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ShirtsMyWay.com
Like Options? How About 7 Trillion?
By Patrick Tuttle
closeAuthor: Patrick Tuttle
Name: Patrick Tuttle
Email: ptuttle@gearpatrol.com
Site: http://gearpatrol.com/blog/author/ptuttle/
About: I joined the gang at Gear Patrol because I believe that as men we often settle for less than the very best lifestyle we can attain. It’s been ingrained into our psyches to forgo certain products, services or lifestyles because they don’t fall within some antiquated male paradigm. Bunk.
It’s time as men to stand up and redefine what’s rightfully ours. Much of what I have learned to this end has come through advice from guys who had the experiences and knowledge I was seeking. My only regret was not learning it sooner. Now I feel it’s my obligation to pass along what I know. I’m not saying I have all the answers but I’m happy to share what I’ve learned so far.
On a more personal level, I live an active lifestyle and focus on my health and wellness as a means to sustain the frenetic pace. I also suffer from a case of golf-itis and spend a lot of my free time perusing that passion… ok, obsession. I aim to incorporate relevant fitness and golf content into Gear Patrol’s expanding coverage of all things male. Like the rest of the crew I can’t stand over-hyped, under-performing products. None of that crap will be perpetuated here.See Authors Posts (93) on Mon, Feb 16, 2009 | Email To A Friend
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Based on the feedback we received from our review of Proper Cloth, an online custom shirt purveyor, we decided to see what other options were out there for custom men’s dress shirts. No need to thank us, we love doing research. What we found was a brand new company that has taken customization a step (or 7 trillion, according to them) further. ShirtsMyWay not only allows you to enter custom measurements, they let you completely style your dress shirt. And we mean completely. Check out the ShirtsMyWay video demonstration.
We haven’t had a chance to order a shirt ourselves, but we always approve of designing your own clothing. It’s part of what makes a man his own man. If you order a shirt or have a ShirtsMyWay experience, please leave us a comment and let us know how it went.
Cost: $59-$69
Is it just me or does the link not work? I just see a brown page with telling me to tell my friends.
AV, could you tell me which link you are referring to? I tried them all and they seem to work on my end. Thanks.
Its the first ShirtsMyWay link in the article, as well as the link connected to the price. Strangely enough, I tried it on Google Chrome and it works.
Glad to hear you were able to get to the site. Hope you like it. If you order anything let me know how you like it.
[...] http://gearpatrol.com/blog/2009/02/16/shirtsmywaycom/ visit http://shirtsmyway.com/ « ?????? - MD [...]
Hey guys. After seeing this article I spent a little time looking over the site, got my detailed measurements (humbling…I’m now at the gym more often so I can have a less embarrassing arm spec), and ordered a shirt. I got the shirt a few days ago and am pleasantly surprised. Fabric quality is good, workmanship the same and better yet is the fit. I will make a few very minor adjustments for my next order but I will certainly get more after I wear this one a little more and figure out the changes to make the next order even better.
A couple of little things to note. The guys running the site charged me in HKD so there was a small foreign transaction change on my credit card, just FYI. Also, the current material selection is not that extensive but in email correspondence they promised that would improve over time.
Jay- Thanks so much for your review. I’m curious, when you measured yourself, did you always use your exact measurements? When I was looking over some of the measurements they requested, I was just curious if I measured the actual distance around my wrists, for instance, if there would still be enough room to have a watch under my sleeve.
Basically, do they tack on a little in every direction when they actually make the thing or is it pretty darn close to the measurements you give?
Logan - That’s a good question and one I worried about at first. They do not make the shirt to the exact measurements you give them, but rather take your body measurements and create the shirt knowing you need extra room on all parameters.
As for your watch concern, this is valid. I’ve had other shirts made and they will ask if I need extra room on my left wrist for a thick watch, this is not offered with these guys. If you wear thicker watches I would suggest you add to the wrist measurement so that you aren’t stuck with the catch 22 of wearing your favorite shirt OR your favorite watch.
Jay.
I just got my shirt a few days ago as well… I found it to be a very positive experience.
FABRIC & WORKMANSHIP: I am quite a shirt enthusiast and found that the fabric I ordered (USD 85) type had a really nice tight weave as well as being comfortably soft. The workmanship was also great with nice needle stitching and the interlining they use seems to be good.
FIT: I took measurements from a shirt I already have and it came out exactly as my other shirt which has a really nice fit.
WEBSITE: Unlike any other site I have seen with shirts this one really lets you 'play' designer :). I like at least having the option to change the fabric on different parts of the shirt.
OVERALL: After a lot of experience in buying shirts I must say that ShirtsMyWay is where I am going to be buying my shirts from now on. I just hope they will get more fabrics soon as well.
