Styleforum › Forums › Men's Style › Men's Clothing › Quality Dress Shirts Under The $100 Mark?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Quality Dress Shirts Under The $100 Mark?

post #1 of 31
9/3/11 at 7:15am
Thread Starter 

Ive been looking at Charles Tyrwhitt and T.M. Lewin dress shirts in this price range. I'm wondering if I should be looking in another direction under this price range, in terms of quality and fit. Thanks for any help provided.

 

 

Reply
Reply
post #2 of 31
9/3/11 at 7:20am
From my experience, definitely go with CT, especially since they come in way under your price mark at $35-$50 per shirt. I tried TM lewin but the construction and fabric was not nearly as good, and even costs a little more. Tried brooks brothers and a number of other shirts in the <$100 category and CT has been the only one that i really like. Customer service is great too if you need to exchange or return something.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 31
9/3/11 at 9:18am
From my experience, BB shirts are better quality than the CT ones in overall construction. The BB extra slim fit shirts are also slimmer and have slimmer sleeves than the CT slim fit, which is like wearing a parachute with large arm holes.

With that said, I think CT does use better fabric and has more interesting patterns.

It depends on what you are after. I don't have any experience with TM Lewin, so can't speak regarding that brand.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 31
9/3/11 at 9:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sportin_life View Post

From my experience, BB shirts are better quality than the CT ones in overall construction. The BB extra slim fit shirts are also slimmer and have slimmer sleeves than the CT slim fit, which is like wearing a parachute with large arm holes.

With that said, I think CT does use better fabric and has more interesting patterns.

It depends on what you are after. I don't have any experience with TM Lewin, so can't speak regarding that brand.

CT slim fit is more slim that BB slim fit. If you need something slimmer, you can try Tailored fit. I have BB and CT slim fit shirts in the same size, the CT shirts have higher armholes and are not as wide in the shoulders....better fit! I think you care comparing apples to oranges with CT slim fit and BB extra slim.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 31
9/3/11 at 9:56am
Quote:
CT slim fit is more slim that BB slim fit. If you need something slimmer, you can try Tailored fit. I have BB and CT slim fit shirts in the same size, the CT shirts have higher armholes and are not as wide in the shoulders....better fit! I think you care comparing apples to oranges with CT slim fit and BB extra slim.

How do the tailored CT compare to CT slim fit or BB ESF? Last CT purchase I made, only the slim fit existed, which is why I was comparing to BB ESF. I just remember being disappointed with the CT ESF even after putting in shirt darts b/c the shirts were so billowy.

Are the tailored CT actually slim? I've found that BB ESF is at least wearable off the rack (although should probably be darted also).
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 31
9/3/11 at 9:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sportin_life View Post

Quote:
CT slim fit is more slim that BB slim fit. If you need something slimmer, you can try Tailored fit. I have BB and CT slim fit shirts in the same size, the CT shirts have higher armholes and are not as wide in the shoulders....better fit! I think you care comparing apples to oranges with CT slim fit and BB extra slim.

How do the tailored CT compare to CT slim fit or BB ESF? Last CT purchase I made, only the slim fit existed, which is why I was comparing to BB ESF. I just remember being disappointed with the CT ESF even after putting in shirt darts b/c the shirts were so billowy.

Are the tailored CT actually slim? I've found that BB ESF is at least wearable off the rack (although should probably be darted also).

I havent personally tried the tailored fit, but in other threads i've read it seems that the CT tailored fit and BB ESF are pretty comparable, maybe with the CT being slightly more fitted in arms and body.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 31
9/3/11 at 10:09am
anyone knows how the TM lewin fully fitted compares vs CT tailored fit?
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 31
9/3/11 at 10:30am
Quote:
I havent personally tried the tailored fit, but in other threads i've read it seems that the CT tailored fit and BB ESF are pretty comparable, maybe with the CT being slightly more fitted in arms and body.

I just did a pretty thorough search on SF and AA about the CT tailored fit and CT black label. The opinions seem to be mixed. Some posts state they are more tailored than BB ESF, although others seem to say they are slimmer. The overall opinion seems to be that CT tailored fit have slightly larger arm holes but is slimmer (although not too slim based some measurements i.e. loose fitting on someone who stated they were 5'9" 155)? Anyone have experience with these shirts personally?
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 31
9/3/11 at 9:07pm
brooks brothers egyptian cotton dress shirts are awesome
i can't go back to wearing just regular cotton dress shirts anymore
they can be had for $70-90 on sale
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 31
9/3/11 at 11:18pm
Under $100, Brooks Brothers are the best bet if buying at full retail. You could also try department store own branded shirts, i.e. Barneys, Saks, NM, John Nordstrom etc all have their own lines. From what I can tell, while not aesthetically outstanding, their quality appears fairly consistent with the prominent Brooks Brothers lines retailing under $100. I would definitely check them out, a lot of people here do not hit the puke smiley in regards to these shirts.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 31
9/4/11 at 12:42am
IMO, don't rule out Hawes and Curtis.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 31
9/4/11 at 2:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by junior varsity View Post

anyone knows how the TM lewin fully fitted compares vs CT tailored fit?

Well, I can't actually make a comparison, but I inadvertently ordered a Lewin fully-fitted shirt,
and it is very snug, to the point where I've hung it up until I lose a few pounds. To put this in
perspective, most people consider me to be very slim.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 31
9/4/11 at 5:55am
For under $100 I have been quite happy with Polo Ralph Lauren dress shirts. They come with button-down and spread collars, in a classic fit and a slimmer custom fit. Some are ~$85, others ~$125 to ~$145 (better fabrics and MOP buttons), but they have frequent sales.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 31
9/4/11 at 6:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Klobber View Post

Under $100, Brooks Brothers are the best bet if buying at full retail.

The problem with the non-Luxury BB shirts is that you either gotta buy non-iron fabrics or the choice is very limited (pretty much only OCBDs and Pinpoint button-downs in various colors). The luxury shirts come in more attractive designs, but I had bad experience with the quality of them (buttonholes are terrible and fall apart quickly) and for that price you can go MTM/bespoke.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 31
9/4/11 at 6:18am
I confess...

JAB has a "Buy ONE, get TWO FREE" sale this weekend. I missed the Brooks Brothers June sale and needed real (not thrifted) shirts for an impending trip. I selected 2 Traveler Tailored Fit Twill Wrinkle Resistant Spread Collar Dress Shirts in white and 1 in light blue, 15 ½ / 34 . I arrived in sf approved garb and asked the assistant manager if I could try a shirt on before purchasing to see how slim the fit was on me (40S/30" waist). He glanced at what I was wearing and I could see him calculate his decision. He did insist on undoing the shirt himself, which was fine by me.

Three for $87.50

700


This shirt is not at the level of my thrifted BB non iron slim fit white dress shirt but it meets all of the criteria that I have decided on as being a best fit for me. ie: spread collar, shirt pocket (I need one, daily), split yoke, reasonably tailored slim fit, appropriately weighted fabric, yada yada.

This is definitely at the bottom end of sf approved shirting but I'll wait for the next BB sale now that I know what I want.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Men's Clothing
Styleforum › Forums › Men's Style › Men's Clothing › Quality Dress Shirts Under The $100 Mark?