Shirts

[bitchstewie]

A few years back I had some shirts from Harvie and Hudson. I could do with a few more and wondered if anyone knows if their current off the shelf stuff is still the same quality as the ones I have have held up very well?

[johnwilliams77]

Found the slaters 'premium' shirts to be quite good.

[randlemarcus]

I raided the one off Park Lane that was closing down, and the shirts for £15 are excellent. Still prefer the herringbone weave ones though.

[bitchstewie]

Thanks all, I'll have a look at Slaters.

Frustrating how many of these things all end up being made in China anyway.

[johnwilliams77]

bhstewie said:

Thanks all, I'll have a look at Slaters.

Frustrating how many of these things all end up being made in China anyway.

I bought a couple of those a month ago and have worn them most weeks and so they've had 4-6 washes each, and seem to be fine.
I think they're 40 quid each which seemed a little much for work shirts, but they feel of decent quality.

[bitchstewie]

Tbh I've taken to raiding the Jaeger outlet recently as they do all sorts for £20-25 which seem good quality in spite of the China thing above.

If they last a year for £20 with one wearing a week that's fine.

[rich85uk]

I bought some Harvie and Hudson shirts last year, slightly better quality than Charles Tyrwhitt and the fit is better

[Moonhawk]

I have always found Charles Tyrwitt shirts to be excellent.

[shopper150]

Moonhawk said:

I have always found Charles Tyrwitt shirts to be excellent.

I think they used to be. More recently I find it totally unpredicatble, with most shirts being of poor quality.

[bomb]

Saville Row Shirt Co do good offers, and good quality for the price. Plenty of choice.

[craig1912]

shopper150 said:

I think they used to be. More recently I find it totally unpredicatble, with most shirts being of poor quality.

Agree- just bought 4 last week and the quality is excellent but my last ones (approx 6 mths ago) were poor.

[shopper150]

craig1912 said:

Agree- just bought 4 last week and the quality is excellent but my last ones (approx 6 mths ago) were poor.

Let's see how they fair after a few washes!

[T5SOR]

T.M Lewin are good. 5 for £100.

M&S Sartorial are ok, but 2 for £60 (IIRC). I have had a lot of worn elbows with them though!

[bitchstewie]

Any suggestions on who is currently the "best" step up from the 4 for £90 stuff?

I don't mind paying £50-60 each if they're worth £50-60 vs. just having the right label.

Also who does what kind of fit? Just been battling down Moss Eisley TK Maxx as I saw mention of them doing Simon Carter stuff cheap, most of the stuff is like a fking tent for a supposed "regular fit".

[megapixels83]

Having been suited and booted for work since 2001 I have had a wide range of shirts. Cheapest I have bought was £5 from Primark (which actually felt better and out lasted a £40 M & S shirt) and the most expensive circa £200 when in London.

For me the best quality shirt I have had and the most compliments, if that matters, are from Hawes and Curtis. Recently stocked up when in the UK with their 4 for £90 and a free tie deal. The 15/33 slim fit fits me like a glove.

My T M Lewin shirts bought 15 months ago still look fresh as well.

[13m]

megapixels83 said:

Having been suited and booted for work since 2001 I have had a wide range of shirts. Cheapest I have bought was £5 from Primark (which actually felt better and out lasted a £40 M & S shirt) and the most expensive circa £200 when in London.

For me the best quality shirt I have had and the most compliments, if that matters, are from Hawes and Curtis. Recently stocked up when in the UK with their 4 for £90 and a free tie deal. The 15/33 slim fit fits me like a glove.

My T M Lewin shirts bought 15 months ago still look fresh as well.

I used to wear Lewin shirts when I needed to dress up for work. Many looked like I'd ironed them whilst wearing them using a warm spoon. However a chum gave me a tip recently: He buys the non-iron ones and then irons them. Reckons they look fresh all day then.

[bitchstewie]

Does anyone actually wear a shirt without ironing it?

I don't mean that in some kind of snobby way, simply that every "non iron" shirt I have looks like utter st if I don't iron it.

[megapixels83]

I get my shirts cleaned and pressed at the dry cleaners but I have never purchased a non iron shirt that didn't need ironing or pressing.

[putonghua73]

megapixels83 said:

For me the best quality shirt I have had and the most compliments, if that matters, are from Hawes and Curtis. Recently stocked up when in the UK with their 4 for £90 and a free tie deal. The 15/33 slim fit fits me like a glove.

My T M Lewin shirts bought 15 months ago still look fresh as well.

I still wear dress shirts, but in a business casual environment i.e. sports jacket (sans tie), chinos, etc. I have only tried the usual [English] OTR ones and my max price point has been around £60-75:

Update: it has been a couple of years since I last bought a dress shirt so take my comments below under advisement (ref: Craig1912's comment on CT shirts)

1. Harvie & Hudson (£60-£75) - shirt construction, fabric and buttons are good value but fit is too generous
2. Charles Tyrwhitt (£20-£25) - below Harvie & Hudson, but easily best fit of all OTR shirts. My go-to on a value basis
3. Stephan Haroutunian (£40) - OTR same level as Charles Tyrwhitt, with slightly better fabric. Fit is still too generous
4. TM Lewin (£20-25)- much of muchness with Charles Tyrwhitt but I'd rank TM Lewin worse for both shirts and suits
5. Hawes & Curtis (£20-£25) - worst quality of all the usual suspects around this price point both for shirts and suits
6. Thomas Pink (£75+ cannot remember but overpaid in Selfridges. Doh!) - strictly for Recruitment Consultants, with quality to match

In true SF fashion, one always needs to tailor OTR buys.

I haven't tried Hilditch & Key, Turnbull & Asser, or any of the MTM and bespoke shirt suppliers. I did log into my old SF account to go through my saved threads and dug up this: http://www.styleforum.net/t/110284/hilditch-key-sh...

Re-reading the H&K thread on SF: Wow! Anecdotal evidence is that H&K have done a Churches [shoes] i.e. very much trading on reputation (quality has nosed-dived and prices have risen).

Edited by putonghua73 on Sunday 28th February 13:13

[craig1912]

bhstewie said:

Any suggestions on who is currently the "best" step up from the 4 for £90 stuff?

I don't mind paying £50-60 each if they're worth £50-60 vs. just having the right label.

Also who does what kind of fit? Just been battling down Moss Eisley TK Maxx as I saw mention of them doing Simon Carter stuff cheap, most of the stuff is like a fking tent for a supposed "regular fit".

Bought two from here recently
https://www.duchamplondon.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQiA0sq2B...

Too good for everyday wear and fit well - paid £40 each in the sale