GANT

GANT prices itself as a premium heritage label, leaning on its American Ivy League roots and a focus on classic, durable design rather than fast turnover. It is worth it if you value preppy staples that are built to last seasons rather than weeks, particularly the knitwear and shirting. Go in clear-eyed, though: recent buyer reviews are mixed on whether today's quality always matches the price, so judge each piece on its own and consider waiting for a sale on the bigger items.

Opinions split between the heritage and the present. Longtime fans say older GANT pieces last virtually forever, and many still find the shirting true to size and nicely made. Others report uneven results on newer items, from zips to polos that faded after a wash, and online review scores have been notably harsh. The fair read is that GANT can still be solid, especially in knitwear and Oxford shirting, but quality is less uniform than its premium positioning implies, so inspect before you commit.

Both live in the American-prep world, but the flavour differs. Ralph Lauren is the broader, more comprehensive name with a wider catalogue, while GANT reads as the more understated, European-inflected take on the same Ivy look and tends to sit a notch more affordable, comparable to or just above J.Crew. Durability between the two is broadly similar. Pick GANT if you want subtler, sweater- and shirt-led prep; reach for Ralph Lauren if you want the fuller range and louder heritage signalling.

GANT made its name on the dress shirt, and its classic shirts were known for three signature details: the back-collar button, the locker loop and the box pleat. An Oxford shirt is the natural first buy because it is the piece the brand was literally built on. The knitwear and linen shirting are the other strong entry points if you want the preppy look without starting at the collar.

Both, in a way. GANT was founded in 1949 by Bernard Gantmacher and was originally based in New Haven, Connecticut, so its roots are firmly American and Ivy League. Today, however, it is a Swedish-owned designer brand headquartered in Stockholm, after Sweden's Pyramid Sportswear took it international from the early 1980s. The honest description is American heritage with a Swedish present.

Its founder, Bernard Gantmacher, arrived in New York City in 1907 as a Jewish immigrant from the Russian Empire and worked in a garment factory sewing shirt collars, where he met his future wife Rebecca Rose, a button and buttonhole specialist. After the First World War the couple founded the Par-Ex Shirt Company, which made shirts for names including Brooks Brothers, J. Press and Manhattan. The standalone Gant label launched in April 1949, and after Bernard's death in 1955 his sons took over.

The connection is literal. In the 1960s GANT made the Yale co-op shirt exclusively for the store on the Yale University campus, and shirts from GANT and its rival Sero were de rigueur for high-school and college-age men who could afford their premium price that decade. That campus pedigree is exactly why the brand still trades on its Ivy League image today.

GANT runs three collections: the main GANT line, GANT Diamond G and GANT Rugger. The Rugger heritage goes back to 1974, after the company launched its first sportswear line in 1971. If you are new to the brand, the main GANT line is the everyday core, while the named sub-lines let you lean more sporty or more elevated depending on the look you are after.

GANT is owned by the Swiss retail group Maus Frères, which acquired it in 2008 and delisted it from the Stockholm Stock Exchange that March. Before that, the brand had passed through several hands, including Phillips-Van Heusen, which sold its GANT operations to Sweden's Pyramid Sportswear in 1999 for $71 million. So the label that started in New Haven now sits under Swiss ownership.

Yes, and the brand made a point of it. GANT ceased operations in New Haven in 1979 after becoming a subsidiary of The Palm Beach Company, but in November 2010 it returned to New Haven and opened a retail store there. The first GANT store in Europe, meanwhile, opened in Amsterdam in February 1995 and is the oldest operating GANT store in the world. The New Haven return is the brand consciously circling back to where it began.

GANT operates in 70 markets and its products are stocked at over 4,000 retailers, so between its own stores and department-store and online partners it is widely available. For sizing confidence, the shirting is often reported as true to size, but buy from the brand's own channel or an authorised stockist with a clear returns policy given the mixed reports on newer pieces. The bigger-ticket knitwear and outerwear are the items most worth catching on a seasonal sale.

GANT's heritage is classic American shirting rather than skinny tailoring, and many shoppers find the shirts true to size with a relaxed-traditional cut. Because the catalogue leans toward warmer-weather pieces with knitwear as the standout exception, think about layering when you size the sweaters. If you are between sizes and want a sharper line, size down in the shirts; if you want the easy preppy drape, stick with your usual.