Taylor Stitch has quite a few standard items that they make in different fabrics. The Camp Pant is one of them, and I’ve been testing the pants in the Dark Olive Boss Duck. You can also find these in Corduroy, Wool, Herringbone, and Reverse Sateen.

Let’s dive in.

Material

Boss Duck is Taylor Stitch’s workwear fabric. I believe there were iterations before this version, but here it is a 12 oz., light stone washed blend of 54% hemp, 30% recycled polyester, 14% organic cotton, 2% spandex.

That’s a mouthful, but what it comes down to is a heavy, tough workwear fabric that feels soft from the start. When I looked up the content, I was surprised to see the spandex listed. I hadn’t noticed any stretch in the fabric while wearing, but now that I’m looking for it, I can feel it by hand as just a slight stretch in the horizontal direction.

The hemp content here is what helps increase the fabric’s strength, gives it a great texture, and gives it some performant features.

Fit & Style

The Camp Pant and the more workwear styled The Chore Pant share a cut. I find it to be relaxed without looking baggy or sloppy and something that should fit in well with the trend towards less slim pants. These styles also come with a button, rather than zip fly.

The fit is spot on where you don’t ever feel restricted, even though the fabric doesn’t really have stretch to speak of. This is also helped by the availability of even and odd waist sizing, as you can make sure you have a good waist fit. This is important because the waist is the only place I occasionally noticed the lack of stretch.

To be noted — this fabric comes in the old 36” inseam, but they are currently transitioning to 34” inseam and offering free mail-in tailoring.

This style could find its way into a business casual wardrobe (front slash pockets, rear patch pockets), although not in this fabric. The hemp texture, for me at least, keeps it in the casual realm. It looks really sharp with a flannel or other casual shirt for the weekend.

Performance

The high hemp content of this fabric not only helps with the durability and abrasion resistance, but also with the breathability. I found these pants to have a wider range of comfortable temperatures than a standard cotton or cotton/poly workwear pant in this weight.

Even though they are breathable enough for a warmer day or heavy work, I also found that the weave of the fabric seems to keep cold wind from cutting through the pants — something I was wondering about when wearing these comfortably before the temperatures dropped. I’d call these three-season.

Overall

The Camp Pant in Olive Boss Duck is a great use of workwear fabric in a less-casual cut. These are at home anywhere from on the weekend hanging out with friends, to chopping wood or woodworking. The fabric is three-season for the northeast temperatures, and wouldn’t be too heavy for the colder months down south. They come broken-in, and I expect them to only soften up more with wear.

At $128 they are certainly on the high end of the pricing spectrum. I’m not sure I’d pay quite that much for them, but if you can grab them during one of Taylor Stitch’s sales, I think they are a great value.

Recommended. Buy from Taylor Stitch for the full line-up, or Huckberry for a more limited selection.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

When Steve ordered his Warpstreme ABC pants, I ordered them with the Tech Canvas — the weather just prevented me from testing them sooner. These are yet another take on a ‘modern 5-pocket’ or, modern jeans if you will. I’ve been testing them off and on for a while now, and overall: meh.

Let’s get into why.

Materials

The material is surprising on this. The make up is 49% Cotton, 45% Polyester, 6% Elastane, but that only tells part of the story. When I sat down to write this, I was surprised it had so much cotton, because it’s not soft like cotton at all. This is a thick, slightly scratchy, very heavily textured pant. ‘Canvas’ is an apt description, but it’s more of an open weave canvas, as they are breathable.

They do feel very durable, but only time will tell on that. They have a rough hand feel, and ample stretch.

Fit & Style

Fit overall was slightly smaller than true to size, so the 34 sized I ordered fits a bit tighter than I would ideally like, but I am not sure the 35 would be tight enough. They also fit very slim (a classic cut is available), and I find that my calves are always pressed on the material. Overall I think the slim on these is too slim.

