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At Archibald, we’ve come to the unanimous conclusion that it’s impossible to look bad in a crisp, properly tailored shirt. Dressed up with tailored trousers or down with jeans, it’s a blank canvas which the wearer can colour as they please. That said, not all shirts are created equal in cut, design and quality. And while a well made shirt is always pleasing to the eye, there’s nothing quite as discomforting as one that falls short...
The Shirts
Our operations manager Tak takes the westbound Central Line of the Underground home after work. The tube is unenviable on hot July evenings, and this one was sweltering. He watched a group of office workers squeeze on, suit jackets slung over their shoulders, shirts all but untucked and ties loosened. There was something wrong with the shirts, he thought. The fit wasn’t right. The stitching was straining. There was no shape, no silhouette. The next day when he told the rest of the team about his commute with The Shirts, he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was that made them so displeasing. Yet everyone understood - well made, flatteringly fit shirts are simply few and far between. And so we resolved to find master makers who we could collaborate with to liberate men from this unsightly scourge.
The Search
We were searching for the kind of shirt that would make Tak stop and stare on his commute, but for the right reasons. The level of craftsmanship that goes into an exquisitely made shirt is such that the unknowing eye can appreciate the overall superb effect without understanding it. Only a trained artisan knows that the placement of a seam a few centimetres one way or the other, the positioning and circumference of the armhole, or the perfect collar width, can change how the garment sits on the wearer entirely. Team Archibald soon split into those who could recognise and distinguish an excellently made shirt, and those who nodded along and pretended to see the difference. Unsurprisingly, the majority of us made up the latter. But, luckily, those few in the know knew exactly where to go to find the master shirtmakers.
Gallia X Archibald
There’s a confluence of factors that contribute to Gallia’s complete upper hand when it comes to a superior final product. The fabric used in each shirt is sourced locally, from regional experts who know where to find the best fabric in the world. For the past six decades, Gallia has honed a centuries old tradition of weaving, combined it with tailoring excellence, and finessed contemporary cut and design to offer a truly Italian handmade shirt. Most importantly, Gallia knows that the perfect shirt ultimately comes down to personal choice. We’ve developed various cuff, colour, collar and style options with Gallia that can be made to measure. And when we brought back our samples and tried them on, they received Tak’s seal of approval.
