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Best White Dress Shrts for $80 or Less?

mack11211

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J. Crew and even H&M have shirts at 70 USD in the first case and about 40 USD in the second.

I have shirts of other brands that retailed for much more but those two, and I am aware of the differences between a 40 USD shirt and a 400 USD shirt, but the low-cost basics are good for the price.

The greater surprise is H&M, because even as it chases every trend it keeps a conservatively styled selection of shirts & ties in the corner.
 

FlyingMonkey

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JCrew shirts are pretty shoddy in my experience. I have a couple and the main body of the shirt and the cut are okay, but the cuffs in particular are very lightweight and wrinkle easily.

CT are very well constructed for the price, and their more expensive Black Label shirts are excellent although they have a very limited set of designs and colours for these. I have a suspicion, based on the fact that one of the CT black label shirts I have has hexagonal gussets, that some at least may be made by T&A.
 

AndyMG

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+ 1 for Charles Tyrwhitt. I have several of their shirts. I don't think I've ever paid over £30 for one. For the money, I think they're a very good buy.
 

mack11211

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JCrew shirts are pretty shoddy in my experience. I have a couple and the main body of the shirt and the cut are okay, but the cuffs in particular are very lightweight and wrinkle easily.

CT are very well constructed for the price, and their more expensive Black Label shirts are excellent although they have a very limited set of designs and colours for these. I have a suspicion, based on the fact that one of the CT black label shirts I have has hexagonal gussets, that some at least may be made by T&A.


Lightweight interlinings are a deliberate style choice, not necessarily a cost choice. J Crew shirts and the whole line are styled more casually than the CT line.

CT interlinings are more stiff, yes, but they often shrink more than the shirting fabric and leave you with a neck that is a half or whole inch smaller. This is a cost choice. More expensive interlinings will only shrink a little, and don't leave you feeling strangled after a few shirt washings.

Strangely, this has never happened to me with H&M shirts, despite their low cost.

Re CT Black Label: Hexagonal gussets are cheap. Making shirts in England is expensive. CT Black label retails (before the neverending discounts) for $100-200 USD. T&A shirts are around $400 and made in England only. CT makes no mention of English manufacture on the Black Label pages, even though it would be something to tout if it were so. So T&A doing private-label work for CT is unlikely.
 
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msulinski

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JCrew shirts are pretty shoddy in my experience. I have a couple and the main body of the shirt and the cut are okay, but the cuffs in particular are very lightweight and wrinkle easily.

CT are very well constructed for the price, and their more expensive Black Label shirts are excellent although they have a very limited set of designs and colours for these. I have a suspicion, based on the fact that one of the CT black label shirts I have has hexagonal gussets, that some at least may be made by T&A.
I just picked up a few of the Black Label shirts yesterday for $55 each. I love the shirts, but have a hard time fitting these into a business formal (casual Fridays) setting. To me, they seem more like "going out"/weekend shirts. I guess I can wear them on Fridays without a jacket or tie.

These are the ones I got:
http://www.ctshirts.com/men's-shirt...fault||BK078PUR|||||1862,2167,||||||||&ppp=65
http://www.ctshirts.com/men's-shirt...fault||BK079BPR|||||1862,2167,||||||||&ppp=65
 
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taxgenius

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As a poor man, I like Tyrwhitt shirts a lot, but I believe T.M. Lewin offers a better value. If you can live with non fused collars (which are a pain *********** to iron and the only reason I usually get tyrwhitt's instead of lewin's) I think they are a better option.


It's actually a plus in my book.
 

dorolf07

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You can probably save more if you try MTM. But that's just a thought, there was a time when all I wore was Brooks Brothers and TM Lewin.
 

phxlawstudent

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For $89, you can get a nice white pinpoint from ProperCloth. Shipping not included though. I haven't tried any other sub $100 white fabrics from any other MTM makers so I cannot recommend anywhere else. That said, pinpoint is an inexpensive fabric, you should be able to find some in MTM for the price you want.

For trim fit OTR, check out J. Crew. Don't know what they have, but the sizing is nice. Can't necessarily recommend them for quality as it varies from product to product.
 

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