Shirts on line

I am not sure if men buy as much clothes on line as women do, but for those of you who do, have you every got a shirt on line, I am talking about a very good quality shirt and not something trendy....which site. would you recommend.

Just curious what would you pay for a good quality shirt that you would be a wearing to work.

Otis Driftwood

Moved from tGC.

DMCSCH10

Try Duchamp London for the best quality and range of styles.
Thomas Pink is pretty reliable too.

dingbat

mariaalice wrote: »

I am not sure if men buy as much clothes on line as women do, but for those of you who do, have you every got a shirt on line, I am talking about a very good quality shirt and not something trendy....which site. would you recommend.

Just curious what would you pay for a good quality shirt that you would be a wearing to work.

I've got some notes written up somewhere on this topic that you'd find very useful. Will dig them out and post them here.

dingbat

Here's a selection of stores who have an online service.

The Good

TM Lewin (www.tmlewin.co.uk/)
One of the old Jermyn St shirtmakers, TM Lewin was commercialised a few years back pushing multi-buy deals throughout the year. The simple rule is that if one never pays full price and always gets some sort of offer, the quality/price ratio of Lewin is hard to beat (but not impossible, as will become clear). With a decent range of colours, patterns, collar styles and body shapes it's a great place to start. Add in their three month no-quibble money back guarantee and it's the very best place to begin online shirt shopping.

Charles Tyrwhitt (www.ctshirts.co.uk/)
Tyrwhitt pitch themselves a touch higher in the market than Lewin but it's the same model. Again, never pay full price; always go for the deals. Tyrwhitt have a similarly expansive range of colours and patterns but less in the way of collar variation. Almost all of their shirts can be ordered in either button or double cuffs, which is convenient.

The Ok

Hawes & Curtis (www.hawesandcurtis.com/)
Generally a notch below Lewin and Tyrwhitt in all aspects but the price usually reflects it.

The Not So Good

Savile Row Company (www.savilerowco.com/)
Unfortunately the quality of the shirting produced by this company is probably as far from Savile Row that one could get. They are cheap and service is good, but it's cheap for a reason. Don't bother.

The Interesting but Overpriced

Hewitt & May (www.hewittandmay.co.uk/)
A relative newcomer, Hewitt & May specialise in offering a new selection of shirts each season in fairly limited quantities and always in striking colours and patterns. If one can find a good deal it's worth trying but in general it's about 25%-30% overpriced when compared to the competition.

The Well Priced but Inconsistent

Thin Red Line (www.thinredline.com/)
Experience with TRL, a small company, has so far been mixed with quality varying from stunning (at the price) to very poor. Worth a try during sale time.

The Good but (slightly) Overpriced

WH Taylor (formerly Coles) (www.whtshirtmakers.com/)
Coles made proper shirts with all the little details: Mother of Pearl buttons, the "extra" horizonal buttonhole, excellent stitching. In recent times they have been taken over and rebranded but the quality would seem to be similar. Offering a mere two collar styles, including their uniquely short take on the spread collar, WH Taylor is on the more expensive side of things but the quality is mostly reflected.

The Good but Hugely Overpriced

Thomas Pink (http://www.thomaspink.com/)
Pink sell nice shirts. Pink sell expensive shirts. The quality is good and they last fairly well but when the price is included in the equation they just don't stack up, certainly not when compared to...

The Excellent and Well-Priced

Harvie & Hudson (http://www.harvieandhudson.com/)
Their shops in Knightsbridge and Jermyn Street are quite wonderfully old fashioned, but their website is quite the undiscovered gem. Mother of Pearl buttons, excellent collars and cuffs, a wonderful handle to the material, there's nothing not to like. At sale time it's possible to purchase three shirts for around €100 or so which is an absolute bargain for garments of that quality. Highly, highly recommended. Note: some time ago I received an order of shirts that were not quite up to the same standards as that which were previously enjoyed. Upon questioning, Richard Harvie himself contacted me to arrange for the shirts to be returned for a refund if requested. He said that there had been a difference in that run of shirts but it was a one-off.

When price, quality and the money back guarantee are considered the best starting point for an online shirt shopping novice should be TM Lewin. After that, the next little step up price-wise to Harvie & Hudson gets a lot more shirt in return.