Thoughts on RRL

[Cowpoke]

Hello everyone, im new to the group. Happy to join the squad! I wanted to field some opinions from people regarding Double RL. The prices are ridiculous but some of the designs are great and the quality doesnt seem too bad in my opinion. Do others have thoughts on the brand?

 

[jchance]

Nice to look at but I generally chalk it up as one of those brands I can’t afford, no matter how much money I make or have. That said, I have several RRL pieces that I’ve collected over the years.

I love their older selvedge officer chinos so much, I have bought 4 exact-same pairs. I also own a cotton flannel—Thick and beefy, but cannot match Japanese-made ones. RRL raw denim was ok, also unable to match Japanese ones. I also have a pair of wool pants that I’m going to sell.

 

[Guppy]

Overpriced, even used. Nice if you get a bargain.

 

[NAB]

I've picked up a couple of pieces used. Decent enough (though not at full price) but I wasn't massively impressed with the quality, especially vs. the vintage a lot of their line is based on.

 

[AerGuitar]

Overpriced, even used. Nice if you get a bargain.

My only experience with the brand is 1 pair of nice selvage jeans. Heavier Japanese denim. Bought them for $12 at a used clothing shop! Well worth the dough spent. They were a size too small, so i suffered with the fit sparingly for a couple years before I sold them on the bay for a nice profit.

 

[Guppy]

My only experience with the brand is 1 pair of nice selvage jeans. Heavier Japanese denim. Bought them for $12 at a used clothing shop! Well worth the dough spent. They were a size too small, so i suffered with the fit sparingly for a couple years before I sold them on the bay for a nice profit.

Can't complain about $12!

 

[l0fielectronic]

I've had a couple of shirts, a denim jacket and a Browns Beach jacket over the years and all were pretty underwhelming. The material of the jackets was really what let them both down and I've had much nicer and higher quality 'standard' RL brand items.

I'm sure they do make some really good pieces, but I've not come across them myself.

 

[JackBroChill]

Echoing what others have said: Some really cool designs and the stuff is definitely quality, it's just about 3x as expensive as it should be...

 

[jchance]

I would not use “RRL” and “quality” in the same sentence. Mediocre at best.

 

[ABCD]

I would not use “RRL” and “quality” in the same sentence. Mediocre at best.

Can you elaborate?

 

[jchance]

Design and fabric are on point. Prices at least 2x-3x too expensive. In terms of construction though, I’ve had loose stitchings and buttons falling off RRL chinos and shirts. Granted it’s made in China, albeit at a slightly higher standard than the low quality junks coming out of China, but in terms of construction, it doesn’t hold up well long-term. My other stuff that was MiUSA, MiItaly or MiJapan holds up way, way better.

If you’re good with thread and needle and DIY sewing, RRL’s construction can be salvaged.

 

[ABCD]

Design and fabric are on point. Prices at least 2x too expensive. In terms of construction though, I’ve had loose stitchings and buttons falling off RRL chinos and shirts. Granted it’s made in China, albeit at a slightly higher standard than the low quality junks coming out of China, but in terms of construction, it doesn’t hold up well long-term. My other stuff that was MiUSA, MiItaly or MiJapan holds up way, way better.

So you had a couple buttons fall off and thus RRL's quality is mediocre at best?

Not all made in China stuff is bad and not all RRL items are made in China. Their suits are made in Italy by Caruso, their cowboy boots are made in Texas by Rios of Mercedes, dress shoes made in England by Crockett and Jones. Jeans made in USA.

90% of my wardrobe is RRL and I can assure you, my wardrobe is not mediocre quality.

Here's my attache bag, beautiful hand tooled vegetable leather, made in Mexico by a workshop that specializes in hand tooled leather goods.

Or this overnight bag I got last week, hand woven jacquard cloth with hand tooled leather. I challenge you to find a similar bag of better quality.

 

[MrProper]

Prices at least 2x-3x too expensive.

What does a price say about quality? Nothing, really.
Suppose you have one item with 100% quality at price X and another item with 100% quality at price 3 * X ... is the more expensive item of poorer quality? No, of course not.

Whether you are willing to pay three times the price is, of course, another story.

 

[Aloysius]

but in terms of construction, it doesn’t hold up well long-term.

This actually isn't due to a construction issue; it's due to a repro fidelity thing. (They will use all-cotton thread where most things use polycotton. There has been internal debate in the company over this.)

You see this in the denim world too; Samurai does the all cotton thing for example, which is less robust than other construction, but is preferred by many due to the way it fades especially arcs.

 

[babypluto]

I own several RRL pieces and would say that the quality and designs are great but pale in comparison with the Japanese brands. Also, the value is not there for the suggested retail price. However, there are certain pieces like the Vintage 5 Pocket East-West jeans that are some of my favorites and worth every penny.

 

[Jon Crow]

I own several RRL pieces and would say that the quality and designs are great but pale in comparison with the Japanese brands. Also, the value is not there for the suggested retail price. However, there are certain pieces like the Vintage 5 Pocket East-West jeans that are some of my favorites and worth every penny.

Some things seem to me subscribing to the hype, Japanese stuff is decent

 

[ABCD]

You guys are painting with a broad brush. RRL is mediocre, so is made in China. Japanese stuff is decent.

What about those flimsy zippers on RMC and freewheelers jackets? Does that make all Japanese zippers flimsy? These kind of generalizations are useless.

 

[Jon Crow]

You guys are painting with a broad brush. RRL is mediocre, so is made in China. Japanese stuff is decent.

What about those flimsy zippers on RMC and freewheelers jackets? Does that make all Japanese zippers flimsy? These kind of generalizations are useless.

Ok your suggesting name names, Sugar Cane, Toys, Buzz Rickson all good

 

[Jon Crow]

You guys are painting with a broad brush. RRL is mediocre, so is made in China. Japanese stuff is decent.

What about those flimsy zippers on RMC and freewheelers jackets? Does that make all Japanese zippers flimsy? These kind of generalizations are useless.

Japanese Sun Surf Brand Hawaiian shirts are nice, no zippers though

 

[babypluto]

Funny you mention zippers on RMC. The zipper on my RMC N1 deck jacket recently broke.