Review: Made-to-Measure Shirt from Solosso

This article is guest post by Grant Harris of Image Granted, LLC.

I’ve had the pleasure of wearing several made-to-measure (MTM) shirts in my sartorial journey. My most recent experience came by the way of the online shirtmaker Solosso. Solosso is a Swiss owned Singaporean company (don’t ask me how that came about) founded in 2009. They take pride in creating environmentally friendly and socially responsible stylishly tailored custom dress shirts at an affordable price. I’ve taken the time to bring you the details.

The product: Solosso shirts are made from premium two-ply Egyptian cottons and linens. All the other usual high-quality shirt features are there as well: pattern matching, mother-of-pearl buttons, single needle stitching, split yokes, removable stainless steel collar stays and gussets. Shirts are handmade in Bangkok, Thailand under the supervision of one single tailor for each garment.

Shirt Models: Solosso offers four different shirt models. Business for the office, casual for the country, elegant for formal attire and design from scratch for those looking to make something of their own.

Pricing: Solosso shirts start at a mere $89 and go up to $149 depending on fabric selection.

Design: A slew of options beginning with four different collar selections from button down to the wide spread English cutaway. Two collar button options. Three cut options in slim, regular, or loose. Three placket options in regular, French, or hidden. Five chest pocket options. Four short sleeve options. Three cuff options from single button to double cuffs. Three cuff shape options in rounded, angled, or squared. Three pleat choices including none, box, and side. Three bottom cut choices in straight, rounded, or enhanced for extra tucking security. And last but not least a single or split yoke option which allows for easy pattern matching for striped or checked fabrics and molds to the wearer’s body over time.

Personalization: Three monogram script options with eight locations in a bevy of colors. Contrast collar and cuff options. Inner collar and cuff contrast color and design choices including flowers, polka dots, and solids.

Measurements: Customers have the option of measuring themselves, sending in measurements of their favorite shirt, choosing from standard sizing, or mailing their favorite shirt to have the sizing duplicated.

My shirt: I choose to design my shirt from scratch in a white Twill cotton with a cutaway collar with one button, two button angled cuff, single French placket, no pocket, side pleats, enhanced tail, blocked monogram on the left stomach in light blue, blue flowers inside collar, solid light blue inside cuffs, with my own specific measurements.

The good: The ordering process was clean and simple with loads of personalization options and I like the fact that they offer linen shirting when most online shops don’t. My shirt arrived within two weeks which is an exceptional turnaround time. The presentation was great. A discrete box embossed with the Solosso logo. Packaged expertly with a personalized note and shiny stainless steel collar stays. Sturdy construction but a soft feel and light sheen will make it a joy to wear. The dressy fabric will make it office appropriate, while the contrast inner collar and cuffs will make it easy to transition to a night on the town.

The bad: It shrunk a bit. I washed this shirt intentionally to test the degree of shrinkage. After the fact it definitely felt like it shrunk more than what’s comfortable but after ironing and wearing it seemed OK. The collar was a bit big. This is common in custom shirting to allow for fabric shrinkage and physical expansion over time. However, this felt a bit more than normal.

Bottom line: For a new company offering the fabrics and options they have and with the stellar customer service, turnaround time, price point and overall quality; I highly recommend Solosso for the gentlemen just introducing themselves to the MTM world of shirts.

Grant Harris is a Washington, DC based menswear specialist.  He is owner & Chief Style Consultant at Image Granted, LLC. He owns many more pairs of socks than he should.

Useful Sources: Shoenet.co.uk

The internet has been a boon to independent retailers. While this is a positive thing, it’s not without its pitfalls, particularly when a retailer has no bricks and mortar retail unit to provide a sense of reassurance. Just who is at the other end of your monitor?

One of the things I like to do on Bespokeme is highlighting dependable online only retailers. This usually entails calling people up and interviewing them over the phone, and taking a punt and trying their website of course.

In the case of shoenet.co.uk this was an easier undertaking than most. It just so happens that the guy who sits behind me in the office, Edward, is also a part owner of the business.

It’s actually run by his uncle, and it wasn’t until we got talking (read drinking) that I discovered the family’s involvement with shoemaking goes back as far as 1898.

I doubt it’s a company you’ve heard of, but the owners of Shoenet are family firm Livingston & Doughty. Originally founded in Leicester in 1898 they started out supplying shoe components to England’s burgeoning shoemaking industry.

