Statistically, shirts account for 12 percent of the overall apparel market in India. While Men’s shirts account for 94 percent of this market, a 6 percent share can be attributed to the women’s shirts market, growing twice as fast as the men’s segment…
A garment for the upper part of the body made of cotton or similar fabrics usually with a collar and sleeves along with a row of buttons down the front
From golf to polo to board rooms and dance floors, the humble shirt has always been adorned and loved for its basic functionality. A mere change of shirt during the day can help one sail through smoothly from occasion to occasion right through from the gym to the bedroom.
Traditionally starting as an undergarment, the shirt has evolved to become one of the most important part of the wardrobe both for men and women. Worn on various occasions in different forms but similar functions, the luxury shirt segment is an important part of the overall category of shirts.
Statistically, shirts account for 12 percent of the overall apparel market in India. While the men’s shirts segment accounts for 94 percent of this market, a 6 percent share can be attributed to the women’s shirts segment, growing twice as fast as the men’s segment.
The men’s shirts market in India is valued at ₹37,132 crore and is the largest category among men’s apparel accounting for 28 percent of the total men’s wear market. Around 40 percent of the men’s shirt market is constituted by formal and semi-formal shirts.
The overall shirt market in India has witnessed several transitions in fabrics, fits, styles and designs in the last few years. With evolving consumer preference towards semi-formal and casual look, demand for stylish shirts is growing.
‘The men’s market of shirts is under transition in the last few years from limited colors and designs to distinct categories of formal and stylish shirts’
The Readymade Shirt Story
India’s readymade shirt story started with Liberty in 1950s. Soon the influx started with Double Bull, followed closely by Charagh Din and Cliff to name just a few.
Stencil Brands P Limited was the first organization to have set up a structured process manufacturing plant for formal and casual shirts. Manufacturing for various premium labels like Mission, La Perla, Lacoste, Corneliani and Cerutti among others, the unit was a first of its kind futuristic state of the art plant to be set up in India.
Currently, the market is loaded with different varieties, thanks to the entry of an array of international brands in the market namely Zodiac, Raymond, Color Plus, Van Heusen, Arrow, Blackberrys, Louis Phillipe, Levi’s, John Players, and Pepe Jeans etc.
Wearing a simple shirt with orthodox patterns and styles is not a choice anymore. People are selecting shirts which have unique appeal due to innovation in prints. This includes vertical stripes, checks, tropical or floral print, abstract, and shirts with contrast collars and cuffs. Faded jean shirts or bleached jean shirts is a style trend among today’s younger generation.
Khadi is also gaining popularity due to the properties of its fabric. It has a cooling effect when worn and absorbs sweat easily in the hot summer months.
There are formal shirts available which don’t need ironing. These are made from a combination of cotton and synthetic fabrics which help to prevent the material from crushing.
The Luxury Players
A brand or product may be considered as a luxury offering basis various aspects such as the quality of the raw materials used, plant and machinery employed in the manufacturing process, design philosophy, and skills of the craftsman.
People generally confuse luxury with ‘party wear shirts’ due to the style and material used. It appears to be shiny and expensive but that’s not necessarily true. There’s a big market for casual shirts and they are quite expensive as well. They come in many catchy colors which go well with jeans or a pair of chino. Along with this, of course, we can’t ignore the fact that a French cuff shirt is the dressiest shirt a man can wear while still looking understated.
Charagh Din is a brand you’re looking for if you want to speak volumes with your personality. With woven stripes and check patterns, the brand offers versatility and they are known for their fit which gives maximum freedom in movement. A historic leader in the printed shirt category, the brand continues to maintain its supremacy in this unique category.
Satvika and Siddharth Suri started Andamen have been manufacturing high quality garments with traditional Indian weaves. They make shirts out of Egyptian Giza – the finest quality of cotton in the world. Their gold string shirt with vintage panels has over 2 lac embroidered stitches and takes 6 days to make.
However the super-luxurious shirts are bespoke, tailored. When it comes to the fit and cut, oversized and baggy shirts are not the acceptable options. The well-made shirt has to be cut to your size. One can have a pleat at the back for ease of movement. It should not bunch up when you tuck it in.
