Updated October 2022 to remove clothes that have been discontinued, and update with the latest Bluffworks styles.
I’ve been wearing Bluffworks clothes for over 5 years now.
I’ve worn the Grammercy suit at every single wedding I’ve been to during that time frame.
I’ve worn the Ascender Chinos while hiking through the mountains of Italy.
I’ve worn Buffworks clothes at fancy dinners with celebrities, and the Meridian dress shirt during a debaucherous two days at Oktoberfest in Munich.
I’ve worn Bluffworks Ascender pants at over a dozen of the top 100 golf courses in the world.
I haven’t taken many photos in the shirt, but you can see that I fit right in at Oktoberfest in Munich with the stylish plaid design.
And, you know what else?
I wear their Threshold t-shirts nearly every single day. Whether it’s at a coffee shop for work or the gym to workout.
This is not an exaggeration. These are simply facts.
There’s no clothing brand I’ve worn more over the last half-decade than Bluffworks.
What makes their clothes so good? Are they something you should consider purchasing?
That’s what we’re going to look at in this updated Bluffworks review.
Table of Contents
Bluffworks Fit – Is It Hard to Get the Sizing Right?
As far as I know, Bluffworks entire retail presence is through their online store. Because of this, you’re taking a little bit of a risk when it comes to sizing.
The more casual clothes, I’ve found to be pretty easy to get sizing right.
One of the things I love about the Treshold t-shirt is the fact that they have both “Slim Fit” and “Tall” sizes.
Most importantly: You can order a slim-fit, tall shirt.
So with the shirts, they have enough options between sizes and fits, that you can pretty easily figure out what’s best for you based on what you currently wear.
The charcoal gray chinos.
I’m 6′ 2″, about 200 pounds and have a slight dad bod going, and the medium, slim fit, tall Threshold t-shirts are fantastic.
I could probably just as easily swing the regular fit, but the “Tall” is a game changer.
When it comes to the dress shirts like the Meridian and the Zenith, I usually go for a large slim fit, and it’s worked out really well.
One thing that’s great about Bluffworks is that I’ve never had any clothes shrink. So if you get it, and it fits, you can be assured that it’s going to wear well for the life of the clothes.
If anything my Threshold shirts have even stretched out a little bit – but in a good way. It’s what makes me feel comfortable still ordering slim fit, despite a belly that says “maybe you should hold off on that extra cocktail…”
And the pants? Even easier. I’m a 34×32 across the board, and every pair of Bluffworks pants I own have been perfect.
Bluffworks Suit Sizing
Where you might run into Bluffworks sizing issues is specifically when it comes to their suit jackets.
I own two Grammercy jackets, and if I’m totally honest? Neither of them fit me perfectly.
One is too small. So if I button it up, it well, looks like I’m bursting at the seams.
The other? Too big. The sleeves are too long, and I erred on the side of bigger is better based on my other jacket, and well, bigger is in fact, not necessarily better.
Both of these issues? A me problem. Not a them problem.
I’d highly recommend spending a few bucks to go to a tailor and get your proper measurements before you order. I just kind of guessed, and I highly regret it.
I also have no excuse considering my wife is an apparel designer, and we literally flew to Vietnam to get suits made for myself and my groomsmen for our wedding (before I knew about Bluffworks…)
All that to say, Bluffworks is generally true to size. You just should know what size you are before ordering.
They have tools on their website to help with this. But in the case of a suit? Your best to double-check with a professional beforehand.
Threshold T-Shirt Review: My Favorite T-Shirt of All Time
At this point I own….1, 2, 3…..
Still counting….
11 Bluffworks Threshold t-shirts.
I’m at a point in my life, where I don’t want to have to think about my clothes every day.
Not quite in a Steve-Jobs-black-turtleneck kind of way, but I just want clothes that look good, fit well, and don’t require me to put a lot of thought into my wardrobe.
And Bluffworks Threshold t-shirts do exactly this for me.
I’ve struggled for years to find a t-shirt that I love. Occasionally, I’ll find a one-off at Nordstrom Rack that’s great, but then I can never find it again.
The Threshold T-shirt? It’s the best t-shirt I’ve ever owned.
I already talked about the sizing, but I’ll reiterate that having both Slim Fit and Tall sizes truly make this among the most “customizable” shirts you’re going to find.
They’re made out of a blend of 66% Polyester, 29% Lyocell, 5% Elastane, which they call, you guessed it, Threshold.
This material gives the shirts a nice stretch, without looking overly technical. Threshold shirts look like a casual cotton shirt, but have all the performance properties of something more technical.
I love that I can wear the Threshold for pretty much anything.
It fits me really well, so I can find ways to dress it up. It’s perfect for the gym.
I can throw a couple of them in my bag, and know that I’m covered for the day.
At $52 a shirt? They’re not super cheap. But honestly to have a go-to shirt that I can travel with, wear to the gym, or wear out to meet friends for drinks? It’s been well worth it for me.
Occasionally you’ll see buy two, get one free sales – so I always try and load up when I see that.
