Ike behar

[houston]

Anyone have experience/thoughts on Ike Behar shirts?

 

[drizzt3117]

Decent but not slim fitting, fabric is not poor quality but not up to high end English or Italian brands.

 

[rsp1]

I find their shirts to have WAY too much fabric. If you like them, Saks treats them like a house brand and puts them on sale very frequently.

 

[AlanC]

I have a couple of them, and like them quite well. They seem well made and have decent fabrics. No, they're not Barba, but I'd say probably a bit better than Brooks Brothers regular line shirts (I have some of those, too). They're a great value at the discount houses (Marshall's, TJMaxx, Filenes has them, too, I've heard). I wouldn't pay full price, but then again, I generally don't pay full price for anything. I think their ties are a very good value on sale.

I would say, a very good business shirt, not a great 'fashion' shirt, if that's what you're after.

 

[VMan]

You can regularily find Ike Behar shirts at places like Marshalls/TJ Maxx/Nordstrom Rack/Saks Off Fifth for around $30, and places like that tend to get large quantities of IB shirts in, so that many remain when it comes time for the markdowns to $22, $16, $11, etc.

Basically, at those prices, the shirts are a good deal. However, at their full retail of $120-140, you can do much better.

Some of the fabrics are nice, but like Drizzt3117 and RSP say, they aren't slim-fitting. I also think that most of the buttons are plastic.

Once again, the fabrics are decent, the shirts are available in a wide range of colors, as well as collar and cuff styles.

Bottom line: Good deal at $25, not at $120.

 

[AlanC]

Bottom line:  Good deal at $25, not at $120.

I agree completely.

If I was spending $125 on a shirt, it wouldn't be Behar. If I'm spending $25 it's an excellent choice.

 

[keys]

Saw quite a few at Nordstom Rack priced at under $40.

Nice fabrics & designs but they fit me like a sack. If *you* like the fit decent values can be found.

V-

 

[mark34]

They make some nice looking shirts but the body is way too big and I have found that the collars shrink very quickly.

 

[armscye]

I'll confirm that they're full cut-- $15 of darts will fix it, however. Collars low by British standards. Construction quality good-- separate stays, troca buttons, single needle throughout, generally respectable fabric quality.

A good RTW shirt, and given that they're available from many discounters, one of the better values out there today if you don't want to go the Asian mailorder web-custom route.

 

[d.h.]

However, at their full retail of $120-140, you can do much better.

Sorry to butt in, but if any of you guys had, say, $100-150 to spend on a shirt (the only other constraint being that you had to pay full retail), what would you get?

What's the best value for a new, decent, slimmer-fitting shirt?

 

[drizzt3117]

You may be able to pick up solid color Turnbull & Asser shirts at that price point, which is what I would recommend, or perhaps H&K, not sure about full retail prices on those though.

 

[AlanC]

I'd look at Carlo Franco. I quite like my new one. Very nice fabric, big thick buttons and sllim fitting. There is a limited selection of colors and fabrics, however. I'd probably also look at Ben Silver's clearance shirts (which isn't retail, of course). Also try Bromley's for Hilditch & Key in their Special Offers area. And also try Brooks Brothers website for their Golden Fleece dress shirts on clearance. I've not tried them but they were very highly endorsed on Ask Andy; not sure how slim fitting they might be, but probably not very.

 

[johnnynorman3]

For $125 - $150 you can get Polo Collection shirts. Great fabrics, great spread collar, great thick shell buttons, fairly slim fitting actually, especially through the shoulder/chest, which is nice.

 

[ROI]

It's no longer possible to talk about Ike Behar shirts as if every one is of the same parentage. Behar owns his original shop in Miami, but also factories in Canada, Hong Kong, and probably other places. His various lines (Shirts by Ike, Ike Behar New York, etc.) cover a range of price and quality. Recently, Behar has make two announcements about new lines at opposite ends of the scale. He'll be producing a luxury line priced upwards of $250, and he's signed a licensing agreement to resurrect the Hathaway Shirts name for department stores to sell in the $59 to $79 price range.