Whilst I don’t pretend to know all that much about men’s fashion I do know a little about their spending habits. When it comes to retail therapy they can often be categorised as replacement shoppers, meaning they consider shopping to be a mission – they get in, get what’s needed and get out, quickly.
With this knowledge it came as a surprise to me when I discovered recently that despite their “go in for the kill” attitude, men do occasionally have it tough when it comes to finding the ‘perfect fit’. Take for example the humble work shirt – an essential for the modern businessman and apparently something that is none too easy to shop for.
Who would have thought that making a choice between a white shirt or a blue shirt or plain from plaid would be as tough as finding a frock for the race season? And yet I am told it is. Although work shirts usually look the same and there are little conceivable differences to us females, a closer look will tell you that the wrong quality of fabric or fit can make for an uncomfortable mere male.
One male who has been plagued by such issues since entering the workforce four years ago is current owner of online store Workshirty – Dion Robeson. As a young professional, Robeson classified the business shirt to be part of his everyday uniform, something that on average he would spend anywhere between $90-120 on. “I had to wear a shirt everyday and it seemed everyday there was something wrong with it in terms of the fit or the quality of fabric. Work shirts should be comfortable and should allow you to move confidently with a good fit and construction.” Sick of the high prices he and his friends were paying for average business shirts, Robeson decided to create an online store where guys, much like himself, could get a good fitting, good quality shirt without having to pay the high prices that bricks and mortar retail currently charge.
The result was Workshirty. Launched earlier this year, the site is an easy to navigate online store targeted at young professionals in search of quality without having to spend a sizeable chunk of their weekly wage in order to look good in the office. The shirts are slimmer fitting around the waist, with second button height (important, apparently when it comes to wearing a shirt without a tie) and are all made from quality fabric so that they stand up to the daily wear and tear. With minimalism being the key, Workshirty only offers a small range of 6 fabrics and offers a colour palette of whites, blues and stripes avoiding the loud, bright and sometimes a little too bold range sported by some (take note those males still sporting shades of pink circa 2001).
Robeson says, “We only have 3 sizes – small, medium and large – we can’t be the ‘everything to everyone’ so we have tailored the sizes to young professionals and aim to service them well.” And that they do, so much so that within four simple clicks you would have paid for your shirt minus the hassle of a shop assistant.
And as for the ‘replacement shopper’ in all men? Repeat purchasing has never been so easy. “We aim to keep the same cut for all of our fabrics in order to make it easy for customers, once they know their size they can trust that the other shirts will fit the same when they visit us again next time,” says Robeson.
So there you have it, work shirts for the modern man, championing good fit and good quality.
