charles tyrwhitt dress shirt quality

[ikeyballz]

I really want to pick up a couple dress shirts with french cuffs. My grandpa passed on his cufflinks to me and since I have no shirts that can use them they just sit in a box. I was scrolling through this sub-forum where I came across the CT name, the possibility of big sales, etc (all you darn enablers!!).. Well, I have a couple shirts I'm really interested in from the company, at $35.00 + $5-10 shipping! I did some more research and it turns out CT is starting to manufacture sub-standard shirts/ties in China? I was just wondering if anyone had good (or bad) experiences with them. Is the $40 shipped price point fairly reasonable or will they have better sales?

Thanks! (or, no thanks for another AD....)
Ike

 

[drocu]

I purchased an American Express sponsored deal from Charles Tyrwhitt that included a shirt and tie for $40 shipped. The material of the shirt wasn't bad but was way too baggy for a slim shirt; it wasn't as bad as the Brooks Brothers shirts in terms of bagginess if that gives you a reference point. I found the tie to be okay but nothing special. I ended up returning both of them because I've since found that I prefer TM Lewin shirts for a better fit. Overall, I found that my TM Lewin shirts seem to be better made but I was only able to compare this to one CT shirt.

 

[ikeyballz]

Thanks drocu, time for me to search TM Lewin now...

 

[drocu]

I think both of those companies offer free returns if you don't like them. I would just wait until you find a deal with free shipping or buy a few shirts to get free shipping; whatever you don't like, send back for a refund.

 

[Doc4]

CT is okay ... they have been making most of their stuff "overseas" for a while now. Dunno if it's in China; they don't say. Fit will be based on personal preferences and size/shape of the wearer, so comparisons with TM Lewin will be YMMV ... but both are about the same quality-wise IIRC.

Now is a good time to buy CT (and probably Lewin) as they are having their end-of-season sale.

 

[ikeyballz]

Very good info. I'll try one or two of each and determine which fits me best!

Thanks guys

 

[drocu]

I just saw this on Slick Deals. You can get a 15% off coupon on top of the sale price for CT Shirts.

http://slickdeals.net/f/4923142-15-...nt=u1211577&utm_campaign=tu-9999#post51893546

 

[Obiwan]

They have some pretty good deals from time to time where you pay between $30-40 per shirt. At that price point, they are worth considering. Not at alll worht their "normal" retail price.

 

[professorchaos]

CT quality is okay, construction is fine but the materials are lackluster.

Why don't you go to Brooks Brothers so you can get measured and see the shirt?

 

[oakeshott]

I'm a fan of the CT shirts. Have about a dozen. They're for work and they're perfectly acceptable quality and fit for the price. What's really good is you can do some small measure of customization. TM Lewin is also good. Have one or two of those.

One other thing. I'm a cufflink lover. How about posting some pics of what you got.

 

[DukeGrad]

My friend

Charles T is not a very good choice for an OTR shirt as is Thomas Pink. They imploded here some time ago, not the best cotton, nor MOP buttons
If you want british look at Hilditch and Key ot T M Lewin.
Tm lewin does a nice cutaway.
Lool at turnbull asser but gonna pay
Do me a favor look at Ascot Chang oit of NY
A bit more but you will be sad of the poor quality of the shirt.
Budd shirts is a hidden gem makes nice oxxford cloths
I do not buy at Brooks brothers nor J Press again over 30 years these places have died, dont bother.
be careful if you look for custom most custom do otr oit the back door, be careful
Hamilton shirts in texas is a great buy.
ROBERT TALBOT ESTATE IS NICE BUT TOO MUCH, not getting bespoke.
There are a slew out there shy from C Tyrwitt and T Pink

Nice day
Jim

 

[StubbleMaster]

Comparing Charles T and Hilditch is really unfair. Like a Ford and a Porshe. For 5 times the price they should be better. CT is OK for the price. Brooks is a step up in quality. You can go to a store and look at Hugo Boss. Ike Behar makes great shirts at almost fair pricing. Expensive but still below the upper crust.

 

[Manning]

CT shirts on sale at $35-$40 are a steal. Of course, there are a ton of more expensive shirts that are of "better" quality, but thats not really apples to apples. I own more BB shirts than CT and prefer BB, but I dont think comparing the two is fair.

At the $35-$40 a CT comp is Lands End. IMO CT is much better than the current (some older shirts were of incredible quality) Lands End dress shirt offerings.

