Challenge Accepted

chambray shirt& riding pants c/o Lands End Canvas striped shirt-Gap; boots-DSW snood; J.Crew

Last Tuesday the girls at Lucky challenged the Alpha Shoppers to pick out a few items from Lands End Canvas and style them up on our personal blogs. Naturally I accepted said challenge. Over the last couple weeks I've been feeling bored with my own clothes resulting in the recent raid of SSBF's closest (much to his chagrin). Not to mention, I've been intrigued by Lands End's Canvas collection ever since I started getting their catalogues awhile ago. The items I chose were the Stretch Riding Pants and the Popover Chambray shirt.

I could tell you about how much I love these pieces and what great quality they are (both true) but instead let's talk about whether I would have bought them if my own hard-earned cash had been on the line. Working for an apparel company has made me much more aware of the concept of perceived quality which directly correlates with the price of an item. Lately, before I buy anything I've been asking myself one question: Is it worth it? 

In the case of Lands End Canvas, the results are mixed. The shirt I would probably buy, IF (that's a big if) I had seen it in person. The pants? no way. The shirt to me almost seems under-priced at $39.50 for the quality. It's a heavier chambray that can be layered without feeling bulky. Competitors like J.Crew or Gap would easily have this type of shirt priced at $20 higher. However, its almost impossible to gauge weight online, so I would have most likely passed it by. As far as the pants go I would have clicked, admired, and kept on browsing, possibly even looked for a similar pair at a cheaper price elsewhere.

(editors note: I've worn these pants three times and washed them once and they've held up amazingly. They are also super comfortable and versatile. I still stand by my original assessment though, and would not have bothered at the $59.50 price.  )

Another consideration:
If you are ordering online you always, always, always have to consider shipping. In the case of Lands End Canvas I would probably balk at buying anything with a standard shipping rate of $12.95. Granted, my items arrived with what seemed to be lightening speed (3 days) it didn't justify the hefty fee. I could have waited a few extra days for a lower shipping cost.

So what do you think, based on pictures alone, are these items worth their price tags? Do you ask yourself any questions before deciding to buy? What about Lands End Canvas, have you seen their shop? Have you bought anything? Any thoughts on the line?

ps. I'm now finally on Twitter!

Editors Note: I received my handwritten thank you note from Lands End Canvas last night. You can't get personal service like that now-a-days. I love it.