Amsterdam
100Hands
Named after the 50 people it takes to makeeach shirt, this Amsterdam-based label hasbuilt a cult following among tailoring aficionados who geek out over itssuper-fine three-ply fabrics, hand-rolled bottom hems and meticulously hand-embroidered buttonholes. It was founded 10 years ago byhusband and wife Akshat Jain and VarvaraMaslova to showcase thecraftsmanship of India’s artisans, andeachshirttakes up to 36 hours to makeinthe company’s factory in Punjab, northern India. Ready-to-wear styles (from£395) canbe found in department stores including Harrods and Bergdorf Goodman, while made-to-measure and bespoke options are offered via trunk shows in London and New York. 100hands.nl Sara Semic
Hong Kong
Ascot Chang
Hong Kong shirtmaker Ascot Chang was founded in 1953, among the tailors of Kimberley Road, and became renowned asthe finest accompaniment to a well-cut suit. Today it’s run by Tony, Lincoln and Justin Chang, the second and third generation ofthe family business, who are continuing the legacy with its famous bespoke service, which is offered in-store in Hong Kong, mainland China, New York and the Philippines. It also offers a selection of ready-to-wear, including the signature Ascot spread collar, designed to be worn without a tie (from HK$1,900, about £195). ascotchang.com JessicaBeresford
Berlin
Atelier Fasan
Founded in 1950, this Berlin atelier is one ofthe city’s last traditional shirtmakers, where everything from the cuffs to the collars (unfused, with a two-ply interlining) and the handmade buttonholes is entirely bespoke. “No wishes are left unfulfilled,” says Heinrich Sabielny, the store’s current proprietor, whose clients include Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks. Sabielny drafts each pattern himself and the fabrics are sourced exclusively from a network ofSwiss, Italian and English weavers. Visitthe charming Charlottenburg flagship for the full tailored experience, or try its shirt-configurator online (from €300). fasen-berlin.de Inès Cross
Rome
Battistoni
The venerable men’s clothing store, founded in Rome in 1946, made its namewith well-considered shirts and stillmakes them just above its exquisite home on ViaCondotti. These are not quiteas flamboyant as a shirt from Naples,which isprobably a good thing. Theready-to-wear cotton styles are interesting without being garish, though ifyou’re more specific in your requirements Battistoni has a robust bespoke programme and travels to major cities. Of course, onceyour measurements are on file it’sdangerously easy to get more: fewmenwhohave a Battistoni shirt haveonly one (from €550). battistoni.com David Coggins
Barcelona
Bel y Cía
Although best known for itscardigan-like shooting jacket, themuch-imitated Teba, Bel y Cía is a fine shirtmaker with itsown signatures: details such as two cotton loops on the back ofthe collar to keep the wearer’s tie in place, and formal shirts without plackets (ifyou’re wearing a business shirt,you havea tie covering your buttons anyway). Come summer, Bel demonstrates its mastery of the resort shirt in styles toonumerous to mention, but my favourite is across between a Lido collar and a button-down: made in Irish linen without any collar band, it’s a work of genius (from €425). belycia.com Nick Foulkes
Paris
Bourrienne Paris
Housed within the ornate 18th-century walls of the Hôtel Bourrienne, this Parisian chemisier takes its design cues from Frenchthinkers and writers such as VictorHugo and François-René de Chateaubriand, who would debate in the townhouse’s grand salon in their flouncy linen shirts. The designs, rendered in double-twisted cotton poplin or heavylinen from Normandy, are peppered with romantic details, from ruffled cuffs and jacquard bibs to handcrafted pleats that nod to theDirectoire-style decor of theshop’s interiors (from €290). bourrienne.com SS
London
Budd
Many a Mayfair man’s default shirt (and pyjama) maker, Budd has been in business for 115 years. It’s diversified with women’s tailoring and ready-to-wear in recent years, though made-to-measure and bespoke are at its core. MTM can be ordered online if you’re prepared to measure up at home, but for the full time-warp experience, head to the tiny jewel box of a store in Piccadilly Arcade to put a design together from more than 290 different cloths, nine collars, six different cuffs and three fits (classic, tailored, slim). Or go bespoke and make the silhouette match yours perfectly (from £245). buddshirts.co.uk Mark C O’Flaherty
Paris
Charvet
