Getting Started: Business Casual Shirts.

[SuperThreadio]

Hello, all.
I've just awakened to the "look classy, feel classy" mentality, buying and professionally tailoring a shirt to my size. The problem is that I know absolutely nothing about buying business casual shirts. I started off thinking I could do an iTailor or Tailor4Less job to get me started, but, respectfully, I found the reviews a little too mixed. So, I decided to buy a trusted brand and get a professional, in-person tailor job.

I wanted to look into shirt brands, but I don't know what names are the most recommended. So, if you guys are willing to get me started, what are some good $70-100 brands that you all swear by? If you could include the fabric(s) used, that'd be great! Thank you!

 

[Simone1]

I have seen many recommend MyTailor or Brook Brothers (They have some good sales right?) In that price range.

Link: http://www.brooksbrothers.com/Non-I...?dwvar_224Q_Color=ECRU&contentpos=1&cgid=0203

 

[davidazio]

Where are you based, as this may affect what you have access to? These days I mostly buy my shirts from SuitSupply, although the quality varies enormously from shirt to shirt, and increasingly Kamakura Shirts, which I am loving.

KAMAKURA SHIRTS is the Japanese alternative to Brooks Brothers. In my opinion better quality and more modern (i.e. slim) cuts, although perhaps not as much choice depending on your size.

Link here: http://www.kamakurashirts.net/shop/default.aspx

SUITSUPPLY errs a bit on the trendy side, and sometimes the fabrics are not great, but they have LOTS of choice and free shipping and returns.

Link here: http://us.suitsupply.com/en_US/shirts

If you are in the US you also want to take a look at PROPER CLOTH, as they seem to be the best MTM shirtmaker out there. Their lower end shirts are on the higher end of your budget, they have a ton of choice and customization options and really functional and well curated website.

Link here: https://propercloth.com

Hope this helps.

 

[SuperThreadio]

Thank you both for these excellent replies! I like the pricepoint on Brooks Brothers, but ProperCloth has a really great selection of colors.

Just to make sure I've got it all right in my head, even though the sleeves are a bit long, I can go to a professional tailor and get those and other fit-related details ironed out?

Thanks again!

 

[Astaroth]

What are your issues with RTW shirts?

Your budget is very small and both quality & consistency tends to be one of the first things to be cut to try and reduce prices. Assuming RTW are a fairly good fit then you'd probably be better getting shirts adjusted than made to order.

 

[SuperThreadio]

Hi, Astaroth. I guess I have a few questions: What exactly is RTW, and what is a reasonable budget for a "starter" shirt of good quality? Thanks!

 

[Astaroth]

Hi, Astaroth. I guess I have a few questions: What exactly is RTW, and what is a reasonable budget for a "starter" shirt of good quality? Thanks!

RTW = Ready To Wear (aka Off The Rail OTR) - ie you walk into the shop, buy it and walk out with it in your hand in comparison to Made To Measure or Bespoke where its made for you after you've bought it.

In the UK there is a bit of a gap in the market, in my opinion, and it causes problems for those wanting to move up the quality line but not wanting to triple your spending. There are plenty of OK companies selling at £20-£25 ($26-$35) which the majority of people in "business" will be using. There are then more companies selling notably better shirts at the £80-£100 ($105-$135) mark. There isnt really much that sits between the two price points though which is where your budget is and most of what is there generally feels like a £25 shirt thats been overpriced to £60. There are the introductory MTM shirts in this price but from the ones I've seen their quality/consistency is below that of the £25 shirts and so I'd question their value unless you have a very non-standard body shape.

 

[SuperThreadio]

Thank you for the explanations, Astaroth. After looking at the recommended websites above, I could tell that I needed to bump up the budget a bit more to find something that I liked. For the money, I definitely want to make sure I can get exactly what I'm after. (Great quality, perfect fit.)

Is there anything I should know about the tailoring process? (Limitations, issues?) I'm mostly concerned with torso, sleeve length, and possibly neck adjustments.

Thanks again for the help, everyone!

 

[Astaroth]

Is there anything I should know about the tailoring process? (Limitations, issues?) I'm mostly concerned with torso, sleeve length, and possibly neck adjustments.

I've only ever done very limited shirt alterations as not long after getting into sartorial fashion I went for bespoke shirts as I didnt have faith in what I'd seen from the online players and most the MTM companies here have very limited adjustments which I didnt feel would be sufficient to make enough of an improvement for me.

Find the company that'll do your alterations and speak to them about costs and what works/doesnt. With all tailoring you can get to the point where its cheaper to buy bespoke than buy RTW and have a host of alterations. I'd guess the collar and possibly the cuffs are the most problematic to alter. Changing sleave lengths and putting in darts to thin an areas of the shirt are all run of the mill but there is a limit to how much thinner you can realistically use darts for given they realistically would only be put at the back.

Once you're armed with that knowledge you know a) the total cost and b) what key elements to ensure that fit when buying.

 

[SuperThreadio]

I want to thank everyone for their help. I just ordered a shirt from Proper Cloth using their Smart Size system. I'm nervous, but also excited to see how it turns out.