Shirts

A few months ago Bluesville, one of the casual Indonesian clothing brands I’ve been keeping an eye on, released the Batik Kerang shirt. I was drawn to its design and wanted one for myself but not bad enough that I didn’t place an order. Fast forward to October when I visited Jakarta and revisited the idea of buying the shirt. I got in touch with Bluesville asking if they would be able to make a special run for me as it was out of stock in their online shop. Direz, one of the owners, replied back and told me that they could make me one but that I would have to wait a few days because the workshop had to make everything by hand. But before I could commit I needed to find my size. I visited one of their stockists to fit one of their shirts. I was an XL but wanted the length of the L. Having found my size I set up a lunch with Direz so we could chat a bit and give him my payment. Five days later Direz personally delivered the shirt to my hotel. The timing was perfect as it was a day before I was scheduled to fly back to the Philippines. Continue Reading

A month has passed since I started with my popover and it is finally finished. I came in for a second fitting to make sure that problems such as bunching of the cloth behind the neck and the roomy sleeves were corrected. The length is also right in that it is not too long nor short and can be worn tucked in or not. The back looks roomy in the photos but it actually fits well underneath a sport coat. Continue Reading

Two weeks have passed since I started with my popover project and it’s time for my first fitting. There were no buttonholes, the collars and cuffs were made of different cloth and the seams were joined by a single stitch. In other words the shirt was in an unfinished state. Continue Reading

The latest obsession in the menswear scene lately has been the popover. Once worn by the Italian business magnate and style icon Gianni Agnelli, this item of clothing has suddenly become a symbol of casual flair. As a follower of the Italian menswear aesthetic I knew I had to have one. There aren’t many who makes popovers and with my somewhat weird fit off the rack the only way was to go tailored. I’ve been impressed with the work of Abdul on the various shirts my friends had made so I decided that he will be the one to make my popover. Continue Reading

When I heard designer Michael Bastian was collaborating with Japanese fashion giant UNIQLO I became very excited. I love what he has done at GANT; masculine and wearable menswear that makes any man’s wardrobe instantly more interesting without inviting too much attention. GQ posted the designs in the collection and I thought they looked good and would be getting quite a number of pieces. Continue Reading

This is a guest post by Ade Winata Gho. He works as a branding consultant and dreams of having his own shirt label.

“No brand?! What kind of shirt is this!?” This is what most people would say when they do not see a label on the shirt. Personally, I do not find the use of a label on a shirt other than to irritate the back of your neck and to remind you where you bought the shirt at. So naturally this is a plus point for me.

E-commerce has changed the way we shop, and traditional businesses such as tailoring (which used to take months requiring multiple visits) can now be done at the comfort of your home and delivered to you within a month. Speed is important but equally so are the accuracy of the fit, quality of the materials, presentation of the product and after-sales service.

I decided to have a shirt made using Blank Label. Everything is straightforward when it comes to the various options. Some of the fabrics are seasonal and while others are available for a longer period of time. They have an option to create your own shirt or customize an existing style. Extent of customization ranges from choosing the size, collar style, and even a monogram. Continue Reading

One of my favorite things to wear is the denim shirt. It looks rugged but can be worn in a variety of ways. I like wearing them with slim chinos and sometimes with an unstructured sport coat. I could even take it further with a navy or brown silk knit tie as the Italians are so fond of doing. If I want to achieve a dressed down look I’d wear them with a pair of dark jeans (preferably raw), roll up the sleeves and round out the look with brogues. It’s never a good idea to wear both a denim shirt and jeans in the same shade or washed look unless you want to look like a cowboy. Continue Reading

Japanese clothing brand UNIQLO’s AIRism line has been around for quite a while (used to be under the name Silky Dry for men and Sarafine for women). I’ve heard good things about it so I thought I’d give it a try.

Sometimes when I know I’ll be doing some walking I wear a t-shirt underneath my dress shirt to keep things looking neat on the outside. It works but pure cotton t-shirts become soggy when one sweats a lot and takes a long time to dry up. Also these t-shirts don’t hug the body and are quite thick even though they’re designed to be used as underwear so they bulk up a little bit. With this in mind I take a closer look at AIRism. Continue Reading