Where and how to get a custom shirt in Toronto

In the time since this article was published (May 2015), I have had more custom shirts made and met more shirt makers from around the world. I have made additions to this article with that experience in mind. Also, now that the shirts are over a year old, I also adjusted some of my recommendations.

Years ago, my friend Richard Crouse told me about getting his first custom shirts. He said they changed his life. The fit was unlike anything he’d ever worn, and he’d never go back to off-the-rack. At the time I was seduced by the allure of shirts made just for me, just for my body. But I was also daunted by the cost and the requisite knowledge I’d need to walk into a tailor and order a shirt.

Since then, I’ve learned a lot about clothes. And I understand that it is better to have one more expensive, quality item than three cheap ones. Also, since that time, online custom shirt makers have appeared and the costs have significantly decreased.

That said, are custom shirts really necessary? If you have unusual measurements they might be. For the rest of us who fit pretty well into standard shirts, custom is not so much an indulgence as the logical culmination of a shirt wardrobe. What I mean is, as you get to know more and more about clothes and get more attuned to the fine points of fit, and after you’ve moved on from shirts that come in small, medium and large, you start to find limitations even in ready-made shirts that are measured in the quarter inch. Every body is different and no off-the-rack maker can compensate for all our idiosyncrasies. Plus, there are so many customizations when it comes to cuffs, collars, plackets, colours and fabric, what’s on offer in stores sometimes isn’t enough.

So, over the past several months I’ve had custom shirts made by a local tailor, a Canadian made-to-measure company and an American online custom shirt maker. I hope my experiences will give you a good idea of the range of options available and what to expect from each one.

Jean-Paul

When I finally decided to get my first custom shirt, I started old-school. On the recommendation of a friend in the know, I visited tailor Jean-Paul Lo Giacco at his old location on Davenport. (He now works out of Ermanno’s Clothing, 3279 Yonge, but more on that later). Before arriving, to mitigate the costs somewhat (without bringing your own fabric, shirts start at around $300) and because I like being part of all aspects of custom clothes, I first picked out my shirting from Sultan’s Fine Fabrics. This is not an easy task, trying to imagine what you want in a shirt when the options are almost endless – Sultan has more shirting than anywhere in Canada, if not North America. So I decided to keep it simple, especially because this was to be my first custom shirt: blue, no pattern, light-weight fabric, not shiny, not rough. It took nearly an hour until I found what I wanted, a simple, finely woven blue broadcloth. Off I went, cloth in hand, to Jean-Paul.

I arrived with a vision for my shirt: I wanted single cuffs, something I’ve only seen in old movies and never off-the-rack. I wanted a soft collar, because I love their more relaxed look. I wanted a high second button so that when open, the collar wouldn’t spread out very far. And I wanted a very low lower button to help the shirt stay tucked in. Beyond all that, I left it to Jean-Paul. After all, not only has he been tailoring longer than I’ve been alive, but he considers himself more a style consultant than purely a tailor. He will make you what you like, of course, but with a fair amount of input and guidance, should you want it. So, what type of collar, a spread, a cutaway, a point? Jean-Paul suggested a collar with just a bit of a spread, which would best complement the shape of my face. The collar he suggested was also a tiny bit taller than usual, because of my height, and the shirt would need no darts or pleats. After many, many measurements – more than for my custom suits – he told me to return in a week.

Here’s one of the main reasons to get your custom shirts made by Jean-Paul: he is the only tailor in the city I know of who makes bespoke shirts (even though he doesn’t use that term, which he reserves for suits). He cuts a unique paper pattern for each shirt and has a fitting mid-way through the shirt’s construction. Most tailors adjust a pre-existing pattern and go right to the finished article, with a few final alterations if necessary. When I returned to his shop, Jean-Paul had a loosely constructed version of the shirt ready. A fitting at this point allowed him to tweak the placement of the shoulder seam, the length of the sleeves, the waist and the collar. He told me the shirt would be completely taken apart, the pattern adjusted, re-cut, and the final shirt would be assembled.

