May
Emmett of London - The Mathematician, Slim Fit Linen Shirt
Are those polka dots? No. They’re numbers! I’ve never bought a $200 shirt before, but God help me. Give me strength.
TREAT YO SELF.
Feb
FYI: if theprevious poster lives in the New York area, worth hitting up Daffy's right about now. Almost all locations have a large number of shirts from Sait (HT to Yellow Baggers), apparently the company manufacturing shirting for Mastai Ferretti, Truzzi, Piombo, and Saks's private label. 99& are $27 and slim fit. Those with long arms seem out of luck since the Italian way of doing the X/Y measurement appears to be Neck Size/Chest Size...but that, plus darting, makes for great fits.
If we could all just live in NYC…
Feb
I'm looking for some dress shirts in the basic colors (blue, white). I want to stock up on slim fitting shirts of overall good quality on a student budget. Got any suggestions where I can get some decent quality shirts? Price range is around <$50. Should I just thrift and tailor them when I find a decent shirt?
Thrift plus tailor is always a cheap option.
However, I’d just wait until Brooks Brothers has a sale on dress shirts, which usually brings prices down to $50 each.
If you happen to fit into the sizing at Lands’ End Canvas, that’s an option, too.
metcarfre said:
Why do people always recommend LEC > Lands End ‘vanilla’, when regular LE shirts at least have neck and sleeve length rather than S-M-L? Am I missing something? Admittedly their not-non-iron selection is limited…
A couple of reasons, the main one being though that the fit is hardly “slim fitting”, even in their “tailored fit” line. That’s my point-of-view, anyway.
Feb
After trying and failing to find ANY off the rack shirts that fit me acceptably (I'm 5'8" and 135 lbs), I signed up for an appointment with MyTailor next time they're in town. Since I expect the first shirt to be not quite perfect, I'd like to spend as little as possible. However, I'm next to clueless when it comes to fabrics, and their website gives little detail. Can you recommend which of their cheaper fabrics I could use for my first basic white dress shirt? Thanks!
They’ll have fabric books on hand. You can discuss price with them on the spot. Just be up front about your budget and they’ll point you toward what will work.
Truth be told though, they’ve been at this a long time and know how to make a good shirt on the get-go. You’ll likely be happy with it, so I wouldn’t go too cheap, as you’re going to be putting in a decent amount anyhow and waiting six weeks.
Feb
For the anon asking about cutaway collar shirts for under $100, I have to recommend Hugh & Crye from my hometown of DC. No, I don't work for them. But I kinda wish I did.
Yeah, there’s a bunch of dress shirt companies out there that could easily be recommended. I just think that if you’re going to spend that amount of money and have some patience, then you might as well get exactly what you want in your exact measurements for the same price.
Feb
can you please give me a link to the mysterious "brooks brothers shirt exchange"
I have zero clue what the heck you’re talking about.
graemewa said: I think they’re trying to say BBESF
In that case, it means “Brooks Brothers Extra Slim Fit”, which can be found on their site under the dress shirts categories.
Feb
Hey man - cutaway collar dress shirt under $100. Possible? Where? Thank you!
Online MTM. Get a shirt that fits you in the style you want. Lots of options out there. Start googling around. I prefer MyTailor.com.
Jan
So I love BB's ESF non-iron shirts. Only dilemma now is they've introduced a BrooksCool shirt with a "cornwall" spread collar. I've always gone with the regular cotton with the ainsley collar. From their stock photo, the cornwall collar also looks to be a little slimmer/smaller. Any thoughts on the collar, and material as well? Trying to figure out my next purchase. Thanks.
Eh, I’ve seen the “Cornwall” collar up close and didn’t find it appealing. The collar points are too short for my tastes and I prefer a standard “Ainsley” spread collar.
No opinion on my end about the “BrooksCool” fabric. I tend to only stick with “must-iron” shirting. However, there’s an AAAC thread that discusses “BrooksCool”:
I did a little checking, because I was curious about what makes the BC shirts different from the regular non-iron shirts or the classic oxfords.
1) They’re made from a slightly lighter weight cloth than the classic, must-iron oxfords.
