Archibald London: true craftsmanship, no middlemen, Official Vendor Thread

[CWV]

I start by stating that I don’t know much about shirts.
As someone who uses shirts dally and with a decent Income, I actually thought on buying your shirts at naked, but I still coul not agree to the price considering the prices of the other agents in the market. Another factor was that I only found barren cuffs, and I like rounded or 45º cut cuffs, and when paying high prices I want something that I love.
Another thing that I have noticed is that your site is lacking pictures of the products in real life or at least being worn by someone (that is the case in sunglasses, sf-01, and shirts at least, the items I have checked out), which is negstive if you are buying in a web esclusive store where you can not see the products for yourself, so it’s good to at least see them on other people, see how they fit, how they style, it’s dimensions, etc.
I hope this is useful

Pd: today I should be receiving my sunglasses!

 

[ArchibaldRoh]

I do want to say to everyone replying thank you so much. Will be replying to each post separately but just wanted everyone to know I am watching this like a hawk!

 

[cavdb]

Shirts for me are probably the most finicky thing to buy. Off the rack I have to be extremely lucky for something to fit me the way I like. I am actually a 15 neck but the body is more a 14.5. So it’s either the neck is too small and the body fits or the neck fits and the body is too baggy. I’ve had too much bad experience ordering shirts online that don’t fit. Unless I can try it, I most likely won’t consider it. Also I agree with others that including the name of the cotton mill will make a difference

 

[ArchibaldRoh]

I'll give my feedback for what it's worth. When looking for a shirt make there are 2 things I'm looking for: the ability to input my measurements and have them matched with tight margins; transparency to the fabric brand. Not that I know every shirting mill out there but there are some established names, and if a cloth is among the best I expect the mill it came from would have an established brand. If a shirtmaker doesn't tell me where the cloth came from I assume it has something to hide, or is targeting a very different type of consumer. From your page it looks like Gallia is not a mill but buys cloths from local mills. The cloth may be great, but I don't have much to go by. Is the 200s line from DJA? probably not Riva. So it's questions like that. Now I know from shoes, scarves, etc that Archibald only sources the best so that helps, but I would still prefer to know the fabric brand and be able to choose from a range of cloths within them.

It never occurred to me to care where the cloth was turned into a shirt as long as they hit the measurements, assuming this part is mostly commoditized, but I would definitely be open to learning the value of differentiation here.

For sizing, I suspect in 10 years there will be no sizes in luxury wear. EVERYTHING will be MTM, and many things will be MTO if not full bespoke. There are already a handful of online shirtmakers that will cut fabric based on your measurements and let you choose from a range of fabrics based on the brand. Execution is spot on.

hope this helps. I will always give Archibald the benefit of the doubt based on my experiences, but with shirts transparency goes in a couple of different dimensions.

making my way through all your wonderful feedback.

so we have the ability to input measurements if the custom option is chosen. The issue is we don't have a video as of yet of the master tailor at Gallia

You are right re the textile, we really should place a greater emphasis on this. It is mostly from Albini owned mills, so Thomas Mason etc and some Riva... which has a good story I guess we put a lesser emphasis on this because everyone is buying from the same place.

With regards to the differentiation in terms of making, I think that is where it really stands out and the piece that needs to be communicated. I personally have been quite underwhelmed by the d2c players doing shirts. The stitch, attention to detail and something about the construction make it so much better but our challenge is to get the first one in hand and prove that rather than relying on copy and content. However, that is the big piece that needs to be communicated.

 

[dhoff10]

making my way through all your wonderful feedback.

so we have the ability to input measurements if the custom option is chosen. The issue is we don't have a video as of yet of the master tailor at Gallia

You are right re the textile, we really should place a greater emphasis on this. It is mostly from Albini owned mills, so Thomas Mason etc and some Riva... which has a good story I guess we put a lesser emphasis on this because everyone is buying from the same place.

