Charles Tyrwhitt Custom Shirt Review

[bjornb17]

I've been a pretty big fan of Charles Tyrwhitt shirts for about the past 13 years or so - their Non-Iron Slim Fit shirts just happen to fit me perfectly and in most cases the non-iron fabric is pretty nice. I still iron all my shirts but since I run around town from meeting to meeting all day I really enjoy the wrinkle resistance of these shirts. Having owned many of their shirts over the years and I have gotten quite familiar with the various fabrics and details are typically included on their dress shirts.

Late last year I became aware of their custom shirt program and decided to order a handful of shirts. I was mostly interested in being able to select specific cuff and collar combinations but there are a lot of other great options like contrasting buttons, mother of pearl buttons, contrast stitching, contrast fabrics, etc. My initial orders didn't go too crazy on customization but I wanted to see how similar a custom shirt was to their standard shirts. There have 7 different collar options and 9 different cuff options, enough to give a bit of variety to my shirt collection.

To cut to the chase, here are what you can expect to be different with a custom shirt vs. their standard shirts on their website. For starters, the included plastic buttons are much nicer - they are slightly thinner and more shapely, but most importantly they are a nice bright white instead of the yellowish color they typically provide. This is especially nice on a white dress shirt. Secondly, the stitching appears to be a little denser, with the stitching being much closer to the edge of the cuff/collar than their standard shirt. Next, the interlining they use on the custom shirts is much thinner and softer - I think it is still fused, but the cuffs, collars, and interlining are much softer, thinner, and refined than their normal shirts. The shirt tags say "Custom" and there is no size or fit listed on the tags - instead there is a tag next to the care tag in the shirt that has the order number and customer name. Also if you get button cuffs, they appear to be slightly smaller in diameter and not oddly oversized like their normal shirts. All in all, the shirts are moderately nicer all around.

While they offer a lot of their standard non-iron fabrics on their customization tool, I'm pretty certain that at least the white and sky blue poplin fabrics are a bit nicer than their standard shirts. Holding white poplin regular and custom shirts side by side, the fabric on the custom shirt looks to have a higher thread count (possibly 100s instead of 80s, not 100% sure on the exact numbers since they are not published) and it is softer, fluffier, and drapes nicer.

The shirts start at $119 and if you spec our a shirt without going crazy on custom options that is probably what you'll end up paying. They offer 10% if you buy two but I've had the website glitch out twice on me where it either charged me full price, or in once case, charged me more than the checkout price. I reached out to customer service who was initially incredulous, but eventually came around and agreed and provided a refund to the correct amount. I'm sure the website is glitching out but I bet a few people have gotten ripped off. Customer service isn't quite as eager to help as I remember in years past although the same can be said for almost any company these days.

The shirts typically have arrived in about 2 weeks or less from the order date. I believe they advertise a 3 week turnaround time.

So, are the shirts worth it? Most people are familiar with the 3/$99 or 4/$200 promos which they've frequently had. I will say some of their recent "standard" offerings are nicer than what I've purchased years ago. In the end, I think a good approach is to buy some of their standard shirts for the promo price and spec out a few shirts on the configurator as they are indeed a bit nicer than their standard offerings and definitely worth the extra money.

I've owned quite a few higher end dress shirts over the years and I feel like these CT custom shirts are really excellent and I can highly recommend them!

 

[SteveMc]

I've been a pretty big fan of Charles Tyrwhitt shirts for about the past 13 years or so - their Non-Iron Slim Fit shirts just happen to fit me perfectly and in most cases the non-iron fabric is pretty nice. I still iron all my shirts but since I run around town from meeting to meeting all day I really enjoy the wrinkle resistance of these shirts. Having owned many of their shirts over the years and I have gotten quite familiar with the various fabrics and details are typically included on their dress shirts.

Late last year I became aware of their custom shirt program and decided to order a handful of shirts. I was mostly interested in being able to select specific cuff and collar combinations but there are a lot of other great options like contrasting buttons, mother of pearl buttons, contrast stitching, contrast fabrics, etc. My initial orders didn't go too crazy on customization but I wanted to see how similar a custom shirt was to their standard shirts. There have 7 different collar options and 9 different cuff options, enough to give a bit of variety to my shirt collection.

To cut to the chase, here are what you can expect to be different with a custom shirt vs. their standard shirts on their website. For starters, the included plastic buttons are much nicer - they are slightly thinner and more shapely, but most importantly they are a nice bright white instead of the yellowish color they typically provide. This is especially nice on a white dress shirt. Secondly, the stitching appears to be a little denser, with the stitching being much closer to the edge of the cuff/collar than their standard shirt. Next, the interlining they use on the custom shirts is much thinner and softer - I think it is still fused, but the cuffs, collars, and interlining are much softer, thinner, and refined than their normal shirts. The shirt tags say "Custom" and there is no size or fit listed on the tags - instead there is a tag next to the care tag in the shirt that has the order number and customer name. Also if you get button cuffs, they appear to be slightly smaller in diameter and not oddly oversized like their normal shirts. All in all, the shirts are moderately nicer all around.

While they offer a lot of their standard non-iron fabrics on their customization tool, I'm pretty certain that at least the white and sky blue poplin fabrics are a bit nicer than their standard shirts. Holding white poplin regular and custom shirts side by side, the fabric on the custom shirt looks to have a higher thread count (possibly 100s instead of 80s, not 100% sure on the exact numbers since they are not published) and it is softer, fluffier, and drapes nicer.

The shirts start at $119 and if you spec our a shirt without going crazy on custom options that is probably what you'll end up paying. They offer 10% if you buy two but I've had the website glitch out twice on me where it either charged me full price, or in once case, charged me more than the checkout price. I reached out to customer service who was initially incredulous, but eventually came around and agreed and provided a refund to the correct amount. I'm sure the website is glitching out but I bet a few people have gotten ripped off. Customer service isn't quite as eager to help as I remember in years past although the same can be said for almost any company these days.

