Made-to-measure shirts, cut in Bangtao

Where a bought shirt goes wrong

A shirt is sold on one number, the collar size, and that number describes one measurement out of the six below that decide whether it fits. These are the places it fails.

• Collar circumference. The number on the label is measured at the band, and makers differ from one another — so your size is a starting guess rather than a measurement.
• Shoulder point. The seam should land on the bony point of your shoulder. Inboard means the shirt pulls when you reach forward; hanging down the arm means the sleeve bunches at the armhole. This one cannot be corrected afterwards.
• Body width. Off-the-peg assumes a fixed relationship between neck and chest. If yours differs, a shirt that fits the collar billows at the waist or pulls at the buttons.
• Sleeve length. Sold in one or two lengths per collar size, which is not enough. A cuff that slides over your hand is the commonest visible fault.
• Body length. A shirt long enough to stay tucked is usually too long to wear out, and most shirts are cut to do neither properly.
• Yoke and posture. A collar that stands away at the back is not a neck-size problem; it is a shirt cut for a different posture.

Each of those has a test you can run on a shirt you already own, and they are set out in order in how a shirt should fit — including which failures a tailor can correct and which mean the shirt is simply the wrong shirt.

Collars and cuffs

A shirt is mostly its collar. It is the part at eye level, the part a jacket frames, and the only part that changes how the whole garment reads. These are decisions rather than upgrades, and they cost nothing.

• Point collar. Narrow spread, longer points. Lengthens a round face and suits a narrow tie or none at all. The conservative default.
• Semi-spread. The most versatile of the four, and the one that works with the widest range of ties and with an open neck.
• Cutaway or spread. Points angled well apart. Broadens a narrow face, needs a tie with some bulk to fill it, and looks deliberate open-necked.
• Button-down. Casual by convention, softer in the roll, and the right answer on an Oxford cloth or a linen shirt worn without a jacket.
• Collar height and stiffening. A taller band shows more above a jacket collar; a softer interlining reads relaxed and a firmer one holds a tie knot upright.
• Barrel cuff. One or two buttons, the everyday choice, and adjustable if the second button is set for it.
• French or double cuff. Folded back for links. Formal, and worth having on at least one shirt if you own links.
• Cuff depth and taper. Deeper cuffs suit longer arms; the cuff should stay put when you drop your arm and still take two fingers.

Cloth for this climate

A shirt sits against the skin, so weave matters more here than on any other garment. What you want is a cloth that lets air through rather than one that merely feels thin in the hand.

Plain-weave cottons — poplin and broadcloth — are smooth, crisp and the standard choice, and a lighter weight in an open weave beats a heavier one every time in humidity. Oxford is thicker and more textured, breathes well, and reads casual. Linen and linen-cotton blends are the coolest of all and crease immediately, which on a shirt reads as appropriate rather than untidy in a beach town. Twills and heavy dobbies look good on the roll and are the ones to avoid, because a dense weave holds heat against you regardless of the fibre.

Pale colours reflect rather than absorb, which is a real difference outdoors at midday rather than a styling preference. The same weight-and-weave argument applied to jackets is in which cloth handles the heat.

How long it takes

Most pieces here are ready in 24 to 48 hours over two to three fittings, and shirts sit at the quick end of that because there is less structure to decide. The busy months change how easily the appointments can be booked rather than how long a garment takes. A first shirt normally means one measuring session and one fitting; once the pattern exists, further shirts need neither.

That is the reason to order more than one. The measuring is the part that takes time, and it is done once. If you are here on a short trip, come in during your first days rather than your last — and your pattern stays on file afterwards, so a second batch can be ordered from home.