Natty Shirts review (pic intensive!

[Mr_Spiffy]

Before I even begin, I know there were some concerns with my previous post, which ended up being removed due to certain inappropriate comments. Let's keep this one friendly.

So, I finally decided to get on board with some custom shirts, as I'm never able to find a nice shirt that really fits me well. Usually, the collar is too tight. But sometimes the sleeves are baggy, too long, too short, etc. Or the mid-section is too large to go with the collar size I need. I saw a post about Natty Shirts on another forum, and after doing some searching around I decided to give them a shot. They had a special running during March Madness for $25 shirts. Shipping is pretty much a flat $15. Why not, right..?

So, I went ahead and ordered my very first custom shirts. I used their measurement guidelines to help customize the shirt. You could input general sleeve, collar, and size options, but I went ahead and did full measurements to really get a good fit. The shirts arrived this past week. They took about a week-and-a-half to arrive. I finally got the opportunity to try them on yesterday. Let's take a look...



Here you'll notice the collar crumpled a bit, but this is due to the unfused collars. I'd imagine once I iron and starch them, they'll be nice and crisp.


Stitching looked nice and fine. You can tell they're handmade, as the lines aren't perfectly straight. (Not necessarily a bad thing!) There were no loose threads hanging out anywhere around the shirt. Looks like they did a nice job stitching up the fabric.


The material is a bit thin, as I've read in other reviews. This can be good or bad. Light colors you might see through. So you'd need to wear an undershirt with them. But darker colors should be fine, and would be light and airy in the summertime.


Some overall shots, laid out on the bed:






Both shirts had chamfered cuffs:


And the blue shirt had a fly front, of which I really love the look!


Now, once I put them on, I started to take notice of feel, fit, etc. The mid-section fit well, and the length was just what I wanted. The collars also fit nicely and would be very comfortable with a tie. Many of my store-bought shirts had collars that were too tight, and fit very snugly around my neck as though they wanted to choke me. These shirts from Natty fit well around the collar.

One issue, though, is that the sleeves are too long. Significantly too long. Even with the bent elbow, the cuff reaches to the middle of my palm. I'm not sure if this was my own measurement error, or if they measured too long on the pattern. I'm wondering if they added to the sleeve length I input to account for the bent elbow pulling the sleeve up my wrist..? But I followed their image depicting how to measure sleeve length, so not sure what happened here... I'll have to contact them about this.

Notice the sleeves:




Another thing that I'm not real excited about is the shape of the sleeves. They seem to fit normally in the upper arm area, but below the elbow they seem to taper to a narrower fit. To me, it just looks a little odd.

I also noticed on my blue shirt that there were some shiny spots from contact on the material. This may fix itself with wear or washing. Anyone have input on this..?


One last issue I noticed deals with the back of the shirt, where the sleeves are sewn onto the torso. It's hard to see from the pics, but see how there's a diagonal crease from the top-center of my back to the under the arm at the shoulder? That happened on both shirts. It seems to be how the pattern was laid out, or due to the size/shape of the arm holes. Perhaps if they were a bit larger, the fabric wouldn't pull like this..?





Overall, the shirts aren't bad. But there are definitely some issues. I plan to contact Natty Shirts about these concerns to see how they can be handled. But, I have a feeling I may just be returning the shirts, due to the shape of the sleeves and arm holes. While the length of the sleeves can be corrected, the other items are inherent to their patterns. And correcting them may cost more in shipping back and forth than is worth it for the price paid.

ETA: I noticed on their site that they allow extra length for shrinkage of the material. I'll toss these into the wash and see how they fit afterwards, then post a follow-up.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions..? I'm new to custom shirts, so any feedback is welcome.

 

[ouch]

That doesn't seem to fit you well at all. It looks as if it were made for someone with an additional foot of reach.

Hope they take it back.

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

Well, just to cover all of my bases, I'll try washing it to see if it shrinks a bit. But I have a feeling it won't shrink enough in the sleeves to fit correctly. And if it does, the rest of the shirt may shrink and not fit very well. But, we'll see.

