How to Make the Perfect Tailored Shirt

There are shirts and then there are Bawden Bespoke Tailored Shirts.

Why are Bawden Bespoke so much better than our competitors:

1. FITTING
We start by getting your measurements right. Each we order we receive is scrutinized twice to ensure that the measurements you have provided us are in proportion. We will contact you if things seem a little out and we work with you to get the perfect measurement. Our fitting guide is easy to use and you can either do it at home or the office or take a printed copy to a professional tailor.

2. FABRICS
We source our fabrics on quality, not price. We point blank refuse to use synthetic materials as although they require less care, they are quite simply awful to wear. There is a huge difference in the quality of cottons as those if you who have bought shirts from our competitors would no doubt be aware. The vast majority of our fabrics are Italian 2 ply cotton.

3. CUTTING & PATTERN MAKING
Much of the skill in making the perfect shirt is cutting the pattern. We create a pattern for all our customers and store it in our workshop. Our fabric cutters have a minimum of 4 years experience, it is an artform to see them perform.

4. SEWING & CONSTRUCTION
The true test of the quality of workmanship on a shirt is to turn it inside out and look at the stitching. Tailored Dress shirts MUST use French double seams not interlocked stitching. The seams should be evenly spaced. Check particularly the cuff gusset (the end of the split in the sleeve) which is out-of-site-out-of mind for most tailors. The problem is that from time to time we like to roll our sleeves up and unfinished gussets look dreadful. Also poor quality seams will come apart and you will be left with a threadbare garment.

5. YARNS, NEEDLES & LINING
To make a garment that stands the test of time it is essential to use strong quality yarns. We use Coates yarns on all our shirts because of their strength and appearance. Poor quality needles can do a great deal to damage your shirt before it is ever worn - we use Groz Beckert needles which minimise the trauma on the fabric. The fusing material on the cuff and collar is vitally important if you don't want lumpy or bubbled collars. Many shirtmakers simply glue an interlining on which after a few washes starts to come away creating a bubble effect.

6. MACHINERY
Whilst we commend most tailors for doing a better job of making a shirt to fit you than an off-the-rack fits all shirtmaker, the problem often is that they simply do not have the equipment to make a shirt that lasts. We use 10 seperate state of the art specialized machines and machine operators to make our shirts.

7. PUCKER-FREE SEAMS
Bawden Bespoke is one of the few made-to-measure shirt companies that fuses our shirt seams to create wrinkle-free seams. Puckering is the small ridges that appear whenever a farbic is doubled over. You will notice it particularly on your arm seams but also on the side seams, placket, sleeve seams and cuff gusset. Once you know it is there it will drive you to distraction and until now it has been standard on all business shirts.(please note this finishing is only available on your second order)

8. SERVICE
We have the ambition to have you as our customer for as long as you are wearing shirts and we will bend over backwards to ensure that you will never leave us. We are continually adding new fabrics and updating our machinery. We welcome any and all feedback.

We urge you to try Bawden Bespoke and guarantee you will not be disappointed in our quality. Visit www.bawdenbespoke.com

Casual Observations on Business Shirts

It never ceases to amaze me that people pay ludicrous sums of money for ready made shirts.

I have spent the last month roaming the streets of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane looking for someone passing by who has a shirt which even looks close to fitting them. Alas not a great deal of luck I am afraid. I have seen some lovely fabrics and the men wearing them sporting a false sense of pride in their immaculate deportment. I am especially amazed at the expense they go to with their suits only to be poorly let down by the fit of their shirts.

Wearing ready made shirts is akin to fitting a square peg in a round hole. I have met very few men who can honestly say that their shirt is a perfect fit - there is always some form of sacrifice. The all time classic is wearing a shirt which 2 sizes too small in the collar so that they can wear something that doesn't resemble a spinnaker.

We are all individuals, and with that basic human condition comes the rule that we are all different. For instance, I could line up myself and 9 other customers who have the same collar size as me and our heights would range between 5'4" up to and beyond me at 6'7". The same is true of our sleeves, our waists, our chests, in fact every dimension that we use to create a shirt.

I have had an endless trail of people coming into the fitting rooms and telling me their tales of woe about buying an expensive shirt and then spending another $40 odd retailoring it to size. There is some kind of strange logic there I am sure.

Gentlemen, do yourselves a favour and get thee to a tailor.