The work-shirt Holy Grail

[WWHG]

Hello all

I am - despite my wearing suits on average 5-6 days per week - still looking for the holy grail work shirt. My requirements are pretty basic:

1. French cuffs
2. Semi-cutaway collars
3. Slim but not tight fitting cuts

Over the years I have toyed with the following slim fit shirts:

Harvey and Hudson: Far too loose fitting for me even in the slim fit range. The fabrics and stitching/finishing have become noticeably worse over the past three years or so in my opinion (loose threads and misfired stitches)- I had a cuff practically detach itself from the sleeve after a couple of wears.

Emmett: Great all round shirts in terms of fit and finish. However, I cannot help but feel that at £130 a pop for shirts without any significant thread lengths/counts or other distinguishing factors, I am being ripped off. Emmett provide very little information as to the quality of their shirts other than tedious stories about the company's formation.

Eton: At first I was impressed with the white signature twill shirts but I cannot shake the feeling that with the integrated collar stiffeners and anti-wrinkle finishes, I may as well be wearing a non-iron shirt from Next - hardly acceptable when paying £125. I also found the collars to be too thin and flimsy - possibly because of the integrated collar stiffeners.

As things stand I have settled for a mixed wardrobe of Emmett and Eton shirts which I am making do with.

My budget is around £100 - 140 per shirt. Given my thoughts above, can you kind people please recommend any other shirt makers that wold be suitable for work and available to order or purchase in the UK? I feel I need to shake things up somewhat.

Many thanks in advance.

WWHG.

 

[Marsay]

140 GBP is a lot. Dege & Skinner's full bespoke is only 190.

Try higher-end Italian RTW - Barba, Borrelli, Finamore etc. Or online MTM if you have the time and patience.

 

[lildog]

I'm often suspicious about so called "online MTM" but I've had great experiences with swedish brand Shirtonomy (https://shirtonomy.se), and the price is great. They ship to the EU so you'll have to be quick...

In that price range I also like Kamakura and Mazzarelli (the latter is a bit more expensive). I like the Italian stuff but if you want british there is Drake's and Gieves & Hawkes, which you could find at that price, atleast in Sweden where I live, but I have only ever tried one or two shirts from those brands.

 

[WWHG]

140 GBP is a lot. Dege & Skinner's full bespoke is only 190.

Try higher-end Italian RTW - Barba, Borrelli, Finamore etc. Or online MTM if you have the time and patience.

I'm often suspicious about so called "online MTM" but I've had great experiences with swedish brand Shirtonomy (https://shirtonomy.se), and the price is great. They ship to the EU so you'll have to be quick...

In that price range I also like Kamakura and Mazzarelli (the latter is a bit more expensive). I like the Italian stuff but if you want british there is Drake's and Gieves & Hawkes, which you could find at that price, atleast in Sweden where I live, but I have only ever tried one or two shirts from those brands.

Thank you very much for the speedy replies.

I have looked into both of your suggestions and whilst the Italian brands mentioned look fantastic, they are far too expensive with an average cost of around £200 in the UK.

Kamakura look fantastic, although most of their popular models are out of stock. I will keep any eye on them though.

Drake's and G&H are also very pricey - upwards of £150.

Please keep the suggestions coming!

 

[Marsay]

I have looked into both of your suggestions and whilst the Italian brands mentioned look fantastic, they are far too expensive with an average cost of around £200.

From what I hear, people on this forum regularly buy them for less.

 

[WWHG]

From what I hear, people on this forum regularly buy them for less.

I would welcome any suggestions as to how...

Perhaps it's because I live in the UK and so everything is 1000% more expensive!

 

[Viral]

cant go wrong with Brooks Brothers.......especially on sale

 

[Foxhound]

Get @luxire to make what you're after.

 

[Andy57]

Get @luxire to make what you're after.

Or Proper Cloth, or Deo Veritas, or any of the many other MTM shirt makers. Your solution is out there, but it does take a little bit of effort on your part.

 

[WWHG]

Thank you all.

I have looked into MTM shirts as recommended. Proper cloth seem to have a very user-friendly method of picking the right shirt and so I may sample a couple of shirts from them. A fine twill Thomas Mason fabric with MOP buttons, french cuffs and a semi-spread collar comes in at £135. With the addition of VAT, this will be £160 per shirt - pricey.

Aside from MTM, it would be useful to find an off the peg brand that I can turn to at short notice. If there are any recommendations here please do tell!

 

[mactire]

Are you based in London? Frank Foster is still going as far as I know and would be similar in pricing but has a minimum order number of 4 shirts I think.

There's also Stephan Haroutunian http://www.stephanshirts.co.uk/index.htm

 

[WWHG]

I am based in London.

I got a quote from FF and they want £200 p/s with a minimum order of 6 shirts first time round. Sadly, I cannot afford this.

 

[mactire]

Have a look at Stephan shirts sure they're £79 each.

 

[WWHG]

Thank you. I will check him out.

Any idea where I might photos of his work?

 

[radicaldog]

Drakes "essential" shirts are 125£. You can buy packs of three for 295. Having said that, I bought a pack of three white OCBDs (I've come to the conclusion I don't need bespoke for casual shirts) and I found the quality of the cloth slightly inferior to that of their mainline shirts.