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February 15, 2006
bespoke shirts
[Customers' shirt patterns.]
Like I said earlier, I was on the hunt for the best shirts made in England.
This search was brought about, of course, by readers of English Cut, and the desire of my clients to find a shirt to perfectly compliment the "soft structured" suits they were buying from me.
And as you read the other day, I reckon I've found one of the best shirtmakers out there: Nigel Sturges, of Rayner & Sturges.
[Nigel with his yardstick.]
English Cut shirts will work like this:
First of all, upon meeting myself for an appointment, I will show you a range of wonderful shirt fabrics, whose choices I have limited, under the good advice of Nigel Sturges, to the highest quality from SIC Tess in Italy, and Alumo in Switzerland.
Sadly, cotton of this quality is no longer made in England, at any price. But this fabric is made by two of the smallest and most exclusive mills in Europe, which in comparison to other cotton manufacturers, limit their production to about one tenth of commercial suppliers.
[Solid collar patterns- made of wood- which are used in the design of the customer's personal paper pattern.]
Unlike the Jermyn Street or Savile Row norm, there is no minimum order with English Cut. My customers can order only one shirt at a time, if they prefer.
I will then personally take the measurements myself, including discussing your requirements, showing you examples of all the collar and cuff styles, pocket details, and type of cut etc. All very similar to how you'd order a suit from me.
I then indiviudally discuss your requirements with Nigel Sturges at Rayner & Sturges, and once both parties are in accord, Nigel proceeds with the shirt's making.
[Nigel at his desk, customer patterns in the backdground.]
The first step is that their wonderful cutter, who has been in the business all his working life, will draft you an individual shirt pattern, which will be yours and yours alone, to be used and adjusted every time you order again, hopefully for many years to come.
[One of Nigel's shirtmakers.]
Once the pattern is made, the shirt goes into production. The core of craftsmen at Rayner & Sturges will then start to make your shirt, using a combination of hand cutting and individual machine work.
The linings that I have chosen to use in my collars and cuffs very much compliments the "soft" architecture of my suits, which will give the shirt a wonderful appearence of softness and depth, that will improve over time.
This has always been a bug-bear to me: how so many shirt manufacturers have an extremely hard, stretched look to their collars and cuffs, which can not only be uncomfortable, but even more concerning, ends up with an apparent "sameness" in both a £30 shirt and a £150 shirt.
[A butterfly gusset.]
Little details in the production make all the difference. The use of "single needle" work throughout the entire workings of the shirt, as opposed to the far more common (and cheaper) "double needle" mass-produced system. The beautiful "butterfly gusset" at the bottom of the sides. And of course, the highest grade mother-of-pearl buttons, instead of plastic or even the inferior troca pearl buttons.
[Mother of Pearl. Stunning.]
You can easily tell mother-of-pearl by its lovely iridescent colour, which when you compare to plastic, the latter looks dull and yellowy in comparison. This is especially apparent on a a classic white shirt.
Obviously the other details you'd expect will be there. Ten-piece collars, four-piece yokes, matching stripes and patterns, and as the shirt is designed to be worn only by yourself, any other details you may deem important.
In Jermyn Street shirtmaker's parlance, this process is called "Bespoke". However it varies slightly from the bespoke suits of Savile Row, as unlike the latter, there's no need for the customers to have a fitting halfway through the making.
Instead I "straight finish" your first shirt from the details I took at your initial appointment, then courier it to you. After that, I ask you to wear it and launder it a few times, to see how it wears on you. Then we discuss any further alterations that need to be made to your pattern, or to your style details.
Please do not be concerned that your first order can not be altered if it's slightly incorrect. We do have allowances built into the shirt, which we can use if necessary- lengthening sleeves etcetera.
The good news here is, after your first shirt has been deemed perfect for your needs and your happily wearing it, you will have now have an existing "bespoke" pattern available for any future shirts you may wish to order, with all your individuals details and adjustments already worked out. This will make ordering any subsequent shirts in the future extremely easy and efficient. No appointment with me necessary, just drop me an e-mail or phone me up, and I'll put Nigel on the case.
All in all, the time between placing an order and receiving your shirt via courier is about 28 days. The price per shirt is £150 [roughly $260 USD].
All technicalities aside, at the end of the day the most important thing to me and my customers is how these shirts feel. That is the proof of the pudding. This is the train of thought behind my bespoke suits, and now the selection of my shirtmaker.
If have any more questions, feel free to drop me an e-mail. Thank You.
Posted by tom at February 15, 2006 11:24 AM
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