I typically wear a 32” inseam, and I found these about a half inch shorter than I would like. So no matter which way you cut it, you might want to size up one notch if you generally find yourself on the cusp.

As for style, they are solid. The cut is fine, not the best, but fine. While the material looks ‘normal’ and has no sound while walking to give it away. If you can wear jeans there, you can wear these for sure.

Fit and style: nothing special.

Performance

There are three stand out things on these pants from a performance perspective:

1. The movement/stretch of these pants is fantastic. Even for the very slim fit, they never bind and always move easily. That’s great.
2. They breathe very well, almost airy feeling. So even though the pant is thick in looks and feel, they do breathe.
3. The last one is a weird issue though. They breath too well to work in cold weather, and they aren’t light enough to wear in warm weather. Which leaves essentially transitional weather and greatly limits the pants. They kind of need to make up their mind here.

They don’t dry fast, or have any other outstanding performance features — unless cuffing your pants and seeing a reflective stripe is a must for you.

Overall

Overall: they are fine, not great, just fine. The best comparisons are to Outlier Slim Dungarees ($198) and Western Rise’s Diversion Pants ($138). Given that these ABCs come in at $128, I don’t see anyway to justify the over the only slightly more expensive Diversion pants which perform better and are more comfortable.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

The chore coat seems to be the new hot outerwear item this Fall. I’ve been wearing the Wellen Stretch Chore Coat for a few months now, with a lot of wear recently with the cooler weather.

Material

This jacket is a lighter hemp canvas made from 66% organic cotton, 32% hemp, 2% spandex.

The texture looks like a tough canvas, but the hand-feel is quite soft since it is garment washed. The 2% spandex adds a slightly noticeable stretch while the hemp adds strength and breathability.

Overall, this seems like it will be a long-wearing, casual fabric.

Fit & Style

The jacket is listed as a “tailored, athletic cut” as well as a “Classic workwear silhouette made with sustainable materials you can feel good about wearing”. I’d put it more towards that tailored cut. I ended up with a XL, which is listed as a 48” chest (I have a 44” chest). It has room for layering with a heavy flannel, but wouldn’t fit something bulky like a hoodie. So if you want to wear this over a thick insulation layer, size up.

Style-wise this is fully casual workwear. Something that can look good with a flannel and boots, but not something that you are going to dress up or wear to an office job. The patch pockets and shank buttons work well with the style.

Performance

The performance is in the hemp content of the fabric. When I first got this jacket, it was still warm out, but the jacket was comfortable even in the 60s (ºF) — the hemp makes it quite breathable. I could even see this being a shirt to throw on over a t-shirt in the summer when you need some extra protection. While I haven’t abused it yet, the fabric seems like it will hold up quite well to the abrasion of using it for woodworking or the like.

The stretch content is not very noticeable in the hand, I don’t feel my motion ever being restricted, so it must be doing something since the cut is a bit tailored. Likely the splits at the side seams also help when the jacket is buttoned.

The pockets are what make a chore coat have its unique style and functionality. Here the lower two patch pockets are dual-entry, meaning you can store something in the top opening, while having a side opening available to warm your hands. There also is a generous interior chest pocket for something like a phone or wallet and an exterior chest pocket.

The functioning sleeve buttons also add to the performance, allowing you to easily roll up the sleeves

Overall

The Stretch Chore Coat from Wellen is a worthy contender in the sea of chore coats that have been coming out for the Fall. The lighter weight but durable fabric makes it a very versatile piece. A great option if you are going for a comfortable and casual chore coat or something you want to do heavy work in. Currently on sale for $75 ($128 retail price), it is a great deal. Recommended.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

Note: These shorts were provided free of charge by Pistol Lake for review.

I’ve been wearing Pistol Lake since they released their Minimalist Tee (our review). They recently updated their All-Around Shorts, taking into account customer feedback, and I was excited to give them a try as they looked like a good combination of workout and casual shorts (more on this later).

