Paul Fredrick

Full review
I came across this vendor by accident and was immediately impressed with the prospect of getting nicely textured shirts and ties for reasonable pricing. Four orders later my verdict is set ...

Selection: While Paul Fredrick offer basically a complete assortment of men's clothing, it's the dress shirts that stood out for me. I simply love a well textured dress shirt, and that's not easy to come by in your department store. The patterns and colors are very traditional and that makes your investment somewhat timeless. There are a few that stand out from the crowd and I simply love the execution. (i.e. style DPD610F and DPD249B)

Sizes: Dress shirts come in normal American sizing (i.e. mine is 17.5 - 35) and most are available in two versions: Standard and Trim fit. Unless you're very obese, the "Trim" fit might be the one to pick. Despite having packed on a few pounds, the standard size is still huge on me and the Trim fit is much better. I wish this was easier to determine on their site, but it's only mentioned that Trim is 5"-6" slimmer than Standard which of course requires to know how big "Standard" is. Ties come in two lengths Regular and Long, and despite my 6'1" I am fine with the regular. I have not ordered other clothing and cannot judge on their fit.

Pricing: Paul Fredrick isn't cheap and somewhere around "reasonable", especially when considering the quality. I am just judging by shirt and ties, but overall prices are somewhat average while specials are available almost weekly and in great variety. Signing up will get you a $10 off coupon for orders $50 or more. Promotions typically include free shipping ($100 or more) or buy one of this and get second half off. Overall it's very reasonable when the right promotions are applied or if you get lucky in the Clearance section where shirts can be found as low as $20 (down from typically $50).

Ordering: The online presence is about average and while easy to navigate when you know what you want, it's also a bit difficult to simply browse for inspiration. The shopping cart works like most shops and it's easy enough to to review your order and get it sent off. One must sign up for an account to go beyond browsing. Orders are traceable and standard account management is available, but the implementation isn't intuitive nor easy to use. A few minutes after placing the order, a confirmation e-mail is sent to verify the order and affirming approval.

Shipping: There are occasional offers for free shipping (typically with a minimum order of $100), but in general it starts at $5.95 for standard ground (one item). All my orders seem to be fixed at $8.95 for ground service (2 - 3 items). Add $10 to $15 to expedite your order. The standard option took 2 - 3 business days to be shipped via UPS on every order of the four I placed so far. A confirmation e-mail is sent upon shipment. Overall time from order to receipt was about 4 - 5 business days. The tracking service is Basic, which doesn't give delivery estimates. Either way, all items were packaged well.

Quality: Don't expect low-maintenance shirts as the material choices ooze quality and not so much convenience. Non-iron shirts are available in only a few styles and most fabrics are actually quite prone to wrinkles. The silk ties I ordered show exquisite detail and once again I am going for the textures and feel, rather than just color or pattern. Without exception, all items I ordered were "Made in China", which explains the Clearance pricing but if you had any phantasies about supporting American workforce ... well ... ;-)

© 2009, theuerkorn