The shirt was a revelation. It followed the shape of my torso and waist with enough room to move easily, but without billowing. The collar is exactly how I like it – just a touch on the loose side. But being my first custom shirt, there were a couple of adjustments I imagined would make it even more perfect. Despite his protests, I had asked Jean-Paul to make the sleeves slightly shorter after the try-on. He was right, however: they are just a bit too short, especially when I flex my arms. The other change is that I wanted a bit more room in the upper chest.

When Jean-Paul told me recently that he had moved locations, I thought I’d pay him a visit and have another go at a custom shirt. He is now working out of the back of Ermanno’s, a men’s clothing store on Yonge north of Lawrence. Jean-Paul tells me his business has improved since the move because the two companies complement each other: Ermanno’s is off-the-rack with a bit of made-to-measure, while customers can call on Jean-Paul for full custom suits and shirts. “It’s also a much more fun space,” Jean-Paul told me, compared to working in his old small workshop. In spite of having to share space, Jean-Paul has been able to move his entire operation into the back room, so that most of the work is done on-site.

That said, Jean-Paul is entering a sort of semi-retirement. “You should work because you want to, but also, you have to have fun,” he told me just before going away for a couple of weeks to Hawaii. So should you want to visit, I’d suggest calling first for an appointment.

For my second Jean-Paul shirt, I decided to not only add in those tweaks – a bit more sleeve length and room in the upper body – I decided to try to replicate a button-down shirt from the classic Ivy League age (minus the breast pocket and locker loop). For me, that meant a long, 3.5″ collar with no lining for a very full, very soft roll. Once again, I brought the fabric with me, a light-blue chambray. Since he had all my measurements, the process didn’t require a try-on.

The shirt is perfect. There is plenty of fabric in the sleeves so that they never bunch up or feel short. The space in the shoulders gives me full range of motion without any puckering or billowing. The fit through the belly means when I sit down, the shirt lies flat. But my absolute favourite part is the collar.

Almost no one in the ready-to-wear market makes a collar like this any more. And why does it matter? Not only do I find a large collar roll more attractive and pleasing to look at, the lack of lining means it is soft and a little shlumpy. It suggests a casualness, an easiness that I wish my whole wardrobe could radiate.

Surmesur

Quebec’s Surmesur – who have a location in Toronto – are a hybrid custom tailor. All their work is done overseas and you can purchase your custom shirts online, but they also have real, physical stores. This means, if you live in Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City or Montreal, you can get measured and choose your fabric in person. Out of curiosity with this business model, and because my one white double cuff shirt had finally started to fray and come apart, I gave them a try.

The Toronto location, on Queen Street, has a very appealing, modern feel to it, open and stark white. I appreciate that all of their collar and cuff styles are displayed, although this could be overwhelming for the uninitiated. There are some sample shirts on hand, but all the cloth is only available in swatches, not bolts, so you have to decide based on a small sample. This is common even amongst traditional tailors who do not have huge amounts of shirting on hand. I just have trouble judging a cloth from a small piece.

Being in person, I was able to discuss the Surmesur process with their Toronto manager Haseeb Khan. He told me that as their business grew in recent months, the company moved to a new maker in China who are fully integrated with their technological back end. Since then, there is less inconsistency than with their previous maker in Thailand. While the make is done overseas, however, should there be any need for alterations, that work is done in house. Surmesur has a large selection of shirtings and the quality of the fabric is the main determiner of the final shirt’s price. I picked their mid-range white, putting the shirt price (after tax) at around $115, but availed myself of the endless custom features by getting not only double cuffs but collars with eyelets. These make it much easier to pin a collar or use a collar bar, of course.

But, once again, my concern was fit. Haseeb showed me their three main options: slim, Surmesur (slightly slim) and classic. I am not a fan of tight shirts, so he suggested “classic” which is undarted. He did ask if I wanted larger armholes, which would give me even more room, but I decided on higher arm holes to see how that would affect movement.

