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Are Charvet dress shirts worth the price? The best?

mrbrioni

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I live in Chicago and I was currently in NY on business. I stopped off to visit Patrick at Bergdorf for some Charvet dress shirts, and I could not be more pleased with the fit, craftsmanship, etc. I ended up picking out 6 dress shirts in 15 3/4 at the presale price of $299 ($425 full price) & $319 ($450 full price). I love the shirts, my question is can I get better/equal shirts for cheaper? Are there any better dress shirts in the world? On my next trip to Paris I definitely would like to try out the MTM program...if they let me into the store that is
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Klobber

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Charvet shirts are excellent, although I would prefer to avoid notions such as "the best". All I can say is that I have a few Borrelli shirts I would easily place in the same league as Charvet, and if memory serves me right they cost me less than $300 - more like $200 at the time. It appears Borrelli shirts have dropped in standard more recently. Kiton shirts are also a good bang for the buck, but are rarely if ever under $300 at retail.
 

mrbrioni

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Originally Posted by Klobber
Charvet shirts are excellent, although I would prefer to avoid notions such as "the best". All I can say is that I have a few Borrelli shirts I would easily place in the same league as Charvet, and if memory serves me right they cost me less than $300 - more like $200 at the time. It appears Borrelli shirts have dropped in standard more recently. Kiton shirts are also a good bang for the buck, but are rarely if ever under $300 at retail.
Thanks for the response. I agree Borelli and Kiton shirts are both amazing, however from my experience with both shirts I honestly don't think Borelli are up to par with either Charvet or Kiton. My .02 is that Charvet shirts feel more substantial (I don't think that's quite the right word to describe it) when they are on then my Kiton shirts (Thanks angelicboris for quite a few of them). I'm quite young (just turned 24 this month), and have quite an extensive collection of clothing, and I venture to say from my little experience that Charvet shirts are the best I have found thus far! Just curious if others agree or I'm off my rocker
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SpooPoker

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^ Id pretty much agree with that. My personal preferences for shirts are Charvet, Kiton, Borrelli, and Finamore. Mostly Charvet for fabrics, and the rest for collar shape though.
 

E TF

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There's a thread on this from 2008, though it may not offer a conclusive answer. Charvet is certainly worth a visit anyway, a great shop. They were very friendly and helpful when I visited recently, and I was in jeans and an inferior English shirt - so the door policy can't be that strict.
 

kraftar

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Slightly off topic, but what is the current price is for a Charvet MTM shirt?
 
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Griffindork

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Charvet's off-the-rack offerings at major US department stores strike me as overpriced at $400-500. They are significantly more full bodied than I would want in a shirt and I don't find the collar style to be particularly flattering. I think the bespoke is well worth the price, but it costs more and you have to go to Paris 3 or 4 times (which certainly isn't a bad thing, but obviously isn't cost effective if you otherwise have no cause to be there).
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DerekS

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Charvet ***** are my personal favorite probably. Absolutely love their fabrics. I dont own any kiton, but I do have a few borrellis that are definitely on par with Charvet, but the fabric on the charvet wins. I cant speak on kiton or finamore, hopefully within the next few weeks I can though.
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Cary Grant

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Originally Posted by kraftar
Slightly off topic, but what is the current price is for a Charvet MTM shirt?

At Saks in Chicago I've been quoted prices comparable to Hamilton, etc.... vairies widely depending on the fabric choice but count on stating around $400 and up.
 

lee_44106

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Alex Kabbaz makes the BEST shirts.

Charvet is not even close in terms of construction, fabric choices, and especially fit.
 

yachtie

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Originally Posted by lee_44106
Alex Kabbaz makes the BEST shirts. Charvet is not even close in terms of construction, fabric choices, and especially fit.
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I sure you have a bunch. Charvet's custom shirts are quite nice, their OTR stuff is on par with Borelli, Frey, etc.
 

TheFoo

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'Better' or not is the wrong way to look at it. A Charvet shirt (either RTW, MTO, or bespoke) is nearly entirely sewn by machine. There's nothing wrong with that and Charvet is known for very meticulous craftsmanship, but many Italian makers utilize a lot of hand-sewing, which produces a shirt of a very different character. We could go on and on about the merits of machine versus hand, but the point is that they appeal to different interests and talking about whether Charvet is better than all the rest fails to capture that fundamental bifurcation.

That said, I think where Charvet really shines is their fitting expertise and selection of fabrics--both of which one needs to visit Paris and order a bespoke shirt to take advantage of. Personally, I don't understand the appeal of a RTW Charvet shirt. It's just a way of capitalizing on the name they built through their bespoke product.

Borrelli is a bad example of a handsewn shirt. Mine began to fall apart over time. Sloppy workmanship all over.
 

mktitsworth

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Originally Posted by Cary Grant
At Saks in Chicago I've been quoted prices comparable to Hamilton, etc.... vairies widely depending on the fabric choice but count on stating around $400 and up.

Odd. Both Hamilton Bespoke and MTM start at $250. Since we're on the topic, how does the quality of Charvet compare to Hamilton or Lorenzini?
 

mrbrioni

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Originally Posted by mafoofan
'Better' or not is the wrong way to look at it. A Charvet shirt (either RTW, MTO, or bespoke) is nearly entirely sewn by machine. There's nothing wrong with that and Charvet is known for very meticulous craftsmanship, but many Italian makers utilize a lot of hand-sewing, which produces a shirt of a very different character. We could go on and on about the merits of machine versus hand, but the point is that they appeal to different interests and talking about whether Charvet is better than all the rest fails to capture that fundamental bifurcation.

That said, I think where Charvet really shines is their fitting expertise and selection of fabrics--both of which one needs to visit Paris and order a bespoke shirt to take advantage of. Personally, I don't understand the appeal of a RTW Charvet shirt. It's just a way of capitalizing on the name they built through their bespoke product.

Borrelli is a bad example of a handsewn shirt. Mine began to fall apart over time. Sloppy workmanship all over.



In your opinion then, what are the better hand made shirts?

I wasn't aware that Charvet's are machine made, although I do miss the hand sewn shoulder on my Kiton's. Other than that, the fit, fabric, etc are perfect!
 

TheFoo

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Originally Posted by mrbrioni
In your opinion then, what are the better hand made shirts?

I wasn't aware that Charvet's are machine made, although I do miss the hand sewn shoulder on my Kiton's. Other than that, the fit, fabric, etc are perfect!


In the RTW world, Kiton does an infinitely better handsewn shirt than Borrelli. But I'm not very familiar with RTW shirts. All I know is that the handsewing on my bespoke shirts blow away anything I've seen on a shelf.

I didn't say Charvet shirts are machine made--I said they are machine-sewn. Regardless of how they are stitched together, they are still closely handled by human beings. You aren't getting a factory-made shirt or anything.

How can the fit of a RTW shirt make it a 'better' shirt? It might be better for you just because it happens to work on your body, but obviously such may not be the case for others.
 

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