# Duluth Trading Flannel Shirts



## Elmer Zilch (Dec 13, 2008)

I know that among sadly-no-longer-made-in-the-USA flannel shirts LL Bean and Land's End get most of the attention--and Bean's Signature chamois has become my "goofing around in cold weather" staple--but have any of you had truck with the flannel shirts available from Duluth Trading? In particular, I'm intrigued by the Trim Fit Burlyweight Flannels:

https://www.duluthtrading.com/store/mens/mens-shirts/button-down-shirts/24702.aspx

Clear patterns, heavy fabric, flap pockets, plain-point collar. Hmmm...

I'd love to go the Made-in-the-USA route, but I psychologically balk at paying more than $100 for, say, a Five Brother shirt. I mean, *Five Brother*!


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

I still prefer the Bean Scotch Plaid's to any other offerings. That said, if I wanted to spend the requisite money to get a similar USA made shirt, I'd go with a Viyella from O'Connell's or J Press, etc.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

This. Sorry, but that Duluth shirt just looks ugly. At least to me.



Danny said:


> I still prefer the Bean Scotch Plaid's to any other offerings. That said, if I wanted to spend the requisite money to get a similar USA made shirt, I'd go with a Viyella from O'Connell's or J Press, etc.


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## Elmer Zilch (Dec 13, 2008)

The Spruce Plaid?:


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## orange fury (Dec 8, 2013)

Danny said:


> I still prefer the Bean Scotch Plaid's to any other offerings. That said, if I wanted to spend the requisite money to get a similar USA made shirt, I'd go with a Viyella from O'Connell's or J Press, etc.


This. LLB is the only place I buy flannel from.


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## Elmer Zilch (Dec 13, 2008)

orange fury said:


> This. LLB is the only place I buy flannel from.


I just can't get with the button-down collar on the Scotch Plaid...


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## orange fury (Dec 8, 2013)

Elmer Zilch said:


> I just can't get with the button-down collar on the Scotch Plaid...


Oddly, I actually prefer a button down collar on plaid flannel. I think it's because it's a more casual collar on a fairly casual shirt.


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## Elmer Zilch (Dec 13, 2008)

orange fury said:


> Oddly, I actually prefer a button down collar on plaid flannel. I think it's because it's a more casual collar on a fairly casual shirt.


I do like button-down collars on madras and seersucker and some other casual shirts. There's just something about the style that seems "off" with a flannel shirt. But like I said, I'm fond of Bean's chamois-cloth shirts, especially in the trimmer Signature cut.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

The double chest pockets and spread collar on the Duluth and other similar brands (Cabela's etc.) are a little too workwear, IMO, and I prefer the more OCBD-like features of Bean's Scotch Plaid shirts. I do wear shirts like the Duluth, but they're usually made of wool, have a straight hem and a tag that says "Pendleton." They get worn as a light jacket over an OCBD. I wouldn't have much use for one in cotton.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

Hardline beat me to it. It does very much have a workwear vibe. Bean's shirts, on the other hand, are more Ivy or "trad," for lack of better description. Also, for me, the advantage of a button-colar is that the shirt seems more wearable with a sweater and other layers.


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## Elmer Zilch (Dec 13, 2008)

Duvel said:


> Hardline beat me to it. It does very much have a workwear vibe. Bean's shirts, on the other hand, are more Ivy or "trad," for lack of better description. Also, for me, the advantage of a button-colar is that the shirt seems more wearable with a sweater and other layers.


Well, yeah. This thread has laid bare my secret weakness for workwear. It's why I'm on a perpetual quest for the perfect chambray shirt. But since like most men nowadays I do almost no manual labor, it's just an affectation, like Marie Antoinette and her courtiers playing at being milkmaids. Less honest tradesman, more abstract expressionist painter bending an elbow at the Cedar Tavern in 1958.

Duluth also has a flannel that is similar to the Scotch Plaid, but trimmer:


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## darkmark (Feb 11, 2014)

Duluth is marketed to the "working" man. Personally, I see flannel as more work wear than anything else. For the few times I do manual labor, their long tail tees are a godsend


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## KayGee (May 19, 2013)

I find their shirts to run big, so you can actually work in them. If you're using them for work wear, order your normal size. If you're between sizes, it may suit you to go down a size for casual wear.


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## Elmer Zilch (Dec 13, 2008)

KayGee said:


> I find their shirts to run big, so you can actually work in them. If you're using them for work wear, order your normal size. If you're between sizes, it may suit you to go down a size for casual wear.


