I ended-up getting a Quince Mongolian cashmere sweater for $50. It’s super soft and very lightweight. Slim, with turn-back sleeves and a short body, it does have a fairly shallow V.
Ideal for indoor wear. Perhaps not a perfect sub for the Bobby, but a great option nonetheless.
The eternal hunt for taupe Morocco trousers continues. Next I’m thinking of trying the Volcoms. Does anyone have real-world experience with these? Specifically: colour, fit and rise?
I tried the Vuori trousers next. The colour is a nice warm grey taupe but too dark for the Royale jacket and the pants are too slim all over - not uncomfortably so due to the stretch, but still feel like tights or yoga pants. The rise could be a bit higher, but I suspect the oroginal Brunos are also a little low.
Budget alternative for TB Palmyra shirt. Marks & Spencer's. Sorry think I have posted image of green and white stripe rather than blue and white stripe.
Until Royale does a v3 of the blazer (hopefully a linen and silk/wool blend of some kind) and a chinos run, these are our options:
A pretty decent Spectre taupe chino alternative has popped up on Costco for $20!
And you can save $10 if you buy 2. (There's some other items in the promotion maybe taking a look at, in case you need some Kirkland sneakers or basic dress shirts)
And as for the blazer so far the only alternatives I found are this Todd Snyder linen blazer for $498 (hopefully a significant discount will come on a Memorial Day sale):
I can't believe how close Mango got with this linen cotton blend suit jacket but then dropped the ball with the patch pockets (keep in mind it's about $500):
The irony is that all of these blazers are wildly different in shade, so the best we can do is find a pair of taupe chinos and a linen blazer to match them.
Or if we know a good fabric shop and tailor we can take some fabric to them to make us a blazer?
If anyone wants to take the plunge it's $220 per meter for this linen wool silk blend by Zegna.
Banana Republic Factory has a lot of good budget options at very low prices. They're always running some kind of sale. If anyone is looking for a budget option for the CR Sunspel polo, I would highly recommend their slim luxe touch polo. It's currently $30 with an extra 20% off...
How’s the fit? I find a lot of the mall brands lack the shorter, slimmer sleeves and body of Sunspel. I’ve bought a few used Mac Weldon Vesper polos recently and they are better than I’d expected. Kent Wang and Spier and McKay had been my go-to (if not Sunspel, which is what I’m wearing right now), but Mac might fill that position now.
Max Weldon Vesper Polos are amazing polos for the money. I actually think they’re more comfortable that the Sunspel (Gasp!). The downside is the small logo on the side.
"History isn't kind to men who play God." - DC "I gave him the limp." - PB "Better make that two." - TD
"Keeping British end up, sir." - RM "This never happened to the other fellow." - JL "I must be dreaming." SC
Very slim. I'm an average guy... 6'0", 180lbs and usually wear medium in everything. Medium in these are actually a little too tight on me. Sleeves hit just above mid bicep and are very fitted.
Comments
Quick question: What’s the best budget alt for the Bobby sweater right now?
I ended-up getting a Quince Mongolian cashmere sweater for $50. It’s super soft and very lightweight. Slim, with turn-back sleeves and a short body, it does have a fairly shallow V.
Ideal for indoor wear. Perhaps not a perfect sub for the Bobby, but a great option nonetheless.
The eternal hunt for taupe Morocco trousers continues. Next I’m thinking of trying the Volcoms. Does anyone have real-world experience with these? Specifically: colour, fit and rise?
Or any fresh suggestions, since the last IA post - I do see some new offerings that might match are out there.
I tried the Vuori trousers next. The colour is a nice warm grey taupe but too dark for the Royale jacket and the pants are too slim all over - not uncomfortably so due to the stretch, but still feel like tights or yoga pants. The rise could be a bit higher, but I suspect the oroginal Brunos are also a little low.
The quest continues…
I’d say that the pair second from right with the blue lining are closest.
The problem is the jacket colour is way off. It should be darker than the chinos.
