Choice Construction - Shirt Edition

Knowing what makes a well constructed shirt is paramount. Below, I aim to explain what choices you may face when deciding to purchase a shirt. This article will weigh the pros and cons of differing methods.

As I had mentioned in a "Quality Construction - Shirt Edition", I believe the mitered yolk is the correct construction method for a shirt. This stems from the fact that the only criticism is that it may be useless. If it is not, however, it allows the fabric to be cut and sewn in the natural direction of the shoulders. The alternative would be a straight, single, piece of fabric for the yolk. At best, this would provide equal drape and feel as the mitered yolk and cost a very small percentage less to make. If, however, the stigma that there is a difference is true, than the down side to a single piece yolk is that it provides an inferior drape and feel. Long story short, Mitered Yolk - Pros: Possible better drape/feel, Cons: Realistically, none. Straight/Single Piece Yolk - Pros: A small fraction easier to make, Cons: Could be inferior. Translation, you gain nothing by going with the straight/single piece and possibly lose something in trade. The trade off is minimal enough though, that I saw fit to place it in this section about construction options.

The next topic about construction options would be stitching. Previously, I said that the best stitch is a running (straight/old fashioned) stitch. I have yet to hear a real argument for anything better. The real alternative here is hand sewn. Hand sewn shirts are a rarity these days. Turnbull and Asser, in my opinion the best shitmakers in England, don't even bother with it anymore. Some custom companies, as well as some Italians (Kiton, Borrelli, I believe) still do it. Time consuming, to say the least, and much more expensive, there is a benefit, mobility. Mobility here does not mean while being worn, but rather while ironing. If you have ever tried to iron a regular shirt it always seems to pucker slightly at the seams. Looser, hand sewn shirts do not do this. As far as machine sewn shirts are concerned, there used to be an English company Coles Shirtmaker, now W.H. Taylor, that made its shirts with 20 stitches per inch. That is an overly technical detail about how tightly, and securely, their shirts were sewn together. According to them, the average in the industry is 15/in. I would imagine hand sewn is closer to 10/in. So you loose the durability of more stitches, but gain the ease of ironing, and more importantly, the providence of displaying beautiful craftsmanship.

A more trivial option is shirt length. Most high end shirts are very long. Ideally, you wouldn't be wearing a dress shirt untucked, henceforth, the excess length keeps it tucked in better. I know a few guys that will use their dress shirts on the weekend too, most commonly untucked. This is really your choice, I have "generous" length on mine.

Gauntlet. This is the section of the shirt at the forearm with the button. I have a tendency to get mine made without the button, resulting in a shorter opening. This my have been poorly thought out on my part. With the button, you tend to get a longer opening, thereby making it easier to undo all buttons and roll up the sleeves. So, if you roll up your sleeves, go with the button, otherwise you will eventually rip your shirts. Trust me.

Monograms are a dicey choice. Some people thing it looks regal, some think it's just ostentatious. Personally, I believe I have found a nice medium. Hide it. I get my monogram on either a shirt tail or inside of my collar (just above the shirt label). It's still there, but only my tailor, my lady, and now all of you, know that I have one.

The final choice should be collars and cuffs. I group these together because they are strictly a matter of choice. There are a few things that deserve to be pointed out. With regards to French/Double cuffed shirts, you need them to wear cufflinks, and you need cufflinks to wear them (there is a style called convertible cuffs, a hybrid, but its a bit indecisive for my taste). Opinion: like monograms some see French/Double cuffs as "flashy", to circumvent this I always try to use modest cufflinks, nothing with gems, nothing too big, nothing that says BAM! Also, there is a great article (click here) about what collar style goes with what type of face. It is helpful. If you feel overwhelmed, I have found that most people will look just fine with a medium spread collar, but do take the article into consideration.

Most importantly, the choice is yours. Don't F* up. Lest,you could be left with a shirt that costs hundreds of dollars and doesn't suit your needs. But, no pressure.