If you are a fan of menswear, you are likely aware of a designer by the name of Michael Bastian. He’s definitely amongst the higher end designers, but he has been known, on occasion, to dip into the lower end, mid-range markets as well. This can be seen by his collection of polos that he did for Uniqlo a few years back (and actually for a few years in a row, as well). Recently, though, his brand has released a small, but still substantial, mid-range line of products, many of which are available for purchase through Amazon. While a typical Michael Bastian dress shirt from his classic line would cost upwards of $100, a dress shirt from this new, Amazon, mid-range line costs about half that. And there is a lot more available from Michael Bastian on Amazon at these sorts of prices. For this review, we took a look at the Michael Bastian Slim Fit Spread Collar Dress Shirt ($49.25).
Packaging & Experience
Look, it’s Amazon Prime. Shipping was super fast. Returns are easy and free. They’re the kings of shipping and consumer experience. Could the packaging be a lot nicer? Sure. Is it easily forgivable due to all the benefits of Prime? Obviously. Not only that — some of these shirts and items are available through Prime Wardrobe, making the experience even better. Still, just know that you will be getting the Amazon experience, not the Michael Bastian designer one, as if you ordered from his main line. These will just show up thrown in a box. No biggie. But just know that. A
Style & Design
There are well over a dozen different fabric patterns to choose from, and they all look super nice. It’s what you would expect from a real designer line of clothing. Yes, there are the more basic, plain, gingham shirts, but there are also much more unique patterns, like the red and white bengal stripe option we tried for this review — not to mention many other super cool patterns that you’ll likely enjoy a lot. It’s a great line of shirts.
The styling of the shirts is also dressy, yet trendy, with very spread collars that are neither big nor small. A double button, straight cuff, and standard placket finish these dress shirts off. In theory, they could easily be worn both dressy or casually, depending on the rest of the outfit, and whether you tuck them in or not. A
Quality & Construction
There is a hint of stretch to these fabrics, despite being 100% cotton. It’s not a lot, but it is there. The fabric is soft and smooth, and has the slightest bit of gloss to it. All the stitching is clean and neat, though you can see costs cut when it comes to things like the buttons or the weight of the fabric itself. Overall, though, this is exactly what you would expect at the $50 price point. Nothing more, nothing less. This would be right around a Banana Republic or J Crew quality shirt. A-
The Fit
(Note: I am 6’1” and 165 lbs. and usually wear a size S or 15” shirt in a slim fit.)
This is far from a true slim fit. I tried on the size 15/33, and the arms are quite baggy, as is the general torso. Sure, I’m a slim guy, but this is more akin to a standard fit than a true slim. So, expect to do some serious tailoring here if you’re going to want a closer fit. See the chart below for a full size comparison. B-
Value & Conclusion
Michael Bastian Slim Fit Spread Collar Dress Shirt — $49.25: Look, it’s nice to see higher end designers and brands like this catering more towards a more mid-range, reasonable market. But unless they are bringing something serious to the table as far as value is concerned, I don’t think this will be enough to save these bigger brands. Back when Michael Bastian did the Uniqlo polos, they were super affordable, and were incredible designs you could only get for about 10 times the price elsewhere (no joke). They sold like hot cakes, understandably, too. Here, though, there just is not that same value. There are a million and one places you can get shirts like these, even if they don’t have the Michael Bastian name on them. They’ll fit a whole lot better too. Not to mention going MTM for only a coupe bucks more. To me, this just dilutes the Michael Bastian name without bringing much by way of a value proposition to the average guy. Sure, they’re decent shirts, if you don’t mind a trip to the tailor, or find that they fit you well off the rack despite not being very slim like they claim. But it’s hard to really recommend these over the standard J Crew, Banana Republic, or even Bonobos fair. Quality is the same or better elsewhere, price is similar, sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more, and the fit will be much better too. In all, nothing really to write home about here. Very meh. Final Grade: B