Frank and Oak - Reviewed and Revisited

First off, use my referral link if you are signing up with Frank and Oak so we can both get swag ($25 to each of us). Ok, on to the juicy details.

After some recent frustrations, I feel that it's only fair to you readers that I revisit my previous review of Frank and Oak. Apparently, over the past few months, they have signed on with a new billing service (this was what I was told by a customer service agent). As a result, I personally have been experiencing a kind-of ridiculously high number of billing errors. I am a member of their 'Hunt Club,' a service I previously highly touted as a great way to get to try on clothing without having to go shopping at the mall. Hunt Club members get to pick out a selection of three items at the beginning of every month. These items are provided by mail, and according to Frank and Oak, are not charged for until you decide that you want to keep the items (otherwise you return your items and never see a charge). 



Photo/Info: FrankAndOak.com

It sounds fantastic in theory, and it really was for the first several months that I was a member. However, as of late, the processing of my returns has been so slow that my items get automatically catalogued as 'kept', at which point I am charged the full price. Granted, Frank and Oak has been great about issuing the appropriate refunds, but my money is still tied up while the banks process the transactions, and most importantly, this is not what Frank and Oak so enthusiastically advertises. Honestly, what makes it really grind my gears is that these types of errors have now been plaguing me for months in a row with no improvements, and it seems to remain up to me to bring the issues to their attention before any remedies are issued.

Add to all of that a few inaccurate product descriptions, and the gradual creeping increase of prices, especially for blazers and suiting (which I will say really bugs me as well, as they are still advertising 'clothing under $50'), and I just can't give the whole-hearted, all-in recommendation I gave so many months ago.

Photos: FrankAndOak.com

I will say I'm still, in general, a big fan of their actual products. And yes, I will probably continue to shop with Frank and Oak if only for their incredibly fitting shirts. However, these billing issues, compounded by occasional (but not that rare) double-billing and other potentially costly errors, force me to advise against storing your credit card information, and therefore using the Hunt Club option.
Personally, I'm staying a member, mainly because my store credit let's me use the Hunt Club to try things on without processing payments to my credit card, so I'll provide an update if (and hopefully 'when') things improve. 

Again, before you take this as all bad, let me reiterate and add some of the positives to Frank and Oak. I've dived (dove? doven? nothing sounds right here...) into their neckwear (now the proud owner of a navy silk repp stripe and a muted cotton square-bottomed number) and both are spot on. I'm always a big fan of ties from TheTieBar.com, and these do clock in a few bucks higher, but I gotta say they have a little more heft, a little more elegant of a drape, and just a bit more substance than what I'm used to. 

Picture: FrankAndOak.com

Well done. Also loving some other accessories like socks, which I have in solids and in argyle.

Photos: FrankAndOak.com
The maroon in the middle add some subtle color, I weare them a lot.

Also, I've always been a bigger fan of their fall/winter selections over spring/summer (more classic, less trendy).  I have two blazers and a sweater on the way, so we shall see!

If you ask me, Frank and Oak had a really great thing going, got the positive attention they deserved, now might be tripping over themselves a bit as they work to expand to fill those shoes. Time will tell if they manage to smooth things back out and keep up their rep. Meantime, use my referral link if you want to try them out (we both benefit in some way that has faded from the front of my mind).