Where do you buy your shirts & ties for the office?

censuspro · 02-12-2011 5:46pm #1

Any recommendations for buying shirts and ties for the office. M&S shirts are not an option as the shirts are always too baggy.

Thanks?

Captain Havoc · 04-12-2011 1:30pm

Before I went back to wearing a uniform, I used to get them in TK Maxx, plain double cuffed shirt for a bit cheaper. Dunnes occasionaly do nice double cuffed shirts also.

parker kent · 04-12-2011 1:58pm

A mixture of places. Next and River Island have nice shirts. Then Tesco have good shirts if you want something cheaper. I don't really want to break the bank for work clothes. The above all look well and are relatively cheap.

desertcircus · 04-12-2011 9:36pm

If you're finding M&S shirts too baggy, it might be worth taking a look in Zara - their slim fit shirts are just about the only ones that fit me perfectly (the unfortunate side effect of an oversized neck).

Pepe LeFrits · 04-12-2011 10:13pm

I generally get slim fit shirts in TM Lewin. Ties wherever.

Though recently I bought 5 shirts there in the same sizes as a few I bought before and the cuff size was larger. Annoying as it makes the cuff fall further down my wrist

parker kent · 04-12-2011 10:29pm

I have one TM Lewin shirt and it is a good fit. A bit pricey though.

tomfoolery60 · 05-12-2011 12:27am

censuspro wrote: »

Any recommendations for buying shirts and ties for the office. M&S shirts are not an option as the shirts are always too baggy.

Thanks?

M&S's Limited Collection and Autograph ranges do Slim Fit shirts that are fitted and are very good value. TM Lewin are great value and nicely fitted also.

Massimo Dutti have a fantastic slim fit but are pricey (however far cheaper than the likes of Thomas Pink, etc.).

FewFew · 05-12-2011 1:53am

Used to get all the aul ties in M&S. Shirts too, but I found their sizes are a bit all over the place, hard to just go in and buy based on the neck size.

Lovely ties though. Quite pricey for some of them though.

Eric Cartman · 05-12-2011 3:43am

anyone know where to get shirts for the larger neck'd man, any shirt I can find to fit my neck in a big brand shop is always like a balloon around the waist, and im not exactley a slim guy either

OldGoat · 05-12-2011 10:27am

parker kent wrote: »

I have one TM Lewin shirt and it is a good fit. A bit pricey though.

Lewins do the occasional 4 shirts for €140 kinda deal. Go buy 8 and you are sorted for the year.

uberwolf · 05-12-2011 10:33am

OldGoat wrote: »

parker kent wrote: »

I have one TM Lewin shirt and it is a good fit. A bit pricey though.

Lewins do the occasional 4 shirts for €140 kinda deal. Go buy 8 and you are sorted for the year.

I bought some T.M. Lewin years ago and they were a nightmare to iron. Was I just unlucky?

I've bought some Dalvey recently and will get more. Good quality, and easy to iron!

Pepe LeFrits · 05-12-2011 10:50am

I haven't found them particularly difficult to iron, no more so than usual at least.

They do non-iron shirts too, although the one non-iron shirt I bought from there seems to be a different fit to the rest...

Pepe LeFrits · 05-12-2011 10:53am

Eric Cartman wrote: »

anyone know where to get shirts for the larger neck'd man, any shirt I can find to fit my neck in a big brand shop is always like a balloon around the waist, and im not exactley a slim guy either

What are your measurements? I would have thought slim fit shirts would do the job, failing that you could try getting shirts in places like Next or Topman where the target clientele is, how shall I say... extremely skinny.

Lots of websites offer custom sleeve lengths etc, although that'll set you back a few bob.

parker kent · 05-12-2011 11:36am

OldGoat wrote: »

Lewins do the occasional 4 shirts for €140 kinda deal. Go buy 8 and you are sorted for the year.

