Disclaimer: Hall Madden was kind enough to send The Peak Lapel this box of shirts for free for the purposes of this review.
Welcome to the latest in our ongoing quest to review every men’s subscription service out there. And there are a lot these days. This time we’re taking a look at Hall Madden’s shirt box subscription service. If you are not familiar, Hall Madden is a men’s clothing company that offers many custom made, MTM, products. They also recently launched a new MTM suiting option (though more on this another time). What is lesser known is that within their line they also offer this shirt box service.
To start, there are 3 different frequencies you can sign up for: quarterly, every 4 months, or every 6 months. Unlike most services where we like to be subscribed for at least a couple of months before rendering a verdict, when it’s literally just shirts, we don’t expect much to change from shipment to shipment, so we feel confident we understand this service just from the one box we were sent.
For starters, the shirts arrive neatly packaged in a box. You crack it open, and, just as you would expect, you will find your three new shirts. Unlike some other subscription services there no “magazine” or pamphlet explaining how or when to wear or style these new items. There is no fanfare. It’s simple, clean, and straightforward. There is no gimmick.
The shirts themselves will range in styles, which is exactly what you would want. Nothing too crazy, but you’ll be able to get some more classic options as well as some styles and fabrics that might be a touch outside of your comfort zone. But that is, as ever, the point of these services. You have a professional picking out options that they think will make for great shirts. You’re able to, in this way, incorporate a whole new level of style into your outfits. You don’t have to worry about making selections, going shopping, or picking out what your new shirts will look like. To some, this might sound like a bad thing. But, for many others, this sounds fantastic. And if you would like to never have to worry about buying shirts again, and just having them show up at your door every so often, guaranteed to look good and be of high quality, then this is certainly something you should strongly consider.
In our box we got a lightly seersucker-ed red and white candy striped shirt, a nicely patterned and textured blue shirt, and a more casual chambray shirt with brown buttons. In honesty, all three shirts were very much my speed, and I liked the way they all looked. I am more of a spread-collar guy, and these all had more of a point collar, but that is not the biggest deal in the world. And if you’re not as into spread-collars as I am, then this should not bother you at all. (Whether or not you can request certain kinds of collars is something we are unclear of… More on this soon…)
The quality of the shirts was very solid. The fabrics are nice and rich, the buttons are sturdy and well fastened, and all the details are there. These feel a noticeable step above something like Charles Tyrwhitt or Banana Republic, though not quite to the level at all of something like Ledbury or even higher end Proper Cloth. The price of one box is $200 for three shirts. That comes out to about $67 per shirt. For what you are getting as far as service, style, and quality, we think that is a fair price.
Finally, we come to fit. Despite their promises that they have used all their customer data (from their custom clothing work) to come up with a perfect, ideal fit, the shirts simply did not fit me well. The waist and chest were far too baggy. The sleeves were too long and super roomy. The overall shirt simply does not work for my build, and from what we can see, they only offer this single fit. (Note: I am 6’1” and 165 lbs. and usually wear a 15.5” / 34 shirt in a slim or extra slim fit. That is what I got in these shirts.)
Again, when it comes to fit, everything is going to be dependent on the person, their body shape and build, and preferences for how they like their shirts to fit. If you are tall and rather slim, though, like I am, then these will almost certainly not work for you. They certainly may work for many, many other builds and body-types though.
Overall, the ordering process is quite simple and straightforward, and shipping is fast as this is not an “assembled” subscription box that only comes out once a month. You get it when you want it. I think they should have some more information on their site about options, preferences, etc, and there really is no fully developed back-end to manage your subscription or preferences like with something like Bespoke Post. I am not sure that is necessary, per se, but it would be nice.
In conclusion, of course, any service like this needs to be compared to online MTM. When you look at speed and ease of use, Hall Madden of course has online MTM very much beat. Quality is comparable. Style is as well. If any or all of those things are of top importance to you, then this is a well-priced, worthwhile solution for your shirting needs and comes highly recommended. If you have a hard time finding shirts that really fit you well, though, we still must recommend online MTM instead.