Tips on revamping business wardrobe

I know this topic/thread has been probably started a million of times by other members. But I would like to think my situation is unique (somewhat ), so bear with me.. and I appologize if this is beating a topic to death.

Background on myself: 28 male. I work as an accountant/auditor in a large firm (CharteredAccountant) in downtown Toronto. Now in my office environment, no one is ever dressing good or any better other then your regular dress shirts and pants combo.. So the guys in our office aren't the most fashion forward of the bunch (and nothing wrong with that..). But I feel like at my level of seniority and comfort, I actually like to dress up somewhat better then most. I mean, I don't exactly wear Thomas Pink dress shirts and Paul Smith shirts to work everyday, but all my shirt are of just decent quality (majority are from Korrys Clotheir, 100% cotton stuff. Off the rack stuff from department store at The Bay (Nautica, Tommy Hillfiger, etc.).

My fiance has bought me a Thomas Pink shirt (with a french cuff. Since I like wearing cuffs and I have a few shirts also from Korrys/Department stores) which was amazing. Unfortunatley, I can't seem to justify paying like $200 for a shirt (but maybe that is the reality, and I should accept it), but maybe I will in the near future once we are settled in and I am able to catch up to my finances.

My biggest problem if finding decent dress shirts which are cut properly to my body. My biggest peeve and annoyance so far is, I believe my dress shirt sleeves are way too long. So when I button them up or use a cuff, they are too long and are too baggy (looks like I am wearing a garbage bag). Especially when my everyday work attire are dress pants and a shirt, so I believe the shirt shouldn't be too lose around the waist and arms.

Now I don't expect to buy a dress shirt from Korry's Clothier and have it fit perfectly. But I do remember buying a dress shirt from Korrys last summer (with a french cuff) which I took to the tailor here at my local mall, and I requested she take off about 1cm or so from the sleeve, but the shirt looked off at the end (the shirt looked like it was altered with the way the sleeve button was positioned and cut) So I am willing to shop around now and see if I can get a hold of a tailor, or store who has dress shirts or is able to make me some dress shirt specific to my deminsions. I would think if I spend about $70 to $90 for a custom made dress shirt I would be happy, as the fit would be atleast a lot better then the standard onces I've been buying from The Bay or Korrys (which come out to roughly $65 per shirt).


Is it realistic of me to expect to get a a MTM dress shirt (has to be 100% cotton, no exceptions) for around the $70 to $90 price range in Toronto? I've asked around a few of the stores at Bay and Bloor, and I've been quoted $200 for a MTM shirt. I actually made an appointment on Jan 31st to see these guys at shirtpal.com too, so I can wait and see how that will go.

Any advice or input (whether good or bad is appreciated )? I will add more to the thread, I am just running a bit late for a meeting.

Any

There are a lot of mail-order (from Hong Kong, usually) tailors that are popularly used here on StyleForum that may interest you http://www.moderntailor.com/ http://www.jantzentailor.com/ http://www.tailorstore.com/ (there are plenty of others) I have never used any of these, so I'm not sure what kind of cloth you can get in the $70-90 range, but I suspect it would be somewhat similar to what you could pick up at Joseph A Bank or maybe even Brooks Brothers at roughly the same price, though these would fit much better.

$200 for MTM seems abit high in toronto,

You have a few choices in Toronto,

Maxwell Clothiers's makes shirts for about $50-70 MTM he comes around twice a year, march and september, but he is in London Ont this or next week if you want to drive there. These guys are the as cheap as it goes for MTM here. Except turnaround time of about 8 weeks.

There are a few other places in Toronto, which charge about 125-150. They have been mentioned several times in the forum. These usually involve multiple fittings instead of maxwells where they measure u once and have it made in Hong Kong.

I have had good experiences with mytailor.com. Not sure if they visit Toronto but I would be surprised if they didn't.

I too have had good experiences with mytailor.com. I usually meet with Ram when he is in town. They do a good job but he can be a little pushy at times. It's obvious he works on commission.

I've had great experience with moderntailor.com, and they will definitely be able to fit your budget. There are a lot of people who had bought and had good experience with it on the forum as well. Go through the forum and you'll be able to see people's review on the company.

Nothing unique about the issues - sorry. However sensible advice based on local market here. Remember you get what you pay for so don't expect to have the perfect short for little cost.

I just visited the Brooks and Brothers store here in Toronto (they just opened up a few months ago). They had a special for 3 dress shirts at $200, which is a good deal for me as that is how much I generally pay.

In short, I think the shirts fit OK. I am still not sure if they are too baggy still, as these are slim fits (which I won't be wearing with a suit..). I do have a couple of questions and advice/help:

1) I can tell these are of decent quality. Not exactly sure of the fit though, as I feel they might be a little too baggy. I attached pics (sorry for the quality, this is the best I could do).

2) Unfortunately BB does not sell shirts without pockets (except french cuff) according to the sales lady. I was looking forward and I generally thought if I am going to wear a dress shirt without a suit, it shouldn't be with pockets.

Any advice or tips will be appreciated. I will add more to this thread as I go along and try to slowly build a more professional and sharper wardrobe. This is the first time I bought a white dress shirt too (not pictured obviously).

Originally Posted by SFA

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2) Unfortunately BB does not sell shirts without pockets (except french cuff) according to the sales lady. I was looking forward and I generally thought if I am going to wear a dress shirt without a suit, it shouldn't be with pockets.

Their luxury line has shirts w/o pockets and barrel cuffs. They're a little more expensive, but are egyption cotton and quite nice. The standard luxury fit is baggy, but this past year they introduced a slim fit.

Originally Posted by nringo

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Their luxury line has shirts w/o pockets and barrel cuffs. They're a little more expensive, but are egyption cotton and quite nice. The standard luxury fit is baggy, but this past year they introduced a slim fit.


Thanks. I did check the Brooks Brothers website, and you are correct. But I did call the store in Toronto to make sure they carried some shirts, and I was told by the gentleman on the phone that they DO have pockets. He says the selection per the website varies. He did say all the shirts in the store will have a pocket (exept for the french cuff). My only other option would be to get a MTM shirt (at $165).

It looks like I might return these shirts afterall. I was looking forward to keeping them, but I don't think I can get over the fact that they have a pocket. Otherwise I can tell the material, construction and stiching is above the stuff I currently have (department store stuff..). :|

Calling around shops in Toronto.. I am finding out the MTM shirts are $150 and above. A little too high for my budget (I was hoping for $100 a shirt max.. don't know if that's wishful thinking). I am though waiting for 2 shirts I ordered 2 weeks ago from shirtpal.com (doesn't look promising though, in terms of quality).

The fit looks okay. The shoulders might be slightly too big. It's hard to tell. If you haven't the washed the shirt a few times, fit probably will improve after that.

The pants are too tight.