Shirts, Vests, & Blouses

Made to Be Untucked

You've seen men wearing their shirts untucked. If you want to enjoy this current trend (often called "the outside shirt" since the shirt is designed for the tail to be worn outside trousers), you need to have your custom shirts constructed specifically for that use, because a traditional-cut shirt worn untucked has an unfortunate tendency to flair like a bell at the hips. Here's how we'll build your outside shirts: We make sure the length is just right to create the correct silhouette for your body type to wear these shirts. We adjust the proportions for the finished dimensions between chest, waist, and hip measurements, to give it a flattering drape on your frame. We hem the shirt so that the tail ends in the bottom half of the trouser fly area to achieve the correct visual proportions. The outside shirt is a great option for a casual shirt that's still appropriate...

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Three Keys To Designing The White Oxford Button-Down Shirt

The reliable white oxford button-down is a workhorse of a shirt. You can confidently wear it during graduation ceremonies, weddings, funerals, some interviews, and at just about any day at work. Your custom oxford looks deliciously crisp when ironed, yet warm and casual when un-tucked. As a custom clothier, here are three key steps we take to ensure each custom button-down oxford we build is truly outstanding. First, we select a fabric with a firm, tight weave. This density of thread makes your shirt last longer and feel smoother than clothing constructed from a lesser fabric. Second, we insist on using only high-quality buttons. For most gentlemen, the ideal buttons are forgettable-without looking cheap. We have an excellent selection for you to choose from, including traditional mother-of-pearl. Our third step is to customize your collar roll, which ensures your collar arches gracefully from your neck to the buttons instead of clinging tightly to...

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Types of Shirt Plackets

Designing your personal style means paying attention to details. Have you considered the style potential of choosing between the various options for shirt placket design? (That's the strip of fabric that holds the buttons.) Front placket-found in the vast majority of dress shirts. Always a good option for business attire, but its ubiquity means it lacks individuality. No front placket-also called a French front, this placket has no visual stitching alongside the row of buttons, so it creates clean lines but can be trickier to iron. Covered placket-commonly called a fly front, the covered placket has an additional layer of fabric covering the buttons. It's sometimes found in tuxedo shirts and other very dressy clothing. Tuxedo front-looks similar to the French front but differs in that the top four buttons are removable, allowing you to replace the buttons with tuxedo studs. This placket is best used only with tuxedo shirts. The...

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Odd Vests

There’s nothing odd about odd vests! The phrase simply refers to wearing a vest outside of a three-piece-suit ensemble—a great strategy for adding visual appeal and stretching your clothing budget by increasing the number of mix-and-match options in your wardrobe. Light-colored vests, such as sand or dove gray, look fantastic under a suit. You may choose to build your vest of the same material as your trousers or sport jacket, or instead select a coordinating fabric. The back of the vest is often constructed of thin lining fabrics to avoid adding bulk and heat. Wearing matching trousers and vest with a contrasting coat makes a striking ensemble. The vest should be long enough to cover your waistband. Braces are a good choice with a vest, as a belt will push the vest fabric away from your waist, creating the appearance of thickness. The armholes of your vest should be large, to allow...

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The Versatile Vest

Vests can be excellent mix-and-match wardrobe pieces. Rather than limiting their use to the three-piece suit, use versatile vests as coordinating pieces for sport coats and trousers. Consider having vests personalized to your taste—lapels, pockets, fabric, and fit can all be custom-crafted to create timeless pieces that will give you extra options with your existing shirts, trousers, and coats. Traditionally, vests are made of the same fabric as a jacket or trousers. They can also draw on contrasting colors, or simply use a base color from the jacket or trousers. When creating combinations, keep fabric choices (tweed, silk, cotton, wool) similar enough to avoid an awkward pairing....

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