Written by If you watch any amount of television at all, you’ve probably seen at least one commercial for Men’s Wearhouse. The commercials are nothing extraordinary. A bunch of footage of men looking rather dapper in well-tailored suits. Then the deep baritone of founder George Zimmer stating, “You’re going to like the way you look. I guarantee it.”
You know, I always wanted to believe Mr. Zimmer. I mean, he looks like a pretty straightforward, honest guy. Well, as far as I could tell from the commercials. And there’s something about that guarantee that makes you believe Men’s Wearhouse has to be something special.
Boy were we mistaken!
See, Steven has purchased things at Men’s Wearhouse over the years–a shirt or tie here and there, and maybe even a suit once upon a time. He even used Men’s Wearhouse for the suits he and his groomsmen rented for our wedding. Overall, I think we were only moderately happy with everything. After all, the clothing is a bit overpriced (even during their big BOGO sales), and they even messed up our wedding order so badly that there was a last minute scramble to find Steven a pair of shoes that fit, and one of our groomsmen had to wear a different vest than everyone else.
The real clincher though is all the new dress shirts that Steven bought when he started his new job here in Nebraska. Working in an office where he would be wearing a suit and tie daily, he needed to beef up his wardrobe a bit. After dropping $1200 on two suits, six shirts, and six ties, were were counting on that good ol’ Zimmer guarantee and hoping we would be happy with purchases for awhile.
Not long enough folks.
See, it wasn’t long before Steven started to complain that things just weren’t fitting right. His jacket sleeves felt too short, and a few of the shirts that the Men’s Wearhouse employees assured him were the perfect fit were feeling a little too snug. And it wasn’t the It’s-the-holidays-and-I’ve-packed-on-a-few-extra-pounds sort of snug. It was more the Damn-they-sort-of-screwed-up sort of snug.
When the first shirt ripped out at the elbow, he was mildly annoyed. When the second shirt ripped out at the elbow, he started getting pissed. When the third shirt ripped out at the elbow, he dropped a couple of F-bombs and started muttering under his breath every time a Men’s Wearhouse commercial came on TV. And today at lunch, when I noticed that the sixth and final shirt had burst open like the rest, he just took it off, tossed it aside, and decided to take it to the tailor who had made the previous five into short-sleeve shirts so he could still wear them, because we’ll be damned if we aren’t going to milk every last penny out of these poor-quality over-priced shirts.
I kept telling him he should take the shirts in to Men’s Wearhouse, all six of them ripped in the same spot, and ask for a refund. Obviously there is a problem with the shirts. It’s the same three brands, ripping in the same spot.
I mean, I know they don’t make clothes like they used to, but come on! This is ridiculous. Liking the way you look only works if the clothes are decent enough quality to last more than a couple of months. But Steven refused. He figured he might have to head in to be fitted for a tux for our buddy Gary’s wedding, and he didn’t want to get himself on some sort of Men’s Wearhouse Master Shit List by contradicting Mr. Zimmer’s good ol’ boy guarantee.
I still say we should have gone in and complained, but at this point, Steven is content to just have the last of the Men’s Wearhouse stock made into short sleeve shirts and wear them until they’re too worn to keep wearing.
And then, we’ll be heading over to JC Penney to buy some real clothes that will last.
Lori Romano 
How odd is that! It’s a good thing you found someone to make them into short sleeve shirts. Maybe someone with Men’s Warehouse will read your blog like Bad Ass Coffee did. By the way, how is your coffee lasting? Mine is just about gone.
Hey Mom! I know, it’s crazy with these shirts! And so annoying! But at least we were able to find a good tailor who was able to make them into short sleeves for Stevie. Otherwise, he may have blown a gasket! 🙂 It would be nice if someone from Men’s Wearhouse would read it and send him a few replacements, but we’re not holding our breath over here. Haha! The Bad Ass coffee is still holding out here. I’ve been working on sampling some of the items in the box they sent, so I haven’t hit the stash you brought too hard yet. So there will be plenty when you come visit!
Ugh I hate Men’s Wearhouse! We also used them for our wedding and the quality of their tuxes was awful. Nothing fit correctly and someone’s button popped off… you can tell in our wedding photos that they were crazy ill-fitting. Wahwah!
Ugh! So annoying! I think my biggest issue with crap like this is that there just doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of pride of craftsmanship anymore! I tend to gravitate toward smaller, family-owned businesses because, in my experience, not only are the products often superior, but so is the customer service. When things go wrong, they do whatever they can to make it right because, if they don’t, they simply can’t afford to stay in business. These huge companies often don’t even seem to care about the mistakes they make because they can afford to be sloppy. Anyone who does a half-assed job just because they can get away with it just isn’t worth my time or money. No more Men’s Wearhouse for us!
Why don’t people believe the good old cliches? You get what you pay for. You can get a hamburger for cheap or you can pay more for a good filet mignon!
Well said! 🙂
The exact same happened to me and my two Joseph Abboud shirts. Left arm, left elbow. Im thinking of bringing them back and asking for a refund as well.
Seriously? What the hell is with these shirts!? Keep me posted on the refund and I’ll post an update! 🙂
FYI- do your research as for quality has nothing to do with the sleeves ripping. I really only believe getting them a half inch longer on the sleeves will make the difference. My husband has ripped out every nice EXPENSIVE shirt I have bought him. All the same size because that is what he said fit him the best. BUT if you are a righty like he is, I bet it is always ur left arm which you pick up phone with or rest on desk etc. You get the point. I have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars if not over a thousand just on shirts over the past few years and I am at my brink. I have researched and it seems the only answer is truley to get a loser fit on the sleeves by length and or change the style.
