# How do you feel about Nautica?



## Bermuda (Aug 16, 2009)

despite being a newer brand, they do have many "trad" items....for example I have several pairs of their wool trousers, glen plaid check flannel for example. I also had a pair of their seersucker trousers. so...just wondering what everybody thinks?


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

I don't. Ever.


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## Pentheos (Jun 30, 2008)

I once had a nightmare that I was wearing Nautica. For real.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

Heard a sales clerk in the Nautica dept. telling a young yuppie couple "now you wouldn't want to wear this (parka) in the _real _outdoors". I lump them with Tommy and a lot of Ralph, imitation clothing


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

(1984)

The last time any Nautica stuff was made in the U.S. was maybe 20 years ago? I think they used to have a facility in Maine... David Chu, the creative director behind Nautica, sold the franchise in 2003. He's moved on to designing the LINCS clothing line (all overseas made, I think, although The Trad seems to like his stuff.) He also runs a bespoke service, and is involved with the necktie manufacturer Mallory & Church.


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## Dr.Watson (Sep 25, 2008)

I have a pair of thrifted emblematic shorts that are okay. 

I've never seen any of their new stuff worth buying, but if I saw a good deal on something generic, such as pants, and it fit me well, I would probably buy it.

Edit: I will also add that generally their styling just looks off to me. I am often tempted by even the more eccentric Polo stuff, but never Nautica. Of course, this would not apply to more generic items.


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## pseudonym (Aug 1, 2010)

Comfy in it.


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## Valkyrie (Aug 27, 2009)

I have three pairs of very nice Nautica wide wale corduroy trousers which I bought at a scandalously low price. The pants are as well made and fit as well as, say, Land's End products, and are certainly wearable and look good for day to day applications. Standard design with no eccentricities. By far *not* the nicest trousers I own, but serviceable and represented a very good value at the price. There is nothing on the outside of the pants to indicate their brand (no visible logos or anything). You wouldn't know the brand (or the price) just by looking.


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## chacend (Mar 4, 2008)

Trip English said:


> I don't. Ever.


+10!!!


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

I have several Nautica shirts that I really like. In fact they have one at Steinmart that I'm going to pick up later today. Here's one that I was wearing last week that I posted in the other forum.










For $20 I'm quite pleased with Nautica shirts for casual wear.

Cruiser


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## patrickjc30 (Apr 28, 2009)

I have several of their ties that are among my favorites. You can usually find them at the Marhsalls/TJX places for $15 or so. Only other items I've owned were a Navy blazer and a sportcoat, both of which served me well for several years in the early aughts.


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## Bermuda (Aug 16, 2009)

yes I also own some nautica cords and also patchwork shorts that are very high quality....
the only thing I don't like is that the shirts always have the logo on them


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

Of course, I don't consider them _quality_, but I have a couple sportshirts, a pair of cords and some navy shorts, all obtained at prices too low to resist. They're adequate.



Valkyrie said:


> I have three pairs of very nice Nautica wide wale corduroy trousers which I bought at a scandalously low price.


I'm open to scandal....do tell. For instance, I picked up some izod cords for $1-2 new during a JCP clearance. Fine for some snowball fights in the winter.


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## Ron_A (Jun 5, 2007)

I used to wear some Nautica stuff in the early 1990s...For one reason or another, I stopped wearing it in the mid-to-late 1990s. With regard to their current stuff, the quality just isn't there. A lot of their clothes seem to end up at TJ Maxx type places, where it probably belongs.


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## crohnsappleadams (Nov 30, 2009)

The fit of the average new Nautica reminds me of the fit of the average Puritan from Walmart.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Bermuda said:


> the only thing I don't like is that the shirts always have the logo on them


None of my Nautica shirts have logos on them nor have any of the Nautica shirts I've seen at Steinmart. Are you thinking of Chaps? Most of them have logos.

Cruiser


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## StevenRocks (May 24, 2005)

I have one Nautica polo from the late '90s that I really love. They stood for a certain level of department store sportswear quality at the time. Since David Chu left and the company was sold to VF, it just seems like a slightly upscale Izod/Chaps type line now. I have a few pieces, mostly polos and one pair of corduroys, but I hardly ever wear them.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

They're like Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, or DKNY -- generally unimpressive, but you'll occasionally find decent things here and there. The only two things I own are plaid flannel sleep bottoms and some pleated nailhead trousers.