Their site is a little confusing in the "return policy" page. They state that sleeves have an additional 1" margin for shrinkage. But then, farther down, they state that shirts don't have margin in the sleeve length... confusing... But they do suggest giving it a wash to see how it shrinks.

 

[ouch]

Their site is a little confusing in the "return policy" page. They state that sleeves have an additional 1" margin for shrinkage. But then, farther down, they state that shirts don't have margin in the sleeve length... confusing... But they do suggest giving it a wash to see how it shrinks.

I hope that's not written over the part that says "washed shirts are non-returnable".

 

[Isaac]

I hope that's not written over the part that says "washed shirts are non-returnable".

I was thinking the same thing. I would check with them before washing and save that email.

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

I see no information their site specifying that a washed shirt cannot be returned. But that is a good point, and I will check with them before washing the shirts.

 

[mheusler]

Not for nothing but I applaud you for trying a deal like that. The price alone would have set off warning sirens in my mind, at a pitch that would've drove me so far away. There's a reason that Turnbull and Pink charge what they charge for the bespoke shirt service. Is there way to get those same quality shirts cheaper? Probably, I'm sure a good old school tailor without the brand recognition could do a similar job for less. But come on. At these prices. you can barely get a regular Ralph Lauren polo dress **** at a discounter. The collars are a disaster, the sleeves are worse, and the fact that this what the company produced after getting all of your measurements is somewhat astonishing. Please go get your money back. You shouldn't have to keep those.

Max

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

Having more experience than I do, I very much appreciate your feedback. I wasn't sure what to expect at this price. But knowing that a custom shirt should be of better quality, I will request a refund. I agree the price was a red flag, but it was worth a try.

 

[ouch]

I see no information their site specifying that a washed shirt cannot be returned. But that is a good point, and I will check with them before washing the shirts.

I'd guess that they don't specify that you can't play a game of rugby in it and then return it, either.

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

Just a quick update. Natty Shirts has offered to return or remake the shirts, even after I wash them. So I will give that a shot. They also were asking for a comparison photo of how my other shirts fit me. So at least they are making an effort to help.

 

[xXClockwork]

Just a quick update. Natty Shirts has offered to return or remake the shirts, even after I wash them. So I will give that a shot. They also were asking for a comparison photo of how my other shirts fit me. So at least they are making an effort to help.

From hanging out on other forums, their customer service seems to be very good. I also think I read that if you buy 5 or more shirts, they will send you a "test" shirt before they produce your order.

 

[Zap85]

Good, detailed review! Sorry to hear the fit was off, but glad they are tying to fix it. I'll be receiving my first MTM shirt from PROPER CLOTH in a few days, and will be sure to post a review and pics. It will be interesting to see how they compare!

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

So far, they've been quite helpful, and plan to honor their guarantee even after washing. So, I'll give it a shot and see how they turn out. They've noted my concerns, and appear to be working to keep me happy. Their words were: "...r[FONT=&quot]est assured we have locked your claim on these shirts and this will be entertained at any cost."[/FONT] Looks like they plan to stand by their product.

xXClockwork, they do state that on their web site, as well. That's a great selling point for them.

 

[Kentos]

Good customer service is important!

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

Good customer service is important!

Agreed! If they do manage to remake a shirt that fits me, I'd be inclined to order a few more.

I did throw the shirts in the wash last night, and now they're in the dryer. We'll see how they turn out. One other interesting point... no washing instructions. So, I just tossed them in on cold/cold and the dryer is on extra-low.

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

Unfortunately, after a washing, the shirt sleeves are still too long. (They come to the beginning of my fingers, when my arm hangs straight down.) The back of the shoulders still pulls. Etc. So, I'll see if I can simply return the shirts, though I think they may want another opportunity to remake the shirts. I'm not sure I'm keen on the floppy collars/cuffs on the shirts. Should the cuffs be stiff/firm? Right now, they're not really stiff or freely flexible.

