The Savile Row Shirts, General Guide to Shirts
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1. Taking Care of your new shirt
The Savile Row Shirts, Guide to Ties
4. What not to do with your tie (Women hate it)
The Savile Row Shirts, Quick Guide to Cufflinks
Taking care of your new shirt
Before washing undo all the buttons - this will reduce the strain on the stitches, holding the buttons onto the shirt.
Remove the collar stiffeners, where applicable, to prevent damage to the shirt or washing machine. If you are having the shirt dry cleaned remove the collar bones before you take it to the dry cleaners.
Most Savile Row Shirts can be washed at a water temperature of 40 degrees (but check the care label in your shirt to be sure - some shirts need a cooler wash.)
Do not tumble dry – this will reduce the longevity of the shirt.
Instead, iron the shirt while it is still damp with the iron on a hot setting - this makes the shirt much easier to iron than dampening it once it has dried.
Start ironing the reverse of the collar and iron from the tips of the collars to the centre. Once done turn over and iron the other side in the same way. Ironing away from the collar points will avoid unsightly creasing at the front of the collar.
Once ironed, fasten the top button and then place the shirt on a hanger to air, this allows any extra moisture to evaporate, minimising creasing.
Dry Cleaning: Savile Row Shirts can be dry cleaned. If your dry cleaner offers a "hand launder" service use it, as this will help maintain the natural fabrics longer than repeated chemical treatments.
Starch: Savile Row Shirts should not need starch as the materials should be strong enough without it. However if you like that crisp feeling that starch can give - use it sparingly.
At Savile Row Shirts we only use the best quality, natural fabrics. Good quality cottons will naturally shrink slightly when they are washed for the first few times. With this in mind we make our collars 1/2 inch larger and our sleeves one inch longer than their stated size, this allows for the natural shrinkage in the cotton when it is washed. We do try to think of everything!
The Savile Row Shirts, General Guide to Shirts
Size matters!
Half of British men wear clothes that are the wrong size for them. We can’t help it, it’s just how we are. But don’t worry, help is at hand. Here at Savile Row Shirts we have created some pointers for improving your look and some more simple tips to help you avoid the most common fashion faux pas.
Men's collar sizes have a habit of creeping inexorably up the scale with the passing years and we all ignore it, foolishly squeezing ourselves into collars that are too tight for us.
Act your age not your neck size, and buy a shirt that fits. Buttoned up, you should be able to slip your forefinger in between collar and neck without difficulty. Any looser and your tie will tend to crease your collar up. Any tighter and you may be cutting off your blood supply!
If this isn't enough, remember also that ill-fitting shirts will wear much more quickly: too short in the sleeve and they will wear at the elbow, too long and they will wear at the cuff.
We have provided a simple guide to measuring yourself.
Measuring your collar
If you are unsure of your collar size, ask someone you trust to measure your neck with a tape measure, putting two fingers inside the tape to ensure a degree of comfort. Just measure around the base of your neck where the shirts collar would normally sit. Please remember that if you are between sizes, it is better to go for the larger size.
Measuring your sleeve
If you are unsure of your sleeve length, take one of your well-fitting shirts and lay it out flat with the back facing you, measure from the centre of the collar to the shoulder seam, along the sleeve to the end of the cuff.
Or even better measure from the middle of the back of your collar, over the top of your shoulder down to the point where you want the sleeve to end.
You may find this diagram helpful:
If you find that your sleeve length falls between two of our sizes, please choose the longer of the two.
Measuring your chest
Again, if you are unsure of your chest size, ask someone you trust to
measure your chest with a tape measure. Take the tape measure and wrap
it around your chest at the widest part (usually this will be just under
the arms).
Make sure you place the tape close up under your arms as well as checking that the tape is well up at the back making a circle around the chest and over the shoulder blades.
WAIST
Measure around the natural waistline and over any under garments that
you may normally wear.
Take a quick look at our sizing chart to get to grips with it
Trooping the collar
Are you a larger gentleman? If you are, steer clear of the smaller cuts of collar, as this will only exaggerate your neck size.
These days the fashionable higher Savile Row collar, is a stylish way to subliminally reduce your size, especially when worn without a tie.
Plain, Stripes or Checks?
