MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
As I bloody hate high street shopping, who's using what? I'm after something decent but cheap as I work in an engineering company and they will get trashed before they wear out!
I know there was a thread about this a while ago with some decent web sites, but I simply can't find it.
T M Lewin and Charles Tyrwhitt get talked about a lot on here, but it may depend on what kind of "Engineer" you are...? 😉 (most of us on here are the software/IT type...)
Don't know, I love TM Lewin shirts, well made, last forever but a bit pricey unless you buy a lot in one go. In the same position, need some every day shirts for a new job (need ones that don't look daft with no tie according to the missus).
TM Lewin are pretty standard for work shirts and you can usually get 4/5 for £100.
M&S.
Another vote for tm lewin here.
Are Lewin better than Tyrwhitt, then? I bought some Tyrwhitt ones and was a bit underwhelmed, if I'm honest...
TM Lewin. Great quality, good choice of cuts, lengths, fabric etc. Hard to fault for circa £20 a pop now that their buttons stay on too. 5 for £100 means you can have a nice clean one every day of the week. Bargain.
This won't be any help, as I no longer need to wear a grown up version of a school uniform.
I just get a guy to print up a load of green t-shirts with "Charlie the Bikemonger - probably the best bike shop in Swanage" in the carlsberg style. Handy if I forget my name, what I do, or where I live.
Another one for Lewins. Can't really go wrong.
M&S for me.. they look good and don't reduce me to tears if they get ruined given the price.. reduced iron is good too
Whatever looks easiest to iron...Lewins cotton shirts take 10x longer than any other IME.
Next outlet for me. Love the fitted cut and price.
Lewin. But mainly cos they're usually on sale, so cheap enough to sling when they wear out after 6-12 months.
TM Lewin are frankly poor - the cotton isn't finished well so it loses it's shape, the cut is bad, looks flaccid after you've washed it once and creases far too easily.
I much prefer Charles Tyrwhitt - not least because the cut is good and classic, and the cotton is better quality for the same price as TM Lewin.
Polo ralph lauren for me for when I don't wear work issued branded polo shirts.
Lewin here in slim fit.
Lewins cotton shirts take 10x longer than any other IME
You do iron them slightly damp, don't you?
Brakes is indeed right. Lewins [i]were[/i] good when they were made in Essex, but now I wouldn't touch them with a very long bargepole.
Tyrwhitt are indeed very good, if the cut works for you. I wear Roderick Charles these days. Great cut, excellent quality cottton.
My last three were bought at £19 a shirt in the sale. With a suit, and a second pair of trousers, that came to a little over £300. You really can't go wrong with that, now can you!
Can't say as I noticed anything special about my Lewins or my Tyrwhitt shirt. So went back to Debenhams- boring, probably a bit plebby but they're cheap, they look fine, they wear well, and they're easy to look after too.
Hawes and Curtis, slim cut really suits my body shape, loads of plains, stripes and fancy ones with comparable cost to Lewins.
Austin reed mainly for me. baumler ones are good too if they are any cheap in Tk . I wasn't overly impressed with the finish on lewin's but i know a lot of people like them
I used to be big fan of Boss & Paul smith but pure cotton shirts are a nightmare to iron and keep looking good. I don't see they are worth the money for work shirts either these days really.
TM Lewin shirts are made from really thick fabric which is bloody awful stuff.
Ted baker are nice for work shirts,M&S and also some of the ranges in Debenhams.
3 for a tenner in Primark. If they're good enough for Lineker, Hansen and Shearer on a Saturday night they'll be good enough for you.
Had both TM Lewin and Tyrwhitt shirts. The Lewins were un ironable and went back to the shop sharpish. Tyrwhitt non irons still need ironing, but it is at least very easy. Tyrwhitts also fit me far better. Both have a no quibble returns policy.
If standard cut shirts fit you ok, Debenhams Osborne shirts are good and are often on sale for 15 to 20 quid a piece.
If you do buy Tyhrwhitt you have to factor in their outstandingly tedious marketing emails/ mailshots which are relentless. I added them to my spam list within 2 weeks of buying a tie from them.
Ted Baker or Hawes and Curtis.
George at Asda. Cheap and cheerful and not bothered if they get damaged. THey don't look to bad either. Surprisingly hard wearing too.
M&S every time. I used to buy Van Heusen but they have disappeared.
Used to be a fan of M&S, but think the quality as dropped of late, and never a great cut on the shirt.
I find Next the best overall.
Often wondered about Asda ones, but never quite gone for them... dont want to waste £5 afterall 🙂
John Lewis Easy Care slim fit for me :p The slim fit on them is more like just a tailored normal shirt so you don't get a huge overlap on the waist if you have a big neck.
