* Full disclosure, I was offered the sneakers for free but the rest I purchased myself.
In my previous post I talked about the ordering process with Crush on Retro and I had the opportunity to interview Bryce Zhang. (http://www.carlovdbroeck.com/2024/08/crush.html)
I'm sure some of you are wondering why I reached out to Crush on Retro when I have so many options including local options here in Italy. The reason is because when I started my menswear journey back in 2010, I was a university student living in Sydney Australia. I had limited options for classic menswear and tailoring. The options that were available to me locally were also very expensive.
For this reason I looked online. Aliexpress did not exist yet but Taobao did. for those of you not familiar with Taobao, it was basically Aliexpress but in Chinese and only for the Chinese market. You had to use a reselling/ship forwarding website that translated Taobao to english. Google translate was not yet at the level it is now and translations were often confusing. The size charts were also all over the place or non existent since Taobao was not intended for an international market.
If something similar to Crush on Retro existed back in the day, my past self would have been very happy with the selection. It is for that reason Ive been so interested in Crush on Retro and its potential. I know there are people out there on a budget or maybe just starting their menswear journey. There are also people out there that can always appreciate good value for money.
for my first order I ordered the following:
Without further ado, here are my first impressions before wearing any of the items.
10 OZ Western denim shirt
The shirt that started it all. Given I had seen this shirt in person before, I already had expectations.
My focus this time would be on the details, finishing and feel of the shirt.
As I unpacked the shirt, I could already feel it had some heft to it. So much so that I had to double check on my coffee scales. To my surprise the weight came to around 650grams. The denim shirt is made from 100% pure cotton.
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| in terms of the design, the shirt has edge stitched front and back yokes. |
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| Curved front pocket flap resembling a softer version of the sawtooth pockets seen on other western shirts. The pocket are not just rounded as they finish more towards an arrowpoint. |
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| The shirt has snap buttons for the body and cuffs. |
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Only on the cuff was the finishing not as clean. The tailor maybe could have done a better job finishing this part. Having made a shirt out of lighter cotton myself, the part where the cuff meets the sleeve can get quite thick and tricky to stitch. I can imagine that working with this heavy denim would pose more trouble. Overall it is a well made denim shirt and I look forward to wearing it and washing it a few times to see how it fades and wears.
Men's Knit T-shirt 1940s Short Sleeves
Despite the denim shirt introducing me to Crush on Retro, it was definitely this shirt that got my full attention. This is also my favourite item out of the order. the Derby rib T-shirt is made from 100% cotton.
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| The shirt is almost identical to the one in the vintage menswear advertisement. the only difference is you can't see the hem garter in the ad since the shirt is tucked in. |
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| Finishing is clean where the pocket and garters meet the body of the shirt. There is even an attempt to pattern match ribbing. |
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| inside of the neck garter |
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| Inside of the pocket |
Men's Western Style Jacquard Knitted T-shirt - Navajo
I generally prefer to only wear non man-made materials but in some cases I make exceptions. Some of these exceptions are for linings, vintage garments (acrylic is usually uses for vintage knits, acetate is usually used for vintage Hawaiian shirts) and in this case vintage inspired garments. This knit shirt is made from 45% cotton and 55% Tencel. For those of you unfamiliar with Tencel, it is a semi-synthetic material made from wood pulp.
The weave of the Jacquard design is clean and consistent. you can also see that the sides and sleeves are pattern matching the front of the shirt. You can see the pattern matching more clearly from the inside.
Men's pleated Gurhka shorts
Unfortunately my legless mannequin is not the best at showing the proper drape of the shorts but stay tuned as I'll be wearing these in a future post. Compared to the website photos, these shorts were a bit warmer in tone than I expected. For me this wasn't an issue but for others it might be a deal breaker.
Both the inside and outside of the shorts are clean with neat stitching and binding on the edges. you have the usual buttonhole fraying on the cuts of the waistband. The shorts are finished with brass buckles and brass YKK zippers.
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| product photo from Crush on Retro which appears cooler in colour tone |
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| The buttonhole fray where the cut is made after stitching the buttonhole |
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| clean bar tacks on stress points |
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| back pocket |
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| Back centre seam and bar tack |
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| Brass YKK zippers with binding finishing the inside edges. |
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| pocket bags are finished cleanly |
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| Binding on edges and an inside view of the bar tacks on the back pockets. |
last but definitely not the least, the Men's low top leather sneakers.
Made from Chinese chrome-tanned leather, the pebble grain leather is soft and pliable.
The shoes go for a minimalist look and don't have any padding around the ankle. The finishing of the heel counter also reminds me of a boat shoe. From the inside photos you can see that it's pretty much the outside leather and just the lining. It will be interesting to see how that will affect the comfort of these shoes.
The laces are not quite white which works nicely with the contrast rubber soles.
stitching and finishing is clean except for some pen marks along the sides of the rubber soles where the shoe maker has used a pen to mark the leather.
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| if you look closely, you can see the pen marks. |
Conclusion
Looking at the first impressions, there is no doubt that its good value for money.
I look forward to seeing how all these items wear and age over time. Let me know in the comments if you'd be interested in me reviewing these items after I've worn them a few times.
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