I wrote about ShirtsMyWay, the design-your-own dress shirt service, last month. I’ve since learned about a variety of other sites providing customized products, and I’ll be writing a wrap-up post about the trend toward custominzation in general some time soon. But for now, please enjoy this brief review of the shirts created by ShirtsMyWay, and learn how one lucky reader can get a chance to win $500 to spend at ShirtsMyWay.com!
I should preface this review with the fact that I am probably not the most qualified person to review quality menswear. Most of my wardrobe comes from Threadless and Woot. I own two suits, both of which were purchased at a discount retailer, and only get worn to weddings and funerals. I’ve never purchased a handmade shirt before. Keep all of that in mind when I say I like the ShirtsMyWay shirts.
The presentation of the shirt in the package is nice. It looks like a quality product, and not something you picked up at Target or Wal-Mart. I particularly like the fact that plastic hooks are used instead of straight pins. Although ShirtsMyWay accepts raw measurements for a perfectly tailored shirt, I opted instead to select the pre-defined size of XL. I told them that I usually wear XL Tall, so they added two extra inches to the sleeves for me. This worked out perfectly, and the shirt fit me as it should.
The fabric is comfortable. The seams are solid, and there are no loose threads. The buttons are all securely fastened, and feel like they’ll stand up well to my manhandling of them as I attempt to look decent. My wife and her mother, both more informed about clothing than myself, remarked upon the quality of the shirts and how good they looked.
The entire process of designing your own shirt is super easy. You can see nice full color photos of each fabric, allowing you to make sure you get the pattern you want. The customizability of the shirts is a bit overwhelming, actually, with 7 trillion combinations; but that’ll make sure you get the right shirt for you.
Full disclosure: I had my lady wife design a shirt for me, since I’ve no sense of taste to speak of (witness my complete failure to iron these shirts before wearing them), and ShirtsMyWay sent it plus another shirt that they designed to me. I get to keep the shirts.
CONTEST!
The gang at ShirtsMyWay have generously offered $500 to one lucky reader to buy their shirts. In order to have a shot at this wardrobe makeover, you simply need to visit shirtsmyway.com, browse their selection of fabrics, and then leave a comment on this post stating which fabric was your favorite. We’ll pick a random winner on Monday afternoon.
Unlike most of the contests we run, this one is actually open to the international community, and not just people with a U.S. mailing address. If you live in one of the countries to which ShirtsMyWay delivers, you can enter! If you’re not in one of those countries, we can still be friends, right? Also, the $500 credit cannot be exchanged for cash, and it expires in six months.
Even if you’re not a winner of this contest, ShirtsMyWay is offering a pretty generous discount to first-time customers. Sign up for their mailing list to get the full details. But hurry: the deal ends Tuesday, July 20!
UPDATE – We’ve picked a winner. Thanks for playing!