I used to wear bigger watches. Chunky, sporty things with chronometer dials and a leather strap. So when my pattern was first cut at Turnbull & Asser the cuffs were set quite wide – though slightly wider on the left than the right, of course.
That has since changed. My taste has become more reserved in many ways, of which that is just one (a faded love of Etro patterns is another). I now wear one, much slimmer watch. So my cuffs do not need to be so wide; all shirts made since the switch have been ⅝ of an inch smaller. But there were still four shirts in the wardrobe with the old width.
It was a pleasant surprise to be told, therefore, that T&A would add an extra button on the cuff so I could fasten them a little tighter. For free, while I waited. Perhaps this shouldn’t have been a surprise. After all, any good bespoke tailor will press your suit reasonably regularly and deal with small aspects of wear and tear. But such is the lack of service anywhere else in retail, that these things often catch one unawares.
And there was another suprise two days later. I have a lovely Sea Island cotton shirt from Emma Willis, made for me a couple of years ago in gratitude for a piece in the Financial Times. But while the cloth is gorgeous, the arms have always been half an inch too short. Which, when you want a half inch of cuff showing at the end of your jacket sleeve, might as well be half a yard.
Laziness, and an assumption that nothing could probably be done, left the problem unaddressed and the shirt neglected in the back of the wardrobe. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover that most bespoke shirts leave ½ to ¾ of an inch of inlay within the (double) cuff. Surprise here was probably justified – after all, one of the frustrations of a shirt as compared to a suit is that it can never be let out, only taken in. (You can add panels down the sides, but they look awful.) The shirt has been sent away and will be back in mid-September, when every factory in England and Europe wakes up again after the summer.
A most satisfying week.
Simon, a million dollar question for you.
Which Shirt Maker do you recommend? or is again a complicated thing like the suits? (i.e soft tailoring vs hard, etc)
Best
Kayhan
Kayhan,
I have used Turnbull & Asser for the past two years and nearly all my shirts come from them. I have been very satisfied with them. The only alternative I would recommend is Kiton, which are certainly made better but are far more expensive.
Simon
Thanks a lot for this.Just another question, Do any of these bespoke shirt makers offer a design of a specific collar for you or they limit you to those existing ones which you can choose from?
Thanks again
Kayhan
By and large they will have some that you have to pick from. However, there is a good range and small adjustments (such as a slightly longer point on a button-down) are often possible.
Simon
Thanks again, so for the sake of argument, if I want to have collar shape like those of Karl Lagerfeld or something unusual( those super pointy long ones like those often wear by the members of the Mafia family in the movies), T&A will be willing to design it for me or should I opt for somewhere else?
It’s worth checking with T&A, but I would recommend going somewhere else.
Hey Simon,
I was wondering if your Turnbull and Asser shirts were single cuff or not? I thought for a while after a few posts that they were but is this not the case?
Half and half. I have button-downs with single cuffs, worn more casually or without a tie, and spread collars with double cuffs, for a tie.
Simon
Ah ok thanks, I know the single cuff is currently used almost exclusively for white tie. Do you consider the style more or less formal and is it simply a matter of preference that your tie shirts are double cuffed?
Outside of white tie, a double cuff is generally considered more formal than a single. I think it’s fairly obvious why from the look.
To your knowledge, can collars be altered? Given how they are made, it seems that it would require that it be completely taken apart and the Neck band and surrounding fabric of the shirt would have to be changed. I have a few shirts that I love that were from when before a lost a bit of weight in my neck (which was regained elsewhere)
Yes, collars cannot be altered easily. Best to replace the collar, but that again is neither easy nor cheap.
To answer Kayhan’s question about Karl Lagerfeld’s special order of shirts, they are made to measure in Paris by Hilditch & Key from his own pattern which, of course, can be used only by him. Another famous Parisian costumer of Hilditch & Key’s Paris boutique: President Sarkozy. Which is more surprising: as the French President, one would expect him to go to Charvet.