Thanks for the tip Michelle!
I’ve had the same thing happen, my left elbow, 4 shirts ruined…they tried to give me an excuse that if my elbow is on my desk at work it can add to the rip occurring I’d say perhaps for 1 shirt but not for 4! I’m saving my $ and buying them at JC Penny from now on.
Exactly my point! One shirt? Maybe my fault. Two shirts? Now that’s an unfortunate coincidence. Three shirts? This is freakin’ suspect. Four or more? Not no, but hell no! I’ve been scammed!
I’ve always been a big fan of JC Penney, and even more now with all their recent improvements and rebranding. Great company. Great value. And no shady sales people trying to pad their own commission selling you expensive crap.
Lori, I am glad I came across this article. Around six months ago I was having the same problem with four of my shirt from the Men’s Wearhouse. I sheepishly mentioned it to them one day and they replaced all four. Very nice but I noticed today that one of the replacements is ripped in the same spot.
i am having that problem w pants. all four pair i bought are wearing in the crotch and even have small holes. i wear them twice a week if that and still have this happen. ridiculous.
You know, it’s funny, this blog post is probably one of my most popular of all time because people keep finding it and commenting because they are having similar problems with clothes from Men’s Wearhouse. We have completely given up and haven’t shopped there in more than 2 years. My husband has never had problems with other stores or brands the way he has with Men’s Wearhouse. Definitely not recommended! So sorry you’ve been having so many problems too!
You guys are way off the mark. I have many shirts and suits from Men’s Wearhouse and have shopped there for some 22 years. I have countless shirts that ripped in the elbows, also just to become massively frustrated. If you are ripping that many shirts in the same spot, you need to stop for a moment and ask what happening. I found out that I was ripping them because of the way that I was getting out of my car, you know my vehicle. I was using my elbow to pry myself out of my car when I would get out and thus put strain of the material in the elbows. So don’t blame Men’s Wearhouse for your problems.
Great insight! Glad you were able to figure out your issue and correct it. We’re standing by our claims though…we’ve tried other stores and brands through the years, and the only one that rip at the elbows that way are the specific brands purchased at Men’s Wearhouse. Switched brands and my husband hasn’t had an issue since.
Gee, I’ve been buying dress shirts at Brooks Brothers for 30 years and despite having some shirts that are over 20 years old, I have never seen a shirt tear anywhere including the elbow. I’m pretty sure if it did happen, I would take it back and they would replace it. Maybe it’s not fair to compare BB to MW, at an average of $65-70 a shirt, but considering the life-span and the un-ripped elbows, I think the better value is the Brooks Brothers.
Less than a year ago I purchased 4 shirts from Men’s Warehouse and within 6 months or less they all had the same issue with the left elbow ripping. I saw a post above that was putting the blame on how he was getting in and out of the car and I really don’t agree with that. I have been very watchful to see if I could determine if I was causing this and then a light bulb went off. It cant be me because no other shirts that I own have ripped in the left elbow. I have shirts that are 5 years and older that have held up great. I did take all 4 back to Men’s Warehouse and the exchanged them for new ones and told me that if I work at a desk that it will most likely happen again and they wouldn’t replace anymore. I found that statement pretty alarming since they state that their shirts are top quality. Needless to say I will be buying my shirts from JC Pennies or Kohl’s going forward.
Hi Ron – Your situation sounds identical to ours. My husband wondered if it might be from working on his computer at his desk, but the problem only occurred with specific brands purchased at Men’s Wearhouse. It has never happened with any other shirts (and my husband wears dress shirts and ties every day to work). We have purchased other brands from JCPenney, Kohl’s, and even Amazon and have never had a problem or a tear.
You guys got it all wrong! Have you ever notice how you FEEL on the days you are wearing your Men’s Warehouse shirts versus other brands?
For me personally those shirts give me extra oomph! I can WAIT to get out of my car in the morning and I am surely applying more pressure on car the door. I think I even damaged the car throwing the door open on those days. Come to think of it I even concentrate better and apply more pressure on my desk with my elbows in what everyone at work calls Mark’s MWPSD (men’s Warehouse power shirt days). Seriously, they call them that!
Don’t you guys find yourself jumping for joy more often on MWPSD? That has to cause some added strain on your elbows when you throw yours arms in the air.
Having some rips in the elbows every couple of months is a badge of honor for me and I think they should charge more for that privilege.
If you aren’t having a similar experience stop blaming Men’s Warehouse losers, YOU are the problem.
You might be onto something…
I have bought Men’s warehouse clothing for over 20 years now. I have always had exemplary service. If something ripped out or didn’t fit right take it right back and they will exchange it and resize it. You needed to give them the chance to make it right. Sounds like you got a bad experience with someone that didn’t size you right. I have never had a shirt rip out at the elbows. I am a big farm bred and grown man. My shoulders, chest and arms stretch my shirts if I don’t have them sized right. They get the right fit and make it work. My shirts wear out at the collar wear my scruff sands it down after a 12 hour day at the office and at my cuff edges. As it does with any brand. The service is top notch though as is the quality of materials. I have tried “cheaper” clothing at jcpenney and marshals but never been satisfied. Men’s warehouse is worth the money and a bargain.