The London Lounge

Read a article recently that Budds in Piccadilly Arcade offered a collar & cuff replacement service on all their handmade shirts and wondered what the forum's view would be on this

From my perspective I find it frustrating that an otherwise perfect shirt needs to be discarded because either the cuffs or collars are looking frayed

Any thoughts?

All "serious" shirtmakers offer this service .. !
Best thing to do is buy an extra pair of cuffs and a collar with your shirt , this way when the time comes you can ask them to replace it avoiding the risk of a cloth shortage or even an "out of production cloth" reply .

all the best
Vassilis

Good suggestion, yialabis. Members of the LL would be well-advised to remember that what is expensive today is a bargain tomorrow.

By the same token, the decades-old request of tailors to make two pairs of trousers for a bespoke suit makes good sense, not just for woollen flannels where doubling up is a necessity for longevity but also to avoid the shiney bottom syndrome on your city suits and gabardines. The cost of an extra pair is also a marvellous incentive keep your weight down.

Happy Thoughts,

JMB

Cotton will fade and age. Therefore, I do not recommend making extra collars and cuffs at the beginning. The fading in the body may be significant, and a new collar and cuff may not match. Also, your collar size might change, or you may want a different collar or cuff style.

One shirtmaker recommends washing the extra collar and cuffs at the same time as the shirt so that everything fades at the same rate. I think that this is too much trouble.

Rather than have the shirtmaker make-up extra cuffs and a collar I recommend purchasing an extra yard of fabric. When the time arrives for collar/cuff replacement you should wash the extra fabric a few times so that it loses its "newness" and fades a little. If the extra fabric is a close match to the body, then use it. However, if the body has faded too much, then I would discard the extra fabric. I had to do with a blue solid broadcloth.

Generally, fading will be noticeable in a solid color shirt. Fading will be less noticeable in a striped or plaid shirt with a white background.

If there has been a significant fading, then your best choice would be white collar and cuffs. You might also try a pale blue or pink collar if you wanted to be a little daring.

Good luck.

Mark has very good advice about the fading of colors and patterns. If you want a self collar and cuffed shirt your best bet is to bite the bullet and buy one new.

I've had a few shirts re-collared and cuffed and have been very pleased with the results, however I now a short of self collared and cuffed shirts. (See above advice )

Best Regards,

Cufflink79