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## P Hudson (Jul 19, 2008)

My most-often-worn tan khakis are Nauticas. I can't think of much else I have, but I don't disparage the company. I'd rate them generally a rung below RL Polo.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Nautica's offerings are not universally terrible, nor are they consistently wonderful. However, they are fairly priced for what you are buying. I currently have two pair of Nautica's trousers, a sport shirt (possibly two) and a pair of their swim trunks...all bought on clearance at pleasantly surprising discounts. Top of the line, perhaps not but, they certainly work on occasion for an aging retiree, living out here in Hoosierville!


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## crohnsappleadams (Nov 30, 2009)

P Hudson said:


> My most-often-worn tan khakis are Nauticas. I can't think of much else I have, but I don't disparage the company. I'd rate them generally a rung below RL Polo.


 That's one steep rung.


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

crohnsappleadams said:


> The fit of the average new Nautica reminds me of the fit of the average Puritan from Walmart.


You just solved a mystery for me. One which I feel proud of not having solved myself. 

I have seen past season polos and shirts from Puritan alongside Merona, Croft & Barrow and St John's Bay in some off-price shops, and knew them all to be dept. store house brands short of the first. Thanks for filling in which store these come from. Now that I know, it all makes sense. :biggrin:



Cruiser said:


> None of my Nautica shirts have logos on them nor have any of the Nautica shirts I've seen at Steinmart. Are you thinking of Chaps? Most of them have logos.
> 
> Cruiser


I've seen BD's from Nautica that are logo-free, but plenty of their sport shirts _with_ them.


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## Mr. Mac (Mar 14, 2008)

The extent of my experience with the brand is the two Nautica polo shirts I bought at Costco the other week - one white, one black. The fabric is a really soft, smooth pima (I've previously only worn mesh polos, but I don't think I'll buy mesh again). I have no idea if it's treated, but it seems to resist wrinkling well. The tails are long enough to stay tucked in but short enough to be worn untucked without hanging to my knees, and the front placket is only 2 button, which I much prefer to the longer 3 button versions. I really like the cut - it's trim without showing off my curves and loose without making me look like a parachute.

The only downside? A little sailboat logo on the chest. Tacky. Tacky. Tacky. But, for $19/each I'm in love.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

This company and others have quickly caught on to the "no pocket" look that is in right now... so they started putting the logos ABOVE the pocket instead of on them, where you can't have them removed. :icon_pale:


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## David J. Cooper (Apr 26, 2010)

I've worn some Nautica for years but less and less lately. However I do have a Made in Canada darted dark navy blazer with three buttons. I wear it a lot. It seems to be decent quality and cost almost 400 bucks Cdn on sale at the Bay.

I doesn't seem anything like the Naitica I saw at an outlet store in Cabzon Ca. or in other discount stores.


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## harvey_birdman (Mar 10, 2008)

I have one Nautica tie that my Aunt bought me and I wear sometimes when I see her. It's not bad quality, but it's not made in the first world and there are better options, even at that price point.


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## P Hudson (Jul 19, 2008)

I had a look through my closet: in addition to the aforementioned khakis it contains an ocbd (unlined, unfused collar) that my wife says is one of my best looking shirts. I would rate it much higher than a recent BB shirt that I simply gave away to a colleague at work, and higher than a disaster from RL Polo that couldn't hold its color (despite being at the high end of Polo's price range).

After further reflection, I would say that my Nautica khakis are better than khakis I have from Bean and Crew, and on a par with Polo's Philip Pant.


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## theoldguard (Mar 13, 2006)

I like their all-wool dress pants. They fit me well. Very inexpensive on eBay


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## JCrewfan (Nov 9, 2008)

I used to wear Nautica chinos years ago. Nothing has appealed to me lately.


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## Bookman (May 19, 2010)

they are perfectly serviceable for casual wear. I think I am like most people, I'll pick up something from them if it is a steal at TJ Max, etc... I have a sport coat that I grabbed for around thirty dollars that I don't wear very often; but, certainly often enough to have earned the value off the investment.


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## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

I've bought some of their white pinpoint oxfords and a pair or two of khakis over the years at T.J. Maxx. The shirts at that time had a decent collar and were worn mostly under suit or blazer coats. The logo was white and barely noticeable. I got good service from them as fill-in-the-gap every day white startched dress shirts. Not so crazy about the khakis. One pair was ok the other two I didn't like the fit at all. Probably won't buy anything else from them.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Saltydog said:


> Not so crazy about the khakis. One pair was ok the other two I didn't like the fit at all. Probably won't buy anything else from them.


