Today, I want to share with you a service that I've been using for a few months now called Blank Label. It's a custom menswear company that only makes dress shirts (for now at least).
And they are very good at it. You can get a custom made dress shirt, assembled from your choice of premium fabric, for around half of what your traditional clothier charges.
For example, before I found BlankLabel.com, I went to a guy in DC who charges a minimum of $150 per shirt (price goes up depending on what material you choose). Don't get me wrong, his shirts are amazing. But it's still a lot of money for a dress shirt.
Alternatively, Blank Label dress shirts start around $70 and go up from there. Even their most expensive ones are less than $150, which is a great price for custom made shirts.
Truly Custom
The other cool thing about this company is their “customize your own” online tool. You can literally choose every aspect of your shirt – the color, weight, collar type, style (cuffs, shoulders, buttons, etc.) and, most importantly, size. Not just small, medium large. Every single measurement (see below for more on measurements).
You can also have your sleeves and/or collars embroidered for no extra charge. Want a white shirt with pink contrast on the cuff and a collar that says “Kickass” on the inside? Done.
Of course, you don't have to build your own shirts. You can simply pick from Blank Label's regularly updated collection of dress shirts. You can't go wrong with these, and they will still be custom made for your size and body type.
Finding Your Size
Figuring out your measurements can be a daunting task, but Blank Label makes it easy. There are six measurements needed to create the perfect shirt – collar, chest, sleeve, shoulder, midsection and length.
To find these measurements, you can:
- Measure your best fitting shirt (assuming you have one shirt that fits well)
- Send BL your best fitting shirt (they will mail it back to you for free)
- Take a survey so their tailors can estimate your measurements (they're experts at this)
I chose to measure my favorite shirt. I don't own one of those soft measuring tapes that tailors use, so I just used a regular old measuring tape, and it worked fine. Blank Label even has a video series on their website that shows you exactly how to measure each part of the shirt, which takes all of the guess work out of the process.
If you don't have a dress shirt that fits well, you can always buy one from a local tailor. It will cost you, but you can use this as your base model for new shirts.
Get Started Today
If you're not yet convinced, go to BlankLabel.com and play around with the customization tool. If nothing else, you can see what the possibilities are. Then, when you're ready for a new dress shirt (or three), definitely give BL a try.
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Hey nice blog. Those were some important points to be kept in mind. Thanks for sharing
Thanks, Stefan. I see you’ve got a custom shirt company. I’ll have to try it out sometime!
-B
I am looking for a gold/silver plated button for my Banded collar shirt.
Is it possible to get natural color banded collar shirt with the button mentioned
above.
Pls. let me know
Kaiser.
Hey Kaiser – I would email BL’s customer support. I’m sure they could work with you on this.
-B
Do you ever do any review where you mention if the garment is made in a specific country? It would be interesting to be informed on where these items are being made, what do you think?
I usually mention if it’s made in the US. Of course, most aren’t. I’m more concerned with fit and quality. If it’s made in the US, that’s a bonus. But, unfortunately, that’s not always the best option for finding clothes that fit men under 5’8″.
I’ve just ordered a custom shirt with them using your referral link, looking forward to receiving it 😀