If you are looking for proof that France remains the most civilised country in the world, you will find it in the aesthete’s paradise that is Charvet. Founded in 1838,the Parisian shirtmaker is still a family business, and it shows in the almost philosophical depth of discussion about collar proportions, weight of collar interlining and monogram location. The ground floor is a pageant of hummingbird-bright silk ties, gowns, scarves and pochettes, while the upper floors – with which any shirt enthusiast will already be familiar – contain rolls of fabric, stacked to the ceiling, waiting to be made into shirts. Iwas told that there are 400 different shades of white to choose from and though I confess I have not counted, I would have thought there were more. charvet.com NF
London
Drake’s
Every man seeks the perfect Oxford cloth shirt and the beloved English company Drake’s makes the best – though you’ll pay just enough to make it feel more special (from £195 for ready-to-wear). Made in its Somerset factory, with collars that are big enough to flatter most men, these are the shirts you want in your sartorial arsenal. Blue and white are the classics, but there’s a subtle pale green too and the ticking stripe is impossibly good. Ideally, like good wine, you acquire them inquantity. drakes.com DC
London
Emma Willis
In between the cashmere shooting socks, summer pastels and silk dress shirts at Emma Willis’s flagship on Jermyn Street, you will find photos of Hugh Grant and ofthe eponymous shirtmaker with King Charles. But don’t take their word for it: her shop enjoyed the patronage of the late Duke of Beaufort – a country gent deluxe with Gianni Agnelli-level taste. Bespoke shirts are made in an 18th-century mini-stately in Gloucester, while shifting sartorial mores mean polo and T-shirts are now available too, and can be monogrammed with your coat of arms or ducal coronet (from £430). emmawillis.com NF
Have we missed anyone? Let us know in the comments below
Miami
Fayad & Co
This Miami-based tailor specialises in shirts that feel right at home while you’re by the sea drinking an aged rum. That’s to say : traditional guayaberas with four-patch pockets and camp shirts in linen or light poplin (from $350). It was founded by André Fayad, who grew up in a family of textile manufacturers, and the house style is less formal tailoring and more an easy-going nonchalance: think wonderful chore jackets with horn buttons and Western-style shirts with point collars thatannounce themselves effortlessly. Healsomakes regular visits to New York and Los Angeles. fayadcompany.com DC
Florence
Giacomo Bacci
Florence-based designer Giacomo Bacci opened his marble-lined shop and atelierin2020. Known for his bold, ’70s-stylecolourways and playful fabric combinations, Bacci, who trained as an architect, offers both ready-to-wear and custom creations, with each shirt stitched together on-site (from €170). Highlights includeadress shirt made fromseveral kinds of embroidered lace and a Western-style grey-and-white striped cotton shirt featuring a neon-yellow yoke. giacomobacci.com IC
London
Jake’s
Jake’s is the brainchild of Jake Wigham, who first started making shirts for friends and colleagues during the lockdown in 2020. Handmade in Soho, his boxy, mid-century-inspired Oxford button-downsare the stuff of legend – no shirt collection is complete without one. He alsooffers Pearl Snap Western shirts, classic Madras checks and printed leisure shirts with campcollars. The vast majority are made-to-order, with alead time oftwotofour weeks (from £195). jakesldn.com Aleks Cvetkovic
London
LEJ
Founded in 2020 by Luke Walker, a formermenswear designer at Lanvin andDunhill, LEJ’s casual shirts combine military and utility details (such as box pleat pockets) with luxurious fabrications, from buttermilk-yellow washed silk toelectric-blue needle cord, thataredesigned to age beautifully. The signature style isthe Come-Up-To-The-Studio – a drapey cotton-wool twill featuring a dropped shoulder andunlined point collar that canbe tucked in or worn open fora “louche couture vibe” (from£225). lej.london SS
Naples
Luca Avitabile
Perhaps the foremost name in Neapolitan shirtmaking, Avitabile’s handsome atelier, on the upper storeys of a historic building on Naples’ Via Toledo, speaks to his elegant style. Soft materials such as fine brushed cotton and breathable piqués combine with comfortable collars and a trim fit. Avitabile is also the creator of the “Friday polo” – a dressy polo shirt designed with a proper shirt collar that will sit comfortably beneath a tailored jacket or blazer (bespoke shirts from £250). lucavitabile.it AC
London
Luca Faloni