Material

These shorts are made from a 90% nylon/10% spandex blend with four-way stretch and a DWR coating. Weighing in at 213 gsm, it is a substantial fabric, but the weight doesn’t take away from the comfort, it simply adds to the durability.

There is no technical sheen here, and minimal texture — the fabric just blends in.

The inside of the fabric does have more of a texture with very low loops, making it feel comfortable against the skin.

Unfortunately, there is some “technical swoosh” while walking. It did tone down some with washing, but I don’t expect it to ever go completely away.

Fit & Style

The fit is great. It is slightly tailored to help make the shorts more versatile, but not so much that they don’t work for exercise. The size chart is spot on (just remember that the waist measurements are actual and not vanity sizing). The 9” inseam works well for me and is a nice middle ground for versatile shorts.

As I mentioned in the intro, these fall more into the exercise shorts that look great around town vs. the great looking shorts that you can exercise in (like Outlier New Ways (our review)).

I’ve both worn these out of the house and for working out, and think they do well in both situations. They are certainly a step above gym shorts for casual wear, but remain casual.

The only negatives to the style are the lack of a button (they are elastic waist) and the pocket flare. Pistol Lake did reduce pocket flare with the 2.0 variant, but it’s still there for me, especially on the right side pocket where the cell phone pouch is located.

Performance

These shorts perform well. They stay out of the way, don’t bind, and don’t soak up sweat or get clammy. They seem breathable, but I wasn’t able to test them in hot weather.

Being elastic waistband, I’m glad they don’t have an external draw string, but found it strange there was not an internal one. While I didn’t feel like I needed a drawstring, it always is a nice addition on these shorts that are designed to be worn anywhere.

Pistol Lake also included their secure phone pocket, here as a snap secure pocket inside the right front pocket.

They “reshaped pocket bags so they fall toward the middle/outer part of the thigh” for the 2.0 version, and I think the pockets are great — nice and deep without allowing your phone or other larger objects to fall over/twist. There also is a nice back pocket, adding to the feel of them not just being workout shorts.

Overall

Pistol Lake did a great job making a pair of shorts that can be versatile. At a price point of $74, they represent a good value. Much cheaper than the New Ways and not too much more than a workout only pair of shorts.

The only caveats are the noise and slight pocket flare, but I don’t think that detracts from the value enough to not recommend these shorts. While not the best out there, they are certainly worth a look, especially at the price.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

Note: this item was sent free of charge for review.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical of this shirt when Fisher + Baker reached out to see if we would be interested in looking at their clothing. All of it looks very nice, but cashmere + polyester — can that be better than some of the merino wool we normally test and wear? Why not though, learn something new every day. The pitch for this shirt is simple: “You deserve to wear cashmere, Everyday.”

Sounded fancy, so I’m in.

Materials

This shirt actually has a really interesting blend: 88% drirelease® Polyester and 12% Cashmere Wool. I have experience with both fabrics on their own, but never together. The combination of both makes the entire unit machine washable as well.

The entire shirt is luxuriously soft.

And I don’t mean that in a ‘soft for wool’ way. I mean it is soft. The hand feel is soft. Against your skin, soft. Against your face, soft. It feels like a soft cashmere blended with your most washed and loved cotton t-shirt — and yeah it feels great. It’s a heavy material, I would peg it around 170+gsm but not more than 200gsm. It’s thick so there is a nice drape and a substantial feel to it.

