tonylamer
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2011
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This is just a PSA/Warning for anyone looking to buy any of the NWT Barba shirts that've hit eBay in huge waves recently. I'm not talking about thrifted stuff; I'm talking about the new, pinned shirts that are issuing from "stores" New York and California. I bought 5 about a month ago, and they're all in various stages of serious decay. I'm not sure where they were sourced, but I'd like to think that Barba does better work than this.
The good: The shirts are all slim and darted, with handwork at the shoulders. (The shoulders are terrific.) Charvet fits like a box, but these fit without any bulging at the beltline--and they didn't need to be altered.
The bad:
I took my chances on eBay, so I'm really not too pissed off. But it's just amazing that after 2-3 handwashings these shirts are all falling apart. I can provide pics. if there's any kind of demand.
I figured that I'd post this since I searched the site for reviews before I was buying, but I could only find a thread on which members were debating the possibility that these shirts (and the Borrellis) are knock-offs.
The good: The shirts are all slim and darted, with handwork at the shoulders. (The shoulders are terrific.) Charvet fits like a box, but these fit without any bulging at the beltline--and they didn't need to be altered.
The bad:
- The buttons on one of the shirts are ALL coming unfastened--the threads that secure the button-shanks are all frayed and torn. The shirt's never been dry-cleaned; I've washed it 2-3 times by hand, and let it drip-dry.
- I don't know any technical terms, but, on two of the shirts, the collars don't close properly where the button fastens. It's like there's extra material in the collar that makes it jut out when worn. On two other shirts, the collar isn't sized properly, so you get the effect of a knotted tie ramming both halves of the collar together.
- The button-hole of one shirt (at the collar) was obliterated after a single wearing. I mean warped to the extent that the collar will no longer stay fastened. The same thing's close to happening on the other shirts.
- The seams near the gusset of one shirt have what looks like a clump of fabric (about 1" long) with knots of loose thread. And this wasn't one of the cheap "sale" Barbas--this one was bought from a very well-respected SF member who sells NWT items in his eBay store.
- The shirts do NOT iron well.
- The shirts are all darted, but the threads that secure the darts are starting to separate.
I took my chances on eBay, so I'm really not too pissed off. But it's just amazing that after 2-3 handwashings these shirts are all falling apart. I can provide pics. if there's any kind of demand.
I figured that I'd post this since I searched the site for reviews before I was buying, but I could only find a thread on which members were debating the possibility that these shirts (and the Borrellis) are knock-offs.