It is heating up in Australia and cooling down in the States and Europe.
The change of the seasons is a good time to consider what you are doing
with your wardrobe. We are currently working with customers on their shirts
for the Australian summer. I thought I would tell you a little that I have
learnt about cotton and shirt making in the process and hand over some tips
for choosing shirts.
1. You don't always need a bespoke shirt.
Bespoke is a difficult process to manage. It requires fittings and it is time
consuming and it should be reserved for particularly fussy customers who
are happy to pay the price to be snug as a bug. A made to measure service
can be almost as rewarding without the headaches. What is the difference? A
bespoke shirt is where we take 10 measurements and 3 photos to identify
your body and set out an individual pattern. We look for sloping in your
shoulders, the natural stance of your body, the proportion of your arms to
your torso, chest size, stomach area, hips and neck size. When all these
things are considered we begin to form a pattern. In years gone by these
would be drawings done on tracing paper that then would be filed in a
pigeon hole. Today it is data which is stored on a computer outlining your
individual measurements which we then print before cutting your shirts.
Made to measure, on the other hand, is where we use a block and tweak
elements to get the shirt fitting correctly. Whilst bespoke is more
flexible, made to measure is faster, less expensive and more convenient. At Le Noeud
Papillon Sydney we keep 18 shirts for our try on range
to ensure that we come as close as possible to making your shirts fit the
way you want them.
2. Cotton quality - what do I need vs what I want?
Some people prefer high end quality cotton but this depends on what kind of
shirting fabrics you need. A work shirt, which is worn frequently and must
endure the body's rise and fall in temperature as well as sweat and
physical movements, does not need to be a high thread count cotton. We
predominantly use Canclini fabric with occasional use of the Monte 200 Yorkshire
and Sea Island range. Most of the fabrics of these books range between 100
and 300 2 ply cotton. Whilst 100 2 ply is suitable for a heavy duty work
load, the 300 cotton 2 ply should be reserved for specialty occasions such
as cocktail, formal and dinner wear.
With regards to weaves, remember that a twill will give a better draping
effect, but a poplin cotton is fantastic for solid colour blocks where the
customer is not looking for texture in the cloth. If you are looking for
texture then you will find it in Oxfords, Herringbones, Pin-Heads etc.
3. Which collar is my collar?
This all depends on what you use your shirts for. If you are tying a full
windsor knot then choose a full cutaway collar. If you rarely wear a tie,
choose a windsor or 'standard' collar. When choosing, be cautious, as every
different shirt company uses slightly different names for each collar.
Recently the club collar has been appearing as a directional collar. This
collar is rounded on the edges and has been seen in shows such as
Boardwalk Empire. It is most notably seen with a tie pin, which is
either made by inserting a safety pin into the collar (not advisable) or
having an eyelet cored out of the collar and inserting a steel bar. If you
are not familiar with this collar, don't try it. The shirt requires
additional time in the morning to prepare the shirt and should not be worn
without the pin (which occasionally goes missing).
4. Cuffs and collar stays
Many bespoke customers prefer cuffs and removable collar stays. This is not
a problem for the shirt connoisseur but for people who are strapped
for time and patience this should be reconsidered. The problem with collar
stays is that they are often lost or emptied into the load of washing. We
recommend permanent collar stays for people who are not enthusiasts. The
collar stays will usually last the life of the shirt and allow you to have
a collar that will not wing (although winging your collars is now a
cultural phenomenon in Japan). With regards to cuffs, I always suggest to
customers to keep a mix of both. Especially as summer rolls around the
corner, it is taxing to have cuffs through the Australian summer and be
perpetually rolling up your sleeves and placing your cuff links in your
pockets or the centre console of your car. It is better to have a 2 button
sleeve with an additional sleeve button half way up the forearm to ensure
that you can roll up and down freely.
5. Marcella or Plisse for my dinner shirt?
It really depends on how you finish the shirt. Personally I prefer plisse
for nearly all my dinner shirts, but there are times when Marcella is done
very well and should not be overlooked. Recently we have been using a
variation of a Marcella which is a diamond cross pattern in the fabric and
this is particularly elegant and nicer, in my opinion, than a Marcella.
6. Trends
Fashion is very segmented at the moment and there are no over-riding trends
that are coming through. We are seeing high collars like those worn by Karl
Lagerfeld, slim collars a la Christian Dior, club collars inspired by the
era of the 20's in a modern return to the Jazz Age cultivated by popular
culture. At the same time the pop-over has been popular with some customers
as well as short sleeve shirts with cuffs like collared t-shirts. There are
many customers requesting concealed button downs as well as standard button
downs and also renewed request from our younger customers for initials on
either their liver or cuff. Whilst all these different factional elements
are having an effect on current waves, the classics remain and one should
not focus too much on the passing trends.
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