Charles Tyrwhitt shirts - any good?

Posted by: hungryhalibut on 18 April 2015

I seem to get offers on shirts from this company - for sale at £22.95 from an alleged £80 - quite often. I've been buying Autograph tailored fit shirts from M&S for a while, but the price has risen from £30 to £35 and the range is very small. So I thought I'd give the Tyrwhitt shirts a go; one formal and one casual. Does anyone here wear these? Are they actually good shirts, and importantly, do they last?

Posted on: 18 April 2015 by GraemeH

I get these offers too. The artificial 'established Englishness' of the name would raise doubts in my mind.

 

Once saw a tailor selling 'English wear' in Bologna by the name of 'J.C Twidd'...

 

G

 

 

Posted on: 18 April 2015 by Steve2

I have regularly bought /used their shirts.  Good quality and wide range to choose from.  I also use T M Lewin shirts which are very similar.  I suspect they are both made in the same factory and just branded differently.

 

SteveT

Posted on: 18 April 2015 by winkyincanada
Originally Posted by Steve2:

I have regularly bought /used their shirts.  Good quality and wide range to choose from.  I also use T M Lewin shirts which are very similar.  I suspect they are both made in the same factory and just branded differently.

 

SteveT

I find the low cost imported shirts sold in the UK to be all pretty similar. They're OK for what you pay and are best viewed as a fairly disposable item. The fabric tends to be stiff and unforgiving, and they easily set with wrinkles/creases during wear. They are good if you want to own a large selection without having too much money tied up.

 

But by far the best value for money (per wear) shirts I buy are the expensive ones. They last way longer, look better and feel just great. The fine thread (120s or for those looking for a real treat 200s) Thomas Pink shirts at are probably the cheapest shirts on a cost-per-wear basis that I have encountered.

 

And for the love of Lob, double-cuff only for business wear, please people. Show some class.

Posted on: 18 April 2015 by MDS

I've had quite a few Tyrwhitt shirts over the years, TM Lewin, too.  I've found both to be of reasonable quality for the price and they wear reasonably well.  I prefer the Tyrwhitt shirts over the TM Lewin for two reasons: the tails generally seem to be a bit more generous and so are less likely escape from my trousers. Second, I prefer cuff links to buttons and find the Tyrwhitt cuffs better suited in that they seem stiffer.  

 

M

Posted on: 18 April 2015 by hungryhalibut

Thomas Pink shirts do look lovely, but they are a bit out of my price range - I'm a humble public servant after all. Hopefully the Tyrwhitt shirts will be ok, and if not it's back to M&S.

Posted on: 18 April 2015 by solwisesteve
Originally Posted by Hungryhalibut:

I seem to get offers on shirts from this company - for sale at £22.95 from an alleged £80 - quite often. I've been buying Autograph tailored fit shirts from M&S for a while, but the price has risen from £30 to £35 and the range is very small. So I thought I'd give the Tyrwhitt shirts a go; one formal and one casual. Does anyone here wear these? Are they actually good shirts, and importantly, do they last?

I buy white shirts for work from them and they'll excellent value for money. They wash well and are easy to iron (so SWMBO tells me). I typically buy on they're '4 shirts for £100' offer. IMHO they compare very favourably against Peter Werth shirts at 3 or 4 times the price.

Posted on: 18 April 2015 by hungryhalibut

That's reassuring. I do my own ironing, so it's good to hear they are ok in that respect. I bought some posh shirts in the sale at A&N once and they were a nightmare - like ironing a cactus.

Posted on: 18 April 2015 by solwisesteve

I get they're Easy-Iron ones. I think they call them no-iron but that's a joke!

Posted on: 18 April 2015 by hungryhalibut

I've bought one of those in white. As you say, no 'non iron' cotton shirt is really non iron, unless you are happy looking like you've just got out of bed.

Posted on: 18 April 2015 by Don Atkinson
Originally Posted by Hungryhalibut:

Thomas Pink shirts do look lovely, but they are a bit out of my price range -I'm a humble public servant after all. Hopefully the Tyrwhitt shirts will be ok, and if not it's back to M&S.

Something to look forward to when you draw your pension................

Posted on: 18 April 2015 by hungryhalibut

Under six years now....... And with my lump sum I can buy carloads of Thomas Pink shirts. 

Posted on: 19 April 2015 by full ahead

Have had a few of these over the years, seem quite good if you get them at the right price.

Posted on: 19 April 2015 by Steve J

I tend to go for Lewins for shirts but Tyrwhitt are still good. I prefer Tyrwhitt's range and quality of jumpers over Lewins. They are very nice indeed. I can personally recommend the Orkney knit range, if still available.

Posted on: 19 April 2015 by Steve J
Originally Posted by Steve J:

I tend to go for Lewins for shirts but Tyrwhitt are still good. I prefer Tyrwhitt's range and quality of jumpers over Lewins. They are very nice indeed. I can personally recommend the Orkney knit range, if still available.

Correction: should be Donegal not Orkney knit.

