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The OneShirt: A Phoenix from the Ashes [4/24/13 UPDATE: A SHIRTMAKER, AN ENGLISHMAN, CHAMBRAY, AND F

Manton

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Kabbaz put them all mine, though I may have asked for them, I don't remember.
 

dopey

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OK. I now really don't care about whether shirts should or shouldn't have gauntlet buttons, but I will continue to get them except on my next NSM FC shirt, whenever that may be.
BTW, did I mention that I always insist that the gauntlet buttonhole be horizontal? I like it parallel to the cuff button (not for AK's made up reason).
 

TheFoo

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while i do see the virtue in the "OneSuit" for a budget conscious young professional looking for a versatile staple appropriate in a variety of social and business settings, this just sounds like a very boring, formulaic approach to getting dressed each morning. there is something to be said for building a versatile and interchangeable wardrobe but it strikes me as a bit extreme when it comes to shirts.


I'm quite experienced with shirt experimentation. I got it out of my system years ago and see no need to go back to it. This has nothing to do with dumbing down my process. Quite the opposite. I've simply learned what I like and I'm comfortable with it. Much experimentation stems from lack of self-confidence, not the endeavoring spirit we like to tell ourselves. Been there, done that.

It's telling that, when you think of the greats, none are really remembered for their surprising or experimental shirting choices.

why limit yourself to just one? branch out and enjoy the various styles and fabrics that are available to you. experience the joy of wearing a linked cuff on one day, and a two button cuff the next. the simple pleasure in having the option to select a button down collar or spread collar at your very whimsy!


Again, maybe you're underestimating my experience with these things. I'm pretty familiar with what I enjoy and what I don't. Half the fun for me is "figuring out" how a shirt should be from its very fruition. Careful consideration upfront helps ensure better results when you get dressed. In fact, I've argued time and again, failure to do so is the root reason for so many of the unwitting goof-ups and poor outcomes shown here.

and to echo others - if your shirts are fraying after the 20th wearing to the point of necessary repair then you need a new washing machine end of story.


Have you worn Riva shirting? It is seductively soft when new, but incredibly delicate. Others I know have experienced a similarly rapid rate of degradation. Also, Battistoni warned me of exactly this sort of thing. I'm guessing Anna only thought I'd be wearing each shirt once every couple of months or so. In reality, I'm on more of a 2-3 week rotation.
 
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TheFoo

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What type of chambray are using? This thread reminds me of a story that my shirtmaker told me.

An insistent customer ordered six lengths of the famous (infamous?) ASW chambray. The shirtmaker tells the customer to let him make one shirt first to make sure he likes it. The customer insists on having all six at once, so the shirtmaker complies, makes the shirts, and sends them off. The customer receives the shirts and calls the shirtmaker, asking if he used a different fabric. After getting all six shirts, the customer realizes the fabric isn't all that great.

The kicker was that each length of the fabric came pre-cut. If it had come as just one length, the customer would have actually had enough for seven shirts. Although, I suppose that would be just one extra shirt that he wouldn't want.

On the other topic of collar roll, the same shirtmaker makes a pretty good one IMO. I recently posted it in the OCBD collar roll thread:

1500


A lot of forum groupthink powered the chambray craze--hence the raid on ASW's inventory. My guess is that many, if not most, of the people riding the bandwagon didn't actually know what to expect from the stuff. Shirtmakers are also likely to smirk because it is not anything like what they associate with expensive shirting.

However, I've seen it in person, in both shirt and uncut form. Not worried that I won't like it.
 
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sugarbutch

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I'm generally on-board with your OneShirt
2122.png
concept, but I do wonder about the single cuff. Probably wouldn't be a dealbreaker for me, though.

all your shirts would take links (bad idea)


Why is this a bad idea?

Gauntlet buttons are obstructive. They ruin the clean line of the gauntlet opening, get snagged easily, and are just one extra thing to fasten in the morning and fall off sooner or later. Hence, since they have no apparent function and provide no aesthetic benefit, I tend to associate them with very finicky dressers who believe dressing well means fastidiously concealing one's wrist flesh, or some such nonsense. They are bad and should be avoided.


All of my shirts (which are all FC) have gauntlet buttons, but I find them worthless. I never unbutton the gauntlet, and there's plenty of room for me to get my hand through the cuff. Effectively, my gauntlets could be half as long as they currently are. I have never had them snag on anything, however.
 

TheFoo

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I have never had them snag on anything, however.


Okay, maybe I shouldn't have used the word "snag." Rather, they knock against things in an annoying fashion when I'm working at my desk.

clack clack clack clack clack

Annoying, yes?

Anyway, I'm with you on the gauntlet thing. I don't understand why the length would have to be any greater than on a barrel cuffed shirt, though I've heard it said many, many times. My own shirts and experience just happen to indicate it isn't so.