I consider that too much tbh. The shirts I get in Debenhams, Next, Tesco etc more than do the job for far less. It is just work after all.

Pepe LeFrits · 05-12-2011 11:40am

That used to be my view too but then I spend such a large percentage of my life in work I want to make sure I feel good!

Though I've just started in a new place, and we're not supposed to wear ties. Even wearing a suit jacket is seen as a bit formal.

parker kent · 05-12-2011 11:46am

Yeah I can't wear a tie in work either, so I do the shirt/jumper combination. I guess that I am only showing a collar is another reason I wouldn't go to town on shirts. But I honestly think Next etc are perfectly good shirts for work and when I used to wear a tie, I wore shirts from there. Tesco do really good jumpers too.

Pepe LeFrits · 05-12-2011 12:05pm

You must have a fancy Tesco. Mine barely has potatoes.

parker kent · 05-12-2011 12:08pm

Any Tesco Extra will have plenty of clothes. Not sure where the rest of them are located.

OldGoat · 05-12-2011 12:14pm

parker kent wrote: »

I consider that too much tbh. The shirts I get in Debenhams, Next, Tesco etc more than do the job for far less. It is just work after all.

Seldom see shirts in Next or Debs for under €35.00 tbh.

Unless the job I'm doing is actually going to be detremental to my clothes then I don't see the point in wearing downmarket shirts. I dress for ME. I don't get the "it's only work so I don't care how I look" thing. When the nature of my duties allows I'll wear a suit on the workshop floor, a necktie with a boiler suit, patient leather oxfords while driving a truck. If I wore a cheap tesco shirt I'd feel...wrong, if that makes any sense.

parker kent · 05-12-2011 9:10pm

OldGoat wrote: »

Unless the job I'm doing is actually going to be detremental to my clothes then I don't see the point in wearing downmarket shirts. I dress for ME. I don't get the "it's only work so I don't care how I look" thing.

I didn't say I don't care how I look, I said there is a limit to how much I'd spend as they are just for work. I have "good" clothes for different events like weddings, interviews etc. I actually get complimented on my clothes a fair bit in work and people are shocked to hear they have come from Tesco or somewhere similar. I have 1 TM Lewin shirt, 2 from Next, 2 from Debenhams and the rest come from "downmarket" shops.

I was wearing clothes from Tesco at the last Boards beers too, maybe somebody can tell me if I looked downmarket :pac:

Anyway all of this is personal choice. I find those shirts fit me and look well. Others may disagree. I'm just saying that at this moment in time I would rather save money for something else.

OldGoat · 05-12-2011 9:28pm

Sorry PK, didn't mean for that to sound like I was singling you out. It's a wide held attitude that I'd like to see the back of. It's one of the reasons why I love rush hour on le Metro in Paris and hate rush hour on the LUAS in Dublin.

Garzorico · 05-12-2011 9:36pm

M&S

ongarboy · 09-12-2011 5:42pm

possibly OT and apologies in advance, but why do many clothes shops only stock shirts all boxed, clipped and pinned so that you can only try them on when you go home and spend 5 minutes unravelling them? They can also be a curse to iron out the creases then! I know Zara invite you to unwrap them for trying on instore if you like. Some shops sell the shirts on hangers which is perfect for trying on there and then. Wish more would follow suit.

For the most part, I'm lucky in that 16.5 neck slimfit will always fit me perfectly but I've been unlucky occasionally with sleeves that are not long enough. BTW, Zara never lets me down for style and fit. Shirts are nearly always 39.99. Next can do cheaper, especially in the sales but the styles/looks are not always as good as Zara imo.

LightningBolt · 10-12-2011 3:33am

Personally buy all my shirts in either TM Lewins/Charles Tyrwhitt both online. You can get 4 shirts for £80/£90 if you've signed up for emails and use the promo codes (it's just a case of waiting for the shirts to be on offer at that price range - usually once every month). With the exchange rate it works out around 110 euro usually for me with delivery included. TM Lewins now ship free to their stores for you to collect so if near Dublin can order to the shop on Anne Street saving yourself a tenner or so. Will also get the odd shirt at Thomas Pink but they're quite expensive to be stocking your wardrobe with!

