Renee Bassetti Bespoke Shirt

[mmkn2]

Just in time for summer- a couple of bespoke Dormeuil linen shirts from Renee Bassetti in Seattle.







I've tried bespoke shirtmakers from New York, Beverly Hills, and Seattle. Fitting aesthetic, in addition to the ability to communicate my thoughts and have her produce them, were important reasons why I settled with Renee. I also enjoy visiting her atelier.

Renee is more of an idealizing shirtmaker than someone who just accurately reflects the body below the cloth. Our agreed upon aesthetic for me are clean lines, yet relaxed. Her shirts are beautiful by themselves, or as under(suit)wear.

I was able to specify my standard shirt spread collar to frame my face. Renee's signature turn back cuffs has a slight flair at the proximal end, as can be seen below.



A difficult to fit area for me has always been at the tricep-scapula junction. As my shirtings with Renee evolved, they've come to fit cleanly.



Another difficult area has also been my angulated and bulging clavicles. We are trying to figure how to smooth that area out, without overhanging the yoke anteriorly.

Overall the experience has been thoroughly enjoyable, if just to talk with her about shirtmaking.

- M

[manton]

I don't think I've ever seen the body of a shirt fit so cleanly. Bravo!

[mmkn2]

Bravo!

Being the only other person (aside from the makers) who has seen the various iterations of my bespoke adventures, I think you really appreciate what it took to get here.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences and perspectives of the bespoke world.

- M

[pagean]

That really does look like a good fit.

If my friends at T&A can produce that standard, i'll be most happy.

Sincere congrats.

[mmkn2]

My usual RTW (Jil Sander) shirt, although not pressed, for comparison . . .



A few pearls I've learned from the bespoke process . . .

1 - Identify a maker's aesthetic that fits yours.
2 - The product gets better with each iteration, and so perfection should never be the expectation (unless someone is just delivering their "house style” on you). Like any professional, these makers have developed their way of doing things over time that has been well thought out - so the closer their aesthetic is to your likings, the better chance you have of tweaking the end product to your specificity.
3 - Everything needs to be WRITTEN DOWN as far as details - can't emphasize this enough.
4 - The intangible establishing a relationship with the maker - one knows fairly quickly whether one will be able to produce the garment one hoped for over time, or not. Many, many factors can influence this, but the end product is what counts.

- M

[Costi]

Renee is more of an idealizing shirtmaker than someone who just accurately reflects the body below the cloth.

Indeed, that is what I like in a shirt - it should envelop the body without clinging to it like a second skin. Your shirts look good and comfortable. There is something funny going on along the shoulder seam in one of them, but apparently the problem was competently solved later. The yoke sits perfectly. I don't know about the cuff flare or other kinds of signature, though...
Does she handsew the buttonholes?
Thank you for posting the pictures, I think they are a good example of quality tailoring.

[mmkn2]

Does she handsew the buttonholes?

Thank you for posting the pictures, I think they are a good example of quality tailoring.

No (confirmed). Although handmade buttonholes are not points of specificity for me with shirts, they are with suits. For shirts it is collar framing the face, then body fit - which I think have been achieved (after 4 muslins and 6 shirts). The sleeves and cuffs framing the hands will continue to evolve.

I've learned much from others who have posted, and so posting my experiences is thank you in return.

- M

[Costi]

No (confirmed). Although handmade buttonholes are not points of specificity for me with shirts, they are with suits. For shirts it is collar framing the face, then body fit - which I think have been achieved (after 4 muslins and 6 shirts).

You are right, finishing is not as important as fit (and your shirt does fit) - I was just curious if she did it. However, on a shirt handsewn buttonholes are not so much a matter of beauty (as they are on a suit, where they are more visible), but of durability; as the garment is washed (which does not happen with a suit), the handsewn buttonholes maintain their shape much better. The machine sewn ones sooner or later begin to look bad and the small piece of cloth between the two rows of stitching (because the buttonhole is cut AFTER it is sewn, unlike the handsewn variant) tends to fray and produce loose threads. This phenomenon may be partially countered through an acurate hand trimming of the buttonhole after it is machine sewn.

The sleeves and cuff framing the hand will continue to evolve.

My suggestion would be to try a shirt with the "classical" rounded (or square, if you prefer) cuff in place of the flared one and see how you like it. It will look a bit smaller at any rate.
I think long sleeves cannot look MUCH better on a shirt, except at the cost of comfort and mobility. They can never achieve the clean look of a coat sleeve. Your short sleeves look perfect to me.

I've learned much from others who have posted, and so posting my experiences is a thank you in return.

Most gracious of you. Keep Renee busy

[mmkn2]

You are right, finishing is not as important as fit (and your shirt does fit) - I was just curious if she did it. The machine sewn ones sooner or later begin to look bad and the small piece of cloth between the two rows of stitching (because the buttonhole is cut AFTER it is sewn, unlike the handsewn variant) tends to fray and produce loose threads. This phenomenon may be partially countered through an acurate hand trimming of the buttonhole after it is machine sewn.

There's always time to inspire a maker. However, I don't think any amount of inspiring I may try will win over the "state-of-the-art" machine that Renee tells me makes her buttonholes. It's no wonder that Alex Kabbaz once wrote that the most time consuming part of making his shirts was trimming the fray between the two rows of stitching on his buttonholes!

My suggestion would be to try a shirt with the "classical" rounded (or square, if you prefer) cuff in place of the flared one and see how you like it. It will look a bit smaller at any rate.

Certainly. When I asked for turn back cuffs Renee was more than excited to show how she did hers. It made common sense and she is certainly flexible enough to do the more clasic ones you described. Her only requirement is that the four edges near the cufflink stay aligned and not lay obliquely (i.e. lay clean) once linked.

I think long sleeves cannot look MUCH better on a shirt, except at the cost of comfort and mobility. They can never achieve the clean look of a coat sleeve. Your short sleeves look perfect to me.

It was much easier to pitch the sleeves on the short sleeve shirt correctly, both in the sagittal and frontal planes. The challenge will be to extend the sleeves' fit down to the wrist as well fit achieved in the body . . . continued evolution. The best example of shirt sleeve drape is that of Alex Kabbaz's shirts. His shirt sleeves move as one with the arms, leaving the body and cuffs alone. But then, one can't have a Kabbaz sleeve on a Bassetti shirt's body. As above, continued evolution - but a fun process nevertheless.

- M