Work Shirts

Sure, just that the cuffs would be extra thick...as long as i only have to do it once and not for every shirt, that would be good enough i guess.
 
Okay i have the three shirts from luxury plus.

Really impressed with the fit and quality of the fabric. They are much more comfortable and easier to iron than the CT shirts were. I ended up ordering 3 more...they are charging a 2% surcharge for card payments now though.

The only downside was that for some reason, one of the shirts developed "burn holes" when i was ironing it on the cotton setting. I'm hoping the tailor will replace it...i've never had any cotton shirts develop holes like that before, let alone on the very first ironing ever.

While i was in the CBD, i also stumbled upon some store space for the "Great Suit Sale". I ended up buying a size 36 jacket and size 32 pants in what seems to be super 80s wool for $140. Some brand called "Marcellotino". Doesn't seem to be much info on the brand, just hoping the suit will last me for a couple of years. At least it fits much better than my $10 suit jacket from target...
 
Glad to hear that these guys worked out well for you, and congrats on the suit bargain. It's always better to be wearing a well-fitted economical suit than an expensive wool sack. From memory you're in Melbourne, so by any chance, did you buy the suit from the place on Elizabeth Street between Collins and Flinders Lane? They seem to be constantly on sale, and although I walk past them for work every day I've never had a poke around. Just curious what they're like if it was them.

How did you go getting your sleeves shortened, by the way?
 
I'm in sydney actually. Apparently the guys from melbourne rented some shop space here in the CBD and are only here till the 16th. It's a temporary operation, so probably a lot less "professional" than their melbourne place...but the guy i was talking to (surprisingly, a swedish guy here on a working holiday visa) was pretty helpful.

I ended up getting the sleeves shortened at a tailor near me for $10 each. Seems to have worked out OK, although the cuffs feel tighter now for some reason. But at least it doesn't look awkard or anything.
 
Hmm, pants are polyester lined and feel kind of rough to the touch when i'm wearing them (probably not quality polyester). Anyone happen to know if there's something that can be done to make polyester "smoother"?
 
A tailor could replace the lining with something else. The pants in my TM Lewin suit are half-lined in cotton, which is relatively soft and breathable. Depends on how much it bothers you, it might even smooth itself over time.
 
Im guessing that would cost a lot though...

Oh, and those shirts i ordered? I'm starting to think i might have gotten scammed. I've never heard any cotton shirts develop burn holes like those before and i'm starting to think it's a poly-cotton blend at best, and not 100% cotton. Any ideas on how i can find out for sure? (The label doesn't mention anything, and i can't burn the shirt)

I don't have a polyester shirt to compare it to (and it wouldn't be very accurate to do that anyway), but the fabric of the shirt feels rather "plastic" and is quite different from the feel of the fabric i picked out at their shop.
 
I havent read through this thread, but as per the above post i purchased a nice lookign shirt from MYER a few months back. I went to iron it after a few uses and it melted under the iron. It was a decent brand and cost over $100 so i expected it to be cotton, but it clearly wasnt.

Fast forward to last weekend. I spent the whole day searching for shirts in the CBD with no luck. I need to have a slim fit in a decent brand and im in to a little out there colours as well. Everytime i thought i found a winner my shoulders were to big, or they didnt haev my size... I really like the declic shirts but they closed the Adelaide store.
A friend of mine is a member of Rhodes and Beckett and has informed me that they haev regular sales on shirts for customers in the loyalty program. The shirts are often $180 down to $90 for this. So ill hang out for this and use his loyalty card :)
 
But you were at least able to get a refund from Myer right?

Rhodes and Beckett sounds familiar. I think they were the guys who sold me my suit. $90 is still way out of my price range though.
 
To be honest i didnt try - moral of the story is i should have checked the tag before ironing.

Rhodes adn Beckett suits are usually upwards of 1k but i think they have a special atm of 2 suits for 1400.
 
FWIW, my standard work shirts are TM Lewin non-iron.

They are 100% cotton, and have a range of cuts, ranging from regular through to ultra slim.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to work shirts, and these tick all the boxes.

You buy them online, and they are posted pretty quickly. You can even go into myer first to get the right size and cut.
 
From your pic's elsewhere, it appears to be tears, not burns.
You been bulking up at the gym mate ?
 
I always have a poke around during the Rhodes & Beckett sales, and sometimes they get as low as $50-60 for the random sizes and patterns. Nice fabrics, but for the regular asking price, you could get your shirts tailor made.

