What It Is: A Montreal-based clothing company that designs and sells its own clothing via its subscription service website.
Cost: Per-item basis. This box cost $145.
Frequency: Once a month.
Tagline: “For Men Like Ourselves”
How to Get It: http://frankandoak.com
What’s Included: camel chinos ($50), red-and-blue plaid flannel shirt ($45), navy terrycloth hoodie ($50)
Initial Thoughts Before Ordering: Looks like a classy, trendy style, but the brand isn’t a well-known name, and there’s no way in hell I’m going to remember to go to this site. I want someone to just send me something.
Impression After Receiving: The one hurdle I ran into was that I had to choose what I wanted, which was contrary to my desire to avoid having to choose anything myself. But once I got over the fact that there were about 50 different items to choose from, I made some pleasing selections. Sure, I was able to see what I was getting beforehand, but I was able to get the colors I liked. There was no personal shopper challenging me to try something I might not like. Though I did find that certain in-demand items and colors sold out before others, so strike early if you like something.
I appreciated that the available styles change with the seasons — for winter, I was only shown a selection of ski-lodge appropriate flannel shirts, warming sweaters and hoodies, and scarves. The clothes are Frank & Oak’s own high-quality brand, so while there may be little name recognition, the clothes are inexpensive but well-made. Frank & Oak says it keeps costs down by covering all steps of the fashion process, from design to retail. Most of its clothes are priced at or below $50, and the available styles change with the seasons. You can choose as many items as you’d like at a time, or choose to skip a particular month.