Duluth now offers a "Trim Fit" for some of their shirts--the flannels on this thread and the longtail tee's--in addition to their original "Tradesman Fit." The Trim Fit is no doubt for men who only pick up a carpenter's rule when they have a picture to straighten. Is Duluth chasing a demographic? Sure, probably, and why not?


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Damned right they are! They're filling a niche that the chi-chi fashion market thinks is beneath them. Having been a tradesman at one point in my working life, have many tradesmen among my social group and being an amateur furniture and cabinet maker for my own use/amusement, I think quite highly of Duluth. They are my go-to polo shirt, among other things. I don't have any of their flannels because, like Hardline, when I want to be warmer I prefer wool.


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## Andersdad (Oct 23, 2006)

I like the flannels from Lands End.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

Well, I do like that Duluth Scotch Plaid button-down. For whatever reason, I default to the familiar Bean for these things, though. Life is easier that way.


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## KayGee (May 19, 2013)

I've shopped at their Bloomington, MN store several times, and it doesn't feel like a workwear store to me. In every visit, the women shoppers outnumbered the men 5-1, and they weren't shopping for the men in their lives. (The ladies department takes up roughly half the store.) I'm also on their mailing list, and get a women's clothing flyer each month. I've never gotten a mens flyer. I think that's the real demographic they're chasing.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

Way back in the day, I purchased a couple of things from Duluth, some khakis, I think. I then started receiving their catalogs, which, while not exactly workwear by today's fashion trend standpoint perhaps, nevertheless do not represent, for me, what I think of as a traditional menswear offering such as OConnells or even Orvis. I think of Duluth stuff as more "working" clothes, as in the kind of tough clothing you need for outdoor work. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but I just don't see it fitting the "menswear" category.


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## Monocle (Oct 24, 2012)

I seldom or never wear flannel as other-than work or outdoor wear. My 2 cents as far as flannels in general - I suppose I have been fortunate enough to snag several old Five Bro shirts over the years. They just do not wear out, the buttons don't fall off, and the colors are fantastic for a work-type shirt. I cannot kill them. Also, my older Carhartts are of the same ilk, heavy nap and so very durable. I may not need to buy another flannel again unless I come across another interesting color in vintage Five Bro (because I just have to have it). And I probably will never tuck a flannel shirt into my pants as long as I live. Interestingly, any old Cone flannel from 20-40 years ago is going to be nuclear-proof too. The last pic is a "Private Property" (Sears or JCPenney I can't remember) with the Cone card still attached. It's not my size, but I bought it for the nostalgia and to flip.
https://s1025.photobucket.com/user/monocle9/media/DSCN5646_zpsa7df4ad7.jpg.htmlhttps://s1025.photobucket.com/user/monocle9/media/DSCN5647_zps9aee5015.jpg.htmlhttps://s1025.photobucket.com/user/monocle9/media/DSCN5648_zps7f56d724.jpg.html


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

I'll wear flannel shirts in the depths of winter, off-duty and shut indoors, or for snow-shoveling detail.


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## orange fury (Dec 8, 2013)

Duvel said:


> I'll wear flannel shirts in the depths of winter, off-duty and shut indoors, or for snow-shoveling detail.


Ill wear them under Shetland or Norwegian sweaters (or, this year, ragg wool). No shame lol.

actually, I probably will wear them to my office with chinos on days that it's cold enough to justify it. So one day in December and one day in February, but still.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

That's a great idea, actually. I'll probably do that here on casual Fridays.



orange fury said:


> *Ill wear them under Shetland or Norwegian sweaters (or, this year, ragg wool). *No shame lol.
> 
> actually, I probably will wear them to my office with chinos on days that it's cold enough to justify it. So one day in December and one day in February, but still.


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## Tempest (Aug 16, 2012)

I find it odd that Duluth is doing trim fit as their entire market seemed to be fat guys.
The diagonal pattern on pockets is a dealbreaker for me.


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## Elmer Zilch (Dec 13, 2008)

Okay, now, this is more like it, despite the button-down collar. I'm in for a Medium, even with Gustin's non-vanity sizing.

https://www.weargustin.com/store/10...il&utm_term=0_e38caca900-c20be06605-75216065#


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## Bin'Zev (Sep 19, 2014)

I would say that their market is more "guys who only care about function. Their clothes may be a bit stodgy, but I speak from experience that you could take anything short of an axe to one of their flannels and it would bounce.


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