This is my current ‘mood board’ looking at this outfit for inspiration.
The screen BC Jacket changes colour depending on indoor, outdoor, sunlight, shade and filters.
They aren’t stretch, but the higher rise and straight leg appeal. My main concern is the colour doesn’t look that grey-taupe and might be a bit dark:
https://www.spierandmackay.com/product/taupe-chino---high-rise-ry-3066-chn-hr
Budget alternative for TB Palmyra shirt. Marks & Spencer's. Sorry think I have posted image of green and white stripe rather than blue and white stripe.
Until Royale does a v3 of the blazer (hopefully a linen and silk/wool blend of some kind) and a chinos run, these are our options:
A pretty decent Spectre taupe chino alternative has popped up on Costco for $20!
And you can save $10 if you buy 2. (There's some other items in the promotion maybe taking a look at, in case you need some Kirkland sneakers or basic dress shirts)
https://www.costco.com/english-laundry-men%e2%80%99s-stretch-twill-chino-pant.product.4000224838.html
And as for the blazer so far the only alternatives I found are this Todd Snyder linen blazer for $498 (hopefully a significant discount will come on a Memorial Day sale):
https://www.toddsnyder.com/products/linen-sutton-jacket-sand?utm_source=googlePLA&utm_medium=google_shopping&utm_campaign=PM_shopping&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_rH_i7mDhgMVNzCtBh3tGwFAEAQYFyABEgIPRfD_BwE
The Indochino Kentford Linen Silk Blazer:
https://www.indochino.com/product/kentford-linen-silk-brown-blazer
I can't believe how close Mango got with this linen cotton blend suit jacket but then dropped the ball with the patch pockets (keep in mind it's about $500):
https://shop.mango.com/us/men/blazers-linen/slim-fit-linen-and-cotton-suit-jacket_67008271.html?c=28&talla=50&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIncrUobqDhgMVCwutBh15tgg2EAQYHyABEgKDlvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
The Amalfi blazer also by Mango seems to get a bit closer, but I feel like the top version is similar to Royale v1, and this one is v2 at $229:
https://shop.mango.com/us/men/blazers-linen/100-linen-slim-fit-suit-blazer_67076725.html?c=09&l=01
The irony is that all of these blazers are wildly different in shade, so the best we can do is find a pair of taupe chinos and a linen blazer to match them.
Or if we know a good fabric shop and tailor we can take some fabric to them to make us a blazer?
If anyone wants to take the plunge it's $220 per meter for this linen wool silk blend by Zegna.
Another option, which still fails to check a few boxes:
https://www.spierandmackay.com/product/di-pray-taupe-silk-wool-sportcoat-8953-sc02
These are currently $28 (once in cart):
https://www.express.com/clothing/men/slim-hyper-stretch-chino/pro/03083391
Banana Republic Factory has a lot of good budget options at very low prices. They're always running some kind of sale. If anyone is looking for a budget option for the CR Sunspel polo, I would highly recommend their slim luxe touch polo. It's currently $30 with an extra 20% off...
https://bananarepublicfactory.gapfactory.com/browse/product.do?pid=710582231#pdp-page-content
How’s the fit? I find a lot of the mall brands lack the shorter, slimmer sleeves and body of Sunspel. I’ve bought a few used Mac Weldon Vesper polos recently and they are better than I’d expected. Kent Wang and Spier and McKay had been my go-to (if not Sunspel, which is what I’m wearing right now), but Mac might fill that position now.
Max Weldon Vesper Polos are amazing polos for the money. I actually think they’re more comfortable that the Sunspel (Gasp!). The downside is the small logo on the side.
"Keeping British end up, sir." - RM "This never happened to the other fellow." - JL "I must be dreaming." SC
Very slim. I'm an average guy... 6'0", 180lbs and usually wear medium in everything. Medium in these are actually a little too tight on me. Sleeves hit just above mid bicep and are very fitted.