Mott & Bow Men’s Review: Jeans & Apparel after 3 Years of Wear

Mott & Bow makes a lot of the clothes I reach for first on an everyday basis and a “I have to look decent” occasion. The brand makes casual clothes for men, like basics and things I need to have in my closet like jeans and tees.

Originally, I was skeptical because I didn’t know so much about the company. But as I tried the pants and shirts and got perfect fits most of the time, I grew to trust Mott & Bow. To date, I’ve been wearing the jeans and chinos for three years. The heavyweight and mid-weight tees are the #1 solid-color shirts I have in my shirts collection.

In this review, you can see everything I’ve tried (from chinos, to boxers) and my honest opinions on them all. At the end, I’ll tell you my final opinion on Mott & Bow.

Men’s jeans

Mott & Bow makes great jeans. That is for sure. Before you start browsing, I have to make clear what I didn’t catch on to right away, and that’s the different available styles.

What to know before getting Mott & Bow jeans (read this)

Mott & Bow makes a lot of jeans, and the styles are mostly named after streets in SoHo, NYC (luckily, I’m quite familiar with this area). For any given style, like the Mercer, which refers to the precise denim “weight” and “stretch factor,” there may be Straight / Slim / Skinny choices. Those all refer to the taper and the leg, but the denim type will remain the same.

OK, now that I explained all this, let’s get into what I’ve tried, and which jeans I continue to wear.

What I tried

• Slim Mercer Jeans (my favorite pair)
• Skinny Staple Jeans
• Slim Broome Jeans

I’m going to focus on my favorite Mott & Bow jeans that feel the most comfortable: the Men’s Slim Mercer Jeans. I tried them first in “Clay,” and they fit, so I just stuck with them and got another pair in “Saddle.” Both seem like classics. I can wear them year-round.

With the Mercer jeans, they have a small amount of stretch to them. They are made out of 98% cotton and 2% elastane.

Fit and size

I usually struggle with jeans and fit, so I was surprised that the Slim Mercer jeans fit on the first try. The waist fits perfectly in the 33, and there isn’t any excess material in the seat of the pants. I’ve had a lot of issues with bagginess in the seat, or on the other hand, too much tightness, in the past with other brands.

I wish the legs had more of a taper, but that is a personal preference. Keep in mind this is all in reference to the “Slim” fit and style that I chose. In this style, they do run a bit long, so I’ve often cuffed them just a little. This looks good with high-top sneakers like my Allbirds Mizzles or any of the cool “dad” shoes I’ve found.

The crotch feels a little high, compared to most pants that I have. It’s not a huge issue though, and I tend to wear these pants a little lower on my hips.

Regarding the size, I fit into both a 32 and a 33. The size 32 Slim Mercer definitely hugs my body more, and the 33 has a bunch more space in the legs. In the photos, I’m wearing the 33, but I keep the 32 around in case I change size.

Comfort

For everyday wear, I think the Slim Mercer jeans are comfortable. They aren’t a 10/10, but they are going to be good for long walks, working in an office or hanging around on a Sunday afternoon. And that’s when I wear them!

Care

You don’t have to wash these very often unless they are actually dirty (like, if you have mud on them, then maybe you should wash them).

Mott & Bow recommends washing their jeans inside-out in cold water. For drying, you can tumble dry low or hang dry. Hot water or a hot dryer may end up damaging the elastane (the material that makes them stretchy). Becca mostly does our laundry and has rarely put my Mott & Bow jeans in the dryer in order to preserve the denim.

Typical ways I wear them

Any pants that have elastane are typically stretchy and allow you to bend and move in certain ways, whereas other jeans don’t allow you to do so. I think the stretchiness factor is pretty low in these pants. This isn’t an issue, but I would like to make that clear before you buy them and think otherwise.

The 2% elastane will make them much more comfortable and forgiving than other pants, but don’t expect to do a yoga class in them.

The benefit of Mott & Bow jeans is that I can dress them up or down. They look great with a T-shirt, and they look good with a dress shirt on top.

Do I recommend them?

Yes. In terms of having a quality pair of pants, I think Mott & Bow jeans are great. They will have much more intention than a pair of H&M jeans: believe me. They will also be more affordable than the $300 pairs of jeans from other brans that pretty much measure up in terms of denim quality.

Mott & Bow’s men’s jeans fall right in the middle with quality material and a reasonable price tag.

Men’s Chinos

Mott & Bow calls their chinos the Everywhere Chinos. I originally got them because I needed pants that were a step up from my jeans. The Mott & Bow chinos are just that. I wear them with my Quince button-downs and I can consider them for business casual. I like the deep and rich colors they come in.

Here’s what I tried:

Men’s Twill Chino Charles (in 3 colors: I’ll explain soon)

They come in six colors. I originally got them in Green. Then, I picked them up in Khaki and Light Gray when I needed to shop for a business casual trip for work where there was a suggested dress code.