For travel, I own quite a few non-iron no fuss CT slim shirts with the cutaway collar (for my face, superior to BBs cutaways) and they are quite nice. The non-iron is worlds above other non-iron options at that price point. At the $35-$40 price, I have never been disappointed with a CT shirt.

 

[avsmusic1]

CT shirts on sale at $35-$40 are a steal. Of course, there are a ton of more expensive shirts that are of "better" quality, but thats not really apples to apples. I own more BB shirts than CT and prefer BB, but I dont think comparing the two is fair.

At the $35-$40 a CT comp is Lands End. IMO CT is much better than the current (some older shirts were of incredible quality) Lands End dress shirt offerings.

For travel, I own quite a few non-iron no fuss CT slim shirts with the cutaway collar (for my face, superior to BBs cutaways) and they are quite nice. The non-iron is worlds above other non-iron options at that price point. At the $35-$40 price, I have never been disappointed with a CT shirt.

+1
I couldn't agree more.

As a matter of fact, I am wearing a CT shirt as I type this. I have yet to find a better shirt that you can regularly purchase for $35-40. I have no issues with the quality at that price point and I love the styling.

My wardrobe is roughly:
- 70% Lands End
- 20-25% CT
- 5-10% misc

My Lands End shirts are my everyday workhorse shirts and I step up to a CT shirt when I have a meeting with my managers (or when I'm just feeling fancy )

 

[k2clones29]

Thanks drocu, time for me to search TM Lewin now...

That's a good idea. I just picked up a bunch of Lewin shirts and are very happy with their quality. They are a little long and baggy, so you may want to buy smaller in terms of the cut (regular, slim, extra slim).

 

[oakeshott]

CT shirts on sale at $35-$40 are a steal. Of course, there are a ton of more expensive shirts that are of "better" quality, but thats not really apples to apples. I own more BB shirts than CT and prefer BB, but I dont think comparing the two is fair.

At the $35-$40 a CT comp is Lands End. IMO CT is much better than the current (some older shirts were of incredible quality) Lands End dress shirt offerings.

For travel, I own quite a few non-iron no fuss CT slim shirts with the cutaway collar (for my face, superior to BBs cutaways) and they are quite nice. The non-iron is worlds above other non-iron options at that price point. At the $35-$40 price, I have never been disappointed with a CT shirt.

Exactly. I have a very few high end shirts but almost never wear them and instead gravitate to my CT shirts. The reason isn't that they're extraordinary shirts, but rather that in the event of a pasta bolognese accident, I can lose them without, well, losing my shirt. When I was single, I used to wear very high end dress shirts out on dates, but they were inevitably ruined when my supermodel dates ripped them off my sculpted torso at the end of the evening. "Damn", I'd think as the last bit of cloth hit the floor, "there goes my favorite bespoke Italian dress shirt made for me by my friend Enzo last summer in Milan."

Don't let that happen to you! Get a CT shirt so that you can focus on the supermodel and not the cost of your wardrobe.

 

[Bob the aged Lurcher]

I have been buying Lewins in bulk when I am back in the UK, not too bad at all, I get a good length of wear out of them.

 

[Doc4]

When I was single, I used to wear very high end dress shirts out on dates, but they were inevitably ruined when my supermodel dates ripped them off my sculpted torso at the end of the evening. "Damn", I'd think as the last bit of cloth hit the floor, "there goes my favorite bespoke Italian dress shirt made for me by my friend Enzo last summer in Milan."

Glad to see you're not one of those guys who hallucinates about how good the single life used to be for him ...

 

[Exapno]

As far as I know the CT shirts are made in Egypt from cotton sourced in Egypt. I'd be surprised if they were now being made in China as Egypt isn't exactly the most expensive place to get things manufactured. I heard the MD/Owner of CT give a speech at a conference a few years ago, he's quite an interesting guy. He told a story about a customer who phoned up the company because he'd been promised delivery of a shirt for a wedding and it hadn't arrived. As it was CT's fault, the MD/Owner got another shirt, got into a taxi in London and delivered it to the customer personally... in Liverpool. Now that's service.

 

[ikeyballz]

Ordered a few TM Lewin shirts since their return policy is so awesome! I'll try them out and if they dont fit properly or feel cheap I'll return them and try a CT shirt. I have yet to look at lands end, that'll be my next stop! I'll try to get some pictures of my grandpas cufflinks posted up, its kind of drab in the asian-old-man way (Jade, silver). I have jury duty for a week or two though, so itll probably be after that!

thanks guys! you guys will make me one broke, snazzy dresser.