Still seeking the perfect white shirt? Jo Ellison gets hot under the collar at Budd.
Lizandra Cardoni was so depressed by the versions worn by her clients working in the banking industry – too tight, badly fitted, full of ugly darts – that she quit advertising to study bespoke tailoring at the London College of Fashion. She has since become one of only two female shirtmakers in the UK, and one of a tiny number who work in Budd Shirts’ antique premises in Piccadilly Arcade.
Today I have tasked her with creating the Dream Shirt, a process that involves a consultation and a couple of fittings, and takes around six weeks. Ordinarily the service requires a four-shirt order with prices starting, according to material and detail, from around £475 per shirt. Cardoni and Becky French, Budd’s new creative director, have asked me to provide a moodboard of my requirements; I have offered pictures of Linda Evangelista, Tilda Swinton and Jennifer Lawrence, who is often seen in a whisper-thin white shirt that is perfectly oversized. Having got the gist, Cardoni flips open a book of swatches and what seems like thousands of different styles. She recommends a lightweight Soyella, a Swiss cotton with a 170 thread count: “Like silk, but 100 per cent cotton so you can throw it in the wash.”
Image above: The author’s finished shirt © Joshua Tarn
I understand little of materials, but I like the Soyella because it offers the merest hint of transparency. The issue with so many white shirts is that shiny stiffness; it reminds me of being stuffed into a scratchy, uncomfortable school uniform. As for the fit, I am keen to have slightly bigger armholes and neat shoulders, with exaggerated volume at the back. Cardoni recommends a long single cuff with a button that obviates the need for cufflinks but gives a cufflink-like effect. I demur from having the brand’s signature curved Budd collar, going for something more geometric with a soft interlining that still holds its shape. Most importantly for someone who likes to wear a shirt that is dangerously low-buttoned, Cardoni places the buttons perfectly so that I can show as much décolleté as possible without my boobs actually falling out.
At the fitting a few weeks later, French joins us to talk tweaks. She is keen that the shirt have more dramatic impact, and moves two pleats to create more volume at the back. When asked why she’s such an advocate for a bespoke service, she says: “This is a real opportunity to feel that whatever your body shape, we can create something that makes you feel amazing. Yes, it’s about getting a perfect shirt, but it’s also about the experience.” Two weeks later, I collect the shirt in person, and I could not be happier with the result. Although, obviously, I’m already wondering if I now need something darted to wear under a tuxedo suit. There is also Budd’s denim and chambray shirt service. Oh, and isn’t that the perfect blue? That’s the trouble: bespoke is a habit. Once you start, no one shirt is enough.
Read the full article at the Financial Times