In the world of bespoke clothing, Camessi has been working dominantly to provide high-quality men’s wear fashion which is also customized according to their client’s requirements. It produces about 2500 shirts a month. Consultants of this entirely bespoke brand will come and measure you up at your home, office or even gym, if you so desire—as long as you’re in Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata. They mock up a trial shirt and once you are happy with the fit, they create a piece of apparel using a fabric of your choosing from their catalogue. Every element of the garment is created from scratch in a factory just outside Udaipur, by an army of local women who have been extensively trained in the art of making bespoke clothing.
Founded in 2014 by Kabir Mehra and Samarth Hegde, Herringbone and Sui is a luxury menswear made-in-India brand with a global appeal. They directly source luxurious fabrics from internationally renowned mills and works with avant-garde Neapolitan master pattern-makers. The brand uses traditional Italian artisanal techniques to create garments that are crafted to perfection.
French crown is another player in custom made shirt market in India. They believe that men come in all sizes and tastes therefore; they provide an option of customizing every single part of the shirt. They have amalgamated contemporary product design and technology with old school tailoring. To match the exclusive feel of their fabric, each shirt is outfitted with genuine mother of pearl buttons. Hand carved from stunning mother of pearl, these are truly the most luxurious buttons a shirt can possess, bringing an extra layer of luster to each garment.
Another feather to the cap of custom made shirt is 16 stitches. It was founded by Punit Chokhani along with Priyanka Chokhani. Their shirt types range from linens, Moroccan, prints to tailored or custom shirts. They have got great collection in checks prints and have a separate luxury collection as well. At 16 Stitches, you can choose to get measured by their travelling tailor located in your area that will take the measurements and help in designing shirts from an array of imported fabric like Piumino feeling which is an Albani fabric and a variety of style options. However this service is limited only to Mumbai as of now.
They believe, off the rack shirts are not meant for everyone – Those are designed for athletic bodies which most of the men do not have. Privee Paris shirts fill the gap of quality which the mass market lacks. They came up with an innovative solution to the problem which even American brands failed to solve. They invented Belly fit shirts which became the need of the hour due to increasing obesity, especially in US. It’s fairly logical to think that customization would be provided offline but a brand like Bombay Shirt Company has done the impossible by providing this option online. They started in 2012 and are the first to take this initiative. They have really simplified the process of designing it online by using features like FitSmart algorithm for the sizing process. It compresses years of data to arrive at a perfect custom fit in exchange of which they ask few simple questions. Also they charge no extra fee, no matter what’s the extent of customization.
If it is a high-quality white shirt, it cannot be woven from a manmade fiber – no polyester or polyester blend can be used. Real luxury is pure cotton. Classic white shirt has to be woven from long staple cotton – very fine, lustrous cotton. The best cotton in the world is either Egyptian or Sea Island. The yarn is smooth and has a silky feel to it. Of course, you get good cotton in India and one can do without the imported ones. However, the cotton fabric has to be made from very high quality long staple yarn and be tightly woven for stability.
The second factor in the luxury white shirt is the type of weave used. The classic men’s shirting fabric usually comes in two forms. One is a Poplin weave, which is flat and smooth and crisp looking. The other is an Oxford cloth, which is a weave with a grainier texture and is, in purist terms, considered a little more casual.
A distinguishing feature of high quality shirt is the number of stitches per inch. Cheap t-shirts have 8 stitches per inch and most shirts in India come with 12 stitches per inch. However good quality shirt has around 16 stitches per inch and has a single needle construction. It is made by a single needle lock-stitch machine.
A super fine gas mercerized two play cotton with a 21~22 spi is an ultimate in a luxury shirt and can be a gem in ones wardrobe. If someone wants a classically beautiful cut shirt, it’s better to go to a shirt maker than a designer. A shirt maker has perfected it over many years and focus on the essential details such as fit rather than just concentrating on its design.
Arguably fit is the most important feature of a shirt. If the shirt is ill fitting, even the finest details and the best collar style won’t work. No matter what option you choose, ready-to-wear, bespoke or made-to-measure, the final fit will have a huge impact on the overall look.