Posted on: 19 April 2015 by Ebor

I've used Tyrwhitt's shirts for many years, and have no complaints, especially not at their offer prices. I've tried several other makes over the years (including Pink, TM Lewin, Harvie & Hudson and Hilditch & Key) but have found Tyrwhitt's to be the best all-round. TM Lewin, in particular, I was very unimpressed with - sloppy fabric which didn't iron well and looked more suited to a set of pyjamas. Others may have the edge on Tyrwhitt in terms of quality, but only if you pay about five times the price. One day, I'm going to bite the bullet and go bespoke at Turnbull & Asser, but until then I'm extremely happy with Tyrwhitt's.

 

GraemeH: the name is as genuine as they get. 'Charles Tyrwhitt' are the founder's middle names:

http://www.independent.co.uk/n...-shirts-1802779.html

 

Mark

Posted on: 19 April 2015 by Mick P

I have a few Tyrwhitt ( all white) shirts and from memory I bought them in a sale for around £40.00 each.

 

Before that, I used to buy Hilditch and Key white shirts for about £140.00 each.

 

The Hilditch are definitely better quality but if you marked them at say 100, the Tyrwhitts would score about 90-95.  The are not the very best but they are good value.

 

Mick

 

 

Posted on: 19 April 2015 by GraemeH
Originally Posted by Ebor:

I've used Tyrwhitt's shirts for many years, and have no complaints, especially not at their offer prices. I've tried several other makes over the years (including Pink, TM Lewin, Harvie & Hudson and Hilditch & Key) but have found Tyrwhitt's to be the best all-round. TM Lewin, in particular, I was very unimpressed with - sloppy fabric which didn't iron well and looked more suited to a set of pyjamas. Others may have the edge on Tyrwhitt in terms of quality, but only if you pay about five times the price. One day, I'm going to bite the bullet and go bespoke at Turnbull & Asser, but until then I'm extremely happy with Tyrwhitt's.

 

GraemeH: the name is as genuine as they get. 'Charles Tyrwhitt' are the founder's middle names:

http://www.independent.co.uk/n...-shirts-1802779.html

 

Mark

Happy to stand corrected!

 

G

Posted on: 19 April 2015 by Solid Air

CT shirts seem perfectly good to me - I wear the non-iron ones and it certainly saves on ironing! Unlike most, they're 100% cotton too.

Posted on: 19 April 2015 by ewemon

I normally buy T M Lewin, Gieves and Hawkes, Tyrwhitt, Pink and Turnbull & Asser.

 

Out of those Pink and Turnbull & Asser are the best.

 

I also like Tyrwhitt Sea Island shirts as well.

 

Gieves and Hawkes have gradually got poorer in quality especially their non iron range. The latest batch I have from them are truly awful. Lewin seem to be heading down the same path.

 

You could also look at Olymp as they depending upon the style you buy make good quality Egyptian Cotton shirts.

Posted on: 19 April 2015 by Innocent Bystander

I always used to go for poly cotton because of ironing ease, M&S and others, always having to shorten the sleeves as they were invariably an inch or two too long. I discovered CT shirts a couple of years ago, giving a choice of sleeve length as well as the more common variations in 'slimness'. Magic! I can now get shirts that fit without alteration. And the non iron and easy iron are easy to iron (the non do still need it), and they often have some that I like ( I'm as fussy about shirts as music!) so I now almost exclusively buy from them, but wait until there are four styles I like so I can buy 4 for £100.

Posted on: 19 April 2015 by Don Atkinson
Originally Posted by Wat:

 

 I mean you wouldn't buy shoes from somewhere other than Barkers or Church (or Hotters), would you? 

Crickey !, you mean there IS somewhere else ?

Posted on: 19 April 2015 by JamieWednesday
Constantly had a problem with shirts in my working life. Broad neck  (17.5") and shoulders seems to mean buying tents from some makers and even though I nowadays carry a bit more round the middle, they often seem to have more material in them than the entire script writing team from Friends...
Posted on: 20 April 2015 by Sniper
Originally Posted by Don Atkinson:
Originally Posted by Wat:

 

 I mean you wouldn't buy shoes from somewhere other than Barkers or Church (or Hotters), would you? 

Crickey !, you mean there IS somewhere else ?

Oh yes, there is somewhere else. The best place in the world. John Lobb - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men...great-mens-shoe.html

 

Posted on: 20 April 2015 by Richard Dane

A think that a lot of whether you like a shirt or not is down to the shape and "fit" of the collar.  Lewins I find tend to be a bit too low on the neck for my liking.  Turnbulls were nice and sat high but it's been some years since I had one of their shirts. Same goes for H&H. New & Lingwood had a rather nice shape to the collar and the quality used to be excellent - I still have N&L shirts in good condition that I bought back in the '80s.  I've always loved Thomas Pink shirts and have bought quite a number over the years.  However, I have found that with only one exception (the Sea Island Cotton) the collars tend to wear out faster than other shirts makers.  Perhaps it's down to liking the shirts more so wearing them more, but my overall impression is that the collars have tended to fray faster than other makers. For all that, still lovely and the Oxfords are particular favourites (Indeed, I'm wearing a light blue PINK's Oxford as I type - frayed collar and all..)

 

My favourites though are either Hilditch & Key, who managed to keep the quality standards high even after the mail order discounters shook things up.  And I also rather like the shirts made by Hackett from their own exclusive cloth - very fine indeed, albeit rather expensive.

Posted on: 20 April 2015 by hungryhalibut
Richard, forum moderation must be better paid than I thought if you can afford all those fancy threads. No thoughts of Tyrwhitt then?