Recessions are tough on over-priced brands like Gant. Consumers are more careful with their money. They also dress more smartly and tend to favour brands that manufacture in their country (a form of economic nationalism or patriotism). Hence we see Barbours everywhere in Britain.

Mm.  A good deal of online horseshit concerning who wears it and why etc.  A quick trawl through Ebay, however, brings up a number of items marketed as 'vintage' that look okay.  I was rather put off by seeing one of their golf jackets being worn by an obvious OAP probably off to do a bit of shopping with 'er indoors before stopping off for a coffee (the kind of remark that would have got me a verbal kicking from that Oo Bop character), but mature reflection tells me that, minus the silly logo and worn by a younger man, it might not look too bad.  The couple of shirts I own will get an airing - when all the BB are in the wash.  I dunno.  How do they compare with RL?

A brand with a great history and which once had solid Ivy credentials. But gone the way of many others with, slim fit and small collars on the shirts and low rise trousers. 3 or 4 years ago they brought out a simple blue sans logo OCBD said to be based on shirts from their golden age, the usual heritage marketing play. Their window display in the Richmond branch was based around one of these shirts, it didn’t look bad from the pavement, don’t know if they still do it, but I suppose if you could find one of them on ebay it might be okay. They seem to produce quite decent looking Harrington jackets and polo shirts, apart from that damn logo. Their stuff is favoured by Range Rover driving, golf club types around here … and pensioner gents that still retain some want to cut a dash when they go to Iceland and Costa with ‘er indoors’.

All good points, Mr. W. 
It's interesting that they don't turn up in large numbers in charity/'vintage'/'retro' shops - in stark contrast to RL, which another chap on here (quite likely Robbie) reckoned would have been thrifted at TKMaxx before finally turning up in the aforesaid 'vintage' emporiums (often staffed by very pleasant girls who are amused/bemused/horrified to find some obvious old perv like me rooting through their stock.  They are expecting somebody more along the lines of Bobby Boy Band perhaps).  Tommy also turns up in large numbers and on Saturday afternoon in a single street I found Farah (cue for sniggers from Sammy), Champion, A&F, Orvis, Land's End - none of them a bit of good.  No RL and no Gant.  Twenty years ago I could pick up RL for work easy as falling off a log.  Probably not Made In The USA, though - more likely Malaysia in those days. 
So, are the crusties hanging onto their Gant acquisitions? 
Yuca mentioned their good old stuff being quite expensive when it shows up.
I wonder if Skipper or one of our other American friends can tell us anything: from their end.

Oh, of course an olive-coloured 'arrington has been mentioned favourably on 'TI'.  It seems, though, that olive was often a rather uncommon colour for our old friend the G9, just as POW check was circa 1970.  I might well consider a 'grubby olive' G4.  Yes indeed.

It will help if you don't put out these generalisations about brands with no context based only on local charity shop finds. Your personal experience of one second hand item isn't representstivd more broadly.

I have a fantastic green harrington designed for colder wear with hidden zip in hood and patch/flap pockets from LE that nobody makes anymore.

All brands broadly relevant to Ivy have their good and bad so a touch of care needed in posting.

Last edited by An Unseen Scene (2021-10-18 06:07:22)

Actually, the last USA made item I've seen, a week ago, was very bad indeed - albeit unexpected.

Erm, the other name that is now a bit frowned upon is Alan Paine.  I've plenty of experience of their output, including a couple of exported (I suppose) to the USA cashmere v-necks (apparently they moved a lot of stuff to the USA at one time), slipovers, scarves, polo shirts and other bits and bobs, some of which are nice and some of which are not.  I might once have seen them as on a par with, say, Grenfell, but now...  There is no absolute certainty one way or the other but some on here eschew them.  Probably not English-made.  Probably not good quality.  Not unlike - to give an obvious example - the Clarks' desert boot.