Custom fitted shirts - stylish gwebmaster advice?

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Avalanche

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Jun 27, 2006
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Heading into the spring tradeshow season, lost 30 lbs, and just wrapping up my divorce, which = 3 good reasons to freshen up the wardrobe.

I'm probably going to get measured at a tailor downtown & take some advice on styles that fit my bone structure (color), proportions, etc. but I haven't found a tailor in my town that gets a good review on their actual work product for men. none.

Hence I'm going to try an online shop (e.g. Modern Tailor, Blank Label, Indochino, etc) and get this done.

Looking for tips here because we're in the same industry (generally), and the articles I've read online seem aimed all over the place with what is appropriate. Like they'll hype french cuffs & over-the-top cufflinks, which doesn't really sound like a solid idea for meeting clients or pubs post-2009. Or maybe it is.

anyone have a particular online custom shop they like & ones they didn't? (why on either is a bonus so I learn something here)

any other random advice heading into it would be good for a lifetime off-the-rack guy. So far, I've heard:
-- 2-ply fabric is better for traveling (less wrinkles)
-- gauntlet button & horizontal buttonholes
-- go ahead & get the pearl buttons
-- get a 2 piece yoke so I can get alternations later on
-- 140 thread ct is good enough
 


I've gone the custom shirt route several times. FIT is my #1 requirement when wearing any type of clothing: jeans, suits, tshirts, whatever.

So a few years ago I went and got a few custom shirts made locally (never went online). I got a custom Oxford made all cotton and right aounr 140 thread count like you said. Tailor measured me up and down and in about 2 weeks I had a shirt made just for me.

I liked the shirt alot, and it fit extremely well.

Problem is every time I would reach into my closet I would grab a Hugo Boss or a Gitman. For some reason I just prefer wearing Hugo Boss (gitman, and a few others) and just prefer the cut, look, patterns, collar, and feel of those shirts.

As for cuff unless you wear a ton of suits (I don't) then don't wear French cuffs. Guys who wear french cuffs with jeans and not jackets are douchebags.

IMO if you have a brand of shirt that you put on and REALLY love the way you feel in it, the way you look in it and the way it makes you feel then just stick with it.

If you are the type of person that finds that all shirts billow, or are too tight, sleeves too short etc and are always having a problem then by all means go custom.

If you do go custom I would really opt for a good local French or Italian local tailor. If you don't have a good one locally then I guess online is the way to go.

From what I've heard Modern Tailor is the way to go. I've known several people who have used them in the past and were very happy with the quality of the shirts from there.
 
shawnhag said:
If you are the type of person that finds that all shirts billow,
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Exactly the problem w/ my build & height

shawnhag said:
If you do go custom I would really opt for a good local French or Italian local tailor.
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I'll run that one down a bit further. I had just asked around for a "good men's tailor for some fitted dress shirts". Maybe tossing in that may jog associates' memories for another option or give narrow the pool of local ones listed where I didn't have opinion one way or the other to judge them against.
 
Taylors...fitted t-shirts...what the fuck is going on here. I guess everyone here has monogrammed dress shirts with matching hankies?
 
Wearing shirts with cufflinks is generally reserved for when you want to look like a bad ass, and it shouldn't generally be your everyday shirt you are meeting clients in (they are more then likely wonder if you are ripping them off, out of touch or wondering who/why you are trying to impress). Again it depends on the industry you are in...

All that said, there are plenty of high end men's clothing stores that offer fitted shirts (you are going to have to pay in the range of $140+ per shit depending). But you are going to have a large selection to pick from. Personally even if you have to travel 100 miles to find a high end men's fashion store to buy custom fitted shirts, I would do it over going the online route. Shopping in person will allow you to see fabric styles and touch the fabric, something that is impossible to do online and they can help you match up your wardrobe.
 
efeezy said:
Taylors...fitted t-shirts...what the fuck is going on here. I guess everyone here has monogrammed dress shirts with matching hankies?
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If you are tall or skinny or an odd shape, it's more out of necessity and not wanting to wear shirts that look all wonky on you. Then trying to look like a douche-bag with monogrammed dress shirts.
 
I have a few custom suits, shirts, and even a pair of custom loafers (fuck yeah niggas), so here's some of my advice:

- Don't buy that shit online. If there are no good tailors in your town, just go on vacation to New York or LA and stop by a shop there. If you're buying custom online, you might as well just buy a more expensive OTR with a slim-fit because it'll be pretty much the same.

^ Also, this will eliminate the need for you to get all picky with the technical details, threadcount, etc. Good tailors aren't even going to make shirts in shitty quality fabrics so you won't need to worry about it.