In most cases discussing the "fit" of something really has no bearing on the product for anyone other than that one person. For example, Nautica pants fit me many times over better than Brooks Brothers pants fit me. In fact, almost nothing from Brooks Brothers fits me very well. For this reason I would always choose Nautica pants over Brooks Brothers even though Nautica is of lesser quality.

This is why I wear Dockers khakis instead of Bills. Dockers makes a khaki pant that nothing from Bills can even come close to as far as fit when it comes to me; therefore, once again I will choose the lesser quality khaki because it fits. Look at it this way, even if something is hand made by the finest tailor from the finest fabric, it will still look like crap if it doesn't fit right.

Cruiser


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

A _real_ man would place quality over fit, and elect for lipo.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Taken Aback said:


> A _real_ man would place quality over fit, and elect for lipo.


A real man probably wouldn't even be having this discussion, much less having it on a men's fashion forum. :icon_smile_big:

Cruiser


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## Charles Saturn (May 27, 2010)

Cruiser said:


> A real man probably wouldn't even be having this discussion, much less having it on a men's fashion forum. :icon_smile_big:


This isn't the fashion forum, that's next door.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Charles Saturn said:


> This isn't the fashion forum, that's next door.


OK, change that to clothing forum. :icon_smile_big:

Cruiser


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## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

Cruiser said:


> OK, change that to clothing forum. :icon_smile_big:
> 
> Cruiser


I refuse to have confidence in my manhood shaken Just because I like to talk and read about clothes I'm...not...a...sissy


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## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

Saltydog said:


> I refuse to have confidence in my manhood shaken Just because I like to talk and read about clothes I'm...not...a...sissy


 This is what I tell my girlfriend on a weekly basis. Eventually, it will stick. Though she is jealous I've found such an outpost (does anyone know a woman's version? I've not heard of one)


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## frosejr (Mar 27, 2010)

hookem12387 said:


> (does anyone know a woman's version? I've not heard of one)


I would think such a place would devolve into the online version of a catfight. Women who I trust to be honest about such things tell me that a women's restroom or locker room is the most venomous place on earth. A women's version of AAAC would be the same - maybe worse with the anonymity factored in.


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## P Hudson (Jul 19, 2008)

...and back to Nautica. I don't think there is anything to "solve" here, but it did get me thinking. I noticed yesterday that the Nautica khakis that I like so much are labelled "original quality" so that might reinforce the idea that they are aware of the range of their own goods.

I also noticed a couple other things: first that my expensive BB Country Club vest was MADE IN CHINA. That hurt. Then I looked at the labels of my favorite RL Polo clothes and the best ones were made in Hong Kong. I'm more convinced than ever that a person needs to establish a set of standards and wear what fits within that. I generally rank my clothes in descending order from Southwick to J Press to BB to Polo to LE to Nautica, but now that I have thought more I would rank the Nautica things I own as better than LE, and also better than some of my BB items. That is to say, I don't think I would rearrange the rankings, but would acknowledge the superiority of particular items.


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## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

Ironically, I noticed a co-worker wearing a white Nautica OCBD. The fabric looked thin and cheap. No comparison to a LE. He made the comment that he "only had to pay $30 for it!" I thought he had been terribly overcharged. But...he was blissfully happy with it.


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## Bradford (Dec 10, 2004)

I have a lightweight nylon/cotton windbreaker by Nautica that I picked up a few years back at a thrift shop. It's a nice casual jacket when its windy or even in light rain.


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## Peachey Carnehan (Apr 18, 2009)

I have Nautica pajamas. They're extremely comfortable and have lasted a couple years. Other than that their clothings looks a bit inflexible if that makes sense. You know how you can see a pair of decent leather shoes and then you see a really nice pair, and the cheaper shoes look kind of plasticy?


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
Very well said and...hauntingly, true!


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## twon12 (Aug 30, 2010)

Depends on how long you plan to wear the items, your budget, the color pattern. I personally wouldn't wear any items when you find great deals at Nordstrom's Rack, or Dillard's outlet.


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## rbstc123 (Jun 13, 2007)

Not trying to top Peachey Carnehan's post but…I own a single pair of Nautica boxers. They have served me well. 

I am not a nautica fan. Just never been drawn to the brand. 

I seem to be drawn to brands that have a few specific items that put them on the map and that they still do well. As for Nautica I cannot place a single thing. Not that it doesn't exist...


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