here is where I've ended up -
1. BB regular (traditional baggy) fit
2. All cotton must-iron
3. A few Press cotton shirts. Personally, I think the BB shirts might be better fabric. I won't know for another 10 years or so.
4. I never iron my shirts at home. Send 'em out. The value of my time and my obsessive attention to perfection means that I long ago passed the point at which it was cost effective for me to iron my shirts. They come back looking better from the laundry, and I've learned how to fold them so that they look great when I take them out of the suitcase.
5. I've got to hand it to brooks. Their basic OCBDs really last. The one I'm wearing today is old enough that the collar is unlined. Fits great, looks great, feels great. Must be 20+ years old. Maybe 30.

 

Well put, Markus.

Initial quality is not as telling a metric as some would think. Show me a current Lands End shirt in five years and I'll show you a dish rag. An OCBD I bought three years ago started going thread bare in spots as though it was springing leaks. Now it's happening to a few paintbrush shirts that can't even be 2 years old yet.

I still have the Brooks Brothers shirts I bought 7-8 years ago and there isn't a whole lot of difference between those few and the newer ones in terms of real visible wear.

My issues with current LE have nothing to do with fit, colors, etc, but the fact that they simply aren't built for the long haul and that's about all I'm interested in buying any more.

 

Show me a current Lands End shirt in five years and I'll show you a dish rag. An OCBD I bought three years ago started going thread bare in spots as though it was springing leaks. Now it's happening to a few paintbrush shirts that can't even be 2 years old yet.

Fortunately, I have not had the same experience as Trip. Most of my older LE shirts - Hyde Parks, pinpoints, and regular OCBDs - have lasted for many years, and still look good. The shirts I've purchased in the last couple of years are also in fine shape.

Except for a very brief period early in my marriage, all of my shirts are professionally laundered and ironed. Not sure if that's made a difference, or it's simply a matter of LE having different vendors making different model shirts during different time periods. (Whatever the case, I've been very fortunate.) Maybe the wearer's usage plays a role, too?

To Salty's point, my new BB OCBDs are better than my newest supima Hyde Parks (about two years old) - softer and more substantial, although I'm not crazy about the collar roll (tends to get too "William F. Buckleyish" on me). I own a bunch of LE non-irons as well, and some are great directly out of the dryer, while others need a touch-up if perfection is what one seeks.

Speaking of ironing, my wife and I decided a long time ago that we both work too hard to spend an inordinate amount of time ironing shirts. While some say that it takes just a couple of minutes, our experience was that it took far longer, but I suppose this is a function of how particular one happens to be. For us, the minor expense of professional laundering is well worth it for dress shirts...

 

IMO, the BB is a much better shirt, but if you watch and wait you can get them from LE for more like $15-20. That's a big difference.

...and I wish I could iron a shirt in 5 minutes.

 

^^^
Just because they could, doesn't mean they should. I've always liked the traditional cut, whether I was slim or not at the time. It lends more "substance" to the shirt. As Mercer says...Baggy is better. But that's a matter of personal taste.

Regular Fit isn't very slim, it's just right. You should try it. It's the way BB shirts used to fit before the average waistband expanded...

 

Regular Fit isn't very slim, it's just right. You should try it. It's the way BB shirts used to fit before the average waistband expanded...

I settled on the BB "slim" fit, which is not slim at all, but very comfortable for a guy of my modest size.

 

I will commit heresy here and say that I prefer the Lands End shirts to the BB.

Yes, BB invented the OCBD and is the original.

But like many mass produced goods, BB does not seem to adjust their patterns for sizes outside of medium. For example, for those of us who are tall, BB does not seem to alter their patterns to proportionately fit the larger sized shirts body. The collars on the BB OCBD are positioned far too low on my neck. Also, the yoke is only about 1.5 inches wide at the sleeve (which looks out of proportion on a 16.5, 35 shirt) and positioned far too forward in on the shoulder for me. These details would probably work on a smaller shirt, but look out of proportion on a larger shirt.

Lands End and several other manufacturers seem to keep the details in better proportions. Also, I like the locker loops, sleeve buttons, and other details that may not be original, but work for an OCBD.

 

I will commit heresy here and say that I prefer the Lands End shirts to the BB.

Yes, BB invented the OCBD and is the original.

But like many mass produced goods, BB does not seem to adjust their patterns for sizes outside of medium. For example, for those of us who are tall, BB does not seem to alter their patterns to proportionately fit the larger sized shirts body. The collars on the BB OCBD are positioned far too low on my neck. Also, the yoke is only about 1.5 inches wide at the sleeve (which looks out of proportion on a 16.5, 35 shirt) and positioned far too forward in on the shoulder for me. These details would probably work on a smaller shirt, but look out of proportion on a larger shirt.

Lands End and several other manufacturers seem to keep the details in better proportions. Also, I like the locker loops, sleeve buttons, and other details that may not be original, but work for an OCBD.

Gosh, your comments on the BB fit prompts me to try on the shirts I bought from them over the weekend and have a look in the mirror again. I'm tall and slender (6'4"), and wear a 16/35 in the must iron. I'm curious as to how the proportions on the shirt become me or not now. Thanks for your perspective.

 

I haven't tried the Lands End ones, but I think the BB OCBD's are really, really great. My favorite shirt.

 

Gosh, your comments on the BB fit prompts me to try on the shirts I bought from them over the weekend and have a look in the mirror again. I'm tall and slender (6'4"), and wear a 16/35 in the must iron. I'm curious as to how the proportions on the shirt become me or not now. Thanks for your perspective.

I will be interested to learn your impressions. Perhaps I am just strange in my fit requirements.

 

I am 5'10", 35" waist and a 41R jacket and I wear the BB traditional fit. Some find it excessively baggy, whereas I find anything slimmer so be annoyingly tight. Just personal preference on these matters. I prefer the fuller cut.

 

I am 6'0", 36 inch waist and a 42R jacket and I also prefer the BB Traditional fit. I don't like a slim fitting shirt. Of course, I'm an old guy