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J. Crew Factory Walker Vest Review | TMM Favorites

Published on March 26, 2019 by Brock McGoff · Product Reviews May contain affiliate links (what's this?)

The J. Crew Factory Walker Vest is one of my most worn articles of clothing, ever. Here’s why I love it and how to wear it.

J Crew Factory Walker Vest navy

When you buy new clothes, you never really know how much wear you’re going to get out of them. This is especially true when you buy a new type of garment.

Before buying the Walker Vest, I’d never owned a lightweight, quilted vest. In fact, I’d never really owned any type of vest, other than a couple of waistcoats that came with three piece suits.

SEE ALSO: How to Layer Up With Lightweight Vests

Since J. Crew Factory is pretty affordable, and most of their stuff is always on sale for 30% off, I decided to pull the trigger on the Walker Vest, figuring it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I didn’t like it.

Fast forward a few years, and this simple quilted vest has become one of my most worn wardrobe staples. Turns out I’m a vest guy…who knew?

J. Crew Factory Walker Vest Quality

Before I show you some examples of how I wear the Walker Vest, we need to talk about its quality. This is not the highest quality vest in the world.

In fact, it’s not even close. After a couple years of hard wear, both of my Walker vests were showing signs of age.

Flannel layers
Notice how the zipper ripped away from the front panel at the bottom? You get what you pay for.

My grey vest darkened substantially around the collar (the part of the garment that was exposed to the elements). My navy vest ripped at the bottom of the zipper one day.

Bottom line: it’s a cheap article of clothing, so don’t expect it to last forever.

J. Crew Factory vs. Mercantile

It’s also worth noting that there are a couple different versions of this vest. Since J. Crew started experimenting with new branding and merging Factory items with regular sale items, it’s become hard to figure out what you’re buying.

What’s the difference between J. Crew and J. Crew Factory? Why are we seeing Factory items in the J. Crew sale section? What is “Mercantile” anyway? Should you buy these vests on Amazon?

J Crew Factory Walker Vest vs Mercantile Vest
J. Crew Factory is now called Mercantile, so these new Mercantile Walker Vests should be the same (although I haven’t worn one).

I know, it’s really confusing and, in my opinion, sort of a weird series of moves by J. Crew. For the sake of this article, here’s all you need to know:

  • The vest I’m talking about is called the J. Crew Factory Walker Vest, although some of them say Mercantile on the label.
  • The versions I have just say J. Crew on the label (they don’t mention Factory or Mercantile).
  • J. Crew has sold higher quality vests under their normal label in the past, which I haven’t tried on.

I’ve only worn the Factory Walker Vest, so I can’t really comment on the differences in quality or tell you if you more expensive version is worth the price.

If you’re on a budget or aren’t sure if you’ll like wearing a vest, the Walker Vest is an excellent choice.

If you do buy the Walker vest, don’t pay full price. It’s almost always on sale, either on J. Crew’s site or Amazon.

Walker Vest Outfit Examples

If you want more in-depth thoughts about wearing lightweight vests, read this article:

READ: Using Lightweight Vests for Layering

Or just check out these outfit examples, featuring the Factory Walker Vest:

Flannel shirt with vest and cap
Shop this look

If you just need a little warmth and want to add visual interest to your getup, this vest looks great over a long sleeve wool sweater or polo.

It really can serve as your outermost layer during spring and early fall (or winter, depending on where you live).

Vest casual outfit

Shop this look

But I really love wearing it as a middle layer. It’s so thin, so it sits perfectly under a jacket and over a shirt.

Lightweight vests

Grey Walker Vest under field jacket

It almost acts as a zip out lining for whatever jacket you’re wearing, providing just a little more warmth and texture.

I’ll also wear this vest over different types of light outerwear, like a hoodie or fleece zip up.

Flannel and fleece with vest

Flannel shirt fleece and vest
Shop this look

I really like using this vest with other light layers like fleece zip ups and flannel shirts. I think the layered textures look really cool, and you get a lot of insulation without a ton of bulk.

Try On the Walker Vest

Like I mentioned above, I wouldn’t buy the Walker vest for its full retail price. Wait for a sale, then grab it for at least 30% off.

If you only buy one, go for a neutral color like black or navy. Wear it well!

Product Reviews J. Crew Factory, vest

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About Brock McGoff

The Modest Man founder, Brock is an aspiring minimalist who enjoys working out, spending time with his family, discovering new brands and creating great content.

Background: Brock McGoff has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a professional background in digital marketing. He believes that men's fashion is just one facet of self-improvement, and he started The Modest Man to help regular guys feel more confident by improving their appearance.

An east coast native, Brock currently lives in Arizona with his wife and daughter. When he's not working, he spends time with family, training BJJ, reading/listening to books and podcasts, and unsuccessfully trying to decide which movie to stream.

Expertise: Brock has built a men's lifestyle YouTube channel with over 400k subscribers. He's also worked as the creative marketing manager in a men's apparel startup. Brock has been quoted in, mentioned by or featured in publications like Esquire, Huff Post, Men's Health, WWD and Forbes.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Got questions? Want to share your opinion? Comment below!

  1. gegjr says

    April 3, 2019 at 12:22 am

    Hi everyone, I own 2 of these they both have the J. Crew Mercantile label. As I noted before these ok vest (filet) it you don’t pay a lot and since I wear them sparingly they may last a while. I also have the much better made Michael Kors Gilet which I like much better and it has a double zipper so it can unzipped from bottom while leaving the upper portion zipper. Great for driving or just riding.

    Reply
  2. Tim says

    March 27, 2019 at 9:40 am

    Looks great. How is the sizing? I’m 5’6″ and 140. I have a couple of size 3 pieces from PMNYC. Not sure if I should go with the S or XS in this Walker vest.

    Reply
  3. Tim says

    March 27, 2019 at 9:21 am

    What’s the sizing like? I’m 5’6” and 145 lbs. I usually buy size 3 at pmnyc. Should I go S or XS?

    Reply
    • Brock says

      March 27, 2019 at 10:33 am

      Probably S for you (I wear XS).

      Reply
      • Tim says

        March 27, 2019 at 11:34 am

        Thanks, Brock! Really appreciating all your insight. (Sorry for the double post below.)

        Reply
  4. gentlemanwithin says

    March 26, 2019 at 8:20 pm

    Did you hear that they’ve shuttered Mercantile? That whole thing was confusing because Factory is still live. So apparently they’re back to just Factory? I picked up one of the Mercantile walker vest (waxed) and the quality is pretty much the same as Factory’s. No wonder it was so cheap, they’re slowly pushing Mercantile branded product out the door.

    Reply
    • Brock says

      March 26, 2019 at 8:34 pm

      What a mess…

      Reply
  5. gentlemanwithin says

    March 26, 2019 at 8:14 pm

    Walker vest FTW!

    Reply

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