That’s one of the reasons that I like Mott & Bow’s Men’s Twill Chinos. They’re incredibly comfortable during all aspects of the day or night. We’ll explore some of the other features of these cool pants in the sections below.

Something I’ll point out: One of the unique features that you may notice is the “V” notch in the back of the waist. I haven’t seen this in any other pair of pants and it’s a nice design touch in these chinos.

The fit

The Twill Chino Charles only comes in “Slim,” which I’ve found to be the perfect match of “not too tight” and “not too loose.” I think they’re flattering for my body type. The 32x30 fits true to size. In fact, they fit so well that I don’t need a belt most of the time. I didn’t need a size 33 in these.

For style, I like to add a cuff on the bottom. When I wear dress shoes with these, they hit the shoes at a good spot and I haven’t felt the need to make any additional alterations.

I like my pant legs to be tapered, and I enjoy the level of taper that these pants have for a flattering fit.

Comfort

These chinos are medium-weight and are made from 97% cotton and 3% spandex. Even though there’s 3% spandex, it goes a long way, and these pants are rather stretchy. It’s enough stretch where you don’t feel constricted bending over or kicking up your feet to lay down.

The blend of materials is soft and feels elevated. You can definitely tell the difference between the chinos and my Mott & Bow jeans. When you run your hands up and down the pant leg, you’ll know what I mean. It makes wearing these pants a dream because you don’t feel like you’re walking around in low-quality chinos.

Care

Since I’ve had these pants, I have rarely washed them. Becca will throw them in the laundry if she notices I’ve worn them a few too many times with no wash. After reading Mott & Bow’s website, it doesn’t seem like washing often is required, in order to preserve the fabric, so we’ll stick with this method.

I’d say that you can wash the Twill Chino Charles pants after many times of wearing them, or if you actually get them dirty.

When you decide to wash them, try to use cold water and even turn them inside out if you can. I hang dry most of my clothes, and I would do that with these pants. You can tumble dry low, which might be a good idea to get the wrinkles out, for a few minutes before hanging them to dry, until they’re ready to wear again.

Typical wear

You can wear the Twill Chino Charles for a lot of different occasions. They look great with a T-shirt or a basic sweatshirt like my Mott & Bow Hooper Sweatshirt. They also look great with a nice dress shirt or blazer, like the ones I get from Bluffworks.

Do I recommend them?

Yes, I really do recommend the Mott & Bow chinos. For their price and quality, I would absolutely recommend them to someone who is looking for versatile and durable pants. Chinos can get rather expensive based on the brand that you get. Mott & Bow’s “quality-to-price” ratio has always been great and it resonates through the Twill Chino Charles.

Check size availability for the Twill Chino Charles.

Tees and Tops

Mott & Bow makes my favorite everyday T-shirts, period. Here are the ones I wear on repeat. I think I have at least five of the Amity and Carlton because I could wear them every day of the week.

• Classic Crew Driggs Tee
• Midweight Pocket Tee Amity
• Heavyweight Carlton Pocket Tee

The men’s T-shirts by Mott & Bow are great essentials to have. In fact, I’ve been on the hunt for the “perfect T-shirt” for a while, given that I pretty much live in T-shirts both on weekdays and on the weekends. These are the perfect tees for men, at least in my experience.

I have a particular affinity for the Men’s Midweight Pocket Tee Amity in Black. This is basically the type of shirt I could own 50 of, and wear it every day, not really getting bored of it as long as the fit is perfect. (I have to be honest: I own 4 identical shirts of it in Black).

The fits

I ordered both the Small and Medium, in both the Men’s Midweight Pocket Tee Amity and the Men’s Classic Crew Driggs.

I have an athletic build, and the S fits best. It’s not tight around the chest or the waist, and it’s still roomy in the shoulders.

I like the fit a lot. The tees are not too long on me, and this is super important. With other brands, length has been a consideration. These shirts have more of a boxy fit rather than a trendy, long slim fit that does not work for my body type.

Comfort

The material is nice and soft and also feels very durable. Both styles of shirts are made from 100% Combed Peruvian Cotton. The difference is that the Amity tee is slightly heavier, and you can definitely feel this when you take it out of the bag and compare it with the Driggs Crew.

For summer months, keep in mind that if you sweat, go for darker colors like black. Sweat immediately shows on lighter colors like the minty green; I learned that the hard way. The Heavyweight Carlton Tee is the best solution to avoiding sweat because it’s a thicker fabric: good for winter, and good for no-show for sweat, in summer.

One last plus is that each shirt has “tag-less neck branding,” for itch-free wear. This means that the shirts don’t have annoying tags that stick out.

Care

Care is easy for these tees. All you have to do is machine wash on cold with like colors, and tumble dry on low. We typically do a fluff cycle and then run them through the dryer. Sometimes we hang them to dry.

Typical uses

If you know me, the Mott & Bow pocket tees are everyday shirts that I’m happy to wear while working from home, or stopping by the office. I also find these to both be ‘decent T-shirts’ I could wear to a bar, a restaurant in the spring or summer or a family event. The shirts are great as base layers under sweaters, hoodies or light jackets. I’ve worn them in all these ways.

