Five Four Club November 2015 Review

And now for month three of Five Four Club, the third and final "Volume" for the autumn season.  Five Four has indicated a slight change this season in order to provide customers with a more cohesive range of outfits per season.  In September, my husband received two shirts - one dress shirt and one lightweight hoodie (that review here) and in October, a fantastic fall jacket and scarf (that review here).  What would arrive this month? Pants, right? Gotta be pants? How else can we call this a "cohesive range of outfits" if it includes no bottom half?

Never heard of Five Four Club? It is a men's clothing subscription out of California.  They have a lot of celebrity clients (including Mark Wahlberg) and offer a variety of Five Four-branded clothing items.  It is a little pricey at $60/month (especially for Canadians since there is an additional $25 surcharge for us - boo! - and exchange on top of that!) but there are, occasionally, deals to be had.  This was our first full-price month and it worked out to just about $115 with last month's exchange rates.  If you're interested, you could try coupon code AFMOMMY15 to get $15 off your first month or AVIATORS to pick up a free pair of sunglasses when you subscribe (I think they're both still working but if they're not, let me know and I'll adjust this).

When you join Five Four Club, you fill in a pretty detailed profile indicating your sizing and preferences so that your stylist can select the perfect items for you.  Last time we subbed, my husband signed up for "Business Casual" and picked up a lot of button-down shirts.  This time, he opted for "Mix" to get a little more variety - and he's definitely getting some more casual items, which he likes (his style is evolving!).  I notice that the style profiles have changed a bit from last year - Casual, Forward, Classic and Mix - which I like.

So, what did he get this month?

Edmonds Pullover

This is a lightweight pullover, great for layering under the jacket that my husband received last month.  And it.is.so.soft. Like I can't keep my hands off him when he's wearing it ;) He received this in "heather blue" but judging by other unboxings, there seems to be some variety - we love this colour as it suits my husband very well.  The fit is excellent on him too (but I have heard complaints that men with a larger build do not always find that to be the case, just so you know).  

Both the sleeves and the bottom have a little "cuff" of off-white showing so it looks like he's layered the sweater over another shirt.  I didn't think I'd like that particularly but it looks a little more "finished".
This is a winner.  My husband says it's his fave out of what he's received this season (he'd pick the jacket but it's not quite warm enough now that we're drifting into more wintry temps off and on).

Commonwealth Hoodie

While he did receive a black hoodie in his September box, that one was lighter - both in colour and in weight - and it was also a pullover.  More of a shirt, really.  This is a true hoodie with a heavier weight and a chunky zipper.  While nice, we are a little disappointed not to receive any pants at all this season.  The jeans my husband got from Five Four last year are his faves of all time - they wear well, fit well and have held up really well to washing, etc.  Fingers crossed we get some more great pants next season (yep, we're sticking around for a little longer - it's pricy but he loves the clothes and not shopping for them!).

Here you can see the texture of the fabric a bit better, plus the chunky zipper.  The inside of the hood is lined in a complimentary fabric that brings out the secondary colour in the main fabric (does that make sense? it does in my head).

And there is some elastic around the sides of the bottom for fit - it reminds me a bit of a sports jacket or warm-up jacket.  You can also see the pocket here and the signature Five Four tag - I like that it's pretty subtle branding unlike other brands that splash their name all over everything.

Overall Verdict

Two great pieces this month! While I do think that I would happily have spent $40-50 on each of these, I don't think they're quite worth what we paid ($115ish altogether).  That said, my husband really likes Five Four's clothes and enjoys receiving them in the mail each month.  He also rarely shops for new clothes and not having to actually go out to a mall (with baby and toddler) is a bonus.  There have been months which we did feel were worth it and I think that if this month had included a pair of pants, this would likely have been one of them.  I'm not 100% sold on the "new" 3-month season's more cohesive outfit options for that reason:  what kind of outfit can one make without pants? Not a good one, let's just say!

My other issue with Five Four is the $25 surcharge for Canadian members.  I don't get it.  At all.  Fabfitfun sends me a box, jam-packed with items, rather heavy to boot, and worth probably three times as much. . . for $8 extra.  Bespoke Post sends me a heavy box, packed with fragile items, worth a similar value. . . for $10 extra.  Julep sends me boxes of varying sizes, weights and values (and sometimes more than one per month since I order from the "Secret Store" all too often). . . for no shipping fee whatsoever (even to Canada!).  So, nope, sorry Five Four. . . your $25 fee sucks.  You are sending me an envelope, a large mailer, with lightweight articles inside.  They are not such a high value that they require special insurance or anything either.  So this is, simply put, a ridiculous fee.  There is no way it costs anywhere near $25 to ship me that envelope so what's with that?

And yet, for the moment, we will continue to pay it.  I will complain about it.  But we will continue to pay it.  Because it's still worth it to us.  And we're really, really hoping for a pair of pants, lol!

If this piques your interest in Five Four, try one of the coupon codes (never pay full price if you don't have to):  AFMOMMY15 for 15% off your first box, or AVIATORS for a free pair of aves with your first box.  At least this helps to offset the extra fees for us Canadians. . . and if you're American, no worries, right? These are our links and we would appreciate your use of them.  Thanks!