Today, they supply the cork filler, or Flexofil as it’s known in the trade, which is a key component in Goodyear Welted shoes. It’s the cork layer between the insole and the sole of the shoe that means the shoe not only moulds to your foot but it also act as an additional cushion, and barrier, between the foot and sole. They currently supply cork to most of England’s shoemakers, from Church’s, Joseph Cheaney, John Lobb and Crockett & Jones to Loake, Barker and Grenson. They also export their formula all over the world.

Shoenet isn’t the flashest retailing website out there, and a few more pictures of the shoes would be helpful, but it does offer a solid range of classic Goodyear Welted shoes at competitive prices. In particular, and what prompted me to use them, was the fact they sell the Grenson Rose collection.

I’m something of a fan of Grenson shoes, but curiously they come in for a bit of stick amongst the clothing chat forums. For the money I think they’re great value and are perfectly well made. But some of this antipathy stems from a confusion regarding whether they are made in England or aboard.

When this solid but uninspiring firm was taken over by City financier James Purslow in 2004, he set out to reinvigorate the brand. Bringing in London shoe designer Tim Little – who has had some success in his own right and recently bought the whole enterprise- they set about capturing a slightly younger market. Echoing the company’s traditional designs but incorporating subtle tweaks, these shoes have a modern edge. And it’s a strategy that’s worked. That range is the Rushton collection which can be found on the Grenson’s new retail website at around the £120-180 mark. It is these shoes which are made up in India. I don’t hold that against them, it’s an increasingly common feature of modern shoemaking when you aim for a price point of around £100-£180. You might find this excellent article on TheShoeSnob interesting reading.

However the more expensive Rose collection, which is the one I’m interested in, retails at around £225 and upwards. These shoes are most definitely made in Northampton, and it is from this collection that I recently took delivery of a beautiful pair of tan, double sole Albert brogues.

The shoes came with shoehorn and a spare pair of laces. The shipping charges are reasonable and they ship all over the world. In short, they’re a useful website with a solid history in shoemaking as guarantor.

It’s worth getting to know that guy who sits behind you in the office.

Made to Measure Suiting at Stephan Shirts: Part 4

Well here we are then, the final part in the series (follow the links for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3). The suit is made and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result, particularly with regard to the trousers.

Indeed, the suit must have something about it as I wore it to a second round interview and got the job. That’s one special suit alright.

Recapping, I set Erlend at Stephan Shirts a number of difficult tasks to test his made-to-measure suit service. First there was the suit jacket, a 4×2 double breasted in the Kent style. Because of the need for perfect button placement and a soft roll lapel it’s a tricky jacket to get right. Other details include five button working cuffs, a loop behind the lapel buttonhole and the jacket’s distinctive British Racing Green lining –which I chose- is even carried over into the top pocket.

While the suit is still a little stiff and needs a little more wear to soften it, you can see the jacket is pretty much as requested and desired.

The next most difficult task was getting the trousers right. Trousers don’t sound a tricky matter but then I’m well over my fighting weight.

I asked for two pairs to be made, the first pair having classic English pleats, also referred to as ‘inward’ or ‘forward’ pleats, because the pleat goes in the direction of the fly (‘outward’ or ‘reverse pleats’ open in the direction of the pockets). This style of trouser only really works when the trousers sit on the natural waist and are held up by braces, for which I wanted a fishmouth waistband.

Erlend has cut the trousers just right in my view. The danger with pleats –even inward facing pleats- is that they can make you look big, particularly if you actually are a bigger build. The high waist helps to counter this, but only a skilled cutter could make a trouser that fitted my large waist and seat whilst managing to emphasise what are nicely slim legs.  Nice little details include the half waistband and one piece back leading up to the fishmouth. Normally there would be a full waistband and then a second piece of cloth would be attached to that. It was my choice to have no back pockets on the trousers. I really don’t see the point of them.

The second pair of trousers I term Italian styled. These are flat front with much thinner legs leading to a narrower opening and a full two inch turn-up. Sitting just above the hips but below the waist they’re slightly shorter in length than the first pair and work perfectly with loafers. Again, flat front trouser are a tricky proposition for the bigger man, but these look natural and sit perfectly. Indeed, I’m so pleased I’ve considered asking Erlend if in future he’ll make all my trousers.

