Is A Tailored Shirt Worth Its Cost? Here Are 5 Reasons Why

When it comes to a tailored shirt (especially for work) most men think the 5 for £100 deal shops offer on the high street is a good one. For them they see a shirt as a quick buy and an easily disposable commodity. I mean if the shirt rips its only £20 right? Why spend £100 on 1 tailored shirt when you can get 5 for the same price? Well there are a number of reasons and I’ll list 5 of them below

1. A tailored shirt is made to your body size and preference.

When you buy an off the peg shirt the decider on what you walk out with is neck size (and if you are lucky long, regular & short). 

You wouldn’t be mistaken to wonder why they don’t base shirts on at least chest and neck, but its a simple answer; cost. The cheapest method to production is to assume everyone who is a 15” neck has a 40” chest. While that is accurate enough, a lot of the time is far from 100%. At Morts & More we’ve had clients who are 5ft 5” with a 38” chest and a 17” neck, or 6ft with a 60” chest and a 15.5” neck. Can you imagine how they struggle to buy off the peg?

I haven’t even begun to talk about arm length. Essentially a tailored shirt is made from 12 points of measurements and then takes into account your body posture. How could off the peg compare?

2. You choose the material 

A number of our clients are surprised when they come in and see the range of white shirt material they can select from. White is not just white when it come to shirts, you have thickness, weave, pattern, elasticity, and sheen among other things. Then of course you have the different colours, patterns and shades to pick from. With us that would equal more than 100 options to pick from!

3. You choose the design

With a tailored shirt you could have a favourite material but 100 different variations of shirts in it. You have the ability to select your collar, cuff, buttoning style, pocket or no pocket (never pick pockets), buttons, long or short sleeve. Found a style you like? You can stick with that and use it for 100+ shirt materials.

4. You pick details

It’s not only design, it’s also the details. Things like monogram (including colour and placement), potentially your own logo or crest, button stitching and buttonhole stitching. Details that could change the shirt from being formal to casual like epaulets, sleeve tiebacks, contrast stitching in or outside the cuff, collar and gusset. Even elbow patches. This is where you really make the shirt yours.

5. Longevity

If you pick a reputable tailor, they will only use quality materials. Taking into account how often its worn and laundered a tailored shirt should vastly out live one off the peg. The 5 for £100 shirts are made from the lowest material possible, the sellers and the buyers don’t expect them to last even a year (you may be lucky if you get 6 months). Whereas a tailored shirt should last you many years, as long as your weight remains consistent (we’ll cover that in another blog).

When you do the maths, what seemed like a good deal from the high street is pretty terrible in comparison to getting a tailored shirt:

High street – 5 x shirts at £100 that don’t fit great and need replacing after 6 months becomes £600 over 3 years (£1,000 over 5 years).

Tailored shirt – 5 x shirts at around £100 each that you pick every detail on and fit great is £500 over 3 years (also £500 over 5 years).

So, is a tailored shirt worth its cost? I think you now know the answer.

If you are interested in get your a tailored shirt? Contact us now to book an appointment and quote discount code MaMBlog to get 15% off your first tailored shirt with us.