How To Buy A Quality Men's Shirt
By Ben Stuart Greenwood  |
Baracuta J13109219/011 Men's Shirt |
Many men make the mistake of buying clothes that don't fit them correctly, if in doubt, just ask, you won't look stupid. The majority of people need help finding clothes to fit them properly, especially when it comes to something like a shirt.
If you ask a professional in a shop, they will be able to measure you up there and then so you can find a shirt to fit you properly. As well as the fit, you'll need to consider the quality of the fabric, the cut, the colour or print and how stretchy the material is. Good quality shirts include those made by Carhartt clothing and also shirts from the Barbour clothing range.
Fabric
A quality shirt will usually be 100% cotton, but a small percentage of man-made fibres isn't necessarily a bad thing, these tend to give the shirt stretchability. As long as the majority of percentage is cotton, you are probably looking at a quality shirt that hasn't been made in a sweatshop. Anything more than 20% of man-made fibres is probably sign of cutting costs and cheap labour. You can often tell the quality of fabric by giving it a feel but if you are unsure of what to look out for, you can always check the inside label for fabric percentages.
Buttons
Check the buttons are securely fastened by giving them a little pull, if they seem loose and uneven, chances are the quality of stitching is low and they will fall off easily after a few wears. Plastic buttons tend to be used to cut costs, although some of the good quality shirts to use plastic buttons. Mother of pearl buttons tend to be used on more expensive shirts.
Matching pattern or print
The pattern or print on your shirt should be neatly aligned. In other words, if you are buying a striped shirt, the stripes should align from the shoulder straight through to the bottom of the arm. If they are mismatched this is a sign of bad, cheap quality.
Stitching
Spotting bad stitching is fairly easy, especially once you know the signs to look out for, the best way to do this is to compare a badly stitched garment next to a quality one. First you should look out for any loose ends or frayed edges, this is a sign of rushed stitching and bad craftsmanship. The stitching should be neat and clean with no loops. The stitching on the shoulders should be thicker for easy movement and high quality shirts tend to have more stitches per inch (usually around 15-20 stitches).
Collar
The collar should be smooth and shouldn't have any bubbles or wrinkles. If the collar is creased this is a sign of a cheaply made shirt.
The yoke
The yoke is the stitching on the back of the shirt to allow room for easy shoulder movement. Good quality shirts will usually have a split yoke - this is where the stitching is sewn vertically from the collar and then horizontally across the back forming two separate shoulder compartments to allow your shoulders to move easily freely without restricting movement.
Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of The Shed Community, an online men's fashion retailer specialising in quality Barbour clothing and Carhartt clothing.
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