Charles Edwards Shirtmaker (Melbourne)

Aster shirts are very, very nice. I have a few of them myself. On par with, oh, say, higher end Zegna shirts or so.

Beware of Henry Bucks. There is a fantastic 'old world' image they put forward but their qualitiy has gone WAY downhill the past few years. Mediocre at best. It's all a bit of a facade really.

There are a few decent tailors in Melbourne, but shirtmakers are few and far between indeed.

Originally Posted by snailtrail83

Click to expand...

How is Hejda in comparison to Edwards? I'm prob going to choose between Hejda and Edwards as I feel Hemden is a bit overpriced ($375 for initial shirt...) and I haven't heard of Aster mentioned before on the forums.

I have about 8 Hejda shirts. Construction wise, they are excellent (French seams, tight stitches, pattern-matching everywhere). Fabric wise, there is some Alumo and SIC Tess available, so pretty good there as well. Fit wise, they are average-good. I don't know if I am difficult to fit. I get that impression because I had multiple fittings with my initial muslin shirt, in order to get the fit right, but in the end, it is still sub-optimal. I have very wide shoulders, and a small waist.

I bought my shirts at the old prices though ($245 each). I think the new price ($325+) is difficult to justify on a student budget. Don't bother ducking below this price point at Hejda, because the non-iron stuff is no good in my opinion. I recently had an order from Jantzen arrive (6 shirts), and fit wise, they are not far off my Hejda shirts (maybe 6/10 versus 7/10). The fabrics are not as nice, although still quite wearable, but the 6 Jantzen shirts cost me the equivalent of 1 Hejda shirt. To be honest, I prefer wearing my Jantzen's at the moment because I prefer the fabric styles. Hejda have very limited fabric selection (or at least did when I ordered my last couple in January). One benefit to Hejda is, she is very open to customisation of style. We co-designed a collar based on a few pictures I had, and she got it spot on.

My favourite Hejda from my collection. Pattern-matching can be appreciated on left shoulder.

I haven't ordered from Charles N in Sydney but I did ring him to enquire about his service.

He will make shirts on a M2M basis if you want him to but prefers to see you in person as it means you can see the fabrics in person and be measured. However, if you must - you can send him your best fitting shirt and he may try to copy it.

We really miss out a bit in Australia on the services and prices available overseas.

I find WWChan shirts (only ordered one so far but will place some more) to be reasonable at $120US including postage but they're not bespoke either. Of course, if you're in Hong Kong you can get measured and they'll keep your pattern on file for further orders.

Charles Nakhle's number is (+61) 02 96334696

How is Charles Nakhle's turnaround time? Does he require multiple fittings?

I ask b/c if I do go up to Sydney, it'll be a short trip. i.e. go up on a sunday (i hear he doesn't work on sundays) and come back late monday night. I could possibly make it two days though... i.e. early sat to late mon or sunday to late tuesday...

Obviously he won't be able to make a shirt in a day, so I'm also wondering if he posts the shirts to melbourne.

No he doesn't require multiple fittings. And yes, he does post to Melbourne.

Someone asked about Beckett and Rhodes at Myer. The women told me today they are entirely made by hand in Egypt out of Italian cloth.

Just happened to be strolling around the conservative business dress last night and had a look down that little alley way ... Charles Edwards is the name of the store. De Mille is the name of a little antique store next door to Charles Edwards

Originally Posted by meister

Click to expand...

Someone asked about Beckett and Rhodes at Myer. The women told me today they are entirely made by hand in Egypt out of Italian cloth.

I've got a Rhodes and Beckett shirt, and while it's a good OTR you can't compare it to a MTM shirt. Plus, from memory the last shirt I bought from them was $180. Not worth it in my opinion, rather spend a bit more and get a MTM shirt.

Once you know what your measurements are - it may be worthwhile ordering from one of the online tailors mentioned on the forums. The trouble is that the turnaround time is usually about one month.

The strong Aussie dollar is making overseas purchases ever so much more attractive

Although next time I'm in Sydney, I definitely plan to drop by Charles Nakhle's shop.

Originally Posted by meister

Click to expand...

Someone asked about Beckett and Rhodes at Myer. The women told me today they are entirely made by hand in Egypt out of Italian cloth.
There is no handwork on any of their shirts. They mean hand guided through a machine. They use shirting made in Turkey - probably from an Italian owned mill. Total cost of manufacture including fabric is $17 AUD according to one insider source.

Was THIS close to buying one or two on sale today, but thank you for confirming my worst fears Sator.

Gotta save up for the Nakhles now :]

Originally Posted by Sator

Click to expand...

(Re: Beckett and Rhodes) There is no handwork on any of their shirts. They mean hand guided through a machine. They use shirting made in Turkey - probably from an Italian owned mill. Total cost of manufacture including fabric is $17 AUD according to one insider source.

I've been tempted by shirts from places such as Herringbone, Rhodes and Beckett, MCM Studio and the like on a few occasions, but I always baulk at paying their prices.

I know that sometimes it's fun to lash out on a nice shirt, regardless of price, and I suppose that if I see a Herringbone or R&B shirt that I really, really like and I think that it is either unique or that it would be a lot of trouble to find something similar, then I might pay $180/$190 for such a shirt.

However, as noted by Sator, when someone in Myers tells you that their shirts are "handmade", they are almost certain to be talking absolute rubbish. The shirts seem nice enough, but when you contrast the construction of a Herringbone or R&B to a Borrelli, for example, you can see that there really is no comparison between the two. The Herringbone or R&B shirt is just a nice shirt, whereas the Borrelli is a thing of beauty.

This is why I tend to either buy my shirts from places like TM Lewin or Harvie and Hudson, or hang out for deals on Borrelli and similar shirtmakers on "Shop the Finest" or "Virtual Clothes Horse". You can get 4 TM Lewin shirts for GBP100 at present, or about $60 per shirt. In my opinion, their shirts are at least as good as Herringbone, R&B and the other Australian shirtshops.

I'm very interested in trying out some bespoke shirting. I'll have to bear Charles Nakhle in mind the next time I'm down in Sydney...

having thrifted a few TS lewins at Vinnies I would agree with you re their shirts. Borrelli now that is another level...

I called Charles Nakhle recently and asked him if he could make a shirt over the weekend. He replied he couldn't as he wouldn't have any machinists. I don't know what he meant by that, but does that mean he gets other people to help him make shirts? He did say if I came in early on a business day that he may be able to make a shirt in one day though...

Originally Posted by snailtrail83

Click to expand...

machinists

ma·chin·ist /məˈʃinɪst/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[muh-shee-nist] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
-noun
1.\ta person who operates machinery, esp. a skilled operator of machine tools.
2.\ta person who makes or repairs machines.
3.\tU.S. Navy. a warrant officer whose duty is to assist the engineering officer in the engine room.

...but in all seriousness my mother is a machinist and sits on a sewing machine and sews things together ... so by the sounds of things Charles has a small team of people who help make the shirts...