"Paul Smith" reversible French cuffs on shirts

[josepidal]

Has anyone here tried to do a Paul Smith knockoff reversible French cuff shirt by having a tailor put a secondary fabric (usually a paisley-type, floral or loud thin striped design) on the inner collar and on the underside of the French cuffs? The appeal is to have a stiff, formal dress shirt that can turn casual with a visual twist once one takes off the tie and unbottons that top button, and reverse the French cuffs for good measure. I thought it was interesting but doesn't appeal to me, but then it would be mostly invisible anyway and is a detail that can remain invisible except on rare occasions when one feels whimsical. The secondary design underneath the collar will likely appear subtle no matter how loud the design.

My only concern is that there would necessarily be a huge contrast in fabric quality, especially if one goes beyond good 120's, as I doubt Kabbaz's favorite merchants produce a wide range of floral 180's. For the inner collar, I figure I'd rather have the feel of the shirt's fabric than an inferior fabric selected for the zany design (or maybe one doesn't feel the fabric on one's neck anyway). For the cuffs, I doubt it'd be a concern on the rare occasions one would want to flip them. However, I figure the reversed cuffs just aren't as interesting without the collar.

Has anyone tried this minority preference? I'd probably try it at least once to have a shirt that goes with my SF Paul Smith pocket square.

 

[grimslade]

Jose!!!! Welcome back, buddy! We missed you, man. Where have you been?

 

[teddieriley]

Originally Posted by grimslade

Jose!!!! Welcome back, buddy! We missed you, man. Where have you been?

Yah man! I was wondering the other day where the hell you've been. Glad to see you back. Now let me go back and read your post. I'm sure I won't have an answer though...




...actually, one of my coworkers has dress shirts made up that way from the Hong Kong tailor he frequents. Not sure if he's done it with french cuffs, but I've seen paisleys in the collar lining and the under side of his barrel cuffs. Looks good. Usually it's a white/off-white inner lining with dark-colored (black?) paisleys.

 

[Holdfast]

Welcome back jose!

Never tried doing this, but I guess it would be relatively straighforward to do. It's a bit of whimsy, so I wouldn't be too concerned about the difference in fabric quality. Experiment with a cheaper shirt first though!

 

[Seph]

Originally Posted by josepidal

Has anyone here tried to do a Paul Smith knockoff reversible French cuff shirt by having a tailor put a secondary fabric (usually a paisley-type, floral or loud thin striped design) on the inner collar and on the underside of the French cuffs? The appeal is to have a stiff, formal dress shirt that can turn casual with a visual twist once one takes off the tie and unbottons that top button, and reverse the French cuffs for good measure. I thought it was interesting but doesn't appeal to me, but then it would be mostly invisible anyway and is a detail that can remain invisible except on rare occasions when one feels whimsical. The secondary design underneath the collar will likely appear subtle no matter how loud the design. My only concern is that there would necessarily be a huge contrast in fabric quality, especially if one goes beyond good 120's, as I doubt Kabbaz's favorite merchants produce a wide range of floral 180's. For the inner collar, I figure I'd rather have the feel of the shirt's fabric than an inferior fabric selected for the zany design (or maybe one doesn't feel the fabric on one's neck anyway). For the cuffs, I doubt it'd be a concern on the rare occasions one would want to flip them. However, I figure the reversed cuffs just aren't as interesting without the collar. Has anyone tried this minority preference? I'd probably try it at least once to have a shirt that goes with my SF Paul Smith pocket square.
Clearly this is an old thread, but I thought this was a good idea. At Proper Cloth, this design option is standard - pick a fabric for the shirts primary fabric, and pick another fabric for the inside of the collar, inside the cuffs, or behind the fold on a french cuff. We have a pretty realistic digital model that let's you see how different fabrics will look next to each other. Currently, we only have other shirt fabrics - different stripes and patterns, but we're working on sourcing some louder, more exciting designs.

 

[josepidal]

Heh, I went on strike because Aportnoy never posted a photo of the care package I sent him for his shoe collection.

The one thing I'm curious about is whether an inferior fabric to line the inner collar will result in a lousier feel against your neck when wearing a tie.

 

[teddieriley]

Originally Posted by josepidal

Heh, I went on strike because Aportnoy never posted a photo of the care package I sent him for his shoe collection.

The one thing I'm curious about is whether an inferior fabric to line the inner collar will result in a lousier feel against your neck when wearing a tie.

I would imagine if you're not using something like burlap, you'll be okay. Your neck won't know the difference and it won't be asking your chest if the feel of the shirt fabric is more luxurious. I wouldn't opt for a stiffer fabric though, that's for sure.

 

[kzm40]

A friend used to do this.. with liberty prints, onto white mens shirts, she always looked good.