Now, at the risk of stating the obvious, the purpose of investing in bespoke is to get something which perfectly fits your body shape and masks, or at least de-emphasises, any physical quirks. However, all that comes at a hefty price, usually £1000 plus. Made to measure gives you some of those attributes and comes in at a much lower cost. Ultimately it’s a trade-off. But I can honestly say with Erlend’s suits those trade-offs are virtually nonexistent. The man himself is perfectly honest about what he provides. He calls it made-to-measure and doesn’t pretend otherwise, as you might expect from a former Savile Row cutter. Prices start at £495 and when you consider just what he is able to provide, the degree to which he is able to cut a pattern to suit your frame, and the level of understanding he has for the business of making a suit, I can’t help feeling that calling it made-to-measure is selling it short.

A Man On A Mission: The Perfect Soft Roll Button Down Shirt

Long time readers of Men’s Flair may remember that a while back I wrote of my desire to set up my own clothing label; and that the first product I wanted to offer was a perfect soft roll, button down, oxford cloth shirt.

This whole endeavour was dependent on two things happening. The first ‘happening’ was laid down by my girlfriend, Westie. It ran along the lines of: leave Parliament, get a well paid job, and then you can engage in your schemes.

Well, as of Friday I’m pleased to say that criterion has finally been met. Not a terribly easy task in this market, finding a job is almost a full time job in itself.

The second thing I needed to happen was to lay my hands on a genuine, indeed legendary, vintage Brooks Brothers version of the soft roll button down. Not quite in the same league of ‘happenings’ as the first, but as necessary a step.

The key is forming the unlined collar and the positioning of the buttons, but to get my template design right I wanted to see and learn from the genuine article. Sadly, not even Brooks Brothers make such a shirt today, and while there are a few modern examples available, in my view they cost far too much.

However, finding such a shirt has proved problematic and I’d all but given up hope. And had it not been for Giuseppe Timore I would have. Those whose interest in clothes extends beyond mere designer labels will know that Giuseppe is the talented man behind the original, enjoyable and extremely well written An Affordable Wardrobe.

If thus far you are unfamiliar with AAW, it’s a blog I strongly recommend, particularly for those with a bent towards Ivy League dressing. What makes it so original is that Giuseppe is all about the pleasure of clothes in its purist form. His considerable repertoire of classic ‘Ivy’ looks all come via thrift stores, a mode of shopping he’s turned into an art form not just a way of life. I’m already a paid up member of the vintage school, but for those who believe being well dressed is a mere matter of money AAW is an eye-opener.

Taking his love of classic clothing and vintage Ivy to another level, Giuseppe has opened up An Affordable Wardrobe online shop. Worth checking regularly, I’d previously had little luck finding the particular shirt I’m after. But, just as buses only come in threes and at once, I got the offer of the job on the Friday and on the Saturday morning while browsing Giuseppe’s latest offerings I struck gold. The shirt I’d been looking for. Bingo.

I also couldn’t resist picking up a couple of hopsack patch pocket blazers; one is an original 1960’s J. Press, which for the money was too good an opportunity for an Englishman to pass up. The items will serve as useful templates for future bespoke commissions, as well as being ideal additions to my current summer wardrobe.

These goodies are winging their way across the Atlantic, and the next task will be to take the shirt to my shirt maker to begin designing a future template. I’m a man on a mission.

Father’s Day Gift Ideas

With Father’s Day swiftly approaching, I present some gift ideas for the stylish dad in your life.

The Necktie

A necktie is the ultimate stereotypical Father’s Day gift.  Although the idea is cliché, no man can have too many neckties.  For a really good bargain tie, check out The Tie Bar where every tie is fifteen bucks.  Pictured is one that I own in Carolina blue.  It will be mistaken for a much more expensive tie (mine has).  For an extremely nice tie (with a much higher price tag) check out Drake’s of London.

Magazine Subscription

How about an out-of-the-ordinary men’s style magazine subscription?  I’m not talking about GQ or Esquire.  Instead I would suggest The Rake that is published bimonthly in Singapore.  Another option is Men’s Ex from Japan.  Although it’s written in Japanese, the photographs are a great resource for learning how to put clothes together into a cohesive outfit.  Print versions can be prohibitively expensive outside Japan; I get mine digitally through Zinio.

Shave Kit

Every man needs a good shave kit for travel.  I like this one from Col. Littleton. It is made from leather and canvas with solid brass hardware.  It unfolds to hang conveniently on the back of a hotel bathroom door.

Travel Steamer

Continuing with the travel theme, I would suggest a Jiffy travel steamer.  Instead of scorching or staining his clothes with a cheap hotel iron, the stylish dad in your life can gently remove those inevitable travel wrinkles.

Shoe Care Kit

Quality shoes will last for decades if given proper care.  The ASW online store has a beautiful kit available in wood, silver and leather.