After researching IC and becoming comfortable with them via a few suit purchases I decided to give them a try for shirts as well. I have NEVER been able to find an OTR shirt that fits me correctly in all areas without compromise. My chances are usually better while traveling (EU, Asia, or even Middle East) but at home in the USA – forget it. Years of sports and weights have left me with a broad chest and shoulders, relatively thick neck, and a small mid section. For reference here is my current profile directly from IC:
· SHIRT NECK 16.5"
· JACKET/SHIRT LENGTH 30.75"
· CHEST SIZE 40.75"
· STOMACH SIZE 31.75"
· JACKET HIPS 36.25"
· SHOULDER SIZE 19"
· SLEEVE LENGTH 26"
· BICEP SIZE 14.75"
· WRIST SIZE 7.25"
Typically I am faced with having to pay for a quality shirt and adding at least 30USD per to have it brought in at the waist. And even in the best of circumstances I still end up with a Frankenstein that is too tight in the neck and can’t be worn with a tie (pictured – Go to Blue Gingham, AWESOME).
I started with a few selections that came with my swatch kit. Over the past few months I have ended up with 12 IC shirts (and counting) so you can infer that the results have been favorable enough to keep me coming back. Here is a summary (pictured – IC collection).
IC Shirt Name
|
Description
|
Remake Required
|
1st Shirt Order
| ||
Blueprint
|
White Oxford
|
N
|
Punctuality Fan
|
Pink Pinstripe
|
N
|
2nd Shirt Order
| ||
Office Genius
|
Purple Gingham
|
Y
|
Prep School
|
Blue Stripe
|
Y
|
Blueprint
|
White
|
Y
|
Corporate Raider
|
Oxford Black Stripe
|
Y
|
3rd Shirt Order
| ||
Go To Blue
|
Gingham
|
N
|
Executive Decision
|
Blue Pinstripe
|
N
|
Blueprint
|
White Oxford
|
N
|
4th Shirt Order
| ||
Gallant Gray
|
Gray Stripe
|
Y (pending)
|
Remarkable Royal
|
Blue Stripe
|
Y (pending)
|
5th Shirt Order
| ||
Knightsbridge
|
Tattersall
|
N
|
Total
|
12
|
6
|
In general the material quality and workmanship of the IC shirts are excellent. I have grown to love the slightly longer, more distinguished cuff length as it works really well with the two button angle cuff I prefer. Saving me the hassle and 30USD having to rework OTR shirts makes them a great value for me. I also like that although most of their fabric choices are “classics” it’s a safe bet that no one in the office will be sporting any of my MTM shirts. The fit, when correct is amazing. Not too tight across the chest, perfect in the neck, and yet not bulky around my waist. It’s a great feeling to take a fresh shirt out of the IC box and put it straight into the rotation. For example, most recent Tattersall on Order 5 was flawless right out of the box (pictured).
However, as you can see that only happens about 50% of the time in my experience. Remakes have primarily been because of fit deviation + or – with the worst being about 1.5 inches added to the waist of the four shirts in my second order. The fourth order went the opposite way with a very trim chest and forearms that nearly limit my circulation (Gallant Grey pictured – remake underway).
My conclusion is this must be a product of tweaking your profile during the remake process and the musical tailor rotation nature of IC’s business model. Meaning to get a reworked order right you bump your profile a bit. But the next order goes to a new tailor who then interprets said new profile differently and so on resulting in tolerance stack-up. Other inconsistencies were noticed like shirts with and with-out back darts seemingly at random (pictured) and cuffs that taper in two folds vs. one.
In conclusion I think IC shirts are a good value and of good quality. There is heavy competition in the online MTM shirt arena and I would rank IC somewhere in the middle of the pack. An outfit like Moderntailor.com for example doesn’t have the sexy website but gives you a much more robust palate for customization and has a carbon copy measurement profile option (i.e. shirt measurements are entered exactly as-is from an existing perfect shirt and are replicated sans interpretation). The key to success with IC as always is patience. You will get to a great shirt with a great fit eventually but it may take more than one attempt (pictured – Corporate Raider w/subtle monogram).