A fair word of warning to people interested in http://www.shirtsmyway.com. I wish I had read one before I ordered.
I was very excited to find an alternative to ordering bespoke shirts from my tailor. Not that he doesn’t deserve the mark-up – it’s just that as a post-doc I can’t really afford his spectacular service. So imagine the euphoria, when I thought I could get shirts matching in quality, for a quarter of the price, straight from the Internet.
I meticulously measured the required lengths with the help of my wife. I could’ve done something wrong, but it really was in the right ballpark – at least compared to the received outcome. The shirt arrived in just 6 business days – despite me skipping the more expensive 9 day-delivery and opting for the free 15-day one. That is where the positive surprises ended.
Firstly, the fabric. I ordered the basic white option, described as ‘medium thick’ cotton. I kid you not – I own towels and rugs more suited for use in a formal dress shirt! The coarseness, the thickness, hardness of the fabric – tt would be unimaginable to wear the shirt on a hot, sunny day. I do not know, what they did to the collar – it is thicker than the lapels of my suits. The overall finish quality is appalling – stitching is a bit sloppy and over the place – lines aren’t straight, there are a couple of loose threads hanging here and there.
Even if one could live with the fabric, or assuming the other fabrics are better, I found lots of disappointing details.
Starting from the top: collar stays. I ordered the removable ones – the opening for them is non-standard (at least mine do not fit), and none were shipped with the shirt.
Amount of buttons. 6? 6?!! My dress shirts have 8-9 buttons on the placket. I can just imagine the charm of my chest hair sticking out of the shirt.
This relates closely to the length of the shirt and form of the bottom cut. The shirt is 4cm too short, despite the measurement being made according to the instructions, following a perfect exemplary bespoke shirt. The variance of the lengths of the side and front of the ‘tail’ cut is almost twice as big, as I’ve used to. Result: On the sides, the lower seam of the shirt isn’t covered by my suit trousers!
The same applies to the length of the sleeve and the cuffs. I don’t need to unbutton the cuffs to put the shirt on. And when it is on, the cuffs are 10 cm above my knuckles. Despite best efforts to make the measurements right, once again.
And finally, even if I could live with all this, the fit of the shirt is awful. The tailor obviously had problems with understanding the ‘slim fit’ option. Despite being a tall guy with big bones, I sure as heck want to show off my athletic build, in which my previous bespoke shirts have definitely helped – try finding a slim fit dress shirt with a 112cm chest and 87cm gut! The result of shirtsmyway.com attempting those measurements: the whole shirt looks funny and a bit skewed. And it isn’t even close to my definition of slim fit – it hangs loose.
I deeply regret spending 59$ on this shirt. Perhaps this was just an unfortunate accident, and all other customers are satisfied – I will be more than glad to see this business and the business model evolve into something usable.
Daniel- I am sorry to hear about your experience, especially after I just ordered a shirt myself. Whenever it arrives, I will be sure to add my $.02 here.
After coming across GP’s 5-point pledge, which includes “Gear Patrol will not publish anything that has not been personally reviewed, purchased, owned, or in procurement by a member of our hand-selected crew,” I was a little disappointed that this was published without such personal review, even if the author notes above that he had not personally viewed one of the shirts.
Daniel - Sorry to hear you were disappointed with your shirt. I would contact ShirtsMyWay directly and request that they rectify the situation. They are a new company and would probably be open to hear feedback if it was constructive.
Logan - You’re right, we don’t write product reviews on things we don’t have direct experience with. Based on your feedback we are discussing implementing a better system to distinguish between a “product review” and items that a “news/information oriented”. The latter is more of a “hey have you seen this” kind of post.
Thanks for calling us on this. Active readers are our favorite kind.
Guys,
I’m feeling a little bad now after reading Daniel’s review after posting a positive one a little while back. In general I am still happy with my shirt and still feel that for me with a few minor adjustments to the measurements I will have a good option for shirts in the future. Having said that, I also think that what we might all be learning here is something tailors have been preaching to us since we first walked in their shops, namely, you cannot beat the hands on, personal service of your local tailor. For Shirtsmyway, my guess is that my build is more standard for the slim fit and my fabric selection perhaps lucky but others may not be so lucky. Sorry to hear about the bad experience Daniel.
Problem is shirts are made in China- I've had clothing tailored all over Asia and it's next to impossible to get genuine fabric (just because it says 100% doesn't mean it is) and good cuts in China. Try somewhere with that has their tailoring done in Thailand, Singapore, and HK- although this is hard because most tailors don't admit where they get there tailoring done. If you are ever in that part of the world just look for tailors outside the tourist areas- they need provide for the locals and won't stay in business for long unless the right stuff.