This is the best t-shirt in the world. For travel, for working out, for doing, well, anything. This makes up most of my t-shirt wardrobe.
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Ascender Chino Review: The Pants That Can Do Everything
The Bluffworks Ascender Chinos have changed a little bit over the years.
I still, 5 years later, wear a pair of their Chino fit “Original” pants.
Over the last couple years these have evolved into the Ascender Chino – and they’re still fantastic.
I’ve received more compliments on these pants than any other I’ve worn.
On 3 separate occasions, I’ve had my friends’ wives ask “What are those pants?! They look great, I need to get a pair for____”
The primary reason I love the Ascender Chinos is for the exact same reason I love the Threshold shirts: they’re extremely versatile.
If you haven’t gathered it by now, I’m a pretty casual dude. I don’t dress up often, but when I travel I usually need some go-to option for a nice dinner.
These pants are perfect.
Whether out to a nice dinner or hiking in the mountains – Bluffworks has nailed it with their travel pants
They are made with a technical material, but they don’t look like it. They look, and mostly feel, like a traditional pair of chinos.
A few years ago when we took a 2-month sabbatical trip around the world, these were my go to pants.
I wore them hiking in the Dolomites, and then wore them out to some of the fanciest cocktail bars in the world.
I can wear them on planes, and then straight out to dinner.
Oh, and despite not being built for this purpose, they are my favorite pair of golf pants I own.
One pair of pants does pretty much everything I need them to do, and they look great.
I highly recommend these pants.
Quite possibly the most versatile pants on earth. Hiking? Check. Golfing? Check. Board room or fancy dinner? Check, and check.
Bluffworks Meridian Dress Shirt Review: Truly Wrinkle Free
When it came to the Bluffworks dress shirt, I had only one major goal for it:
I wanted to be able to shove it in a suitcase repeatedly, and still have it be wearable and not wrinkled to hell afterward.
To be honest, I’m not sure I’ve found a shirt that truly does this (even stated “wrinkle-free” shirts).
I’m more than happy to report that when it comes to this test, the Bluffworks Meridian dress shirt has continually passed with flying colors.
Fit-wise it’s almost perfect. Personally, I like the slim fit option, and it works both tucked in or left untucked. I usually roll up the sleeves, which look great (and stays wrinkle-free even after unrolling!).
My only gripe about the shirt is the spacing of the top 2-3 buttons. I tend to leave the top two buttons untucked for a little bit more of a casual look. But the way the spacing works, if you forgo the top 2 buttons, you’re at risk of exposing a pretty substantial amount of chest.
For many, this won’t be a big deal, but I found myself caught right in between feeling too buttoned up and showing a little too much skin. Now, this is probably just personal preference, but I would have loved to see that third button from the top be about half an inch higher.
Read on to see my thoughts on their latest Zenith dress shirt, which I’ve found solves this one minor critique.
A fantastic, comfortable, and stylish dress shirt. It won't wrinkle if you throw it in a travel bag, and can be dressed up or down as needed.
Bluffworks Zenith Dress Shirt Review: A Dress Shirt Upgrade
The new Zenith shirt, as with the Threshold comes in both slim fit and tall sizes which is always exactly what I look for.
And in action, I’m happy to report back that all of the quibbles I’d had with the previous shirt have been fixed: this is the shirt I’ve been looking for!
The buttons have been fixed, the medium slim/tall combo fits me perfectly, and it can be dressed up or down depending on what the occasion calls for.
As an example, just in the past week I wore the Zenith dress shirt with my Gramercy suit to a wedding, and then a few days later sported it with rolled-up sleeves with my Departure jeans.
It looked great with both, and both times I got comments asking about where I got the clothes I was wearing.
One of the things that continues to impress me is just how good the clothes look on top of how functional they are for the modern traveler.
If I had one complaint about the shirt, it’s that the material does have that “wrinkle-free” feel. It’s not the softest shirt you’ve ever worn, and it can feel a bit stiff like so many wrinkle-free shirts can.
With that said, it still looks great, fits great, and is a shirt I’ll turn to again and again because of that along with the convenience features.
I have some more expensive shirts that are simply always wrinkled. I’m too lazy to iron or steam, so I don’t wear them. But Zenith has become my go-to dress shirt simply for the combination of form and function.
Just like everything else from Bluffworks, the Zenith looks good, and performs even better. Highly recommended.
Bluffworks Gramercy Suit Review: The Ultimate Suit for Travelers?
As mentioned, I now have too Gramercy Suits. Rather, I have both a Gramercy Blazer and Gramercy Pants, thus effectively giving me a Gramercy Suit.
This is something I’ve needed for a long time.
My suits left over from my finance days are well, let’s just say they were never very good to begin with…
And the suits I had custom tailored in Vietnam, have both suffered untimely ends in stories that I’ll recount another time.
Needless to say, I needed a good suit I could turn to, and specifically I loved the fact that Bluffworks suits were made with travelers in mind, as I hate having to figure out how to pack one.
I opted for the slim-fit blazer and the tailored pants, which I think was the right choice, with a caveat.
First off, both the blazer and trousers are very well made.