2) The main difference is in an update to the non-iron treatment process. Previously, the non-iron shirts have been fairly bad at absorbing moisture (sweat), which has made them quite a bit warmer to wear than an untreated cotton shirt. Brooks (or their Malaysian vendor) has treated these BrooksCool shirts with a softener that counteracts the hydrophobic properties of the non-iron finish and makes them much better at absorbing and evaporating moisture. Hence, a shirt that is still non-iron, but which breathes better than the old versions.
Jan
Hey Kyoshi, Do you mess with button-down shirts when wearing a suit? Cheers!
Generally speaking, no. When I wear a suit, it’s usually because the situation requires a certain amount of formality (business, something at a church, etc.) and I go with a standard spread collar (blue for the daytime and business, white for formal and evening).
Now, that’s mainly just for my worsted wool suits. When it comes to casual and seasonal fabrics, I think that perhaps allows you to go with a button-down collar. I could see someone wearing a bowtie with a seersucker suit and button-down collar. I could see someone wearing a OCBD with a donegal tweed suit and a v-neck sweater layered under the jacket.
Jan
Let's talk shirt sleeve length. Are there rules of thumb for assessing the sleeve length of an off-the-rack shirt, or for showing your tailor exactly how long you want them when getting alterations done? And in terms of cuff button placement, how wide should the cuff openings be relative to your wrist? FWIW, I don't wear a watch.
I think your best bet is to look at the size of the shirt on the tag, ie: 15/35 meaning a 35” sleeve. Some shirts have extra fabric to account for several warm water washings and cycles in the dryer that might shrink it.
As for where you want your dress shirt to terminate on the cuff, I’d say after your wrist ends, but before the base knuckle on your thumb and just covering a bit of your palm’s bottom.
As for how wide you want your cuff, it’s probably more about personal preference. Some people prefer a tighter cuff on the wrist. I have about two fingers’ height above my wrist.
Jan
Eton denim cutaway shirt — On sale at Nordstrom for $126.90, for those of you who are into this sort of thing.
Jan
What are your suggestions for slim fitting shirts? I've tried BB extra slim shirt. However, my chest is too large (I'm somewhat muscular with an 8 inch drop) for them and they pull in the chest area in my size (small). When I size up to medium, they are too big in the shoulders and the sleeves are too long. Any ideas or should I just go MTM? Also, is it easy/worth it for a tailor to make a traditional fit shirt into a slim fit shirt? I have some nice shirts that are too big. Thanks!
First off, I’d avoid doing the whole S/M/L sizing thing and start buying shirts meant to fit your exact neck and sleeve size. Brooks Brothers does have OCBDs that come in exact sizes.
If you don’t know your sleeve and neck sizes (or any of your sizes and measurements), then spend $2 and buy a tailor’s tape and have someone help you take measurements of your neck, sleeve, chest, etc. This will help you find out what shirts will fit you when you consult their sizing charts.
Secondly, you could try places like Howard Yount, Epaulet, Kent Wang, Sid Mashburn, WHARF and Gitman Vintage.
If you have a shirt that fits you decently, then you can reproduce it by taking measurements off that shirt and using online MTM services. Or you can use a place like MyTailor and meet with a tailor in-person to take your sizes. I’d give MTM a try since it’s about the same as retail in many cases and you get exactly what you want. Downside it turnaround time can be up to 8 weeks.
Jan
any recommendations for slim white cutaway collar shirts? $60-100, thanks!
Go MTM and get exactly what you want and fits you perfectly. I recommend MyTailor.com.
Jan
A little sneak peak of some near finished product! #sofuckingpumped (Taken with instagram)
Awesome! Glad to see the product’s almost done and super stoked for Daniel.
Jan
Can't recall if you spoke about this long ago but did Brooks Brothers re-size their ESF shirts? I bought a bunch when they first came out then went in to get re-sized last week and found them much slimmer than the ones I own. Either way, they're fantastic.
Not sure. They may have in their most-recent batch. Their OCBDs seem the same though (they’re still made in the United States). The rest of their shirts are made overseas, so the specs might be slightly different. Regardless, they have a great return policy at Brooks Brothers.
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