I visited my shirtmaker the other day for a fitting on some new pieces as well as guiding a friend's super extravagant bespoke shirt jacket project (more on that soon). While I was there, one of the cutters was busy preparing new collars and cuffs for about two dozen old (really, really old) shirts another client had brought in that morning for a touching-up.
While my shirtmaker does not produce anything even remotely similar to what the italians make (almost every seam is machine-sewn, the overall approach is very old-fashioned), the shirts which leave the workshop are, in my own, proudly partial opinion, nothing short of spectacular. There are absolutely no (you read that right: zero) predefined patterns for collars or cuffs as each client gets his pieces drawn up individually during the ordering process. There are some sample collars lying around randomly, of course. But these are not meant as guideline for the client but merely reflect what others have chosen in the past.
Other places might apply an awful lot more hand stitches to their shirts. But I have yet to find another shirtmaker with such a keen eye for perfectly even, straight seams and, what's more, such a good ironing service.
So, the next time you think about trying a new shirtmaker, make sure you have in the back of your mind the fact that hand stitching is not the only factor worth considering. In an era of poor service all over, do yourself a favor and choose the one with the best service.
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