Eterna. They outlast everything else.
Apart from BenjiM, the rest of you need to examine your man credentials.
Work shirts can be bought at ASDA or Tesco's. They will do the job of clothes that a man requires of them, i.e. the cover the hairy bits and stop you dying of cold. Any additional functionality that clothes provide is something that girls need, not you.
My Mrs has a standing instruction to grab any thick white cotton shirt with a button-down collar in a size 16.5 that she sees in TK Maxx.
I think button-downs are essential when under a jacket without a tie.
Matalan. Cheap & cheerful. Reasonable quality given the low price
I'm with brakes and CFH, TM Lewin aren't what they used to be, quite a few elbows have torn in pretty new shirts. I've given Charles Trewhitt a go, and I like them, slightly long in the arm, but I'll be sticking with them from now on.
Also worth having a look in TK Maxx every now and again, got a nice Ralph Lauren for 25 quid last month.
Work shirts can be bought at ASDA or Tesco's. They will do the job of clothes that a man requires of them, i.e. the cover the hairy bits and stop you dying of cold. Any additional functionality that clothes provide is something that girls need, not you.
well said by the back office IT manager 😉
I forgot, all shirts can have additional functionality. A top pocket to put pens and screwdrivers in. Maybe a slide rule.
Charles Thyritt for me, the slim fit ones are not that slim, better described as "fitted" and they fit me a treat. 4 for £100 is pretty good value as well.
I like nice work clothes as, depressingly, I spend more time in my work shirts, suits and ties than I do in my casual clothes.
How do the Charles Trewhitt normal fit shirts size up? i am more of a chunnky build with a 16.5 inch neck. Got a leaflet last nigh for £5 off a spend of £49 or more so 2 shirts for £45 seems alright to me.
The normal ones will be fine, I prefer the slim fit and I am in no way slim (6'4", 16 stone, think 2nd row rather than racing snake).
I think most of mine are Animal or Quicksilver. There might be a Craghopper one too. And some others that I can't remember. Oh, and a Tattersall check 'St Michael' shirt that was £4 from Age UK.
They all 'go' with jeans, so I never have to think about what to wear.
Mix of calvin klien, boden and viyella, oh and a bhs special in there (which is probably my favourite) - all bought in tk maxx or local dept store sale. tried a hammett one and it must have been made for a really skinny bloke with a thick neck
I'd tend to agree with the positive comments on Tyrwhitt shirts, plus their customer service (IME) is very good especially after they replaced a shirt after a few weeks when it broke(?). I would also unfortunately have to agree with their enthusiastic correspondence too though. Having said that, I've just got a £10 voucher from them.
Lewin shirts are decent but their delivery time and service is awful.
If you can afford them, Emmett shirts are fantastic but at £90 a pop they're pricey. They do have very good sales in their shops, but unless you're in London that's not very helpful.
M&S are always good though, especially if you need to pick something up in a hurry.
Emmett boxers are very good, too! 🙂
Would it be too much to say i'm currently....
I'll stop there 🙂
I used to swear by M&S shirts, however I've had a number wear through on the ends of the 'bones' of the collars in under a year.
TM Lewin Slim Fit and Next Slim Fit.
Really like the fit of Next shirts, quality and feel isn't amazing, but they do fit well. TM Lewin are just great.
My last 4 Lewin shirts cost me in total £18. Got to love posh charity shops in London.
If I was you thats where I would be going!
I'm horrified and appalled that no-one has mentioned the joy that is Thomas Pink. Pricey, yes, but well worth it.
Thomas Pink? Pricey? Nah. I prefer these Eton shirts...
[b]Eton 80th anniversary dress shirt – over $45,000.[/b] Swedish shirt-making company Eton, celebrating their 80th birthday, created this shirt out of the finest Egyptian cotton. Of course, it couldn’t be the most expensive shirt in the world without a few diamonds. Both the studs and the cufflinks are encrusted with diamonds—white diamonds on the cufflinks and colored diamonds on the studs.
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I have 6. One for each day, Monday-Friday and a spare in case I drop some lunch on myself. 😉
Am I the only one that think TM Lewis cut is horrible...? The semi fitted one is tailed like a potato bag... Where the fouck is the 'fitted' in that.
Rant over.
One a more OP related note, I love marco serussi shirts.
I just buy agnes b shirts. However, if you work somewhere that requires footballer style tie wearing they're not for you.
20 years ago Lewins were ok. Not brilliant, but ok... Since then they have cropped up everywhere, skimped on length and use crap cotton.
