MTM- Yellow University Stripe Popover Oxford

How could I not?

Popover sans pocket

Yoke to sleeve pattern matching

It started with that fabric sample. Yellow university stripe oxford is a mother to find. Hell, Charvet in Paris didn't have it and they have everything or that's what the nice lady told me before I knocked over a bolt of fabric that knocked over another and another and another..."The Falling Bolt of Fabric Theory" was not appreciated and I was kindly asked it there was another color I was looking for and if there wasn't I could take the elevator downstairs. Which I took to mean, "Don't let the fabric bolt hit you where the good lord split you.

Go figure I find the fabric in the booming downtown hubbub of Wilmington, Delaware. Wright & Simon has been around since the 30's. Len, the owner, had a four shirt minimum so after picking this stripe I cruised through a decent size book of fabric samples. The most fun I've had with my clothes on.

Individualized Shirts in Perth Amboy does MTM for a number of retailers and some surprising names like Brooks Brothers, J Press, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's and, of course, my guys at Wright & Simon. The fitting is unique in that you try on different sized collars and shirt bodies with allowances for shrinking. We'll see how well this fits after three or fours washings.

The true sign of a custom shirt is pattern matching where the yoke meets the sleeve. Always ask for it when you're looking at custom. Made to Measure just can't do it but I got lucky with this shirt. The pattern matching on both sleeves is very close. By the way, that's how you recognise custom shirting. Not by monograms.

I went with a popover sans pocket because that's what the original Brooks Brothers shirt was. No one needed a shirt pocket because of vested suits. The placket will be hidden by a tie but I like the look of it. I've never been one for monograms. I've had my last name embroidered on the tail of custom shirts but the cleaners always write my last name on the other tail so what's the point. So no monograms for me.

I like the way this one turned out. We'll see how it does over time. That's the real test. As I wrote earlier, I still have three custom shirts from 1999. They were considerably more than this shirt's price of $130 but I figure in another ten years most people will be going to work in tee shirts, cargo shorts and flip flops. I'll post the Royal Oxford tomorrow. By the way, go buy Wally's book.