For people who find it hard to iron shirts it's all to do with the material if ironing the shirts when they're dry. Cotton and Poplin are ridiculously hard to iron nice and crisp once unless the shirt is slightly damp I find so I now avoid them where possible.

Best materials for a shirt are Herringbone and Twill, both have beautiful material that doesn't let t-shirts/vests show through underneath. Even if the shirts are fully dry you can iron them really well with a small bit of effort. On the downside the material used in them is much thicker meaning the shirts may not be the greatest to wear if it's really hot out.

10-12-2011 2:48pm

Herringboe and Twill are weaves rather than materials. Either could be woven in that way from cotton or poplin. I think that it's just the nature of the weave that means they crease less easily.

ladhrann · 10-12-2011 11:23pm

OldGoat wrote: »

Seldom see shirts in Next or Debs for under €35.00 tbh.

Unless the job I'm doing is actually going to be detremental to my clothes then I don't see the point in wearing downmarket shirts. I dress for ME. I don't get the "it's only work so I don't care how I look" thing. When the nature of my duties allows I'll wear a suit on the workshop floor, a necktie with a boiler suit, patient leather oxfords while driving a truck. If I wore a cheap tesco shirt I'd feel...wrong, if that makes any sense.

Amen to that brother. In my experience the best value for money is to buy the best you can afford. And very good value can be found.

For instance the Grosvenor Shirt Company in Strabane, Co. Tyrone will do a made-to-measure shirt for £70 in any fabric they have, and that's made in Ireland! They do off the peg shirst for £35!! A made to measure service in London is at least double theirs.

Also just to clear up some confusion above and below:
Herringbone, Twill, Poplin, Oxford, End-on-End, Pinpoint, Voile are all different types of weaves.

Also you're better off going for 100% cotton, and in a regular finish. Here's why 'Easy-iron' fabrics are soaked in several chemical baths to make them less likely to wrinkle. However this fatally weakens the life-span of the fibres and also its probably not the best idea to have such aggressive chemicals near your skin.

optimistic_ · 10-04-2012 2:06pm

In the last 5 or 6 months Lewin's have started a new line of fully fitted shirts. Great fit. Their old "slim fit" shirts were still like tents on me, and i'd be stocky enough.
It's the John Francomb fully fitted i think. Have bought my shirts off them for a few years now. Dalveys are a good one too.

listenup · 12-04-2012 10:16pm

censuspro wrote: »

Any recommendations for buying shirts and ties for the office. M&S shirts are not an option as the shirts are always too baggy.

Thanks?

dunnes all the way man

Joe10000 · 12-04-2012 10:20pm

Mostly TK Maxx for me. It may just be work but you will be wearing these shirts more often and for longer then any other shirt you own.

Now.

Bru79 · 02-05-2012 12:08am

I have been buying my shirts in Debenhams for a couple of years now, the quality of their shirts is great (which is important as i am a Sales rep) and they regularly have great sales. I stock up when they are on offer, they take one for all vouchers too which is handy for when i get incentives paid out with one for all.

An expensive shirt will wear out just like a middle of road shirt so I dont spend a huge amount on shirts as I go through them. I have a few expensive ones for meetings, weddings, interviews etc but have been known to wear a shirt from my regular rotation to a wedding, its all about the tie at a wedding anyway

bureau2009 · 02-05-2012 10:50am

Personally I buy all my shirts in .................Penneys!!

They're about 6 or 7 euro, fit very nicely and, to me, are completely satisfactory. Actually, virtually everything I wear is from Penneys and people often say to me that I am very well turned outand that my shirts are lovely! (I tend to dress more office like than casual).

Where do you buy your shirts & ties for the office?

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