- Go for french cuffs if you're wearing the shirts with suits, button-cuff if not.

- Try to choose patterns that match your existing stuff. You might think a swatch looks badass and then after you get it you realize you only have 1 pair of pants that matches it.

- Get those bitches slim. Slim-fitting stuff looks more upscale and expensive even if it isn't.

- Buy light-colored shirts. Don't be the phaggot wearing a black dress shirt with a navy suit as if you're getting ready to go to prom.

- Last, if you're mostly meeting people in the AM biz, I wouldn't bother going all out and blowing tons of cash because most of the time a polo is enough anyway. Honestly if I were meeting with a pub and he showed up in a pinstripe suit I'd lol.
 
I'm 6'4', 215lbs so I'm all for getting fitted for suits. It's difficult to find them off the rack that fit correctly. But getting fitted for t shirts just seems goofy. If that's what you gotta do to feel better about your clothes, then go for it I guess.
 
efeezy said:
I'm 6'4', 215lbs so I'm all for getting fitted for suits. It's difficult to find them off the rack that fit correctly. But getting fitted for t shirts just seems goofy. If that's what you gotta do to feel better about your clothes, then go for it I guess.
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I'm pretty sure he's talking about dress shirts, not t-shirts
 
Befriend some immigrants in your community. Their grandma will probably do really good sewing since its apart of their culture where their from. She'll also give you a good deal with extra attention since she doesn't have a business mindset.
 
Have you tried Charles Tyrwhitt shirts? Based out of the UK but have some stores in NYC and maybe a few other US cities. Their slim fit, non-irons are some of my favorites and fit me very well (6'1" / 180lbs).

Not to sound all peasant-like, but they have sales every now and then where you can get their shirts for $40. Since they are being shipped from the UK, they do take 1-2 weeks to get to you. Worth the wait though.
 
I see a lot of talk here about slim fit stuff.
Please, do not dress like you see on TV or male models with suits two sizes too small to accent a non-manly shape.
It really does look bad, IMHO.
 
REIMktg said:
I see a lot of talk here about slim fit stuff.
Please, do not dress like you see on TV or male models with suits two sizes too small to accent a non-manly shape.
It really does look bad, IMHO.
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This is true, but "slim fit" to a tailor just means nice and fitted. We're not talking about some shit you see on a Gucci runway.

Left: Regular (shitty) fit.
Right: Slim fit.

6819960_f520.jpg
 
o hai guyz said:
This is true, but "slim fit" to a tailor just means nice and fitted. We're not talking about some shit you see on a Gucci runway.

Left: Regular (shitty) fit.
Right: Slim fit.

6819960_f520.jpg
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The pic on the left is not a classic fit, it is a suit too large. Classic fit does not bunch up like that. Classic fit, actually fits.

I understand pulling the suit in slightly to give it a little "fit" but it is easy to cross the line into trendiness (too trendy is something you will be embarrassed of in the future).

The pic on the right is a bit tight to look good. Look how it bunches around the waist when buttoned, those buttons are pulling, just looks bad to me, like a reincarnated 70's look without the bold colors.
 
REIMktg said:
The pic on the left is not a classic fit, it is a suit too large. Classic fit does not bunch up like that. Classic fit, actually fits.

I understand pulling the suit in slightly to give it a little "fit" but it is easy to cross the line into trendiness (too trendy is something you will be embarrassed of in the future).

The pic on the right is a bit tight to look good. Look how it bunches around the waist when buttoned, those buttons are pulling, just looks bad to me, like a reincarnated 70's look without the bold colors.
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Yeah, that side-by-side is a little extreme, but what I saw yesterday as I was scanning some catalogs was that slim fit isn't "gucci runway". That's more labeled as "skinny fit" (like skinny jeans, but for shirts). Latters is def a leap towards too-trendy, and possibly towards vomiting in my mouth.

I never considered slim-fits before, but as I was looking at my wardrobe the past couple weeks, I grouped the few shirts my wife always was on me to wear or what I'd get chatted up by random women when wearing.

They were all inadvertently-purchased slim-fits or cool shirts that got washed a lot & shrunk up a bit. I never noticed the "fit" b/c I've never been a clothes guy in any form or fashion. It probably depends on the build of the guy as to whether they look good in that, but I'd think just about any shape besides overweight would probably look better with just a bit less fabric going on. Maybe slim-fit is a fad that will pass, but I think it's more likely skinny fit would be the one to fade in any forseeable future.

K, back to asking people if their mobile is slow.
 
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