If you are particularly tall, particularly slim, or to be honest, pretty much any shape that isn’t a strange oblong, you will find that finding shirts off the rack that fit well is an impossible mission. Most men simply accept that this is the way shirts fit, a bit baggy in places, a bit tight in other places, as long as they can move their arms a bit they put up with a poor fit.
When a shirt that actually fits can be found, it will often cost a small fortune, so there is a misconception that to have custom overshirts made will be incredibly expensive, something that only the very wealthy can afford. However, this is just not the case.
Not only is it economical to have your shirts custom made by experts, but being able to have a selection of shirts that fit properly mean that you actually will get less wear and tear on your wardrobe, saving you from having to replace shirts as often.
Collars that do not fit quite right, arms that pull a little, or buttons that strain, all cause stress on the fabric and are more likely to result in rips, tears and holes, unusually at the most inopportune moment.
Defining Your Tastes
Another advantage to having your shirts made just for you is that you can arrange to have them customised to your exact tastes. What sort of collar is going to work best for you? How about the cuff style? Do you have a preference for how the buttons on your shirt are shown? Do you like shirts with pockets, or shirts without? These are sometimes things that men don’t think about as they simply aren’t given a choice when they are buying off the rack, in much the same way that women rarely encounter a dress or skirt with functional pockets.
Know which style suits you best: https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/how-to-choose-the-right-dress-shirt-collar-for-your-face-shape/
However, once you start to move into getting a customized fit, with fabric of your choosing then you will also start to work out what you really like, and from there on in, there will be no turning back.
Turn Around Time
The advantage of buying from your local suit retailer or department store is that you can walk in, and walk out a few minutes later with something that will do the job, it may not be perfect (it is highly unlikely to be anything more than adequate in fact), but it will get you through.
When you order a custom-made shirt, you will be looking at it taking a little longer, so generally people will order more than one in a similar style at the same time. From the time of your first fitting you are generally looking at a turn around time of up to 6 weeks for your shirts to be made, the sizing double checked, altered and to arrive on your doorstep.
Why does it take so long? Mass produced clothing is cut out using bulk methods, which is why with cheaper clothing items you might find some variation of sizing and fit even within the same batch of apparently identical garments. They are then sewn by people who are not generally trained tailors, and who are simply paid to sew one bit of fabric to another, then hand their bit of the garment on to the next person. So, one person might do nothing all day but sew sleeves to armholes, without any awareness of how the whole garment will look once finish.
With individually crafted clothing you are looking at trained pattern makers (like these), a true skill that is hard to find, who are able to create a unique pattern based on your measurements and desired style and fit. If you have broad shoulders and want to emphasis this, your pattern maker knows where to cut, shape, and add subtle darts. If your belly is a little rounder, your skilled tailor is able to allow for a little movement without becoming obvious or making the whole shirt look three sizes too big.
Your shirts are going to be cut out by hand, ensuring that they are accurate to your measurements, with no need to worry about one arm being a few millimetres shorter than the other (unless you need this of course).
They are then sewn together to create your stylish new shirt.
A custom-made shirt is more than just simply adding another piece of clothing to your wardrobe, it really is creating a piece of fine quality workmanship.
