Elaine Overton

Posts Tagged ‘apparel’

Bespoke shirt tailoring is undergoing a surge of popularity in the UK as more men realise there are options beyond designer labels. Bespoke tailoring gives the opportunity to specify every aspect of how a shirt is cut, and allows the wearer to experience the feel and look of a perfectly fitted shirt. The following is a guide on what features you should expect from a quality bespoke made mens shirt.

Obviously, the main benefit of a bespoke shirt is that it fits the wearer perfectly; after all, the shirt has been made specifically for the wearer. Signs that a shirt is fitted well are:

* A bespoke mens shirt should not feel tight or appear baggy across the shoulders, chest, stomach, or seat. The cut of the shirt should follow the contours of the body, without being too close or restrictive a fit. A fabric allowance of about 6 inches on the chest body measurement, 5 inches on the stomach measurement, and 6 inches on the seat measurement should give good results with average body dimensions, although these allowances are variable depending on the wearer’s build.

* The sleeves of the shirt should be long enough so that the cuffs do not move up the arm when the arms are raised above the head. Similarly, they should not be so long that when the arms are hanging by the side of the body, there is a significant excess of fabric on the sleeves near to the cuffs.

* The collar of the shirt should leave enough space to insert your thumb comfortably between the collar and the neck when buttoned, and should not feel tight or hang loose around the neck.

* The length of the shirt should be long enough so that the tails hang just below the seat when worn. This will ensure that the shirt does not become untucked during use.

* The cuffs of a bespoke mens shirt should be just too tight to slip over the hand when buttoned. It should be necessary to undo the cuffs when putting on the shirt.

Aside from the fit of the shirt, there are a number of other important features to keep an eye out for:

* Fabrics – A bespoke mens shirt should only ever be constructed from pure cotton fabric. Cotton affords the wearer far greater comfort than man made fibres, and give a classic Jermyn Street look and feel to a shirt. The count of the fabric should be as high as possible – the higher the count, the finer the fabric. Popular fabric weaves include poplin (a plain weave and the classic English shirting), twill (a heavier, diagonal weave), fils-a-fils (a tiny graph paper check that appears to be solid colour from a distance), and oxford (generally, the heaviest weave).

* Collars – The collar should be hand made, and can be either fused or unfused. A well fused collar will give a smooth look with no puckering, and should use cotton interfacing materials. Collars should have removable bones to keep the shape of the wings perfectly straight when inserted.

* Stitching – All stitching throughout the shirt should be single-needle stitching. This technique is more time-consuming than commercial methods, but gives strong seams that are significantly more pucker-resistant.

* Pattern matching – When using striped or patterned fabrics, pattern matching should occur wherever possible.

* Sleeve plackets – Where the sleeves meet the cuffs, traditional packets should be used. Highest quality shirts do not provide placket buttons as these are uneccessary in a well formed placket.

* Split yoke – To ensure a perfect fit across the shoulders, a split (4 piece) yoke should be used.

* Buttons – These should be cross-stitched onto the shirt by hand to ensure that they do not become loose over time.

* Tails – The tails of the shirt should be rounded and strengthened by a gusset.

It is not a secret now that the demand for organic cotton clothing is rising quickly. People are willing to buy more natural clothing to themselves to prevent from harmful chemicals that are used at several textile processes.

However, there are also some clever people who are trying to make more money on using this weakness of people. I mean how will you trust that the t-shirt you purchased is really organic? There are 3 common usages of organic cotton.

a) You use the normal/conventional cotton and claim that it was organic. If people believes you then you will make %30 more profit with the exact same garments. So please carefully check the labels of the clothing before you buy and also try to buy from big brands!

b) You get the organic cotton. Made the fabric from it and dye it like you do with the normal cotton. In the end you will have a harmful and chemical fabric which is not organic but “made from organic cotton”.

c) You get the organic cotton and dye it with dyestuff that is allowed by the organic certification companies and follow their guidelines. This is costly and the final fabric, t-shirt price will be higher but this is ofcourse healtier. In the end your organic fabric will not be harmful! In that case you can also say the term “organic t-shirt” easily.

Confusing right? Try to stay away from “made in India” and “made in China” organic cotton products for now. USA and Turkey is offering much better quality and trusted business at the moment. I will try to explain the details in my next article on fromorganic.com web site.

For employees who cook in a restaurant kitchen or work in the dining room waiting tables, wearing an apron is often a uniform requirement. While they serve the purpose of preventing grease or coffee spills from soiling work uniform pants and shirts, aprons are also a handy attachment to tote customer needs.

For a waiter or waitress, who usually wear just a half apron that wraps around their waists, it’s important that the frock contain several accessible pocket compartments in which to carry necessities for the job. Not only is this convenient for the time-pressed server, but it will also impress a dine-in customer when the item needed is right at the finger tips of their attendant.

Items which should be carried by a waiter in their apron should include an ordering tablet, two or three pens, straws and matches. If feasible, extra condiments should also be allowed for as part of the supply load, like catsup bottles or packets and creamer and butter samplers. But be sure to protect liquid products from creating a mess within the apron–this happens to even the best of servers! Sometimes, in the rush to fill a demanding customer’s coffee cup, leaning up against the counter or dining table causes a juicy explosion. It is best to keep those types of additives in a side pocket where they are safer.

Yet another issue that accompanies server aprons is the attached adjustable ties that are supposed to be secured on the back side of the waiter. As people come in all shapes and sizes, fastening these strings can be a side-show all in itself. Larger waisted people may have a difficult time tying a bow where the two ends meet because there simply is not enough material. Thinner servers may have to wrap the ties around two or three times before accomplishing a bow to secure the apron. A possible solution would be for management to purchase aprons which will accommodate any shape or size or server to allow for a more uniformed appearance of their staff.

Color choices for restaurant cook aprons usually aren’t that significant. The full cover aprons of the dishwashers, fry cooks and salad makers are rarely seen by the dining public. That is probably a good thing; chances are those hard-working employees in the back are wearing everything from sauces to sautés! Choosing a shade for the waitresses, waiters, hostesses and bus boy’s aprons is a bit more unrestricted and allows for a creative presentation which compliments the décor of the restaurant dining room or color scheme of the table cloths and furniture.

Lastly, when choosing aprons for restaurant employees, select material that can easily be washed and sanitized and does not require too much effort for stain removal. Although employees are hard-working and dependable, they also have lives outside of the restaurant that may restrict time for uniform upkeep. If possible, provide at least two aprons to each server or cook.