After making a couple of shirts last year for Christmas presents, I tripped over a fun website that teaches men how to dress and behave like gentlemen. I made 2 shirts for my guys but I only started checking the internet for interesting websites about shirts after I finished. Duh.  One of the posts was about the difference between a cheap shirt and an expensive one.  Turns out my shirts I made for Christmas gifts last year were on the cheaper side of the scale and to help all avoid doing this too, I thought it would be fun to review this web newsletter with you. In my last post, we were discussing the 7 elements of an expensive shirt, and we covered the first 4.  I found these in, “ $30 vs $300 Dress Shirt – How To Find A Quality Shirt”, a newsletter post in the Gentleman’s Gazette by Sven Raphael Schneider. ) So far we have covered matching prints, stitch density, single stitching, collar and cuffs and making a 2-piece yoke.  If you missed my last post on sewing a shirt that looks like it cost $300, here’s the link to it. Link Read that first, then come back and join us for Part II. 

When we go through all the stress and effort to make a custom shirt, we can follow Raphael Schneider’s advice to make something very special.  Last time we left off with the yoke and why tailors make it in two pieces.  Now we will move on to the next element, buttons

5.  Buttons

Since these are so obvious on a shirt or blouse, and second only to matching the pattern, they should be good quality.  Although the newsletter is geared to men’s clothes and tailoring, we can follow the advice when making a women’s tailored shirt too.  Raphael recommends using real mother of pearl buttons rather than the plastic ones we see all the time.  In addition, I would recommend using buttons that are a little larger than those found these days on women’s shirts.  Have you noticed how small the buttons are?  I found these small buttons not only on a Target Oxford cloth, but also on a shirt from Talbots

Blouse from Nordstroms
Woman’s shirt from Target

Some of the buttons they make now look very much like mother of pearl, so how do you tell the difference.  (Yes, the Nordstrom blouse has real mother-of-pearl buttons; I tested)

  • First, you can touch the button with something metal such as an iron or a key, and it will make a special sound. A mother of pearl button will sound more metallic than a plastic one.
  • You can also touch it with your teeth, and it will make a much more metallic sound with the mother of pearl button.
  • But the best way is simply to lick the button.  If it feels cold, you probably have a mother of pearl button; if not, it’s a plastic one. Please be discreet with this last option.  Licking buttons is frowned upon in some fabric and notions establishments

What exactly is mother of pearl?  “Mother of pearl is the inner linings of a shell. An oyster creates a pearl when a foreign object enters the shell.   The mollusk then encases the foreign object in order to protect itself. The material used to create the encasement is mother of pearl.”  (https://www.thepearlsource.com/blog/back-to-basics-what-is-mother-of-pearl/)  (Newscenter.lbl.gov)

Mother of Pearl from newscenter.lbl.gov

Another button characteristic of a $300 shirt is one with a shank.  Why would we want to sew on a shank button since they are difficult to sew on well?  When we sew on a regular button by machine, the buttonhole may pucker when the shirt is buttoned.  (See Target shirt above) On the other hand this will not happen with a shank button, so it looks much neater.  Also, unless they are tied-off, buttons sewn on by machine tend to come off sooner than hand-sewn buttons.

Side note:  I saw a Craftsy class recently, Finishing Techniques for the Savvy Sewer, in which the host, Sue Hausmann,  very briefly reviewed how to sew on a shank button by machine.  I never saw this done before, so I watched this part of the class several times.  It’s a matter of having the correct button foot (has a raised portion to use with a shank button) and the width of the zig zag.  (You need to be careful where you put your fingers and don’t forget to lower the feed dogs.

Shank Button sewn on by machine – Craftsy

Shank button – Craftsy

6.  Machine or Hand-Sewn Buttonholes

This one is a no-brainer.  Of course hand-sewn buttonholes look more expensive.  First off they are difficult and time consuming to do well.  Also, they are cut first and then sewn to encase the entire hole.  There are no loose threads and fraying fabric exposed, as you have with a machine made buttonhole that is cut after it is made.  But who wants to spend time making hand-made buttonholes?  Compromise.  Make ones from machine, but cut the hole first and then sew around it.  This way they look neat, no fraying edges and have the appearance of a higher end shirt.  It may take some practice getting used to cutting first and then stitching, but try it. I’m still in the practice stage.

Hand-sewn buttonhole The Gentleman’s Gazette


Machine-made buttonhole

7.  Gussets

Gussets are the little triangles or parts at the base of the side shirt seams and some think these are a hallmark of a quality shirt.  This is not necessarily the case.  Some very expensive shirts do not have gussets, but some inexpensive shirts do. Gussets are used to take some of the stress where the side and bottom seams intersect.

Gusset The Gentleman’s Gazette
High-quality shirt without gusset The Gentleman’s Gazette

8.  And finally, Arm Scythes and sleeves.  Have you ever noticed that lower quality shirts have a large arm scythe and sleeve to match? Do you think it’s because it is easier to fit this way and to fit different body shapes; or possibly to insert and/or faster to sew and therefore cheaper for manufacturers to produce?  The trouble with this construction is when you wear these shirts and lift up your arm, the shirt becomes untucked, not to mention tight on your arm and uncomfortable.   On the more expensive shirts, however, the shirt will usually have a smaller armhole because it is more comfortable and allows more comfortable arm motion.  A smaller arm scythe indicates that the maker took extra pains, so chances are the rest of the shirt is high quality too.  Does this remind you of any famous designer?  Coco Chanel used a 3-piece sleeve and the smaller arm scythe / sleeve to make her jackets comfortable to wear.  She was so obsessive about comfort and perfection, she was known to take a sleeve off and re-do it 6 or more times to get it just right.

This 2-post article actually came out to be 8 elements of a well-made, high-end shirt instead of 7.  Going through these while writing, I noticed that a couple elements shared the same number and some were combined under one element, but I separated them for clarity. I hope you enjoyed these ideas as much as I did when I first read them. It was an excellent article with very good pictures to illustrate each point.  There are many other articles of interest on this website including how to properly iron a shirt, features of a pair of pants, several fabric guides and many more, so check it out here https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/.  Thank you Sven Raphael Schneider for your very enjoyable and educational articles, even if home sewers are not your typical target audience!

Now that we know all the elements of an expensive shirt, let’s go out and make one!

Happy New Year to All!

Cheers,

P.S.  I apologize for the delay getting this post out.  Between the holidays and learning a new posting program, it has been slow going.  Bear with me; I’m getting there slowly but surely.  Thank you.