The shirts typically have arrived in about 2 weeks or less from the order date. I believe they advertise a 3 week turnaround time.

So, are the shirts worth it? Most people are familiar with the 3/$99 or 4/$200 promos which they've frequently had. I will say some of their recent "standard" offerings are nicer than what I've purchased years ago. In the end, I think a good approach is to buy some of their standard shirts for the promo price and spec out a few shirts on the configurator as they are indeed a bit nicer than their standard offerings and definitely worth the extra money.

I've owned quite a few higher end dress shirts over the years and I feel like these CT custom shirts are really excellent and I can highly recommend them!

I have couple of dress shirts and other items from CT. I didn't know they have a custom program.
Where do you see this on their site?

 

[bjornb17]

I have couple of dress shirts and other items from CT. I didn't know they have a custom program.
Where do you see this on their site?

On the website go to the menu on top and pick Shirts, let it drop down and then you'll see Custom Shirts as an option.

 

[pepito]

I've been a pretty big fan of Charles Tyrwhitt shirts for about the past 13 years or so - their Non-Iron Slim Fit shirts just happen to fit me perfectly and in most cases the non-iron fabric is pretty nice. I still iron all my shirts but since I run around town from meeting to meeting all day I really enjoy the wrinkle resistance of these shirts. Having owned many of their shirts over the years and I have gotten quite familiar with the various fabrics and details are typically included on their dress shirts.

Late last year I became aware of their custom shirt program and decided to order a handful of shirts. I was mostly interested in being able to select specific cuff and collar combinations but there are a lot of other great options like contrasting buttons, mother of pearl buttons, contrast stitching, contrast fabrics, etc. My initial orders didn't go too crazy on customization but I wanted to see how similar a custom shirt was to their standard shirts. There have 7 different collar options and 9 different cuff options, enough to give a bit of variety to my shirt collection.

To cut to the chase, here are what you can expect to be different with a custom shirt vs. their standard shirts on their website. For starters, the included plastic buttons are much nicer - they are slightly thinner and more shapely, but most importantly they are a nice bright white instead of the yellowish color they typically provide. This is especially nice on a white dress shirt. Secondly, the stitching appears to be a little denser, with the stitching being much closer to the edge of the cuff/collar than their standard shirt. Next, the interlining they use on the custom shirts is much thinner and softer - I think it is still fused, but the cuffs, collars, and interlining are much softer, thinner, and refined than their normal shirts. The shirt tags say "Custom" and there is no size or fit listed on the tags - instead there is a tag next to the care tag in the shirt that has the order number and customer name. Also if you get button cuffs, they appear to be slightly smaller in diameter and not oddly oversized like their normal shirts. All in all, the shirts are moderately nicer all around.

While they offer a lot of their standard non-iron fabrics on their customization tool, I'm pretty certain that at least the white and sky blue poplin fabrics are a bit nicer than their standard shirts. Holding white poplin regular and custom shirts side by side, the fabric on the custom shirt looks to have a higher thread count (possibly 100s instead of 80s, not 100% sure on the exact numbers since they are not published) and it is softer, fluffier, and drapes nicer.

The shirts start at $119 and if you spec our a shirt without going crazy on custom options that is probably what you'll end up paying. They offer 10% if you buy two but I've had the website glitch out twice on me where it either charged me full price, or in once case, charged me more than the checkout price. I reached out to customer service who was initially incredulous, but eventually came around and agreed and provided a refund to the correct amount. I'm sure the website is glitching out but I bet a few people have gotten ripped off. Customer service isn't quite as eager to help as I remember in years past although the same can be said for almost any company these days.

The shirts typically have arrived in about 2 weeks or less from the order date. I believe they advertise a 3 week turnaround time.

So, are the shirts worth it? Most people are familiar with the 3/$99 or 4/$200 promos which they've frequently had. I will say some of their recent "standard" offerings are nicer than what I've purchased years ago. In the end, I think a good approach is to buy some of their standard shirts for the promo price and spec out a few shirts on the configurator as they are indeed a bit nicer than their standard offerings and definitely worth the extra money.

I've owned quite a few higher end dress shirts over the years and I feel like these CT custom shirts are really excellent and I can highly recommend them!

What do you think of the tails on the slim fit shirts? I was reading the description of the fit on the website and they boast of "level" tails such that the shirt can be worn untucked. I'm not looking for a dress shirt that can do double-duty as sporting attire. I want a tailored fit that doesn't blouse excessively at my belt line, but if the tails are too short to stay tucked in I think that would defeat the purpose.

 

[bjornb17]

What do you think of the tails on the slim fit shirts? I was reading the description of the fit on the website and they boast of "level" tails such that the shirt can be worn untucked. I'm not looking for a dress shirt that can do double-duty as sporting attire. I want a tailored fit that doesn't blouse excessively at my belt line, but if the tails are too short to stay tucked in I think that would defeat the purpose.

I had to go to the website to read that for myself because I didn't quite believe it, but yes you are right they do say that. But I find it odd because I'm 6'1" with a long torso and the shirts are really nice and long (they go down to the bottom of my butt) and have a low button that keeps them neatly tucked in and the placket straight because there is plenty of fabric below the belt line. They are certainly longer than most other dress shirts I've tried and are about the perfect length for tucking in at my height. The front and back of the shirt are indeed equal length but I think they would look too long untucked. If you want a short dress shirt go to Bonobos or Twillory lol (not that I would recommend those brands anyway) but man those were impossible to keep tucked without fidgeting with all day.