Shirt *Construction* techniques

[Hendrick]

That, and the fact that the "hand of the maker" is obviously missing in a handmade shirt of course...

Do you mean like this Hand? 

YO!

[Hendrick]

That, and the fact that the "hand of the maker" is obviously missing in an automated shirt of course...

Content warning: minor rant ahead.

Bypassing the hand of the maker isn't always a bad thing, frankly! I follow a well known shirt manufacturer on X. Last year they posted a tweet about a cuff they're famous for accompanied by a publicity photo. After expanding the image I noticed that the top-stitching was abysmal. Said shirt was several hundred pounds.

Personally, I find some of the 'name' shirtmakers a bit of a con. They take great pride in the fact that they use single-needle machines for every stage of production; though some of the techniques they use, I would put in the 'quick-and-dirty' category. Somehow, using industry-standard (as in ready-to-wear) work practices from the middle of the last century is virtuous. They're basically saying that they're too backward-thinking to invest in modern technology.

I can understand that mentality from smaller makers because they don't have the cash to invest in expensive machinery; but the larger 'bespoke' brands would really benefit from rethinking their production methods. They could offer better-made shirts at a much cheaper price; yet they would still have the edge in terms of fit and quality of raw materials. They make a 100% machined product anyway, so they have nothing to gain by living in the past.

Were I a consumer, I'd go to a tailor to make my shirts. A tailor is more likely to put in the work: the care and attention needed to produce a beautiful end-result. Though even then some fall at the last hurdle by not pre-shrinking cloth properly.

Shirt-making is a very grey area. A lot of consumers are getting ripped off one way or another.

More than 30 years ago I worked with a french shirtmaker to develop men's shirts. I remember I used a picture of Robert Oppenheimer wearing a shirt with a beautiful collar and another with a button down collar. I took 5 shirts, made in a 3- (yes three) ply poplin, "triple retors" in french. Indestructible, my son still wears these today...

Personally I'm no great fan of "overautomated" shirts. They look to "flat" to me, collars too stiff and flat. I also think that most shirts are stitched up with too much thread tension, causing puckering seams that are difficult to iron. So I don't see the use of mimicking industrial production in a handmade shirt (or any other garment for that matter).

Cheers, Hendrick

[Gerry]

Personally I'm no great fan of "overautomated" shirts. They look to "flat" to me, collars too stiff and flat. I also think that most shirts are stitched up with too much thread tension, causing puckering seams that are difficult to iron. So I don't see the use of mimicking industrial production in a handmade shirt (or any other garment for that matter).

Very good points Hendrick, and to a certain extent I agree with you (especially about the collars). I'm sure there's a happy medium though. I periodically see some shoddy work from big names and considering the prices they charge they should do better.

I get it, time is money, so they're not going to do stuff like basting etc; but perhaps a little investment in modern tech (at least for some stages of production) wouldn't go amiss. And many well known 'bespoke' companies already use the techniques of industrial production for their 'handmade' shirts ... production as it was in the middle of the last century, that is. Sometimes I'm not that impressed with the results. If they've already gone down that route, they might as well go the whole hog.

As mentioned, I think tailors often make the best shirts. Or small time makers who take the time to do what's necessary.