Do I recommend them?

Without hesitation, I recommend the Men’s Midweight Pocket Tee Amity. This is a shirt I can’t wait to wear. The cotton blend is the perfect weight and I find that my sweat doesn’t show through it if I’m out for the day and it gets really warm. I have so many Amity Pocket Tees (all in Black) that I lost count.

I hesitate before recommending the Men’s Classic Crew Driggs, but that’s mostly because I tried this shirt in the light summer colors of “Gray Green” and “Surf” and I found that I sweat through them, which I don’t like.

This is why I tend to get black shirts and dark charcoal tops. If I tried this shirt in Black, I may have a different opinion. If you are a person who sweats a ton in the summer, my best recommendation is the Heavyweight Carlton Pocket Tee because it really is heavyweight, at 35g more of fabric weight than the Amity. It’s much harder to sweat through, and in Black, you can’t see much sweat at all (for me).

Either way, if you’re looking for the perfect essential tee for daily wear, I don’t think you will be disappointed with my new favorite, the Midweight Pocket Tee Amity and the Pocket Carlton.

Sweatshirts

Mott & Bow currently makes a hoodie, and a crewneck sweatshirt. I got the French Terry Crewneck Sweatshirt in one of my first Mott & Bow orders, and it replaced my cheap H&M crewneck sweatshirts that were showing signs of wear within months (that’s what you get for fast fashion).

The quality on the Mott & Bow Men’s French Terry Sweatshirt Hooper (I’m still not quite sure what a “Hooper” is) is supreme.

I’ve been wearing it in fall and winter for the last three years and it looks new, after tons of washing, drying and lounging. I find the Charcoal Heather gray color goes with everything. While it runs a dab big on me, and I got the Medium (for reference), a Small would’ve been too tight.

It’s one of my top favorite sweatshirts for winter and I wear it all season, over my Mott & Bow tees and under a jacket like my Finisterre jackets.

Men’s Swim Suits

Mott & Bow came out with men’s swimsuits, and they’re a timeless pair of swimwear in several simple colors. I wear a M in these, so consider that I wear a 32 in Mott & Bow pants, and that translates to a size M. I got the classic “Swim Trunk”.

The fit is flattering and I like where they hit the leg. My favorite feature is going to be the four pockets, which are handy. Compared to other swim trunks I have, which have more of a bumpy nylon feel, these are smooth.

My only gripe about them so far is the price. Swimwear is expensive these days, and the price for just one pair is nearly the price of a pair of Mott & Bow pants. If you like the look and you want to try these, I suggest going for the set of two or even the set of three, to save a bit of money.

Polos

Are you a “polo guy?” I actually am not, but if you are, read on to find out details about the Mott & Bow polo I tried.

What I tried:

Men’s Jersey Sueded Polo, in Black

In all honesty, polos are really not for me. I got the Mott & Bow Jersey Sueded Polo and upon feeling it, it was too thin for my taste.

If you’re into polos, though, like if you wear them to work, or for golfing, I wouldn’t stop you from getting this one. It’s a super-soft 100% cotton jersey polo that’s pre-washed, so it shouldn’t shrink. If I ever choose to wear a polo, I usually go for thick ones that have a certain weight to them, and then I even wear an undershirt underneath.

So, that is to say, this polo is not my style, but for any guy who likes a soft casual cotton polo, I’d suggest giving it a shot. I’ll be here wearing my Heavyweight Pocket Carlton Tee.

Boxers/Underwear

Lastly, I tried the boxers that Mott & Bow debuted for men. The product is the Second Skin Boxer Brief.

Let’s face it: we all need boxers. I chose to try the briefs rather than trunks. I usually wear athletic-style boxers made of polyester, so the Mott & Bow ones are new for me. They’re made of a modal blend, so they’re soft, and feel more delicate.

A nice thing about them is that because they’re made to be skin-tight, they ride up less. They also don’t have any tags that stick out (this may seem minimal, but it’s a big deal, and it’s a feature I’m going to be looking for with boxers in the future!).

As for care, I choose to NOT put them in the dryer because I don’t want them to shrink. I think you might like them if you like a modern boxer style. Keep in mind the inseam is 6” in all sizes.

Should you try Mott & Bow?

From reading this review, you probably gathered that I’m a fan of Mott & Bow. I didn’t know what to expect from the brand, and I didn’t think I needed to try out any new clothes in my 30s, but I was wrong.

Mott & Bow’s tees have become a big part of my daily uniform, and the chinos have saved me when I have to go somewhere and look decent. Mott & Bow’s slim jeans are some of my go-to’s for all four seasons and I enjoy my French Terry sweatshirt when it’s cool out.

Mott & Bow is a down-to-earth brand making styles that’ll last, so with that, I suggest checking out the new arrivals to see what’s new.