As the weather gets warmer day by day, there will likely be many days when you can wear just a shirt. So why not have a casual shirt made for you?

Hiroshi Morioka (left)
Hiroshi Morioka ● Fashion director and stylist. After working at Fujingaho Co., Ltd. (Hearst Fujingaho Co., Ltd.), he established the creative office "Globe." He is active in a wide range of fields, mainly in fashion.

Ai Yamaguchi (middle)
Ai Yamaguchi ● Business Clothing Block Leader. Joined the company in 2010. After working in charge of ties, ready-made shirts, and pattern-made shirts, she moved to the 5th floor to handle custom-made shirts in 2016 (as of March 2017).

Yosuke Kagami (right)
Yosuke Kagami ● Bespoke shirt buyer. He previously worked as an assistant buyer for business clothing and a buyer for bags and luggage before taking his current position. He has almost all of his shirts, including dress shirts, custom-made and wears them himself.

Casual-looking shirts for business settings

While custom-made shirts are generally thought of as specializing in dress shirts, did you know that Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building 5th Floor - Custom Shirts also handles casual shirts? In this field where ready-made options are abundant, what are the advantages and pleasures of choosing to have a shirt custom-made? We invited fashion director and stylist Hiroshi Morioka as a guest to explore its appeal from three different perspectives.

At the custom shirt corner on the 5th floor of Kagami , there aren't any samples; the design and measurements are done in a way that's very close to full custom order, so you can do all sorts of things if you want to. However, the difficult part is making sure it looks casual, and it wasn't until 2013 that we were able to create something we were satisfied with. That was also around the time when we started offering single-piece orders for garment-washed shirts.
Yamaguchi: We had been carrying pique knit shirts before that, but since the 5th floor of Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building is a floor mainly for business wear, they were strictly for wearing with a tie.
Mirror-washed shirts sold incredibly well. Dungaree shirts were especially popular. So, I thought retro polos would be the next big thing, and that's why we started taking orders for them in mid-February.
It's great that you can order Morioka shirts in long sleeves. With ready-made short-sleeved shirts, they can look a bit shabby when worn under a jacket.
Mirrors, that's right. I hated that too.
Morioka : Plus, it has buttons on the sleeves, so when it's hot, you can just roll them up. It looks more sophisticated that way, and it actually looks better.

On the left is a chambray shirt made from denim fabric by Canclini, an Italian company. It has been garment-washed to give it a worn-in look.
On the right is a retro polo shirt made with knit fabric from the Italian company Monti. Although it's a pullover, the shirt sleeves with cuffs give it a dressy look.

Casual shirts made with Canclini denim fabric, ready-made, from ¥27,000.
Retro knit polo shirt (ready-made) from ¥21,600
Delivery: Approximately 5 weeks later

For Yamaguchi Retro Polo shirts, we recommend using knit fabric from Monti, one of Italy's three major fabric manufacturers. Other popular shirt fabrics include Italian brand Canclini and British brand Thomas Mason.
Even with Morioka casual wear, size is important. Previously, there were hardly any places where you could order these kinds of items, but now there are, so I think we should definitely take advantage of them.
When ordering a shirt from Yamaguchi , it would be helpful if you could wear your favorite shirt. This is because even though everyone requests the same "slim fit," their understanding of what that means is different, so it's important for me to know your preferences.
We talk about actual measurements and allowance measurements, but a shirt that's too tight doesn't look smart. However, we get quite a few requests for shirts that are as tight as possible. Their real goal is to look stylish, but it ends up becoming just about looking thin.
When ordering a custom suit from Morioka , it's important to understand your own body type and have a clear purpose for how you want to look. Also, if it's a casual style, you need to consider how you want to wear it.
Even though it's called "Mirror Casual," if you consider it in terms of on-duty or off-duty, it's still on-duty. It's more like a casual suggestion for on-duty wear.
Morioka's casual style is interpreted differently by different people. Custom-made shirts with tab collars or pinhole collars in denim fabric will probably be a good choice going forward.

—Are there any points to keep in mind when placing an order?

Since Yamaguchi knit and linen materials shrink, we explain that they should be made larger to account for this. We also often suggest a method called "hot water treatment," where the fabric is soaked in water once before cutting.
To add to what I've said about mirror knitwear, it does shrink when you wash it, but it stretches out as you wear it. Measuring knitwear is actually very difficult, and there are cases where customers come in a year later saying the sleeves have become too long and need to be shortened.
Morioka: So that's something that's only possible because it's a custom order, right?
There are three main types of casual shirts that can be ordered through our mirror- fitting service. The first is knit shirts. You can choose between full-open or pullover styles, and the detailed measurements taken are something you won't find anywhere else. The second is garment-washed custom shirts that can be made one piece at a time. The third is regular shirts. This method involves choosing a casual fabric and creating a casual look, including the interlining. Actually, this is the most difficult, because unless you have a specific image of the shirt you want to create, even if you choose a checked fabric, it won't have a casual look. So in these cases, it's necessary to discuss the degree of casualness with the staff.
A distinctive feature of Yamaguchi Orders is the high number of repeat customers who order the same fabric. Some even order multiple items at once.
Looking at the current trends, I feel that people are more interested in owning multiple pieces of clothing that they truly love and that fit them well, rather than chasing trends.
Morioka : Understanding trends and then selecting what suits your own style—that's a sign that the market has matured, isn't it?

*All prices include tax.

inquiry
03-3352-1111 (main representative)
Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building 5th Floor = Custom-made shirts