With regards to the differentiation in terms of making, I think that is where it really stands out and the piece that needs to be communicated. I personally have been quite underwhelmed by the d2c players doing shirts. The stitch, attention to detail and something about the construction make it so much better but our challenge is to get the first one in hand and prove that rather than relying on copy and content. However, that is the big piece that needs to be communicated.

I missed the ability to put in exact measurements - wow you already have that. Small suggestions to include that in the drop down with Fit options.

 

[ArchibaldRoh]

I'm pretty much only using MTM to get the fit correct and my standard go-to look, which is a slim fit, one-piece collar (I use maker's default parameters because I like them), 1 button rounded cuff.
The other advantage is fabric selection. I usually opt for more casual in texture, softer fabrics. That means oxfords in boring colours or stripes in boring colour on white, preferably in oxford or twill weave. Think light blue, lighter blue, slightly less light blue, white, some blue stripes on white, sometimes green check. What follows - poplin from your website probably would not storm my wardrobe and hold it hostage, if it's plain poplin Then again, I don't need to wear myself formally; tailored, casual style is still more than enough in my daily life.
I don't care that much for exact fabric maker's name, as long as I know (or believe, basing on trust for shop's descriptions and/or swatches) it's from established mill (doesn't have to be DJA/Riva/insert your fav. premium mill, my most worn shirt has fabric from Soktas which is performing outstandingly) and the actual fabric will be pleasant to wear, easy to iron and won't fall apart from couple of cold washes in the machine. Would not order fabric "from a mill in China".

So, tl;dr my perfect shirt has some very specific styling options, soft and comfy casual fabric from at least reasonably good source and is ordered to fit my exact measurements.

I missed the ability to put in exact measurements - wow you already have that. Small suggestions to include that in the drop down with Fit options.

Yes but we really need the guidance video that shows how to take measurements for our process.

And you are absolutely right.

 

[ArchibaldRoh]

I'm pretty much only using MTM to get the fit correct and my standard go-to look, which is a slim fit, one-piece collar (I use maker's default parameters because I like them), 1 button rounded cuff.
The other advantage is fabric selection. I usually opt for more casual in texture, softer fabrics. That means oxfords in boring colours or stripes in boring colour on white, preferably in oxford or twill weave. Think light blue, lighter blue, slightly less light blue, white, some blue stripes on white, sometimes green check. What follows - poplin from your website probably would not storm my wardrobe and hold it hostage, if it's plain poplin Then again, I don't need to wear myself formally; tailored, casual style is still more than enough in my daily life.
I don't care that much for exact fabric maker's name, as long as I know (or believe, basing on trust for shop's descriptions and/or swatches) it's from established mill (doesn't have to be DJA/Riva/insert your fav. premium mill, my most worn shirt has fabric from Soktas which is performing outstandingly) and the actual fabric will be pleasant to wear, easy to iron and won't fall apart from couple of cold washes in the machine. Would not order fabric "from a mill in China".

So, tl;dr my perfect shirt has some very specific styling options, soft and comfy casual fabric from at least reasonably good source and is ordered to fit my exact measurements.

Thank you for this. I am going to be writing an effective note of the changes we will be making to the shopping experience after I am done answering all the feedback and hopefully we create something that changes the game for everyone here.

 

[ArchibaldRoh]

i'm no shirt expert... so i latch on to SF hype. if i hear a lot of chatter about a maker or brand i will try one out to see how it fits with me, then take it from there. same with most things i suppose.

interesting... well we know we have the product, we just need to make the experience and content work and bring it to a boil!

 

[ArchibaldRoh]

I'm always looking for new shirting options as I have difficulty fitting OTR. Personally I've been most deterred by the styling. There are limited fabric options and the collars leave a lot to be desired. Aside from fit, the most important aspect of a dress shirt IMO is the collar. I find the collars too small and unflattering.

Would love to try a shirt as I've been impressed with the other products I've tried, but IMO the styling needs work.

So the funny thing with the shirts is that everything is actually mto including the RTW ones, we don't take stock very often. So the options we have up are some self-styled ones and perhaps this is where we went wrong.

Really what should be offered is something where you choose collar-style, button-style, cuff style, fit and fabric for each particular fabric offering.... That is where my head is moving towards.