 

[whtwolf]

Thanks for the great review. I was thinking about trying this company, but I think I will try to look locally for a tailor that can make shirts for me instead now.

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

Glad I could help. If it's affordable for you and your budget, it's always recommended to get someone to measure and tailor clothing locally. There's just no substitute for it.

On a side note, I'm pretty sure the long sleeves are due to incorrect measurement. However, I simply followed the image they had on their site depicting how to measure the arm length (from the shoulder, around the elbow, to the wrist, all with a bent arm). I also think the cuffs are too small, which led to the sleeves having an oddly thin shape. But the photo showed to measure snugly around the wrist. So, while these items are measurement errors on my part, they are due to unclear instruction on how to measure oneself for their shirts.

As of right now, I'm waiting on a reply from them about what to do. If I have them remake the shirts, I want to be sure of when their 30-day guarantee will be applied from. Is it from my initial order? Or will the 30 days be from when they send me new shirts? We'll see. If it's from new shirts, I will have them make new shirts, assuming I will not have to pay for shipping or material again. If the guarantee is from the original purchase, I just have to request a refund. There isn't enough time before the 30 days will be up.

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

An update on my order:

I had them go ahead and remake the shirts. They have stood by their word and remade my shirts at no additional cost to me, including shipping. I also had them change materials to their "120S" material, which is a finer, softer weave, resulting in a heavier fabric. Since they did not have the same colors in this fabric, I chose two new colors, which you'll see below. Natty Shirts also helped me with sizing the shirts. I did re-measure my sleeves and estimated a length of 24", rather than the 28" I somehow came up with previously. They were happy to accept my suggestions for putting captions on their sizing photos to ensure people measured themselves properly. Since I cannot reach that page because my dimensions have already been saved under my account, I cannot verify that this has been done or not. They also suggested that the yoke was too long, resulting in poor fit at the shoulders. I told them to use their best judgment, as I wasn't sure how else to measure this distance and get a good fit.

The shirts arrived today, and I tore open the package to find out how they turned out this time around.

First up is a navy blue shirt with a fly front, side pleats, no pocket, and single-button sleeves (which somehow turned into double-single-button-with-a-french-cuff-slit-sleeves). I really like the color. It's a dark navy blue. And the fabric is a bit heavier than the previous two shirts. It feels softer and more flexible, which may help with wrinkles.

First, the overall look and fit: (sorry in advance for not losing a few more pounds...lol)


You can see right away that the sleeves fit better. They're probably still not perfect, but they aren't as long and don't pull at the shoulders anymore. The side pleats are small, but allow for a bit more comfort when fully-extending my arms out in front of me.

Here's a rear view, showing the side pleats and lay of the fabric. It still bunches a little at the shoulders, but I'd suspect that's normal to allow for movement.


The second shirt was a thin stripe called "blue and white herring". I really like the color and pattern on this fabric. This shirt was ordered with a standard front, no pleats, no pocket, and French cuffs. Again, you'll see the fit has vastly improved. It's still comfortable to stretch my arms out in front of me, though it does pull just a touch at the shoulders due to lack of pleats. And I really like the French cuffs. They look sharp on this shirt.

Shot of the pattern up-close:






With my arm stretched out, the cuff slides back to here on my wrist:


Again, they're probably not perfect. But I can't expect a lot more for the price and ordering online. Especially when I'd never been properly measured for a custom-fit shirt. They fit as good or better than any store-bought shirt I have.

The support staff at Natty Shirts was quick to respond to my questions and concerns. They were friendly. And they're willing to go the extra mile (or more) to make sure the order is right.

Now, since I'm no expert on shirts, do you guys see anywhere that these shirts could be improved? Is something too long/short? Any serious fit issues? In case I order a custom shirt, from Natty or elsewhere, I'd like to make sure I can give proper dimensions the next time around.

 

[WarLoard]

How much does it cost to return the shirt? did you pay any difference mount? How did they help you measure this time? I think $27.99 is not a big deal to try if they keep their words.