Most of you have likely heard about Combatant Gentlemen before, and likely don’t have very positive things to say about them. For those of you that don’t know, or would like a refresher, this is just about everything you need to know. So, what’s new with them? Well, now they’re being sold and fulfilled through Amazon, and available on Amazon Prime for free 2-day shipping as well. And, presumably, they seem to have slightly new and updated products as well, boasting new materials, quality, and so on. Naturally, we had to take a look.
For now, we’re reviewing their new Slim Fit Dress Shirt ($20), and a suit is on the way for review as well, so stay tuned for that. Now, down to business…
Packaging & Experience
No real point in discussing this, considering that it is fulfilled by Amazon, so if you have any experience with Amazon Prime at all, that is exactly how this is going to be. Other than to say, of course, that because they are fulfilled by Amazon, they won’t be able to simply not ship your order, like they have screwed people with in the past. So, you can order with all the confidence of anything you buy on Amazon, now, so that’s nice.
Style & Design
This shirt has nothing to it, really. It’s the plainest of plain white dress shirts out there. No chest pocket, no nice collar, nothing doing with the placket, no pattern or depth to the fabric. It’s what the dictionary definition of “white shirt” is. Now, this is not inherently bad, but if you’re looking for something more at all, this is not it. What is bad, though, is the fact that the collar is one of the ugliest and most poorly proportioned I have seen on a dress shirt in a long time. It claims to be a semi-spread collar, but in no universe is this a semi-spread collar. It’s a point collar, and a bad one at that. It’s way too long, doesn’t sit nicely and flairs up, and just looks like some old Italian collar gone wrong. It does a poor job at framing the face both worn unbuttoned, or with a tie (just look at that!). It also looks nothing like the product shot on the Amazon page. In short, I hate the collar on this thing. And when a shirt is so plain like this, when the collar is all wrong, it sort of ruins the whole shirt. In theory, this sort of shirt would be worn with anything from trousers alone, to with a full dark suit. But, it just doesn’t look nice. C+
Quality & Construction
Here is where things really go down hill. The fabric of this shirt is 60% cotton and 40% polyester, and you feel every single one of those latter percents. Sometimes, a shirt might have a bit of polyester woven into it. When almost half of the makeup of the shirt is polyester, though, you really feel it. I wore this around the office here for a couple of hours, and it was one of the itchiest, scratchiest, least comfortable shirts I have worn in a very long time.
If a white shirt being see-through is of concern to you, this is also one of the worst offenders I have seen in a while. As you can see in the shots, you can see skin-tone through the shirt with little difficulty, and you can even clearly see the tag that I tucked behind the buttons. Wearing an undershirt with this thing would surely show through terribly.
Finally, stitching is sloppy, and areas like the cuff show poor workmanship and uncut finishing threads.
Anything good? Yeah, the buttons are actually pretty solid, and sewn on nicely. C+
The Fit
(Note: I am 6’1” and 165 lbs. and usually wear a 15.5” / 34 shirt in a slim or extra slim fit.)
I took a size 15-15.5 34/35. Believe it or not, they actually got this one pretty right! This is, indeed, a true slim fit — so, compare it to the Extra Slim of most other brands. The chest through the waist is nice and trim, and the sleeves are pretty nice and tapered as well. They do miss the details, though, and the wrist is pretty wide for a shirt otherwise this slim, but this is something many companies miss, even at much higher price points.
The biggest issue, though, is that they don’t offer truly exact neck or sleeve sizes. You have to pick a range. So they sell 15”-15.50”, but not 15” or 15.50”. So, this shirt fit me, but I would imagine someone closer to the truly 15” neck range would probably not find this shirt so well-fitting. Regardless, check out the chart below for full fit information. B+
Value & Conclusion
Combat Gent’s Slim Fit Dress Shirt ($20): Look, I just don’t see why anyone would buy this shirt. Save up, and for just a few more dollars you can get a shirt from, say, Banana Republic or J Crew (Factory, even) that is leagues better than this shirt. The reason why a $20 sounds so amazing and impossible to you is because it is. You simply cannot product a quality garment at that price. (And we will see shortly if the same is true about their new line of suits.) More poignantly than that, though, is the value here. You cannot produce a worthwhile garment at this price point. No one is saying you need to spend $100 on a custom made shirt. But for just about $10-$15 more, you can find shirts on sale at reputable brands that are infinitely better in every respect than this shirt is. There is just no value here. Final Grade: C+