Menlo Club Review: Not Your Average Subscription Box

Menlo Club has been on my long list of ‘brands I’ve gotta review’ for quite some time.

Actually, it’s been so long that the name ‘Five Four Club’ is crossed out next to it. That was this subscription service’s original name before it was rebranded to Menlo Club in January 2018.

But why were they on my list?

Well, for one thing, they’re popular. They’re the cool kid.

And in the men’s fashion space, that always at least gets my attention.

I’ve also (generally) heard pretty good things about them. Especially since they’ve rebranded. They now include a wider selection of their brands as part of their subscription box, among other perks.

I touch on this in more detail below, before diving into the sign-up process, and then unboxing the Menlo Club box I got and sharing my overall thoughts on it with you.

Let’s get to it.

What Is Menlo Club?

Menlo Club is a men’s clothing subscription service.

Fill out a short style quiz and bam—you get a curated package of two to three items shipped to your door on the monthly.

Sounds pretty similar to most other stylist focused subscription box services, right?

Well, there are a couple of things that make Menlo Club unique.

Firstly, unlike many other boxes that mix and match an ever-changing lineup of brands (Trendy Butler as an example), every Menlo Club box only features brands that fall under the ‘Five Four Group’ umbrella. These are:

• Five Four
• Grand Running Club
• New Republic
• Melrose Place

In addition to the above brands, Five Four Group is the parent company for Menlo Club, as well as the company’s e-commerce site, Menlo House.

And this relates to the other thing that I think makes Menlo Club a little different from other boxes. Because they’re curating items from their own brands—they can offer perks that more general subscription boxes may struggle to offer on a consistent basis.

As a club member, you receive an additional 20% off the Menlo House store, in addition to free shipping on all your orders, which is always a plus. You also get access to custom curated content.

What Happened to Five Four Club?

If you’ve been around the men’s subscription box game for a while you’ve probably heard of Five Four Club.

With over 100,000 members as of 2017, and as mentioned in my intro, this was the original name of Five Four Group’s subscription service brand. Five Four Club was rebranded to Menlo Club in January 2018.

And if you ask me? It makes sense.

While I’m sure it was a big decision from a marketing standpoint, the truth is, they include more brands as part of their subscription box now.

You don’t only get items from Five Four anymore. You get items from all the brands on offer on the Menlo House site.

The messaging is clearer.

Don’t care about marketing? Roger that. Let’s get to the review.

The Review

The Sign-Up Process

Signing up for Menlo Club is super simple. The quiz took me less than two minutes to complete.

First, you select your style from the below choices:

I went for the ‘Classic’ option.

Next, you enter your sizing preferences:

And, you’re done.

Menlo Club Unboxing: What Did I Get?

Full Disclosure: A traditional club subscription comes in a nicely branded package. My products came in a cardboard box because the brand wanted me to see a couple different style options. Because of this, do take note that I got more than what you’d usually see in one box. A traditional New Republic club package would come with an accessory, like socks, not a jacket or shirt.

Inside my package, I found a shoebox next to some cellophane wrapped clothing.

The packaging wasn’t the fanciest thing I’ve seen; however, the Menlo Club just rebranded its packaging in 2019 to be much more eye-catching.

But with that said, as your Grandma will tell you—it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

And here’s what I got:

1. A pair of white ‘Kurt’ Leather Sneakers by New Republic;
2. A navy and white heavy knit jacket from the Nick Wooster Five Four collection; and
3. A charcoal long sleeve button-down shirt by Five Four.

I found the sneakers on the Menlo House store, but the jacket and the button-up are exclusive members-only items.

Item 1: White Kurt Leather Sneakers by New Republic

When presented with a choice between a shoe box and some cellophane wrapped clothing, I’m always opening the shoe box first.

And I’m not sure if it’s because at the time I was genuinely in the market for a new pair of white sneakers, but my feeling in taking these babies out of the box was that I was off to a great start here.

The Kurt by New Republic is a white low-top lace up sneaker. It has an all leather upper and 100% rich microsuede lining.

They’re easily my favorite item from the box. To be honest, for $60 I’d be happy if these are all I got (note: they retail for $89 on the Menlo House online store). Not to mention that these sneakers were voted by GQ as the Best White Sneaker for Under $100.

They look crisp and they’re super comfortable. I’ve been catching compliments on them all over the place. They’re my new go-to white sneakers for casual wear.

Item 2: Nick Wooster Heavy Knit Jacket by Five Four

The jacket was my second favorite item in the box. It’s navy with white lines on the cuffs, waist, and collar. It’s 60% cotton and 40% polyester.

It feels decently soft but if you have any kind of feel for fabrics you’d know it isn’t 100% cotton by touching it. But you do get the benefit of added durability (and obviously affordability) with a poly-cotton blend.

The jacket forms part of Five Four’s exclusive Nick Wooster collection—named after well-known men’s streetwear designer, Nick Wooster who worked closely with Five Four in designing the piece.

I like the design. It suits my style and it fits well.

That said, I’m not huge on poly-cotton and so I’m not sure I’d buy it standalone. But I’ll definitely get some wear out of it and so I’m happy with it as part of a $60 box.

Item 3: Long Sleeve Button-Down Shirt by Five Four

The final piece in my Menlo Club box was a charcoal long sleeve button-down shirt by Five Four. It’s 100% cotton with a single pocket.

It has buttons on the front collar (which if you’re not aware, is the reason why it’s called a button-down) and a single button on the collar at the back of the neck.

For a long sleeve plain button-down, it’s okay as a basic staple piece. And I like that it’s 100% cotton.

But would I buy it standalone?

Probably not.

The color and design just doesn’t grab me. And it also runs a little long on me at the waist for me which doesn’t help its cause.

This is the only item of the three that I don’t see getting much if any wear from me.

My Overall Thoughts On Menlo Club