Made to measure dress shirts
Haven’t had a ton of luck with off-the-rack dress shirts at my price point (~$120-175) so exploring a made to measure option this weekend. Any beginner tips on what I should ask for / anything to actively avoid? Thoughts on fabrics, styles, etc.?
Said another way, what are some things I should be aware of before setting foot in the store, both to make the session more productive but also to avoid getting scammed (or at least unhappy with the result)? Bit open ended, I know, but quite new to this so mostly in the fact finding stage.
10 Replies
It might be good to bring a reference picture for the kind of fit / fabric you want. You don't want to go in and shell out $150 for a shirt that will be way slimmer or way looser than what you actually want
I really like my Kent Wang shirt, I got a white cotton poplin dress shirt MTM for ~$100
Bring your best shirt with you, put it on, explain what you like and don't like.
Stick to a standard well-known fabric like Thomas Mason (for example). Get your favorite white or ice blue. Consider details like: sleeves (one-button or two? you don't need two but may prefer the style; width especially if you want one slightly wider than the other for your watch etc; obviously length); collar (how tall, how spread, how long are the points); how tight you like the collar around your neck; whether you want a plain back, box pleat, etc; whether you want it darted to make it flare out of your trousers less (more form-fitting and a bit less comfortable, but looks better if you like wearing it without a jacket). You may care about specific buttons. You may care if your sleeves have that... uh, reinforcement thing whose name I forget.
If you're getting an oxford shirt, consider collar roll vs a sharp collar like you expect on a poplin shirt. If you're always cold, consider broadcloth, or a heavier weight poplin. If you're always hot, consider thinner poplin or even voile maybe. If you're looking for other slightly more casual options, there are a number of weaves that add a small amount of texture, but not as much as oxford cloth. (And oxfords come in more or less rough, more or less heavy.) Finally, my favorite informal button-front shirt you may consider is: flannel (plain, not lumberjack.)
If your guy is really technical, talk about collar and cuff construction, fusing vs sewing, etc.
What issue are you having with OTR shirts? I feel like very few people actually need custom for fit issues and the money could be better spent tailoring shirts you already own
For myself, if I have to spend >$100 on a shirt, I may as well just go for a custom shirt. Knowing what I know now I can probably find a decent shirt and get it tailored for maybe under $100, but they're hard to find for me without putting a bunch of time into it. All the lower-price stuff I tried hasn't made me happy, and at a higher price I see no point in not just sending my tailor an email to get a few more from him instead of a store.
For OP, I can't speak for OP.
Not OP but for me I can't really fit in OTR button shirts because of my odd proportions. I'm short and round. Shirt is either too tight around my midsection or if I size up way too baggy/long everywhere else. Im not even fat either. Im 5'6 170 w some muscle and id probanly need to lose at least another 10/15lbs to fit in OTR. The custom shirts fit 100x better
So the question for me is really whether the quality of OTR is simply better at that $150-175 price point (vs. buying 5+ MTM that average at the same price). If there’s no discernible difference, then why not just go custom?
Yeah and for me, I’m tall(er) and thin. Slim fits are often a complete hit or miss — arms might be too tight, mid-section not slim enough, chest too tight (but mid-section fits well), etc. I’ve had good luck with Eton in the past, but I’m not trying to fork up $250 for dress shirts.
And when you factor in the cost of tailoring these items, begs the question if it’s just not worth getting a MTM that fits perfectly from day one.
And then the third issue: I don’t live in a major city anymore, so unlimited access to outlets (thinking: NYC) is just not an option. If I want to buy an Eton shirt, for instance, I’m buying on online and then paying money to have it tailored vs. having that all handled in the store as part of the purchasing experience.
Check out Proper Cloth. I really love their stuff and they have the best website for customizing things and really good customer support
For the same price I think OTR is going to have higher quality than MTM generally. If you fit into OTR shirts I think it’s better to stick with them.
MTM can take a bit to figure out how you want it to fit and get the measurements right. At least one shirt, usually more.
I hesitate to send folks to custom unless they do actually need/want it for fit issues or want a custom design that they can’t find OTR.
That said Proper Cloth is generally really good with a wide fabric selection
I rarely advise it off the bat, but I don't really steer people away from it either. I just caution people that it will take time and iterations to get to perfection.