update on tailored shirts for men online

January 28, 2012 8:21 AM

I'd like to find a place to buy men's tailored shirts online, hopefully at prices between $20 - $50. I'd also like to know, once I get a nice shirt, what is the best way to keep it from getting a yellow ring on the collar?

previously, more

posted by rebent to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (3 answers total)

Best answer: Tailored shirts online: With shipping, I spend about $40-$50 a shirt with Modern Tailor, and have been pretty happy with the results. One shirt I got was a bit thin, but I should have noted that it was single ply. Make sure to send them "exact" measurements from a shirt that fits well. Do NOT use body measurements. They also have a "new customer only" special where you can get a blue oxford or black cotton shirt for $20 to check out the construction and fit before spending more.

Laundering to avoid yellowing: If you can wash your shirts soon after sweating in them, before the stain sets in, that is ideal. Spray some Shout on the collar and cuffs, cold wash, hang dry. The Kabbaz-method is widely touted on some men's fashion forums. If, despite your best efforts, you still get yellowing, I suggest the following (which I am sure I read on styleforum, but can't locate the source at the moment):
1. Soak shirt in 1 gallon hot water to 1 cup vinegar for 12 hours
2. Make a paste using oxyclean granules and a small amount of hot water
3. Rinse the vinegar out of shirt
4. Rub the oxyclean solution into the stains with a small soft nylon brush
5. Leave wet shirt for another 6-12 hours in a white plastic bin
6. Add more hot water and oxyclean, let soak more
7. Rinse, and launder with normal detergent, cold or warm wash
8. Should take care of the stain.. If really ingrained, may have to repeat
posted by 2ghouls at 9:12 AM on January 28, 2012 [4 favorites]

^WRT Modern Tailor, avoid their single-ply fabrics like the plague. I have a few great shirts from them made of two-ply fabric, but the one single-ply shirt (the "sample" blue oxford) uses some of the worst fabric I've ever seen.

I think you'll probably end up spending around $60/shirt for decent fabrics from Modern Tailor, but maybe if you wait for sales you can get it down to your price range.
posted by ripley_ at 9:33 AM on January 28, 2012 [2 favorites]

Collar stains: get a spray bottle and mix up a mixture of water and liquid laundry detergent. Basically just thinning it down enough to be able to spray. Every third laundering or so, soak the collar area (also the inside of the cuffs) and let it soak for 15 minutes. Works wonders for me.

(This works for all kinds of stains. The key, I believe, is to use a name-brand detergent that has enzymes in it.)

Similarly, I've found that I've been able to keep my clothes just generally cleaner looking by letting them soak for a while. Load the washer, let it agitate for a few minutes, and then open the hood (or hit pause) and just let the stuff sit for an hour, and then start it back up. This works especially well on whites, if I also put in some Clorox 2 in the wash. I don't have to use much (say, half or a quarter of what they recommend) to get good results. Also, that shit is expensive. But I've found that it works better, dollar for dollar, than OxyClean.

(Clorox 2 also makes a GREAT general household cleaner, even watered WAY down. Whitens up grout and tile and tubs and what not very well, and seems to make fixtures and the like super shiny.)

Another laundry trick I've learned: if you have shirts with button-down collars, unbutton them before washing. This slows or even prevents the wearing away of the edge of the collar.
posted by gjc at 1:07 PM on January 28, 2012 [2 favorites]