Trying to find inexpensive oxford Tattersall Dress Shirts?
How inexpensive?
Here's BB on sale for $97.50:
http://www.brooksbrothers.com/TATTERSALL-OXFORD-BUTTON-DOWN-SHIRT/FE00145,default,pd.html
J. Crew for $75:
https://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/shirts/oxford/PRDOVR~B4302/B4302.jsp
RL on sale for $69.99:
http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/index.jsp?productId=67185036
Bean for $45:
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/36069?page=wrinkle-resistant-classic-oxford-cloth-shirt-traditional-fit-tattersall
No problem!
And J. Press has a bunch of Viyella tattersall button downs on sale for $99. There are more than that style if you click on the second link.
http://www.jpressonline.com/viyella-shirt-blue-tattersall/
http://www.jpressonline.com/button-down/
Last edited by rmpmcdermott (2015-12-01 21:42:51)
Not to get into semantics, but I've never come across a tattersall pattern in an oxford weave in my life.
Mercer & Sons undoubtedly offer the finest button down shirts and I'm quite fond of their tattersall cloths in various cotton, wool and flannel blends. I have about 4-5 of their tattersalls and I'm very happy with them.
PS - I'd avoid the new Viyellas, which are tartan/plaid and not really tattersall patterned. I purchased about 5 of them from O'Connell's a few years back on a whim and I dislike them immensely. I think I've only ever worn one of them and that was just to sleep in on a cold night, which is essentially what they've been relegated to. The alpha sizing is really off and the fit is terrible imo. Now that I've just sold you on them, if you're still interested I'd be glad to offer all of my Viyella button downs to anyone on the forum for much less than the J.Press sale. I've got many colors in nice autumnal plaids (the one thing they get right) and almost all of them are unworn.
I like the Tattersall look. Nice Anglo-ivy touch. I've just ordered a couple of tattersalls from Mercer, and placed an order for a tattersall shirt from Tailor Caid. I wonder which one will be better. A true Clash of the Titans. But I think Mercer will take it. Agree with Oli, the Viyella stuff is mutant gear nowadays.
Matty, I need to respond to your email which I'll get to this weekend... let me know how the Caid shirt turns out, it'd be great if you could post pictures and details for us. Is it a fully handmade custom job with Caid? I'm sure you'll love the Mercer tattersall and hope you followed my size guide. Which swatch did you go for?
Last edited by stanshall (2015-12-02 15:18:58)
I've got to concur with Stan. I have not seen a tattersall in oxford cloth since the late 80's. Since then, they've mostly been made from broadcloth, flannel, or Viyella.
The ultimate arbiter, Heavy Tweed Jacket, has a recent post that shows a blue/black tattersall in oxford cloth.
http://heavytweedjacket.tumblr.com/post/134094833269/glengarrysportingclub-tattersall-ocbd
That's a killer shirt but looks to be recent vintage, no?
I don't know about oxford woven tattersall shirts c. late-70's/80's, but they didn't seem to be around mid century, from my experience- which is of course, retrospective. That blue black ocbd is seriously killer!
It looks to me like HTJ's shirt is a 7 button Makers. Definitely not recent, but not from the early 80's either.
I would also add that if you dig through HTJ's Tumblr post of old J Press brochures, you will see tattersalls in oxford cloth: blue black, red black, etc.
Here in broadcloth: http://heavytweedjacket.tumblr.com/image/123878509734
Old Brooks in a poly/cotton blend: http://heavytweedjacket.tumblr.com/page/25
Pure cotton:http://heavytweedjacket.tumblr.com/page/26
Last edited by farrago (2015-12-02 17:42:27)
By recent, I mean 1980+ ... which I guess isn't so recent anymore, yipes!
Last edited by stanshall (2015-12-03 13:17:07)
Indeed, Stanshall, it seems it has become a general name for hire. Austin Reed in the UK has been using it for some real abominations.
I like the j.Press ad featured on the HTJ blog. As the ad claims 80 years of service, I'm guessing it must be around 1982. But it feels just like 1952. Typeface, copy etc. Incredible. Which leads me to ask the question, when did J.Press lose it? I'm assuming that ad was pre=Japanese take over? Was it the Japanese that scuppered them? Or did they maintain their dusty ways until finally the market left them behind?
Oli, the tattersalls I've ordered from Mercer are:
(1) 16.5 x 36 -button down- Definitive Blue Black Tattersall 2MM Graph Check #988 Broadcloth #988BLUBLKGR
(1)16.5 x 36 -button down - King's Autumn Tattersall
#7 09 Broadcloth #KING709MUL
(1) 16.5 x 36 –button down- James Bond Favorite Tattersall-Green
British Brushed Cotton Flannel.
They all look nice, so hopefully they will turn out well. I asked for the "Ol" signature cut of body size one size smaller than neck size.
Definitely something to look forward to in the dark days of January. And yes, Caid, is a full custom job. I will go into detail about that anon.
our man in ginza, the place screwed up with the Cohen Canadian Shoulders debacle of what was it 2005-2006, which I think are the years J. Press really lost it, there's been debate, some say it happened upon the sale in 1986 and the doing away with the old charge accounts system,
but it was always working for me until 2005 or so .... then there were some major changes in shirtmakers, tiemakers, materials, and overall quality dropped noticeably
I received a made-in-Poland short-sleeved oxford cloth button-down shirt with very outré high-cut shirttails, instant relegation to gardening shirt
received a flimsy tie or two ... I couldn't be fooled, I could compare the new shirts and ties with a wardrobe and boxes of the stuff from 1978 on .....
I have dozens and dozens of their ties from the days when everybody wore suit and tie in the sky five days a week
I've worn their stuff since '78, in five different decades, I wore some everyday and that includes their suits
when I bought in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, all was fine and as it had been for years ....
I skipped a year or so because I was stockpiled but when I came back, something happened ....
since then there have been some good improvements but also troubling setbacks, we'll see what happens in New York ....
York Street, foreign manufacture, low stock, and slim fits, and
but yeah, the catalogues 1977-82 all possessed that signature fusty style that had amused Tom Wolfe
... although tbh in '78 and '79 they'd still try to flog a wide-lapeled '74-'76 blue blazer to you from the basement, see if you knew what you were about
but back to the Viyellas, I dug the Press flap-pocket plain-collar Viyella, had one in solid navy and one in red, the navy was brilliant with everything, and they were coat style so:
they blew away all other wool overshirts, which was how I wore mine, but could also be tucked in ... the older stuff had more wool in them than today
I wore them to death, they're in storage now
they outlasted all the chamois shirts and pure cotton flannels by years and years
I also have a Brooksflannel version made in England, fall 1978 gift from Brooks, in red and black tattersall
still have this one somewhere too ... it's got a button-down collar and long tails, beautifully rumpled shirt ....
I believed very strongly in Viyella and these proper numerically sized shirts were amazing
---------------
Last edited by stanshall (2015-12-03 16:03:10)
Wow top stuff... I want three!
Learning every day
I've got the Mercer blue/black graph check too - great choices! Serena sebt me an email the other day thanking me for spreading the button down gospel. They've just got some new tartan flannel in recently that's the bees knees. I placed an order but it's so popular that they're sold out until after the new year. The Robert Frost flannel is my favorite autumn plaid. The Gordon broadcloth is really great too, especially with an olive Shetland!
I'll email you direct about the Caid order!
I mean, what distinguishes graph from tatt? The same??