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Inbetween shirt sizes, fastest path to success?

ecuguru

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I'm a 19" neck with a 36" waist. I can't find anyone that makes a quality 19" neck slim fit shirt.

The BB slim fits are great for my body at 18.5", but my brain loses blood with the tight neck.
The 19" BB regular fit are great on my neck, but I can go swimming in the waist line and look like I'm wearing a parachute shirt.

I'm trying to figure out if I should just go Bespoke, or if I'm better off buying a 19" neck and getting it tailored, or an 18.5" slim fit and getting the neck extended (if that's even possible, I doubt it).

Any advice on buying something that exists and getting it tailored, vs getting something custom from the get-go is appreciated. I'm not sure which is the more efficient way to go.

Thanks!
 

AmericanGent

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http://www.styleforum.net/t/343492/inbetween-shirt-sizes-fastest-path-to-success

Think of it like this:

How much does a BB shirt cost? $90-$120?
How much does it cost to have a tailor make it fit? $25
What is the quality of the fabric on this $120ish shirt?

For a few bucks more you can get Talbott or Nordstrom MTM. I have a number of Norstrom MTM shirts and they are really good.

Ascot Chang is another possibility, but I have no experience with them.

If you find a shirt OTR that you just love- go for the tailoring. If not I'd go MTM at least. I'm currently moving to bespoke but my location allows my access to shirt makers. Not sure about what to do in the US.

Good luck!
 

GentryLtd

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Dec 3, 2012
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I'm a 19" neck with a 36" waist. I can't find anyone that makes a quality 19" neck slim fit shirt.

The BB slim fits are great for my body at 18.5", but my brain loses blood with the tight neck.
The 19" BB regular fit are great on my neck, but I can go swimming in the waist line and look like I'm wearing a parachute shirt.

I'm trying to figure out if I should just go Bespoke, or if I'm better off buying a 19" neck and getting it tailored, or an 18.5" slim fit and getting the neck extended (if that's even possible, I doubt it).

Any advice on buying something that exists and getting it tailored, vs getting something custom from the get-go is appreciated. I'm not sure which is the more efficient way to go.

Thanks!
Just one thing we do at the small menswear shop I work at -- we use a shirt maker that you may be familiar with for custom shirts (MTM, not bespoke) named Skip Gambert. SG makes their shirts right here in the US (new jersey, specifically) and they have a turnaround time of about 2 weeks. Even better, shirts start at $135 and go up from there. If that sounds like a good option, maybe call a few local clothiers to see if they use Gambert. Hope that helps!
 

AmericanGent

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I have 4 Talbott shirts and I agree- they are great shirts. But I'll add that they were getting up in the upper $200 range and once you get there, bespoke is must a short trip.
 

justinkapur

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I have 4 Talbott shirts and I agree- they are great shirts. But I'll add that they were getting up in the upper $200 range and once you get there, bespoke is must a short trip.


I started with 3, and a few more orders and I have approximately 12. I also have 4 more on the way, best shirts ever IMO
 

AmericanGent

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Sorry- I meant to say "bespoke is just a short trip". Damned iPad.
My Talbott shirts are workhorses. They look great and wear well, take a beating and continue to look sharp. I've had some for going on 8 years now and they look brand new. (worn about once every 3-4 weeks)
The last shirt I got was from the Carmel line and it was something like $250-275 if I remember correctly. I have gone bespoke because I can get shirts for about that price here in Napoli. But that is no knock on Talbott shirts. They don't get much love here on SF for some reason.
 

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