Target’s New Men’s Line Goodfellow & Co.: Fitting Room First Impressions

Target’s New Men’s Line Goodfellow & Co.: Fitting Room First Impressions
Target's new men's line is out – so how did they do?

Last month, Target announced they would be retiring a few of their house brands (Mossimo and Merona for sure, maybe others) and replacing them with an updated unified line called Goodfellow & Co. sporting modern fits and contemporary designs.

Just this week, the items became available in-store, and I headed to check it all out, stress out the fitting room lady (6 items max?? I've got a full cart here!), and give you the run down.

These are just my first fitting room impressions, and we'll be posting a detailed feature with good photographs and Getup ideas soon.

So what's the deal?

Well Target has always had a special place for the budget-minded gentleman trying to dress better. I remember when Target first opened in my hometown in rural Pennsylvania and being excited that there was a place I could buy in-style clothing that wasn't an expensive mall brand. Over the years, house lines have come and go (remember Utility?), and for a number of years Mossimo and Merona represented a safe place  to buy budget basics likes tees, OCBDs, dress shirts, slim ties that weren't 9 inches wide, shorts, some sweaters and outerwear, and even a dirt cheap suit if you needed one in an emergency.

And while these things have remained, overall it got a little stagnant. I was less and less impressed every time I went, really only going when I needed something specific like a swimsuit. If you've been around Primer for a few years, you may have noticed that we used to feature them a lot more. The big problem wasn't what Target was doing, it's what everyone else was doing.

During this timespan, other stores like H&M, Uniqlo, J.Crew Factory, Gap, and Old Navy all continued to refine and evolve their lines, and in the case of the first two, opened a ton more stores across the country making them easy to access. Once, Target was the only option in town for this style at this price point, but that was no longer the case.

So they did something drastic. They hit the nuclear option, wiped out the previous lines people had come to expect and essentially created a men's store within the bigger store, as you can see in the video below.

And my first impression? This is going to help a lot of guys improve their affordable style game.

Imagine J.Crew Factory styling (perhaps a little more conservative in terms of colors), with multiple modern fits like slim, skinny, slim straight, athletic fit and even slim big & tall across most of their shirts and jeans/pants.

Selvedge denim for $40 full price

Slim fit unstructured blazers for $40

Modern essentials like bomber jackets for $50

Chinos in multiple fits for $23

Lightweight chore-style coats for $35

I must've taken 20 items into the fitting room, but the following are the ones I thought were worth sharing at the moment. These photos were first posted to Primer's Instagram Stories where I got a lot of great feedback from you guys! If you're not following Primer on Instagram, you're missing out on some great stuff that we only post there, it's also an easy way to interact with me.

Up first, the $40 navy unstructured chino-like blazer, slim white dress shirt, and $28 black skinny jeans. The blazer fit fantastically, and produced a great silhouette. The slim dress shirt was about on-par with H&M's slim fit, which is also too slim for me, but I'm excited and glad that slimmer guys will have an affordable option to get a fitted dress shirt for under $30. Similarly, the skinny jeans were too tight for me, and generally are, unless I get them at a looser place like Gap. But for thinner guys, these black skinnies are a staple of city style.

Man in fitting room wearing dress shirt, blazer and skinny jeans Man wearing tight white shirt

Next up is a $50 gray tweed-ish knit sport coat (one of my absolute essentials) and $23 slim olive chinos (also available in straight and athletic fit [more thigh room, skinny leg opening]) which according to an upcoming Primer article are the second pair of pants any guy upgrading his style should buy. The OCBD is from Gap, and along with my Red Wing Iron Rangers, create a pretty solid outfit.

Man wearing tweed sport coat and olive chinos

And finally, a really great Americana style outfit, with the $35 chore-style light jacket, $25 standard fit flannel shirt, and 14oz slim-straight selvedge denim for $40.

Man wearing field jacket

There's a lot more including shawl collar cardigans, henleys, and denim shirts. Stay tuned for our full feature and Getups including the collection.

Have you checked out the line yet? What are your thoughts? Chat with me in the comments!

Did you find this Fitting Room piece helpful? Want to see more? Let me know!

Here are a few lookbook photos of the rest of the collection:

A man wearing medium blue jeans A man modeling Target clothing A man wearing clothing from Target A man modeling shirts and pants from Target A man wearing business casual A man wearing rugged clothing A man wearing a sweater A man wearing a sweater and sneakers An example of clothing from Target A man wearing a tan jacket A person wearing gray pants

Andrew Snavely

Andrew founded Primer in 2008 and brings 15+ years of men's style expertise. Known for his practical, relatable approach to style and self-development, he has been a recognized speaker at conferences and has styled work for top brands. Off-duty, he loves photography & editing, and enjoys road trips with his dog, Leela. Raised in rural Pennsylvania, educated in DC, and living in LA for nearly 20 years, Andrew's diverse experiences shape the relatable and real-world advice that has helped millions through Primer. On Instagram: @andrewsnavely and @primermagazine.