Custom-made shirts?

Well, I went and ordered the shirts. It was pretty cool. They give you a beer when you come in while you're waiting, which is a nice touch. The woman who was my consultant handed me some scrap books - kind of like shopping for flooring or furniture or wallpaper. There were dozens upon dozens of different patterns to choose from, which was really nice compared to off-the-rack when you're at the store's mercy.

It was nice because she didn't try to upsell me at all. I said I was going to start with the $125 shirts, and that was fine with her. I picked out five of them - they had a buy four, get the fifth free sale going on. Then she measured me. Shoulders. Waist. Thighs (I'm guessing so it'll stay tucked in?). Arm length. Bicep circumference (Not my proudest moment of the visit!) Then she took a few photos of me, and that was that.

I also got to choose my collar (medium spread so I can wear it with or without a tie), cuffs (one-button), front pleat (no), monogram (no). No extra charge on any of the little touches.

Took about a half hour, and the shirts will be done in 4-6 weeks.

Allegedly it is the top custom clothing store in the city, so I can't wait. I'll let you guys know what I think when they arrive.

 

I can get a pack of three black T-shirts at Wal-Mart for about $10. A shirts are a little less!

 

Glad you didn't get the monogram. That would have destroyed all your goodwill around here.

 

I cannot see spending $150 for a single shirt. I can barely see spending $150 for a suit. I can't see spending more than $50 for a pair of shoes either.

If I were to become a big exec at my company, then maybe I could see spending the $150 for a shirt. But for my purposes, that's wholly unnecessary.

 

Will vouch for this.

I have six Polo shirts (the traditional golf/tennis shirt variety) in my rotation, and four are more than five years old. One is 10 years old. All still look -- and feel -- practically new, and they're the softest shirts I have. Given my daily work uniform is a button-down shirt and tie (except for a couple of weeks in August/September and most of April/May), I don't get as much use out of them as I used to, so they tend to last a bit longer. The only ones that I tend to have trouble with the colors fading are the navy blue ones, but the others have all outlasted virtually every other shirt in my rotation. It's the one thing I tend to splurge on in my wardrobe. Because my daily work uniform is a shirt and tie during most of the year and I tend to get chalkdust on my clothes, I tend to go for the off-the-rack shirts that I know probably will last only 3-4 years before they start looking worn.

 

It was actually $125

 

I hard-tuck but every time I sit down, when I get up, it's messed up. And since my job involves lots of sitting down, getting up, walking around, standing around, and then sitting down again, I have to either live with a looser tuck or keep fixing it.

Brooks Brothers is solid, I agree some of their shirts tend to swim, but most American shirts do. European brands absolutely, unquestionably, fit tighter/better, but boy do you pay for it.

As for pants, I really do well with Brooks Brothers pants. Nordstrom brand pants are cheap if you get them on sale (recently got a few for 40 bucks, half-off) and they have some wrinkle free fabrics, but they still have a high-quality appearance. Their shirts are pretty good, too.

 

Like that $25 makes allllll the difference. :

 

I think a big problem is many men don't realize their correct size, many just buy S, M, L, XL not realizing that correct neck size and sleeve length will go a long way toward getting a proper fit.

Anyone from VA check out ledbury.com ? Look like good shirts, but have not seen a review for the life of me.

 

What is a sensible amount to spend on a work wardrobe?

5 percent of salary?

More?

Less?

 

Adds a bit of color and flair to a drab suit.

As far as shirts the Polo buttondowns come from the S/M/XL bin. Casual but still pretty dressy.