Next came the measuring which Haseeb did himself. In fact, he told me that the company prefers that customers get measured in store first and that once the measurements are perfected, they are saved in the system and ordering a new shirt can be done fully online. I was glad to hear that and also thankful for the old-fashioned approach because I knew that Surmesur also uses a full body scanner. They do have a scanner, which I stood in briefly in my briefs, but it is only used to capture my posture and overall body shape.

I realize that this technology is still in development and one day it might provide accurate measurements without the possibility of human error, but I must admit, during my time in the scanner, I kept thinking of this scene from Woody Allen’s Sleeper:

Proper Cloth

I first heard of Proper Cloth through the most excellent blog Put This On. I believe it was a post about pop-overs that got me interested both in the company and the concept of a pop-over. This shirt is a sort of hybrid between a regular button-up shirt and a polo. It has the fabric, cuffs and collars of a dress shirt but a half placket, meaning you have to pull it over your head. I liked the idea because the shirt sits very nicely between dressy and casual, having elements of both without being completely one or the other. I can wear it with a tie (hiding the half placket) or dress it down – I wanted one mostly to wear without a tie, unbuttoned, under a sport jacket.

The ordering process for Proper Cloth (which includes many, many types of shirts, not just pop-overs) was pretty standard, comparable to Surmesur’s. However, part of the way through selecting my sizes and features I noticed a “Measure a shirt” option. So I got out my first Jean-Paul custom shirt and following Proper Cloth’s very useful videos, measured my shirt a couple of times and input the numbers. Perhaps because I had changed from pre-set to measure-my-own part way through, after I submitted my order the company got back to me that the measurements hadn’t taken and I’d have to input them again. After a bit more back and forth, which they assured me was due to a glitch that day, my measurements finally got through and the order was placed.

By using the FedEx shipping tracker I discovered that the shirt was made in Bayan Lepas, a district of Penang in Malaysia, a hub of international factories. Like Surmesur, I suspect Proper Cloth uses a large factory that produces shirts for many other manufacturers. Either way, the shirt was shipped and arrived exactly, to the day, that Proper Cloth promised.

My first thought when I saw the shirt is that it is much darker than I had anticipated. The cloth “dark navy heavy oxford” has a lighter, royal blue hue on screen. In person, it looks more like midnight blue. This is, of course, one of the compromises with online ordering: depending on your screen and even the light in the room, it is almost impossible to see the true colour of a fabric. Never mind the feel and texture.

But what’s most important, of course, is fit. I was a bit worried since I had measured my own shirt. A tiny mistake, only a half inch, can have a huge impact on the subtleties of fit. Thankfully, I was not disappointed. The shirt fits very much like my first Jean-Paul custom, especially in the neck and belly, although a bit roomier all over. I corrected the sleeve length so they hang perfectly and while not billowing, the shirt is roomy enough for comfort and a slim silhouette. The only thing I noticed is that the shoulder seams sit a bit further out than they should. Despite the fact that I input all my measurements, like Surmesur, these shirts are made-to-measure so a pre-made pattern is used and adjusted. It can come close to a full custom, but will never be the same. However, for just over $100 delivered, it is a remarkably good shirt.

Recommendations

I have altered my recommendations slightly one year on from writing this article and wearing these shirts. Without a doubt the best shirt in this group is from Jean-Paul. He is an excellent, experienced shirt-maker. And being able to work with the person who actually makes your clothes is never a bad idea. 

If you are ordering online, Proper Cloth would be my choice. As I mention above, the Surmesur shirt has not lived up to my expectations whereas the pop-over is in regular rotation. The only concern I have with it is the cloth – it is wearing and fading on the cuffs and placket faster than it should. But as I have written before, cost must come from somewhere. The savings through online ordering can be significant but makers have a number of options to reduce price and they usually do it by using lower quality fabric and the most basic construction methods.

 

[Photography by Marijke Friesen]