@Adam , you should definitely have a look at TM Lewin and MJ Bale if they have stores in Adelaide. Both have a range of fits, and plenty of fabric options in both non-iron and regular. For a slightly cheaper option, Tyrwhitt's extra slim fit is more like a normal slim fit and they have good return options. As a slightly different alternative to the more formal menswear joints, Uniqlo have some good shirts in more casual colours and fabrics too. In particular, the cotton oxfords are good with chinos and around $40 on sale. Usually a broad range of colours, and they have some niche fabrics like linen (very comfy when it's 35 degrees outside). They tend towards the slim, which might suit you. Good returns policy and size charts on their website too.

I think I've said before that I think non-iron is a bit of a rort. The treatment they use on the cotton does eventually wash out, and I think some companies use it as an excuse to use a lesser grade of fabric. This is just based on Tyrwhitt and Lewin though, and the shirts are still better than many. Given my experience now though, go with their regular (iron-required) shirts and have a beer and watch the footy while you iron on a Sunday.
 
I have been getting my suits from elitesuits.com. Although this sounds like spam, it isn't.

The owner, Simon is Sydney-based, and really knows his suits.

His suits and shirts are all hand-made, the more expensive suits are fully hand-stitched. I think they are made in his workhouse in Shanghai.

I haven't bought any shirts from him yet, but they were 3 for $160 last time I checked.

You decide on pockets, cuffs, everything. You also have to provide your measurements. It ensures a perfect fit, though.

The biggest negative I have seen - it takes about 6 weeks for a suit to arrive, from payment. I'm not sure about timing on the shirts.

FWIW, I bought a fully bespoke wool suit, with buffalo horn buttons for $439 delivered.
 
Pics @Arnold J Rimmer ?

I hear lots of different stories about different suppliers and it it hard to judge who is really saying what, what connection they may have, what they know about suits! etc

Nice to hear a first hand report from a fellow member
 
I work outdoors a lot and have to go in some pretty unkept areas, I go the Rivers shirts about $20 and last well, at that price I don't worry if they rip :)
 
It's not the rips that I worry about, it's staining from anti-perspirant that is my issue. I have an awesome white cotton shirt from H&M I bought and wore twice, now the underarms are stained orange like I used self-tanner instead of BO Buster.

I seem to get that 'browning' a fair bit, used to use the Nivea Silver Protect stuff but that literally turned things black due to the silver ions. Swapped to the 'Black & White' stuff, and it seems to not cause as many issue. That said, it does not wash out well at all and when you iron the shirt it basically burns it in.

I did need to get a couple of shirts at short notice, and was able to get some Van Heusens on sale for a good price. Same staining occurred although a hit with the Sard Wonderspray before washing gets rid of it. The White H&M Shirt appears to be wrecked however - considering a bleach based product next.

If the fabric releases the stains, then I think it is fine. How does everyone's shirts go for landering?
 
I avoid anti--perspirants mate (both those Niveas you mentioned are in the pile reserved for working around the farm with my wife-beater on), not only to avoid aluminium (and early onset of Alzheimers) but they always seem to stain. I've found a few deos that are easier on the underarms of my 9-to-5 monkey shirts...and I've cycled through many, many, many deos....and shirts. Lucky Tiger is very good, as is Speick (but not good value 40mLs doesn't last me very long) and a great one I've found, that I now use sparingly (as I'm almost out) is the Tom's of Maine. The one I last scored from the US (Walgreens) is this one, but I assume they are good across the range. I got to find me a supplier onshore.

BTW: from a post-event (laundering) perspective. I had little luck lifting the stains. Oxy soaks didn't make them disappear...and I have to be careful as I manage my own septic here and don't want to flush anything down the drain that will kill the bacteria. A good hard long rub with Sards soap helped at first but then it seemed to stain yellower and harden the fabric over time.

So this is definitely a case of prevention being better than cure IMHO.
 
Monsta_AU said:
It's not the rips that I worry about, it's staining from anti-perspirant that is my issue. I have an awesome white cotton shirt from H&M I bought and wore twice, now the underarms are stained orange like I used self-tanner instead of BO Buster.

If the fabric releases the stains, then I think it is fine. How does everyone's shirts go for landering?
Click to expand...

I don't buy white shirts. Well, actually I just have - Uniqlo. I've virtually tuned over all my shirts the last 3 months to go total Uniqlo. They're cheap, decent, fit me great and look better on me than any I've tried. I go the easy or minimum care, and some barely need an iron if I hang them to dry. If they don't last as long as others it doesn't matter as I haven't paid Van Heusen prices in the first place. I used to buy Tywhitts but I think the quality has dropped in recent years and too many of their fabrics are too heavy for Perth weather. You can never tell til they arrive.

Underarms are more noticeable with white than others, but I've never had it anywhere near as bad as you. I have found deos that leave a coating like Speed sticks are worse. Old Spice has been good. Mine have just developed the line where sweat dries out. I find just washing them normally is fine, not using express wash times.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top