Mid-range shirts

B

Bumpkin

Messages
11
Evening all,

I'm looking to buy 3 or 4 new mid-range work shirts. Nothing too fancy, but I'm looking for:-

1. Easy-iron
2. Plenty of length on the tail
3. Something that isn't wafer thin
4. Classic fit

I suppose by mid-range, I am looking towards the T.M. Lewin, Charles Tyrwhitt and Thomas Pink sort of retailers. I certainly can't afford the luxury of Turnbull and Asser unfortunately, although they do look simply fantastic.

Anyone got any tips as to where to go, or where to avoid?
 
To be honest I really like Jeff Banks or Jasper Conran shirts, both in the £35-40 sort of area... nice length and fit. Decent material. I don't think they'd impress anyone on the trading floor at Barclays Capital but they're good enough for this middle manager, despite the lowish price I quite often get compliments on how nice my shirts are. You get them both in Debenhams.

By the way, Lewin's prices are only about the same ballpark normally, the "usually £70" sort of tag you see on them is pure marketing flimflam.
 
Canuck said:
To be honest I really like Jeff Banks or Jasper Conran shirts, both in the £35-40 sort of area... nice length and fit. Decent material. I don't think they'd impress anyone on the trading floor at Barclays Capital but they're good enough for this middle manager, despite the lowish price I quite often get compliments on how nice my shirts are. You get them both in Debenhams.

By the way, Lewin's prices are only about the same ballpark normally, the "usually £70" sort of tag you see on them is pure marketing flimflam.
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Thanks for the tips. I had not really thought about the Debenhams shirts, but will check them out.

I'm not trying to impress the elite either, but just don't want to be exposing my nipples all day or having the tail come out whenever I sit down. I have a couple of M&S shirts, and the tails are woefully short. Every time I get out of my seat, I have to tuck myself in again. It's just a bit of a ball-ache.

And I have noticed TM Lewin's artificial RRP's. It's true of their suits as well. They price them at £550 for a week, and then they are in their sale at £190 for the rest of the year.
 
I tend to buy paradigm shirts these days.

They are the closest thing to non iron I have come across and have a good length.

They are decent looking but the collars are quite soft so don't irritate my neck so much.

I get mine from a local menswear shop a bit cheaper than on the below site, but it may help you.

http://www.doubletwo.co.uk/plain-formal-shirts/paradigm-non-iron.html
 
Bumpkin said:
Canuck said:
To be honest I really like Jeff Banks or Jasper Conran shirts, both in the £35-40 sort of area... nice length and fit. Decent material. I don't think they'd impress anyone on the trading floor at Barclays Capital but they're good enough for this middle manager, despite the lowish price I quite often get compliments on how nice my shirts are. You get them both in Debenhams.

By the way, Lewin's prices are only about the same ballpark normally, the "usually £70" sort of tag you see on them is pure marketing flimflam.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. I had not really thought about the Debenhams shirts, but will check them out.

I'm not trying to impress the elite either, but just don't want to be exposing my nipples all day or having the tail come out whenever I sit down. I have a couple of M&S shirts, and the tails are woefully short. Every time I get out of my seat, I have to tuck myself in again. It's just a bit of a ball-ache.

And I have noticed TM Lewin's artificial RRP's. It's true of their suits as well. They price them at £550 for a week, and then they are in their sale at £190 for the rest of the year.
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Not too well constructed at the front either! :icon_eek:
 
^^ Lol.

Yes Bumpkin, M+S shirts are on the short side, but certainly the Jeff Banks ones at Debenhams are nice and lengthy, I find them more than long enough and I'm over 6 foot. No nipple viewing either, they're a nice tight weave without being overly heavy.
 
The lewin shirt's don't iron well or stay very 'ironed looking' for long. They are definitely not worth £70 RRP and I wouldn't buy from them again. Savile row company have a similar pricing structure to lewin. You can have the sleeves altered for a couple of quid too. Quality is ok for the price, the shirts iron better and stay ironed longer. The plain designs may be a little thin but the patterned cloth is ok. I think I have a 20% code somewhere if you want to try them.
 
Thanks for the comments, guys.

I must say, I don't like the pricing strategy of TM Lewin (and several others). It is borderline hoodwinking, trying to get people to think they have got themselves a bargain by having sky-high RRPs and then slashing them for the sale. It's similar to those never-ending sofa sales.
 
As someone who's very into his clothes, I've shopped at most of the standard choices above and can offer the following advice:

TM Lewin: good fabrics, but generally poor build, classic fit is TOO baggy and their pricing can be a bit cheeky.