You can choose between Classic Fit, Slim Fit, Modern/ Contemporary Fit, and Skinny Fit.
Average price point for a ready to wear premium shirt is about `2000 while the price of the custom made shirt is dependent upon the kind of fabric used. Bombay Shirt Company typically uses a structure for pricing where they charge for a specific material which is selected and then all the other charges including tax is added on to it.
Understanding what makes a truly good shirt is a process of education for a man. You need someone to draw your attention to the details, because details are what luxury is all about.
Some of the most important International men’s wear brands offer RTW as well as bespoke shirt services today. A visit to India’s luxury mall Emporio, one could explore various shirt options from names like a Zegna, Armani, Tom Ford, Corneliani, Canali, Hugo Boss etc.
What Truly Makes A Luxury Quality Dress Shirt?
Fabrics: Fabric quality can’t be overlooked – It is immediately perceived by the wearer. The top-notch construction is easily overshadowed by a low-quality fabric, while a higher-end fabric is usually enough to leave low-quality technical details unnoticed.
Quality in Shirt Construction
1. Fabric Pattern Matching: An easy way to check the quality of a shirt is how well the pattern of a checked shirts is lined up at a few critical seams. The following areas should be matched perfectly:
- Shoulder to sleeve
- Pocket –if it exists
- Split yoke –if applicable
- Sleeve to sleeve placket
- Shirt fronts and front placket
Matching the fabric pattern in all these areas demands great skill of the manufacturer and hence it is usually only achieved by experienced
professionals, who know how to cut and assemble a shirt with the utmost skill, care and attention.
Once you have a shirt that fits you perfectly, you expect the same fit and workmanship for all future shirts. This requires careful pattern development and storage preferably digitally for subsequent orders.
Ideally if the body postures of customer are properly recorded and only if these intricacies are correctly translated to the shirt pattern, will you be able to enjoy a well-fitting shirt at the end of the process.
3.Stitching: Stitch density, as well as consistency, is a good way to judge the workmanship of a shirt.
Tightly woven fabric should have a very high density of stitches, which results in an elegant look and durability. Very delicate open weave shirts sometimes require slightly larger stitches in order not to destroy the fabric but if that’s the case, Tech-Tailor knows about that. Most of our premium shirts are stitched with 21 SPI. As a rule of thumb the top-stitching on your collar and the cuff should be the same.
4.Side Seams: Traditionally side seams can be finished either with twin-needle or single-needle stitching. Higher-end shirts will always use single- needle because it provides a cleaner look and dressier appearance, making it perfect for dress shirts (it is also more difficult to produce). Due to the different materials of thread and fabric, the area
between the needle stitches will wrinkle heavily after a few washed, which is why every dress shirt should have single-needle stitching.
5.Collar: The collar is the most striking feature on a shirt and is usually visible at all times. Therefore, it is crucial to choose the right style for your face and wardrobe. There is no right or wrong in regard to collar styles, but whatever you choose, it should be a well-made and balanced collar – both ends should sit exactly at the same distance from the centre of the collar
When ordering a custom shirt, you can also choose the tie space, so your tie knot will look great.
6.Yoke: The yoke is the back part of the shirt that connects neck and shoulders and may assume a variety of shapes and patterns depending on the shirt model. Commonly, the yoke is made of one piece of fabric. However, on custom shirts, it makes sense to have a split yoke so the varying degree of your sloped shoulders can be accommodated correctly. Also, a split-back yoke can help to match the shirt pattern on the sleeve head.
7.Trimmings: Besides fabrics and construction, there are other elements that are also invaluable to a shirt’s aesthetic and that are usually overlooked as mere accessories. Trimmings play a huge role in the outcome of a luxury shirt, be it the quality and shine on the stitching yarns, the beauty of the buttons or even the choice and quality of the interlinings. For dress shirt buttons, real mother-of-pearl MOP is the standard worldwide.
8.Button Shanking: Few things are as annoying as losing one’s shirt buttons. High-quality shirts usually feature buttons that are sewn on by hand with a shank. The extra space between button and shirt fabric is important because there will be two layers of cloth when its buttoned and without a shank you will see centric wrinkles around every button.