Performance

Ok, Fisher + Baker claims:

• Fast Drying: I would say it is faster than cotton by a large margin, but not quite as fast as thinner fully synthetic or merino wool shirts. I have no complaints, it will dry overnight without issue.
• Breathable: I thought this would fail on this front, but it doesn’t. It’s not the most breathable shirt I own, but it’s on par with most of my merino wool t-shirts and did decently in heat where the “feels like” was spiking to 105°F. Again, on par with merino wool — which is to say: well done.
• Odor Control: better than cotton, but not as good as pure merino wool. You can get a couple days out of it, but it’s not the most odor resistant. This does bring up one other small odor related thing: this shirt smells funky when you pull it from the washer. Very wet-wool smell. This goes away quickly as the shirt dries, but do note this.
• Easy to Care For: So, they say machine washable. They sent it to me to test, and as part of the packaging it came with some wool detergent. Seems like they would prefer you use wool detergent. But I wouldn’t know because I don’t read instructions well and Steve didn’t tell me not to do harmful things to the shirt, so I just washed it with all my other stuff in normal detergent. I hang dry all my shirts already, and I did the same here. The shirt survived it all, and it should, as drirelease has been very durable with my other shirts made from it. I didn’t detect any shrink or outright damage. I’ve washed it nearly 8 times now, and all I can see is minor fuzziness on the fabric. So, check.

To sum up the performance of this shirt, I would peg it at: above average. If you wash your clothing daily to begin with, you’ll find the performance great, but if you want the most wears out of your t-shirts then you could find more odor resistant options. Generally it performed far better than I expected and in line with the claims.

Fit and Style

I normally write this before the performance section, but thought it was best after. Because there are two aspect to this shirt: first it looks stellar. Second it is cut really well, and also cut in a way where it moves well too.

I tend to find most t-shirts either a little boxy, or a little to form fitting. Fisher + Baker really nailed this cut. There’s not annoying rub from any seams, they aren’t in the way of even shoulder straps, and the entire shirt just fits me very well.

As for style, it’s a t-shirt. A nice t-shirt, but still a t-shirt.

Overall

When I wrote up the review about Outlier’s Ultrafine Merino T, I ended it by saying “these are the most luxurious feeling shirts I’ve ever owned.” That statement is now obsolete. Those are the best merino shirts I have ever seen.

But the Fisher + Baker Everyday Cashmere Short Sleeve Crew is easily the most luxurious feeling shirts I’ve ever owned, while still performing well. At $98, yeah, these should be top of your list.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

Lululemon has had their ABC line of mens’ pants around for a while, and they are widely talked about on the travel/one bag Reddit community. A long ways back I tried on some in a store and was not super impressed, but decided to finally give them a try with their new “Warpstreme” fabric.

Specifically, I tried the ABC Pant Classic Warpstreme.

Material

These pants are made with Lululemon’s four-way stretch Warpstreme fabric, which is 100% polyester. It is heavier than I’d have expected and is smooth and has minimal texture.

While walking, these pants do make noise, and especially in bright light, they have a sheen that gives them away as technical — no mistaking these for your standard chinos.

Performance

Quite a few claims are made about these pants, so I’ll go through each:

• Shape retention: seems to be there, haven’t had any bagging out between washes, remains to be seen how this holds up long term. I’m guessing some of this comes because there is no elastane to stretch/wear out.
• Quick-drying: these dry about as expected for heavier polyester pants. Nothing magic, but will dry overnight.
• Four-way stretch: yep, these are stretchy. Not the stretchiest I’ve tried, but very comfortable.
• Breathable: in the summer heat and humidity, I didn’t find these very comfortable, so I’d challenge this feature.
• Wrinkle resistant: yep, no wrinkles, ready to wear right from the washer.
• Feels smooth & falls softly away from the body: not sure this is a positive, but true.

The performance features are rounded out by a crotch gusset, a nicely done hidden zipper in the right back pocket, and reflective tape inside the outside seams that is visible when the pant leg is rolled up, for bicycle commuters.

Fit & Style

These pants come in both a “Classic” and “Slim” cut. I have the Classic variation, and I’d say it fits straight with room in the seat and thighs, all while not being baggy. The fit works well for me and the style is classic five-pocket.

With no-to-minimal break, you wouldn’t ID these as technical fabric, but the drape seems like it could be off if you prefer more break. The sheen and noise, however, do give these away. While the sheen isn’t noticeable in normal indoor light, it really shows in the sun or harsh lighting.

