Here we are, back once again with another review of online, MTM clothing. We have taken a look at Blank Label before, specifically their custom shirt offerings. While they have a clean website, nice fabric curation, and produce a quality garment, we found their fit inconsistent across multiple orders, perhaps the biggest flaw in their system. This time, though, we are taking a look at their custom pants offerings ($125+). This is something that not a ton of online MTM shops offer, as they usually stick just to shirts, or perhaps suits. But Blank Label offers a nice selection of casual pants as well, and so we felt we needed to give them a shot. Here is what we found.
Style & Design
While they don’t have a huge range of options in their pants offerings, they do have a nice selection. You can select from classic chino options, as well as stretch-chinos, and corduroy options. We went with the latter, since it was winter time when we first placed this order. We went with a nice dark brown option, and selected a cuff on the bottom, and side tab adjusters without belt loops — overall this would make them more formal, and perfect for pairing with a nice navy blazer. In the end, the pants came out looking quite nice. The brown is just as I had hoped, the ribbing of the corduroy looks nice, and the side adjusters (while not tabs, but instead elastic buttons, more like vintage James Bond) looks nice as a finishing touch as well. A-
Quality & Construction
The overall fabric is nice, but not super soft. It has a slight roughness to it, and is honestly not as nice as something at this price point would have expected to be. Still, it’s likely to break in a bit with some more wear, wash cycles, etc. It also feels rugged and solid, not at all flimsy. So, not super soft, but well-built. There are also nice details like rubber waist-liners to keep you shirt tucked in all day, as well as cool, patterned fabric pocket liners. Nice, small details. B+
Ordering Process
While they certainly don’t have a ton of customization options — and their website has no live preview whatsoever — all of the basic customizations are there, and you are able to email their super responsive and helpful support staff if you’d like to do anything a little less typical. For the most part, they are able to accommodate. You select your fabric, make your customizations, and place your order. A few weeks later, the pants show up. Blank Label offers a no-questions-asked remake for the first time you order a particular type of garment (so, one pants, one shirt, one suit, etc), which is nice and reassuring. Beyond that, if they made a smaller mistake, you can ship the garment back to them and they will simply tailor it for you and send it back, without losing time to a full remake. This is another nice touch. For any remake, though, you do need to first ship the item back so that they can measure and assess, and more forward from there. This slows things down, but if they do it right, this extra time should be worth it in producing a final, better-fitting garment. A-
First Fitting
This was something of a disaster, and where the whole thing goes off the rails. The fit was way, way too big, and saying it looked like “diaper butt” in the seat and rise would be an understatement. Worst of all is that I gave specific measurements for things like out-seam and leg opening, but they were completely disregarded. While I asked for a leg opening of 6.75”, I ended up with one closer to 8.00”. Overall, the fit was not at all what I wanted, and not even close either. But, their remake policy being so forgiving, it was no big deal. I called them up, discussed the issues, and submitted a remake.
The remake, though, came out barely better than the first, still without the leg opening I had requested, and with only a slightly better seat. I called back again to discuss, and simply asked the next time around that they follow my request as close as possible, as I had this time measured pants I knew fit well, and shared those numbers with them. So, how did they do in the end? C+
The Final Fitting
Better, but not much better. The seat was still quite baggy and not well sculpted at all, and the leg opening was still not my requested width of 6.75”, but instead 7.00”. Now, I was in the end issued a full refund as I was not happy, which is good on them and very commendable, especially after all this time and work. I was also assured that the process in-store is much better, and produces better results. As it stands, though, their online custom pants program cannot be recommended. B-
Value & Conclusion
Blank Label custom pants offerings ($125+): If you think you are easier to fit, then you can give it a shot and order with confidence that, even though they might not get the sizing right, they will back the product 100%, and make sure you are happy or issue a full refund. It’s also great to be able to call and speak to someone, even if that person is a few steps away from the actual person cutting the cloth. Nevertheless, it’s much easier to speak about these things than to type emails. Communication is key, so I appreciate the phone number to call. That is a big deal here. However, they still couldn’t seem to communicate actual numbers and requests properly when it came to measurements. Overall, if you can go in store, the price is reasonable, though a bit high, but the service is great, and the company is great overall. Online, though, I cannot say I would order pants from them again. Final Grade: B-