They’re breathable, dressy enough to wear to a board meeting or a wedding, without feeling like you’re wearing something too formal or stodgy – which is exactly what I need.
The tailored pants fit me perfectly, and have been my go-to for years, for any nicer function that calls for them. And the fact they are machine washable? Total win.
The Gramercy Blazer shares all the same attributes. It’s casual enough to wear with jeans, but looks great with the pants to make a suit.
As I alluded to above, the mistake I’ve made, (twice! ugh.) was not getting myself properly measured before ordering – especially given I opted for the slim fit jacket.
For me, it’s just a little bit too tight when I button it up. And that’s totally on me for assuming that I’m still the size I was 5 years ago last time I got sized.
The more recent pair I ordered, I was so concerned about the first one being too tight, that I went the opposite direction and ordered one that is far too big.
Once again, do yourself a favor and just go get a tailor to properly size you 🙂
My first one is still wearable, I just opt not to button it. I even wore it to my dinner with Johnny Miller and Peter Jacobsen at Pebble Beach a couple years back. (if you’re a golfer you’ll understand why that’s a big deal!) Not pictured, Johnny and Peter 🙂
Me on the right in my Bluffworks Gramercy Suit
The Gramercy Blazer works just as well with jeans as it does with a pair of matching Gramercy dress pants. This is the best blazer on the market for the frequent traveler.
The Grammercy pants are wonderful dress pants, that can masquerade as travel pants. Pair with a Gramercy Blazer for the ultimate suit option for travelers on the go.
Bluffworks Departure Travel Jeans 2.0 Review
Unfortunately, I need to preface this particular section of the review. As of October 2022 when I’m writing this, the Departure jeans are not currently available at Bluffworks.
I’ve been told that they haven’t been discontinued, but rather due to supply chain and other issues, more or less put on hold.
I’m leaving this section of the review in here, however, because: THESE ARE MY FAVORITE JEANS I’VE EVER OWNED.
So hopefully this review will get someone’s attention, and get them back on the site!
That said, in the early days when they first released the Departure? I was skeptical.
For most of my adult life, I’ve been one of those people who always spent more money for designer jeans.
Or at least I did up until about 5 years ago when I realized a pair of Levis looked just as good as those Seven jeans I wore all through college.
But as someone who is wearing a t-shirt and jeans 90% of the time, having a pair that both looks good and fits well is really important to me.
So, it’s not that I didn’t trust Bluffworks could put out a good product. Their Ascender Chinos were game-changing for me. Hell, before a recent redesign, I was wearing them on the home page of this website.
And you can still see them on our newsletter opt-in page 🙂
But travel jeans? Something about that just didn’t feel right, and I didn’t expect them to fit me all that well.
I opted for a pair of the black Departure jeans in slim fit.
I took them out, I put them on, and honestly? I’ve hardly taken them off since.
No literally. I originally wrote that line above about 4 years ago. I’ve now bought 4 pairs of them and wear them every day.
I LOVE them.
They’re slightly less slim than the black Levis I’d been wearing, but not super boxy.
They have the perfect amount of stretch to them, but they still look and feel like denim.
Then when you factor in the easy care, travel zippers, and the other features that make everything from Bluffworks great?
These are truly game-changing pants for me.
I’d be curious to see if the wash on the blue jeans looks high-end or not, but in black, they have just a slight fade that feels like more style than function on the outside – but for people in the know, they know it functions just as well.
I’ve loved almost everything from Bluffworks, but the Departure Jeans might just be my favorite piece yet.
Now I just have to convince them to start making them again…
Final Thoughts on Bluffworks Clothes
This is the only clothing review I’ve done here on Location Rebel.
That should tell you something about Bluffworks. Their clothes have been such an essential part of not just my travels, but my everyday life, that I can’t help but recommend them.
Whether you’re looking for a suit that’s easy to travel with, a shirt you can wear literally all the time, or pants that are incredibly flexible – Bluffworks has you covered.
It’s been 5 years since my first Bluffworks article of clothing, and I’m more in love with the brand than ever. Very few small companies have had that kind of longevity in my life – but I’m excited that Bluffworks has.
Sean Ogle
Sean Ogle is the Founder of Location Rebel where he has spent the last 12+ years teaching people how to build online businesses that give them the freedom to do more of the things they like to do in life. When he's not in the coffee shops of Portland, or the beaches of Bali, he's probably sneaking into some other high-class establishment where he most certainly doesn't belong.Join over 40,000 people who have taken our 6 part freelance writing course. Sign up below and let’s do this together.
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Thanks, Great travel article and review on Bluffworks! Always good to hear about how others experience for travel wear clothing.
Agree that they make excellent clothing, but Canadian buyers beware! Bluffworks no longer manufactures in North America. This means that their products are subject to approx 20% duty (and HST of 13% depending upon the rate in your province). I ordered a blazer and pair of pants. Canadian equivalent was about $500. Had to pay an additional $166 ($100 of which was duty). That they have sent production off shore is buried in the fine print of “terms and conditions”. Total lack of integrity!