Try Before You Buy: JackThreads Gets Men’s Shopping

If you enjoy shopping, there is no better city in the world than New York. Whatever it is that you’re interested in buying, whether it’s designer clothes, cronuts, vintage typewriters or any object that your heart could possibly desire, it’s all nearby and typically within walking distance of one another. But if you don’t live in The City, shopping – especially for men’s clothes – is generally a pretty abysmal experience. Unless you’re really a shopping enthusiast, it’s not the most fun or productive way to spend a day – driving from store to store, enduring a trip to the mall – most guys would do just about anything to avoid the schlep.

Online shopping has made everything accessible nearly everywhere, but things have gotten even better now that JackThreads has raised the bar with their new “TryOuts” feature, which allows you to order whatever you want, in however many sizes, without being charged until you decide what you want to keep. Pretty awesome, right? There are no shipping costs either way and you get 7 days from the date of delivery to leisurely try on the haul, seeing what works with your wardrobe.

This is a brilliant service and I only hope that more e-commerce retailers get behind it. Being able to risk-free order clothes to your home, not being rushed or distracted as you try on the pieces, mixing and matching with what you’ve already got in the closet is just fantastic and a way to be sure that you’re only buying things you know you like and aren’t just keeping because you don’t want to deal with the hassle of returns.

I tried it out myself last week – I ordered a bunch of clothes (more than I was planning to keep, honestly) to play around with creating some new outfits that would work with a pair of blue sneakers I had just picked up a few days before. JackThreads is a great destination for casual, everyday wear so I went in with the idea that I’d look for filling in a few gaps in my Spring wardrobe.

OUTFIT 1

It’s not everyday that I wear a colorful pair of pants but every once in awhile it makes a fun statement. These salmon colored chinos have a preppy vibe that could be dressed up for a lunch or worn like a pair of jeans, paired with this hoodie.

OUTFIT 2

I really liked this 50’s-inspired outfit with a short sleeved oxford. Typically these can look dorky if they’re boxy with sleeves that look like they could double as a parachute. But if the cut is close to the body and you pair it with dark denim, you’ll look more fly guy than IT guy.

OUTFIT 3

Because every guy has a denim shirt in his closet by now (or definitely should), it’s always fun to play around and see how much mileage you can get from this one staple item. I actually have a few chambray shirts in different washes and the cut of this one from JackThreads made it tempting enough to add to cart. I paired it with a pair of suit trousers and a blazer for a cool off duty look I’d wear to lunch or even to catch a flight.

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