Jantzen fabric question

[scjayhawk]

First off, let me say how thrilled I am to have found this forum.  I am a small-town thirtysomething attorney who has the privilege of wearing a suit and tie each day.  I try to be very style conscious, but you wouldn't believe the grief I get for wearing a monogrammed dress shirt or a pocket square.  It is nice to find a group of like-minded people to discuss issues of style.

I have lurked around this forum for about a week reading your posts and have become intrigued by the overwhelming support of Jantzen dress shirts.  I recently purchased my first custom dress shirt, which was an unfortunate event because I can see now that there is no going back.  My plan, as budget allows, is to completely replace my OTR shirts.  I have been trying to sample some different sources in order to settle on one tailor.  I have one shirt from Hemrajani (an unexpectantly bright pink Oxford) and have ordered two more (a safer solid blue and solid white).  I am very lucky to have in my little town a very good tailor who sells Samuelson and Oxxford suits, Robert Talbott ties, Alden shoes, Lacoste polos, etc...  He made me a very nice blue Royal Oxford shirt, but it set me back about $150.  My only other options are a three hour trip to Ben Silver in Charleston or a Brooks Brothers outlet at the beach.  Because my options are so limited, Jantzen appears interesting.

While your customer support horror stories give me pause, I plan to place an order for one shirt (when he starts taking orders again).  I figure for $43 it's hard to go wrong.

It has taken considerable rambling to get to this question:  Does anyone have a suggestion for a fairly safe, conservative, fabric for my first Jantzen shirt order?  I'd like to avoid the bright pink Hemrajani fiasco.  I'm thinking I'll go with solid white for my first order.  It's tempting to go for a 120's or 140's, but I'm concerned the fabric might be too thin.  I was thinking maybe Dobby #33 or Dobby #47.  Of course, I could be persuaded by a nice solid blue or even a stripe (at some point I want a blue/white stripe with contrasting white collars and French cuffs).  The benefit of anyone's Jantzen fabric experience would be most appreciated.

 

[tdial]

My first Jantzen shirt was a solid white Sea Island cotton shirt. I have never worn it for a couple of reasons. First, the fabric was entirely too delicate and sheer. Second, the fit wasn't right on it. You'll undoubtedly not get the perfect fit on your first order, though my second order was perfect (and the template for each of my subsequent orders).

I'd say stick with a 110 or 120 fabric. I've stuck with the Italian ones, just because I don't know much about cotton sources. I have one 100 fabric from Jantzen, and found it pretty rough.

I haven't gone too crazy with the fabrics, since I use the shirts for everyday business casual wear. One thing that might be worthwhile to try, and I haven't, is to have Ricky put a different size button on the collar closure and perhaps on the cuff. I've only ordered shirts with the thick MOP buttons, and they are kind of hard to button at the top.

 

[chorse123]

Well a dishonest man interested in shorter waiting times would say the shirts are garbage. But a StyleForum member.... I used Stripe 93 for my trial shirt, which I received a few weeks ago. The cotton isn't fantastic; it feels sturdy but is not very soft. I'm really pleased with the pattern though and would strongly suggest ordering your trial shirt in a material you could wear casually. I can wear my shirt with jeans, without a jacket, which is good as the fit isn't perfect. I was wary of ending up in a situation such as Tdial 's. *EDIT* I should mention, this blue is not tarheal blue in person, but a little darker. I ordered a semi-spread collar, which is perfect for me. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to describe the shape of my face/head, other than normal. But then again, what else could it be?

I'd go with the thick MOPs as well. Â And welcome to the forum. By all means keep contributing. The only downside in the whole thing was that I had to follow up around four times. So have customers of Turnbull.

 

[FFW]

Two questions about Jantzen: How is the quality? and How can I get the fit right the first time? What was wrong with the firts shirt you ordered? To long, small, bigg, etc. Also some tips on the extra's. OkÃ

so the thick MOP buttons, other suggestions? I now wear Borrelli and RLPL shirts, how can you compare this to Jantzen?

 

[fkl118]

Here we go again...