Insights: Indulgences—A Cut Above

The Mecca for custom-made shirts is a small firm in New York City

Matt Kramer
From the Print Edition:
Kevin Bacon, May/Jun 00

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Having been measured half a dozen times for custom-made shirts, I can tell you that the shirts rarely fit as well as all those measurements would lead you to expect.

I asked Mike about this. "Yeah, well, it's hard to explain. Fitting a shirt for somebody involves more than just taking measurements. You have to look at how they stand. Whether they throw one shoulder up or down more than another. Most fitters just look at the numbers," he says.

"You know, I train all of the fitters at the shops I make shirts for. I tell them everything I know. But very few of them really have a feel for fitting a shirt. They don't change the numbers based on the posture and peculiarities of the man himself. And then the shirt's never quite right."

Of course, you should discuss style, such as what sort of collar and cuffs you want, about whether (and where) you want a monogram. "Our monograms are hand-sewn," says Mike. "There's an old guy here in New York who still does it. We're not the only shirtmaker who uses him. But we're training someone else for the day, when, you know, he won't be with us anymore."

Monograms cost an additional $10 to $15. It's a popular touch: 75 percent of the shirts he makes are monogrammed. Like all top shirtmakers, he uses mother-of-pearl buttons. They cost $36 a gross, according to Mike. What if these buttons break in the laundry? "That's why we launder our clients' shirts ourselves, if they want," he says. "Commercial laundries kill shirts. We wash them in 160-degree water. Then we let them drip-dry. Never put shirts in the dryer. The heat kills the fibers.

"We iron them by hand, except for the collars and cuffs, which we do on a machine." Such ministrations cost $6 a shirt. "Shirts come in from all over: the West Coast, Paris--you'd be amazed," he says.

Finally, your first "fitting" shirt is available to try on. If time is short or if, say, you're on a visit to New York, Mike can make the shirt in little more than a day or two. Usually it takes a couple of weeks. (Most of Mike's clients never even see the shop, as he willingly visits anyone in his home or office in the tri-state area for fittings.) You try it on. It fits like no other shirt you've owned. You don't even know it's there.

Mike displays no false modesty when I compliment him on his fitting prowess. "I'm right about 99 percent of the time," he says. "After all, I've been doing this for 26 years. I should be getting it right by now."

Matt Kramer is a columnist for Wine Spectator, Cigar Aficionado's sister publication.

GENEVA CUSTOM SHIRTS LTD. is located at 38 West 32nd Street, New York, New York. Telephone 212-967-7460.

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