Also, I just noticed, depending on how you cut the gauntlet for a French cuff, a gauntlet button may not even be possible. The gauntlets on my Matuozzo shirts do not have any overlap. It's just a reinforced **** up the wrist of the sleeve, with bar tacking at the end point. Without an overlap, there is nothing to button together.
 
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Manton

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links are fancier, fussier, and more formal , and there are times when you will want to avoid one, two, or all three of those traits.
 

TheFoo

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links are fancier, fussier, and more formal , and there are times when you will want to avoid one, two, or all three of those traits.


They are also much more comfortable! At least, to me. You can wear much looser linked cuffs than barrel cuffs without them looking conspicuously loose. I like my cuff to sit gently on the brim of my hand rather than grip my wrist. I think it helps the sleeve drape better--or it does in my mind, which is just as good. Anyway, I've been exclusively wearing French cuffs (except for OCBDs) for the past nine years, and never felt it was a nuisance. That I like cuff links as an accessory is an added bonus.

I would never get them on an OCBD, though. For exactly the reasons you cite, and because I am willing to stomach a loose, gaping barrel cuff in that instance.
 
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dieworkwear

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why limit yourself to just one? branch out and enjoy the various styles and fabrics that are available to you. experience the joy of wearing a linked cuff on one day, and a two button cuff the next. the simple pleasure in having the option to select a button down collar or spread collar at your very whimsy! .


700
 

TheFoo

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You guys don't get it. :(

Let's put it another way: most non-solid, non-blue shirts are hideous. Really awful. And if not intrinsically ugly, they are likely to be very ugly in wear. You guys can toy around with them and enjoy the "experimentation." I will sit back and scowl--in my perfect blue shirt.
 

msulinski

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Okay, maybe I shouldn't have used the word "snag." Rather, they knock against things in an annoying fashion when I'm working at my desk.

clack clack clack clack clack

Annoying, yes?

Anyway, I'm with you on the gauntlet thing. I don't understand why the length would have to be any greater than on a barrel cuffed shirt, though I've heard it said many, many times. My own shirts and experience just happen to indicate it isn't so.

Also, I just noticed, depending on how you cut the gauntlet for a French cuff, a gauntlet button may not even be possible. The gauntlets on my Matuozzo shirts do not have any overlap. It's just a reinforced **** up the wrist of the sleeve, with bar tacking at the end point. Without an overlap, there is nothing to button together.
Hmm, I can definitely get behind a shorter placket. Then I wouldn't need the button either. I don't recall a time when I have ever rolled up the sleeves of a dress shirt. A casual shirt yes, but then I don't care about stray armhair or gauntlet buttons on those.
 

TheFoo

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OK. I now really don't care about whether shirts should or shouldn't have gauntlet buttons, but I will continue to get them except on my next NSM FC shirt, whenever that may be.
BTW, did I mention that I always insist that the gauntlet buttonhole be horizontal? I like it parallel to the cuff button (not for AK's made up reason).


May I suggest an experiment?

Try putting your shirt on with the gauntlet buttons already fastened. If you can comfortably slip your hands through, you've just proven that gauntlet buttons are completely unnecessary. You could have just ended the gauntlet at the point where the button is. Any gaping would be the same as you would have had if you kept the button and extended length. It would also go to show that you don't need particularly long gauntlets for French cuffs to work.

The only reason would be if you are in the habit of rolling up the sleeves on your French cuffed shirts. Even then, I bet you could do it with the button fastened (or a shorter gauntlet length). I can with mine.
 
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sugarbutch

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links are fancier, fussier, and more formal , and there are times when you will want to avoid one, two, or all three of those traits.


But what if I am Fancy, Fussy, and Formal? :)
 

sugarbutch

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The general congruence between Foo's thoughts in this thread and my own is worrisome. I'm sure I must be missing some disagreement somewhere. I must be. :confused:
 

Dewi

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Okay, maybe I shouldn't have used the word "snag." Rather, they knock against things in an annoying fashion when I'm working at my desk.

clack clack clack clack clack

Annoying, yes?


Anyway, I'm with you on the gauntlet thing. I don't understand why the length would have to be any greater than on a barrel cuffed shirt, though I've heard it said many, many times. My own shirts and experience just happen to indicate it isn't so.

Also, I just noticed, depending on how you cut the gauntlet for a French cuff, a gauntlet button may not even be possible. The gauntlets on my Matuozzo shirts do not have any overlap. It's just a reinforced **** up the wrist of the sleeve, with bar tacking at the end point. Without an overlap, there is nothing to button together.


That's precisely why I don't have many shirts that take links. The clack clack clack drives me nuts when I'm at my desk.
 

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