The final straw to keep these pants from blending in is the seam across the back of the knee, these typically are added to very technical pants to keep the pants from binding when you bend your knee. It is disappointing that Lululemon decided to add these here, as with four-way stretch, they shouldn’t be needed.

I purchased the “Obsidian” color, which I expected to be grey (as it looks in the Lululemon website photos), but it turned out to be a blue-grey, leaning towards the blue side.

Overall

These pants retail for $128, and I don’t think they are worth that price. There are numerous other pants we’ve reviewed that fit in this category (high stretch but good looks) that are better (Olivers Passage Pant, Western Rise Diversion Pant, Aether Kelso Pant).

If you live somewhere where it’s hard (or expensive) to get our other picks, these aren’t bad, but wait for a good sale.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

What a name, essentially this is a short sleeved button down shirt. The claims to fame for it are the stretch and breathability — which seems to be granted via Ventlight Mesh. Essentially this is a series of micro mesh holes throughout the fabric and is common for both Lululemon and even Under Armour to employ in a bid to increase breathability. The specific patter I bought is out of stock, but there are others here.

I’ve actually been testing this shirt for some time, and while nice, it is hard to justify over other options on the market which all have better performance.

Material

First, you need to know that this is a thicker shirt, which is counter intuitive given how it is framed. But the material is hard to describe as anything other than thick — so if you are tired of shirts being thin so they wear cool, hey you are in luck on this one. The composition is 96% Polyester, 4% Xtra life lycra® elastane. I have no cares about what Xtra life Lycra is — let’s just assume it is somehow a better variant of Lycra.

That’s not all there is to the material, and Lululemon makes really no mention of this. But there is a series of holes throughout the fabric in a grid pattern. Ostensibly to improve breathability. But you can and do see these holes in the fabric — even on Lululemon product page. They are very apparent on solid colors or lighter colored fabric. The pattern I have hides them somewhat well, but they exist.

The hand feel is a soft, with a slightly but spongey feeling. It is weird. It’s not ideal. It feels very technical.

Fit & Style

A classic short sleeve button up, with removable collar stays, a funky pattern and a funky material — this is a casual weekend shirt that you could do some yard work in. I’ve been wearing it while working from home, as well as barbecuing in the Houston heat and hanging by the pool.

The fit is great, but the style is meh at best. A firmly casual shirt with a collar that perhaps sits a little too perky to blend seamlessly in with a good casual look. Almost a touch preppy with the collar.

Overall I would classify the fit as good, and the style as ambivalent casual.

Performance

So this shirt boasts quick a few performance claims, I’ll just go through each of those first:

• Stretch: yes, this is a very stretchy garment. But the value of this is somewhat limited in a short sleeved shirt not made to be tucked in. That said, this shirt will never restrict your movement.
• Quick Drying: it is decently fast to try. The material is a little thicker so that detracts a bit, but when tossing it back on after taking a swim, the shirt dried quick enough to never be a problem. Quick enough drying for me.
• Wrinkle Resistance: it’s not that it has no wrinkles after washing, it’s that the wrinkles it does have are so hard to see it doesn’t matter. I’d say yes, holds up to the claim on this.
• Breathability: I don’t think so. For as crazy as this shirt is with all the mesh like holes, it doesn’t breath all that well. There are a lot better options out there. Does it breath? Yes. Does it breath well compared to other shirts in this category? Lower end.

I’ll also note that this shirt is very durable feeling and I think you could probably spend a lot of time wearing this shirt with little annoyance. For my needs it is slightly below average on performance.

Conclusion

The shirt retails for $98, and I wouldn’t advise paying that for the shirt. If you find it on sale, or get a discount somewhere around the sub-$70 range then I think it is a solid buy. It will not wow you, but it is easy to wear and comfortable enough that it is hard to really complain about.

That said, the Western Rise AirLight (our review) is a vastly better shirt any way you slice it.

Not a bad shirt, wait for a really good sale.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.