The shirt is among the most intimate garments one wears. Closest to the body, present in every meeting, at every occasion, almost every moment that asks something of you. Worn from the beginning to the end of the day and always visible, it deserves thoughtful consideration.
The shirt stands alone in tailoring as a hybrid of undergarment and outerwear. To be pleasurable to wear day after day it must be comfortable enough to be forgotten moments after putting on, and precise enough in style and fit to impress at close quarters. To find this in ready-to-wear would be luck, bespoke achieves it by design, offering freedom of choice, and freedom from inconsistency.
The suit or jacket is the most expressive piece of tailoring one can wear, but the shirt is the piece that is not taken off when you sit for a meeting or dinner. Its visibility to others at all times means treating it as an afterthought would be unfortunate. Every item you wear says something about you whether you want it to or not, and the shirt is no exception.
The bespoke shirt is the most approachable entry into custom clothing. Priced well below bespoke tailored outerwear, and with the potential for far higher frequency of wear, albeit over a shorter lifespan, there is economy in making this your first bespoke commission.
The purpose of the collaboration between tailor and client is to produce clothing that becomes part of your identity, to serve you long after the transaction is forgotten. Bespoke shirts become part of your routine, and when they reach the end of their life can be easily replicated from your pattern.
Bespoke shirts start from $595 AUD per shirt, with a three-shirt minimum for the first order only.
Book your consultation here.
Every aspect of fit and style down to the finest detail of a J.H. Cutler shirt can be specified by the client. Our exacting process is designed not to produce one shirt that fits well, but to create a pattern and style record that ensures future consistency.
Your first commission unfolds in four stages: the initial consultation including fabric selection, style development and measurement taking.
The second stage is the fitting of the toile shirt, which usually occurs four to six weeks after placing the order. After the first fitting your pattern is adjusted and the first shirt of the order is produced, incorporating all required adjustments to fit and style.
This shirt is tried on at the second fitting, 4-6 weeks after the first fitting. Depending on the result of the second fitting you may elect to wear and wash the first shirt several times to expose it to the rigours of your routine before the pattern is finalised and the balance of the order is produced.
The final stage, the production of the remaining shirts, will take a further 4-6 weeks.
This is a traditional bespoke process, designed to capture and incorporate every relevant detail, and ensure the optimum result. It can take approximately eighteen weeks to complete, but this can vary.
Our process ensures that the fabrics selected are appropriate to your requirements, that the pattern is developed with your dimensions and lifestyle in mind, and that the style of the shirt says as much, or as little, as you would like it to. A J.H. Cutler bespoke shirt quietly reminds its wearer that fit is a form of freedom.
Carefully selecting the mills we partner with and taking the time to understand their offerings in depth helps us guide your selection with confidence. Our relationship with Albini and Thomas Mason is built on mutual respect between houses of a similar age and standing, offering you a uniquely broad selection of the finest shirting fabrics.
Every client’s pattern is drafted and cut by hand from their measurements, accounting for features of posture and body type observed during the measuring and subsequent fitting stages of the bespoke process. The pattern is carefully updated between fittings, and also between orders, to ensure consistency over its lifetime.
We will often develop a range of bespoke shirt patterns for clients as they explore the breadth and depth of possibility available within this category. As the shirt comes to find its rightful place as a critical staple of their wardrobe, creativity rather than necessity becomes the motivation.
A hand-tailored J.H. Cutler shirt is cut and assembled with obsessive attention to every detail.
Single-needle 23 SPI stitching is the standard throughout our shirts. This means that every seam is manipulated by hand or with an iron between each stage of sewing.
In contrast, high-volume manufacturing employs machines that do several tasks together such as stitching, folding and topstitching a side seam all at once. Every seam of a J.H. Cutler shirt is stitched, folded and pressed, trimmed and then topstitched, four separate procedures. At this stitch density the machines must be slowed down for accuracy and precision, but constructing a shirt this way achieves a superior aesthetic finish.
Fanatical attention is paid to pattern matching throughout each garment. At every junction where patterns converge on a seam, whether a stripe, check, print or jacquard, they are matched with a precision that can make a chest pocket or a placket almost invisible. This can only be achieved when garments are hand-cut one at a time and assembled with great care, constantly checking and realigning patterns at each stage, as the shirt takes its form.
Every button is attached in a two-step process, where the button is first sewn in position on the shirt, and then ‘shanked’ with a special machine that wraps the stalk of thread securing the button to the shirt with a second layer of thread, creating a minute but permanent distance between the button and the shirt whilst also making it very secure.
See the craftsmanship of our bespoke shirts up close. Make an appointment to begin your first bespoke commission here.
Welcome to J.H. Cutler’s scheduling page. Please follow the prompts to arrange an appointment with John Cutler or Sam Hazelton.
