What I Wore Today #WIWT 5/15/2012
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What I Wore Today #WIWT 5/13/2012
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What I Wore Today #WIWT 5/9/2012
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What I Wore Today #WIWT 5/8/2012
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Hugh & Crye, dress shirts adjusted for inflation
Have you ever rummaged through an old trunk of your parent’s clothes, or a vintage clothing store? And have you then ever found that really awesome piece–a jacket maybe, or a dress–and the label says its just your size? And did you try it on only to find that it’s way, way too small? That is what we call size inflation. Just as $5 could fill up a tank of gas in 1960 but can’t even fill you up at lunchtime now, the dress size that Marilyn Monroe wore then is now the size that…well we won’t get into that. But you get the idea.
This trend of increasing clothing size is often called vanity sizing, implying that as we’ve gotten fatter manufacturers are increasing the size of their clothes, but then just telling us it’s the same size so that we don’t feel bad about it. Other people, though, say that it’s not some corporate mind trick. Rather as people have gotten bigger, the clothes and their relative sizing have simply had to keep pace.
This size inflation is readily noticeable in women’s clothes, where the sizing is generally in arbitrary numbers. But even in men’s clothes, which are usually sized in inches, can’t escape rampant size inflation. Studies have shown that the waist size in some men’s pants can be up to 5 inches larger than the labeled size. And we certainly can’t leave dress shirts out. While neck and sleeve measurements may seem pretty hard to mess with, anybody who has tried to buy a dress shirt from a big box brand recently knows that these measurements don’t have anything to do with how the rest of the shirt fits. And judging by all the balloon shirts we see running around DC, it’s safe to say that shirts have definitely been “inflating” as well.
If you’ve been around our blog then you know how much we care about fit. And if you’re a customer then you know that when we say Skinny or Slim or Athletic, we mean it. Our goal from the beginning has been to make shirts that actually fit, rather than just pretend to. Any good investor knows that it’s important to hedge against inflation. And if you’re going to invest in a great quality dress shirt, shouldn’t you do the same?
A proper mirror photo
Long time customer and friend Geoff K. stopped by the other day to try on a few of our new shirts. Here he is checking out our Legislative shirt.
You look great Geoff! Thanks for not doing the duck face and peace sign.
Before & After
Long time customer Jonathan W., from New York, sent us a couple of pictures recently that we really liked. They’re a great example of the fit problems our shirts solve. Take a look.
As you can see on the left, Jonathan’s old shirt is totally shapeless, and he has some nasty #sleevefat going on. On the right, Jonathan rocks the Senna and you can see the difference that a high armhole and darts can make. Thanks Jonathan!
What I Wore Today #WIWT 4/23/2012
The Legislative Shirt
This time for #WIWT we have Phil wearing the Legislative shirt. The Legislative is cut from a light two-ply poplin in a green and navy on white check pattern. It has a cutaway collar (small profile and wide spread, with collar stays), contrast gussets (that little triangle of fabric that connects the front and back panels of the shirt) and our signature convertible cuffs (can be worn buttoned, or dressed up with cuff links).
We think the Legislative shirt makes for an interesting dressed up option in your wardrobe. On a rainy DC day like today, Phil wears his Legislative with a mid-weight wool navy suit, a green knit tie, a stainless-steel link watch, and a leather bracelet he picked up on Etsy.
Not convinced with putting a little green in your shirt rotation? Check out the Executive and the Judicial shirts, same style and pattern as the Legislative but in a plum and a tan colorway, respectively.
Let us know what you think about #WIWT and we’d love to see how you style your Hugh & Crye shirts!
What I Wore Today #WIWT 4/19/2012
The Mall and Game Shirts
Today’s #WIWT has TC wearing The Mall shirt. The Mall is cut from a light two-ply poplin in a blue plaid pattern. The Game is its sister (or is it brother?) shirt and comes in an orange plaid.
They both have a cutaway collar (small profile and wide spread, with collar stays), contrast gussets (that little triangle of fabric that connects the front and back panels of the shirt) and our signature convertible cuffs (can be worn buttoned, or dressed up with cuff links). The Mall and The Game are shirts that work great casually, or dressed up a bit, as TC does here with Dockers Alpha khakis, white sneakers from SeaVees, a J Crew Timex watch and his signature nylon Gant Rugger jacket (he wears it way too often).
Let us know what you think about #WIWT and we’d love to see how you style your Hugh & Crye shirts!
Local Competition
Nasty. One of the pimp (used as an apparel category, not an adjective) stores near us in Georgetown is bringing competition to the shirt game.
We saw this and fought the urge to vomit.