In 2014, Turin-born entrepreneur Luca Faloni staked his new eponymous brand on theperfect shirt: Italian linen, mother-of-pearl buttons, a one-piece “paramontura” collar, no button placket, slim-ish fit. At£175, it retailed at a third of the price ofluxury competitors. Since then, the bestselling Portofino style, made in northern Italy, hasbeen joined by off-the-shelf shirts in brushed cotton, cashmere-cotton and silk-cotton blends, as well as knitwear, chinos and suits that will make you look like an off-duty Fiat heir. lucafaloni.com Ellie Pithers
Paris
Oliver Church
Each of Paris-based maker Oliver Church’s garments are unique, owing to the vintage, antique and reclaimed fabrics that he sources from around France. Each part of the shirtmaking process passes through hishands, too: a “rewarding task to take something from start to finish”. The result is utilitarian, organic-looking shirts, made in a slow, meticulous way, that are sold around the world, including at Neighbour in Vancouver, Maidens in Tokyo and Tessuti in Auckland (from €750). oliver-church.com JB
Naples
Rubinacci
The storied third-generation tailor is often identified as the birthplace of the Neapolitan suit – relaxed fit, minimal padding, puckered sleeve head and high armhole – though Mariano Rubinacci’s shirts are just as identifiable as his tailoring: soft collars, slightly exaggerated drum-like mother-of-pearl buttons and a fit that is easy rather than figure-hugging. “In summer in Naples, you want to be as cool and comfortable as possible,” says Mariano, who has learnt this over a lifetime on speedboats to and from his summer residence in Capri. As with tailoring, Rubinacci specialises in vintage shirt fabrics, with overshirts in lightweight cashmere and tweed available come winter (from £650). marianorubinacci.com NF
London
Sean O’Flynn
The head shirtmaker at Savile Row’s Huntsman & Sons, Sean O’Flynn is widely regarded as one of the best in the business, having cut his teeth as an apprentice at the tailoring house more than four decades ago. His eponymous brand offers more than 1,000 bespoke shirting options in fabrics sourced from some of Europe’s finest mills, and no request is too small for O’Flynn and his team of expert cutters andtailors, who cut and make each shirt on-site in six to eight weeks (from £440). seanoflynn.co.uk SS
Paris
Sébline
It’s the unexpected details – bright-orange Moroccan stitching on a candy-striped shoulder, a ruffled bib beneath a collarless neckline – that make you want to stock up on Sébline’s shirts and make for the Côte d’Azur. Its Anglo-French founder Charles Sébline, who learnt to sew in Yves Saint Laurent’s couture atelier, combines English languor with Parisian precision. The bestselling styles are the Combat polo shirt (£355), the Chemise de Garçon with its pageboy collar (£255) and the Painter’s shirt (£330). They’re a hit with women, too:Cate Blanchett looked the picture of elegance at the Venice Film Festival wearing a dressing-gown style wrap shirt with embroidered frogging. sebline.fr EP
Maine
Tony Shirtmakers
Since 2014, Tony Parrotti’s brand has specialised inmade-to-order casual shirtsfitting of its rural surrounds: think overshirts in wide-wale corduroy or Casentino wool forwinter, and camp shirts in linen and jacquard cotton for summer. Each piece is designed with thoughtful finishes – like the signature exaggerated semi-rounded camp collar – and the label ishand-inscribed with your name. Parrotti previously worked for a bespoke tailor in New York. Now some of his ready-to-wear designs are made in the city by a small mom-and-pop factory (from $555). tonyshirtmakers.com Aoife Murray
London
Turnbull & Asser
The Jermyn Street maker Turnbull & Asser received its first royal warrant in 1980; in 2023, it supplied King Charles III’s coronation shirting. Distinguished by its non-fused collars and split yokes, its shirts (from £295) are made up of 33 hand-cut pieces. The bespoke service (from £395) has outfitted Winston Churchill, offering more than 1,000 fabric choices and 20 monogram styles. turnbullandasser.co.uk Rosanna Dodds
London
Wil Whiting
A former management consultant who retrained as a shirtmaker, Whiting combines a near-pathological attention to detail with an artist’s eye, pushing himself to offer “the very best shirts in the world in terms of fit, quality and style”. His bespoke shirts are beautifully handmade to a customer’s paper pattern in his south-west London studio – although some casual styles are available made-to-order. Expect a form-fitting cut, razor-sharp collars, exceptional hand-stitching throughout and some of the plushest fabrics on the planet (bespoke from £900). wilwhiting.com AC