 

[ArchibaldRoh]

I agree. Maybe I'm too traditional, but I love having French cuffs and have not had good experiences with convertible ones, and this is also an option that is not offered.

Since there is an option to make it custom and input your measurements, maybe some MTO option such as the one designed for the sneakers can be added, where the fabric, collar and cuff type are chosen, together with the fit and size with your own measurements.

I don't know, I do believe they must be high quality but that alone is not enough, even more so if I wouldn't know your products. Knowing where the fabrics come from would help, true, but the styling is what kills it for me. Unlike a pair of shoes, a shirt to me is something more expendable and maybe I'm too poor, but if I'm gonna spend around 200€ on a shirt which may be going to the trash if I spill some wine on it I'd at least want it to have the style I look for. Just my 2 cents

makes total sense.

 

[ArchibaldRoh]

Here’s my 2 (Euro)cents.

Due to my extraterrestrial long arms, I am quite limited in OTR shirts. Nowadays, I use a couple of MTM makers that do a decent job and offer a more or less wide array of styling options and fabrics.

I’ve looked at the Archibald shirt offer and was initially interested in giving it a try, but the following things stopped me from pulling the trigger:
- price: I agree that at this price point, one has to be fairly sure that the shirt is going to fit well. No amount of beautiful handwork can substitute a good fit. Many MTM makers offer some sort of a fit guarantee, either by remaking the shirt if the fit isn’t right or providing cheaper trial options. In any case, MTM is usually a process that requires a few iterations to get it right.
- styling: I like a collar with a decent roll and longer collar points (e.g. Propercloth’s Roma Spread or Shirtonomy’s High Spread) and that does not seem to be the case with the Archibald offer. Even the button-down is more of a sporty button-down. More information on the collars (measurements) would be welcome, too.
- fabric: not much information about the origin (mill), feel, weight etc.
- construction: not much information on that either, regarding shoulders, collar fused or not, lining used, gussets, yoke etc.

All in all, I feel that at this price point, I would need more information and more styling options (particularly collar-wise) to take the plunge.

This is great, we will attend to each of these it seems to be in-line with what everyone is saying as well and acts as a great summary.

Thanks for taking the time.

 

[ArchibaldRoh]

At the end there is always one thing I missing when I ordering a shirt. I want to choose the sleeve length, in combination with body fit and collar size I would be quite happy and dont need a mtm in most cases. That would be a missing piece for quality shirts. If you have an eye on sleeve length there is only CT Shirts and beside that nothing.

Best

Michael

So we provide that option during the checkout, however I agree it is nowhere near as clear as it should be.

 

[clee1982]

hope you guys do well, but I found I go up and down in suit/jacket ($$$ wise, i.e. I'm happy brioni/tom ford/sartorio customer as well as suitsupply, spier and mackay) vs in shoes once I go up I always found the lower to be "disappointing" in some way, i.e. for whatever reason I'm a lot more flexible with suits/jacket than I'm with shoes

$2k is a premium category for sure, need to have some differentiation in style to break out, otherwise a well made garment is just a well made garment

 

[ArchibaldRoh]

hope you guys do well, but I found I go up and down in suit/jacket ($$$ wise, i.e. I'm happy brioni/tom ford/sartorio customer as well as suitsupply, spier and mackay) vs in shoes once I go up I always found the lower to be "disappointing" in some way, i.e. for whatever reason I'm a lot more flexible with suits/jacket than I'm with shoes

$2k is a premium category for sure, need to have some differentiation in style to break out, otherwise a well made garment is just a well made garment

ah this is for the d'avenza initiative. Yes I haven't tried the cut on myself but saw it on the model when they were shooting (and felt it) it's pretty great

 

[clee1982]

ah this is for the d'avenza initiative. Yes I haven't tried the cut on myself but saw it on the model when they were shooting (and felt it) it's pretty great

what's the "stylistic" choice? what I want to say if it's just another generic soft jacket (even if well made), it's hard to break out, if it's more structured, than what's so "special" about it