If in doubt, opt for the quintessentially British combination of a pale blue or white shirt and a deep navy tie. This is the default setting for the British male. Done right, and kept razor sharp, it will never ever be wrong.
For the larger gentleman a vertically striped shirt will always give you the appearance of looking slimmer. Stripes will also help those of us who want to look taller, as they elongate the body.
Checked shirts are best avoided, if you are in any way unsure whether they suit you or not. As a rule of thumb, try to avoid any more than three colours in the check.
Off the cuff
The double cuff has made a massive return to favour, and is once again the cuff of choice for work. It is also the cuff of choice for play. A new generation of men are flouting the old rules and wearing double cuffs with jeans, which when worn with a Savile Row Shirt will always look fashionable.
Double cuffs are also mandatory for weddings, black tie and even smart dates.
The Savile Row Shirts, Guide to Ties
So, you might know the colour of the tie you want, but can you tie it properly? Here is our step-by-step guide to the three best ways of achieving the perfect tie knot.
Also, please remember, if your shirt has more than one colour in it, always match your tie to the most minimal colour.
The Windsor knot
Popularised by the duke of Windsor in the 1930's, this large knot is ideal for the cutaway collar because it fills the tie space and the thick end of the knot funnel does not make the collar points ride up. When worn with a double-breasted jacket, the shape of the knot mirrors that of the shirt 'V' when the jacket is buttoned.
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1. Situate the tie so that the end "A" is longer than end "B" and cross "A" over "B". |
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2. Bring "A" up through loop between collar and tie; then back down. |
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3. Pull "A" underneath "B" and to the left, and |
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4. Bring "A" across the front from left to right. |
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5. Pull "A" up through the loop again. |
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6. Bring "A" down through the knot in front. |
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7. Using both hands, tighten the knot and draw up to collar. |
Half-Windsor knot
This knot lends itself to the Prince of Wales collar's narrower aperture. The knot should be pulled taut and positioned as high in the collar as possible.
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1. Situate the tie so that the end "A" is longer than end "B" and cross "A" over "B". |
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2. Bring "A" up around and behind "B". |
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3. Bring "A" up. |
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4. Pull "A" up and through the loop. |
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5. Bring "A" around front, over "B" from left to right. |
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6. Again, bring "A" up and through the loop. |
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7. Bring "A" down through the knot in front. |
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8. Using both hands, tighten the knot and draw up to collar. |
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Four-in-hand knot
Currently the most popular knot, its name derives from the 18th century coach and four horse drivers who tied their neckwear this way. It is perfect for cutaway collars, and its elongated funnel compliments a single-breasted suit.
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1. Situate the tie so that the end "A" is longer than end "B" and cross "A" over "B". |
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2. Turn "A" back underneath "B". |
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3. Continue by bringing "A" back over in front of "B" again. |
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4. Pull "A" up and through the loop around your neck. |
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5. Hold the front of the knot loosely with your index finger and bring "A" down through front loop. |
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6. Remove finger and tighten knot snugly to collar |
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And Finally!
Five things you should never do with a tie, why?
Because women hate them and gentleman should know better:
1. Flicking your tie over your shoulder when eating.
2. Leaving your tie knotted, so that you don't have re-tie it in the morning.
3. Tucking your tie into your trousers.
4. Wearing your tie around your head when dancing.
5. Cartoon ties. Don’t even go there.
The Savile Row Shirts Guide to Cufflinks
As with everything in men's fashion, cufflinks subscribe to the rule that less is more. Choose cufflinks that will go with most of your shirts and ties. Steel or silver is a good bet, unless you wear a gold watch, in which case you can get away with gold cufflinks.
However, as with all rules, there are exceptions. Cufflinks can say a lot about the wearer and the type of person you are. The latest fashion in cufflinks is “working” or “animated” cufflinks, such as compasses, watches, miniature champagne bottles and even Scrabble letters, to give you a few examples.
If your cufflinks have stones or enamel in them, you will get the most wear out of blue or Mother of Pearl colours.
Titanium cufflinks are also now becoming ever more popular as they have a quality and uniqueness all of there own.
Still you can never go wrong with the traditional cufflink. They consist of two metal ovals linked by a chain, however, unless you're double jointed, you may need help putting them on!
When all is said and done, you can never have too many pairs of cufflinks, as they all tell a story or say something different about you.
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