9.Monograms: Monograms generally hand- embroidered have become very popular recently. Today, people sometimes choose to have their monogram put on the chest pocket or even the cuff or collar. You may have your monograms just above the natural waist, or in a place where it can’t be seen too often.
10.Buttonholes: Ideally, a buttonhole should be cut first and then sewn. Traditionally, buttonholes were hand-sewn and there are great differences in terms of the stitch density and gimp thread used on custom shirts. Many high-end shirts feature hand-sewn buttonholes as well because they are more expensive to produce. However, machine-made buttonholes that are cut first and then sewn with a high stitch density can be very beautiful as well. In regard to longevity, machine-made buttonholes will likely last longer. The lowest button of the front placket is usually horizontal because it leaves more room for expansion which is particularly important in this area when you sit down.
11.Gussets: In a high-end luxury shirt gussets are a necessary.
Zugretto – Made To Measure
The ultimate in luxury is to have a Made-To-Measure shirt created especially for you, while taking your exact measurements and taking into consideration any fine detailing which you may desire. Made to the exacting standards set by Jermyn Street, the heart of British shirt making.
A unique merger of technology and tailoring has been developed by Premjeet Singh in his ‘Tech- tailoring’ solution for the modern busy executive. A battalion of certified technicians with a combination of virtual measurement assistance systems assist a busy executive to choose the best features, textile and fits to suit every occasion. One of the most advanced and proven platforms, the ‘Tech-tailor’ is soon to launch its international chapters for their products via Zugretto.
Zugretto is a superbly crafted men’s formal business shirt correlating to an authentic European Saratorial Heritage of single needle stitching. This means that the shirt is stitched using the best quality Single Needle Machine by an expert craftsman who are trained to stitch the garment with fullest perfection possible. The shirt has a better aesthetic look than normal shirts as the seams and the curves are finely stitched which imparts a very clean look to the shirt.
This method of crafting shirts is preferred to the normal double needle stitching because of its sharper, firmer and clean stitches. Though it is a slow and time consuming process but still preferred one for crafting very high quality and superfine fabrics.
‘A good shirt conveys the wearer’s personality and speaks volumes about his taste in life. The first product to get noticed is the shirt of the wearer – choose yours carefully’
Zugretto exactly offers the same – Single Needle Stitched Shirts. Employ a min of 21 stitch per inch (SPI) to stitch the shirts which are buttoned with real Mother of Pearl (MoP) buttons, they use the best quality of interlinings namely Kufner from Germany and deploy best quality Guttermann threads from Germany to stitch each seam. Each stitch appears ‘like a Pearl’ in the Oyster. The stitching process is done on German machines like Durkopp Adler and Pfaff while Fusing of interlinings are conducted using Kannegiesser. Machines have been orchestrated with K-point Schmitz needles from Germany which are meant to generate best quality stitch without harming fabric surface. Flaunting a shirt developed using best ingredients is just like romanticizing with one’s soul mate. Tailors work like dexterous craftsmen on the shirts to create a luxurious experience which no words can explain.
Since the stitching is so fine, there is no option but to use the finest Giza fabrics offered in a variety of fabrics to suit ones your tastes and needs.
The website www.zugretto.com allows one to select and choose each style element after one has chosen the fabric. One can virtually see the shirt as it is being developed. So no surprises when one receives the delivery. Not only the textile can select from different collar and cuff options along with the fit and design the pattern required. Their customized shirts are delivered at your doorsteps within couple of weeks. Besides, one has the choice of monogramming the shirts with his/her own initials or any specific date which one wishes to remember. The placement location of the monogram on can also be chosen from a host of possibilities like pocket, cuff, placket, gusset etc.
What else, just wait for your quintessential made-to-measure shirt to arrive?
All in all, a good shirt conveys the wearer’s personality and speaks volumes about his taste in life. The first product to get noticed is the shirt of the wearer – choose yours carefully!
Conclusion
Shirts have come a long way and today are often worn as a statement piece in their own right. If you want a quality shirt then above guidelines should help you to weed out shirts of inferior quality.
