Free Stuff: Combatant Gentleman

A while back, I was contacted by Combatant Gentleman about doing a review of some of their clothes. I get a lot of these requests lately, and decline more often than I accept, but I always do a bit of homework first to see if its something readers of this blog might appreciate. After an initial look at CG's website, I decided to decline, as their clothes had a very sleek, modern look that isn't quite my speed. But the kind folks there politely persisted, and so I accepted a suit, shirt, tie, and sweater in sizes that fit a friend of mine who not only has a  personal style more in keeping with the CG look, but also has more need of a new suit than I likely ever will again at this point.

(friend JD in a suit, shirt and tie for Combatant Gentleman. Note: trousers are not hemmed, just rolled under for the photo)

Combatant Gentleman offers a limited line of suits, jacket, trousers, shirts and accessories at fairly low prices. Part of their business plan is transparency about production, so each item tells the provenance of both its materials and manufacture. Shipping was fast, and included a label for free return shipping, as well as a reorder sheet if any sizes needed to be exchanged. In the case of suits, trousers and jackets are ordered separately, which helps minimize alterations. I must say their sizing runs very true. I took JD's measurements, and did the ordering after he chose the suit he liked, and as you can see in the above photo, no alterations are needed other than having the trousers hemmed. The styling is trim and modern, though not tight and over the top.

The fabric comes from a mill in Italy and has a nice heft to it without being heavy. Hacking pockets are a detail I personally could do without on a suit like this, but they are well executed. Overall, I'd say this suit is a good value. The fabric is nice and the construction is fine, better than many low level mall store suits. At $160 I think it's worth it. It's priced at or below many suits from H&M, for example, but feels much less like it's held together with spit and scotch tape. The quality is far superior to one of my failed forays in online custom.

Combatant Gentleman would be a nice option for a young, thin guy with a leaning toward fashionable clothing who needs to build a basic wardrobe on a limited budget, say for his first office job out of college. I thought that might be an accurate description of at least some of the readers here which is why I chose to review them. Though the clothes are on the trim side, they would be acceptable in most office environments, especially their solid navy or charcoal grey suits. True, you could get something better for the same or less by shopping thrift or buying from ebay or dealers like me, but that isn't always an option. I think if you need a serviceable suit for short money on short order, Combatant Gentleman would be one of the better options at this level.