A Royal Oxford is a rich fabric in a nostalgic pattern. Speaking of which, the sleeve to yolk pattern matching didn't do so well here. That's a shame because they're almost invisible on the yellow university stripe but you can see this train wreck from a country mile.
The cotton has a wonderful heft to it - - So much so I wouldn't pack it. It's that heavy. A few washings and I think it'll starch up like a brick. Yeah, I know. People are gonna tell you to hand wash your shirts and iron 'em yourself or spend $10 a shirt for a hand iron (is a hand job the same price?) at the cleaners. I don't think so. Not when I can get two six packs of Schmidt for seven bucks.
It's going to the cleaners and it's going to be starched. I do like this shirt a lot despite the pattern issue. It'll be great in the summer untucked with a pair of white linen shorts...Did I just write that? We gotta get back to some Army stories ASAP.
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16 comments:
tintin: Don't overdo the starch or you're going to have a shirt that looks like those worn by those insurance agents you so despise (the guys with pinstripe shirts....remember?)....I gotta fess up and say the popover in this fabric doesn't look as good as the yellow....nothing to do with the pattern match about which you seem to be obsessed....more to do with match of fabric and application.....that said I see your shirt/short combo working ok.
Joe- what really pisses me off is the placket. Check out the bottom where it should have easily matched the stripes on the shirt. I understand they can't do sleeve to yolk but missing the choo choo on the placket is just plain sloppy.
What is that monstrosity? All other things aside....the sheer design of this beast is horrific. What kind of shirt is it? What possible justification can there be for buttons only halfway down? Perhaps you wish to wear it with a suit and tie during the business day and then cast off everything else but this torso covering for a casual outfit...but of course, changing the shirt is too much of an effort? I am sorry, but when I look at this shirt, all I can see is a placket whose sole purpose is to create an giant southward arrow trying to highlight the one thing for which it's wearer needs most to compensate.
SFTrny- Really, what are you doing here? Did you make a wrong turn?
I've got a shirt from Press in what looks like the exact same fabric.
The popover is coming back. Just wait. The tortellini topsiders made it; The Trad is a fashion trend setter.
SFTrny...
dang. those are some izzues.
tell me about your mother....
I'm not sure I'm adventurous enough for the popover (or old enough... i think having seen the retail days of the original item from BB and J press helps anyone's case here), but I love the shirts so far. It's a pity how difficult it is to find an oxford cloth shirt with a traditional pattern going on.
Mr. TT,
Circa when did BB transmogrify to full length placket (plaa-k) front? Methinks vintage BB ones exhibited a single knife pleat beneath the placket bottom.
(Individualized previously did not topstitch the front edge of the yoke. BB didn't topstitch the back edge of the yoke. Or was it vichy-versa? !IT'S TRUE! Yes, it is, too!)
Ta'er
tintin:"I understand they can't do sleeve to yolk but missing the choo choo on the placket is just plain sloppy."
....Yep that's not good technically, although visually it's not terribly noticeable in fact.
Abacus:"I'm not sure I'm adventurous enough for the popover (or old enough"
.....I'd have said this was definitely a young man's shirt although I could perhaps see it on a Maine geezer along with belt and clip on braces.....these sartorial adventures along with Thom Browne pants are for the young!
tintin:"I understand they can't do sleeve to yolk but missing the choo choo on the placket is just plain sloppy."
....actually taking a second look at the sleeve/yoke mismatch it's fairly egregious and actually more visually apparent than on the placket....why not take it up with them and insist on a good match?
Chris - Is that a pocket flap shirt?
STPHniny- He sees some interesting things.
Abacus- I think it's fun to wear history. Great blog you have.
Tater- Long time, sir. Good quesation. Not sure. Know they sold both jacket and popover for a while. Will find out.
Joe- Yeah, it's pretty bad. It looks like they tried to get it as far off as possible. I'll ask Len.
Sadly not - just a typical OCBD. I haven't seen a lot of the flaps there recently, really too bad.
Great choice of fabrics here. You are absolutely right that "alternative" oxford cloths like the Royal and the Yellow Uni stripe are very hard to find. Did they have any other colors available? Wilmington is not too far from me- I might be tempted to visit them sometime. BB seems to choose only the ugliest fabrics (not to mention the whole non-iron business) for their Select Shirt program.
I waited for someone else to cross the criticism threshold and then I wrote very extensive comments explaining why that front placket is an aesthetic train wreck which should not have made it past the sewer's machine, much less an inspector's eye.
Then I clicked Spellcheck and five long comment paragraphs disappeared into the ethernet.
To summarize, also look at the misalignment of the placket stripes and body stripes adjacent the long vertical edges of the placket. That wouldn't have happened in an earlier era. The objective is to make the front appear as a continuous, equidistantly spaced expanse of uniform width vertical stripes. Obviously, it fails.
It's not such a problem with narrower striped, low contrast fabrics such as the yellow/white.
Apologies for what you may interpret as impertinence. I'm not hypercritical. It shouldn't be a keeper @ $130. Chairman Spencer Hays would be embarassed www.individualizedapparel.com
Ta'er/jg
Anon- I was surprised to learn Idividualized did shirts for so many retailers but Brooks was the kicker.
Tater/jg
Never think you need to fire a shot across my bow before you let go with a few shots of your own.
Your critique is dead on and I only wish you would try and resend your original comment. Don't sweat spell check. I don't.
I'm not gonna learn beans from people nodding yes to everything. Certainly I'm taken aback by a comment associating a shirt placket with my manhood but everything else here is fair game.
Which reminds me of the Ralph Lauren employee who was hunting and looking through binoculars he saw a woman undressing in a log cabin. He ran to the cabin, kicked the door down and asked the woman if she was game. She said yes and he shot her.
Great blazer stripe shirt. I still have a Brooks Brothers blazer stripe in the attic that doesn't get worn much anymore due to old age. But now you've got me thinking...
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