Charles Tyrwhitt: NOt quite so good on fabric, but well made, nice fit on the classics and a better range of arm lengths. I use CT shirts as my go to choice for day in day out wear. They hold up well and their non iron fabrics work well. CT are also slightly more realistic by pricing their shirts clearly in the store. But make no mistake, they are £30-40 shirts, not bargain £100 shirts. That said, they have many nice styling and tailoring features that are only seen in more expensive brands.

Also worth saying that Charless Tyrwhitts "slim fit" is not really all that slim, and is in fact a bit like ralph laurens custom fit. I'm 5ft10 with just a bit of a tummy, and their slim fits work well on me, actually making me look slimmer than I am. The classics are just enormous. So i'd suggest trying a slim fit. TM lewin on the other hand, only have two sizes, their slim is very slim, and is comparable to CT's "tailored" sizes.

YOu mention thomas pink in company with the above two companies. In reality PINK sit far above both and it is reflected in the pricing. Pink shirts are ALWAYS around the £70-100 mark, because they are £70 shirts. They are built better, have longer tails, nicer collars and better fabrics. The pink shirts are a class act, and far more comparable to the likes of Asser. if you can afford pink, go with pink. If you can't... go with Tyrwhitt.

It's also worth looking out some of the ralph lauren outlets (if you're near one) e.g. bicester, gretna etc. The Polo line of shirts are very well made indeed and have excellent fabrics. Their custom fit is trim but spacious. I picked up several RL Polo shirts at the gretna outlet for very reasonable prices. Their build quality is closer to the pink end of things, so they are worth a look if you can get a bargain.
 
That's very comprehensive, Shrink. Thanks for your input. Thanks to others who have offered their views as well - there's nothing better than a personal recommendation.

I'm trying to lose a few pounds at the moment, and was hoping that my current shirts would hold out until I got to my ideal weight. But they are getting a little worn now, so I need to renew them sooner rather than later. On that basis, I may stick to the Tyrwhitt cost-level at the moment.

I have seen some bad shirts at work, and I don't want to be known as the man with the exposed nipples, or the tent man!
 
As someone who looks like Bibendum I tend to buy Melka shirts. LONG tails and fronts.

When I worked on the district I used to go through about 5 shirts every 2 years, bearing in mind they were worn daily for work and washed daily I thought that was bloody excellent.

These days I still buy Melka, but find they go out of fashion before they wear out.
 
Father Ted said:
As someone who looks like Bibendum I tend to buy Melka shirts. LONG tails and fronts.

When I worked on the district I used to go through about 5 shirts every 2 years, bearing in mind they were worn daily for work and washed daily I thought that was bloody excellent.

These days I still buy Melka, but find they go out of fashion before they wear out.
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Brutus Trimfit (http://www.brutus-trimfit.com/all-shirts/ have been back for the last couple of years, excellent fit, unless you've got a bit of paunch, in which case steer clear! For cheaper skinhead/mod slimfit window pane etc. Shirts, check out Warrior (https://ssl-account.com/warriorclothing.org/uk/shop/index.php?cPath=119_156&myosCsid=4375ebd3298c596b87a14fc7cb1120cf , only £20 a pop, I've got a fair few of them and quality and materials are pretty decent these days.

For a huge range of this type of shirt, many of which come with matching pocket square, try Britac in Barcelona (http://www.britac.net/shop/index.php?cPath=14&osCsid=2505964ee7d47b18e5038232a1e22b09 but they take a few weeks to ship

Finally another good one in Spain is DNA Groove (http://www.dnagroove.it/en/prodotti.php?idcat=2&cat=man ,all designed by an Italian bloke called Claudio and all made in limited edition small runs in small family businesses in Italy.
 
The M&S made to measure range might cure the length problem. I really like them, and think they offer great value for money. You get to design the shirt you really want too.
 
OrangeSport said:
The M&S made to measure range might cure the length problem. I really like them, and think they offer great value for money. You get to design the shirt you really want too.
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I agree with OrangeSport. M&S' mainline Sartorial and Savile Row Inspired shirts are nice too, with good yarn counts, but their fit is always a little too generous for my liking, especially in the sleeves.

The strength of the Jermyn Street brands (Lewin, Tyrwhitt, Hawes & Curtis etc etc) is that while they aren't MTM, you can specify a few more measurements than tend to be possible elsewhere on the high street. Their prices are quite keen too. Personally however I find Lewin shirts very hard to iron - is it just me?
 
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