Hilditch & Key FTW
If you do buy Tyhrwhitt you have to factor in their outstandingly tedious marketing emails/ mailshots which are relentless. I added them to my spam list within 2 weeks of buying a tie from them.
They are very quick and polite about taking you off their lists if you don't want that though.
Most of mine now are CT. As said, the slim fit ones are good as long as you're somewhere between racing snake and spherical, and not many people do that sort of cut in non-iron. I find anything except unpatterned white can be just hung up out of the washing machine and they dry crease-free. Great for travel too, roll them up, hang up in the hotel and they're usually fine in the morning.
Tom Ford
I must admit to being confused, I bought my first Lewin shirt in 1983, I have not noticed a massive decline in quality, indeed some things have improved - stripes align across the collar these days or they do on mine. Although, I am not sure the buttons are mother of pearl anymore.
I have also owned approximately 30 Hilditch & Key shirts, I have to say their buttons were of worse quality (to old Lewin shirts) and they did not survive any longer. The cotton was a bit nicer but certainly not worth the price difference, so I reverted to Lewins.
Lewins are the only OTP shirt that are long enough for my arms, so I like them.
juan - saying their fit is no good is like saying everyone should ride the same bike - we're all different and all like different fits. Slim fit is their best selling shirt, so a lot of people must like it.
I bought 5 TM Lewin shirts about a year ago, and they are pretty poor, wouldn't buy them again.
I need better work shirts than Tesco. They are cut for fat office workers not well built athletic types 😉 so have tons of fabric around the sides which I hate.
Tyrwhitt don't seem to have shop in Cardiff, nor does this Roderick fellow. Where does one get them?
olymp luxor shirts
Pink? Seriously?
They fell from grace even before Lewins. They were indeed superb, I remember buying a lovely one from their little shop in Bath. Now, they're just overpriced high street rubbish, as with Lewins.
Ben Sherman do some nice short-sleeved shirts. Handy if you perspire a bit in long sleeved jobbies.
Short sleeved shirts - Only acceptable for casual wear. Or if you are a bus driver.
😉
Honestly though - where am I supposed to shop for this stuff? I'm not paying £50/shirt, £100/4 sounds ok though.
Molly, £100 for 4 is a rip off, especially for Pink or Lewins. £19 a shirt in the sale at Roderick Charles. Check 'em out.
Right. They only have shops in London.. That's handy. Which of those is near Canary Wharf?
They do mail order too.
Near the Wharf? None, really. Depends what tube line you take to get out there. Jermyn St is a short stroll from Green Park (Jubilee Line), and is my preferred shop. They look after me for suits there.
Tube line? I will be travelling au velo, bien sur.
IME- all shirts wear out. Its great to have a special Pink / Jeagar shirt for interviews etc but day to day an M&S autograph shirt is hard to beat. Once it looks tired - its done. Buy another.
I don't care so much about the quality, more the cut.
They look after me for suits there.
A shirt snob who buys off the peg suits?
eeewwwwww
*cocks ones snook at flashy*
Tyrwhitt shirts can be had with 10% cashback on topcashback.co.uk
i'm with FuzzyWuzzy John Lewis last better and are easier to iron than lewin(apparently), the mrs says if i buy john lewis shirts she'll do them, if i buy lewins i have to do them, hmmm let me think!
Nothing wrong with Lewins if it's just for getting ruined at work and you aint that bothered. Very cheap but as above, the fit is awful unless you are massively fat.
Does anyone happen to have a voucher for tyrwight they aren't going to use. Usually go for Lewins but not much choice in my size at the mo'.
Thoroughly recommend M&S made-to-measure at the moment. c£50 a shirt but I can actually get something with the right length arm, a fitted body AND choose all the details.
I used to rate Pink and Lewin but only the very dull cuts and fabrics come in ape shape.
Ah Quidco free delivery + 10% cashback
M&S shirts are very well made, and last well - also good VFM.
mcboo & simons - the slim fit Lewins work for big non-fat blokes. I wear a 17.5 collar with 38 sleeves and they fit like they should. They are a revelation after the 'normal' cut now they make them in big sizes. I commend them to you.
I should check out John Lewis again - I looked for a suit on Tuesday, almost didn't go to JL as I thought they were too expensive but their bargain suit was £100 and is one of the nicest I've worn (ok so I've never had a suit worth more than £150 but still). I'm going back for some back-up trousers I think.
TooTall - I know what you mean - in cheapo shirts because I need a 16 inch collar I get about a 44 inch chest to go with that, which is too big.
M&S are doing their "sartorial" range at buy one, get one half price, making them £30 each. Really nice quality cotton, and the slim fit is a good shape.