This special offer – $300 for suits and $50 for shirts – will only last for a few more days. We were going to finish it tonight, but there have been so many of you asking that we have it run for another few days, I figure that we can find a way. But remember, that it’s for my wedding, so we can really only do this once!

So please get your orders in soon.

That’s just $300 for a custom-made suit… a suit that fits.

And it’s just $50 for a custom-made shirt.

… That’s cheaper than you’d pay for off-the-rack options. (No wonder this offer is popular.)

To create your design, please just select that fabric in our ordering interface – it should be right up the top – and customize your order as usual.

To make it easier for you, here is our gentlemen’s measurement page (pdf) and another for our ladies. Remember that as we don’t have a shopfront, we make it easy for you to head down to your local drycleaner or alterations store with this form. Just let them know that you’re having clothes made with us, and for a small fee (sometimes free even – other times perhaps $10), they can do your measurements for you. It will just take you 10 minutes or so.

And thanks very much for your best wishes. I really do appreciate it!

By the way, we’re working on a new way to choose fabrics more easily – it should be coming out in the next few days…

My fiancee is from Shanghai, and we have built a wonderful relationship with some of the local suppliers. They offer suits that are much more affordable than even our regular range, and I wonder whether you might be interested in trying them out. We have had a small number of items made from them already, and I’m now willing to invite you to secure your own.

Now please know that we haven’t got everything quite as smooth as our regular range. We don’t even have photos of the fabrics on the website.

But, for only the next two weeks – that is until 30 June – you can:

Get a great suits for just $300 and shirts for just $50!

We are even throwing in Express Delivery for the regular price. Now, this only applies to the $300 suits and $50 shirts – we can only do this because I am physically in Shanghai right now! But if you want to speak with me, you can just call me on 02 8011 3727 and it will redirect straight to my mobile here.

As I said, we don’t have the pictures on the website – we don’t have the pictures at all! Instead, when you decide to order, we’ll work directly with you, so that we can create your new shirt or suit.

Contact us or use the recently improved interface and select “Wedding Special” and we’ll sort out the details. If you can tell me what sort of fabric you are after, we can find something suitable.

Wear a white shirt

White shirts are wonderful. They are timeless, never go out of fashion, and nothing can allow us to move from the desk to dinner so easily. With a white shirt, you can look crisp, clean and cool with trousers or jeans, no matter what the occasion.

Some texture can add some personality to our humble white shirt. I love my herringbone white shirts though self stripes or a little detailing add some style while remaining versatile.

Monogramming is another great way to make your shirt suit your personal style and reflect your tastes. You can explore beyond the cuff too – monograms go well on your chest, in the middle of your back and if you are a little adventurous can even look good on the placket between your buttons.

It’s so easy to look sharp with a white shirt, especially one that fits just right.

Sure you can button it up for when you put on a tie, but you actually don’t need to do so. In fact, if you do it up and the tie is too lose, it looks terrible; and if your tie is tighter than the shirt really allows, it also looks terrible!

So I am now having all my shirts made without the top button.

An advantage of this is that I can have the button replaced with an extra set of buttonholes in a contrasting colour. This can be a subtle but stylish design feature (just note it in the “special requests” section) that is invisible when you are wearing a tie, but comes out when you want to play.

And keep your eyes open for the return of pin-collar shirts…

1. Remove all collar stiffeners, cufflinks and contents of pockets before washing.
2. Wash by hand or machine in water no warmer than 40°C.
3. If you choose to machine wash, use a protective bag, like a lingerie bag, to prevent the shirt from chaffing during the spin cycle.
4. Wash dark colours separately from light.
5. Drip dry shirts on hangars – do not tumble dry.
6. Iron when still slightly damp. Alternatively, you can dampen with a water spray.
7. Iron away from the collar points to maintain their shape and smoothness.
8. Avoid fading of dark shirts by ironing on the inside of the collar.
9. Hang your shirt on a thick hanger after ironing. Wire hangers will tend to leave a crease.
10. Bleach, such as napisan, can restore colour and brightness, though use no more than every four or five washes to limit the damage caused to the fabric.
11. Resew buttons when they loosen.

Hang your shirts promptly, preferably on a good quality timber hanger.

100% cotton: Humidity counts
When you are ironing a 100% cotton shirt, iron it damp from washing, or at least spray the shirt and let it sit in a plastic bag for 10 or 15 minutes. This will dissolve so much of your hard work by relaxing the fibres. The result: Less wrinkles and sharper creases.
Follow the guidelines given by your iron manufacturerSet the iron temperature to suit the fabric that you’re ironing. It sounds simple… but make sure that you still do it!

1. Collar first: Start by pressing the wrong side of the collar, then press the right or visible side both of the band and of the collar itself.
2. Upper shirt: Press around the upper portion and yoke of the shirt, moving from one side of the front, around the back to the other side of the front.
3. Sleeves: First the cuff wrong sides, then the cuff right sides, then the rest of the sleeves. Yes, this is done before the rest of the shirt.
4. Position the sleeve placket side up, with the underarm seam along one edge; smooth the sleeve to find the upper arm crease. Then, flip the sleeve over and press that side before repeating for the other arm.
5. Lower shirt: Press the remainder of the shirt, working from one side of the front around the back to the other side of the front.
6. Hang: With the shirt ironed, give it space to cool and dry completely.

• Pointed collars tend to be more formal. Button-down or rounded collars typically look better with textured jackets.
• A double breasted suit is well complimented by a spread collar.
• Tab-behind collars are sometimes called the “Ivy League” look, from their association with such colleges in the United States. It is a distinctive look, and one that I very much enjoy. Tab-behind collars remain unusual in Australia and convey a strongly distinctive style.
• Remember to choose the right knot to go with your shirt…
• We love French cuffs. They are more formal, demand the use of cufflinks (or a silk knot) and require a little more effort to iron. But they really look good!