The Garment You Wear Most and Think About Least
A shirt is worn more often than any other tailored garment a man owns, and is the one most often bought on a single number: collar size. That number tells a manufacturer almost nothing about your body, which is why a shirt that fits your neck can still gape at the collar, pull across the shoulder blades, and balloon at the waist once tucked. At Chirag Parmar Signatures (CPS) in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, a bespoke shirt starts from 12-15 measurements instead.
Fabric: The Decision That Sets Everything Else
| Weave | Character | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Poplin | Smooth, flat, slight sheen | Formal business shirts, worn with a tie |
| Twill | Soft, subtle diagonal rib, drapes well | Daily formal wear, resists creasing |
| Oxford | Heavier, visible basket texture | Smart-casual, open collar, button-down |
| Linen / linen blend | Open, breathable, creases readily | Summer, travel, coastal and resort wear |
Yarn count sits on top of weave. Two-ply 100s to 120s cotton is the practical range for shirts worn weekly: fine enough to look refined, stable enough to hold a press through a Bengaluru workday. Higher counts feel superb in hand but are more delicate under regular laundering, which is a genuine trade-off rather than simply an upgrade.
Collars: Match the Collar to How You Actually Dress
- Semi-spread: the default. Works with any tie knot and still sits correctly worn open. If you commission one shirt, make it this.
- Cutaway: a wider spread built for a larger knot such as a full Windsor. Sharp with a tie, but can look bare worn open.
- Button-down: designed for open-collar wear, holds its roll without a tie. The right choice for a shirt that lives under a blazer rather than a suit.
- Club or rounded: a deliberate style statement rather than a default, and best kept to one shirt in a wardrobe.
Collar height matters as much as spread and is almost never discussed in ready-made shirting. A taller collar band suits a longer neck and balances a larger frame; a shorter band prevents the collar swallowing a shorter neck.
Cuffs
A single-button barrel cuff is the everyday default and the right answer for most of a working wardrobe. A French (double) cuff requires cufflinks and belongs with a suit or a tuxedo, not with an open collar and a blazer. The detail worth getting right in either case is the cuff opening, which should be snug enough that the shirt does not slide over your wrist bone when your arm hangs, since that is what allows the half-inch of cuff to show past a jacket sleeve.
What Bengaluru and Chennai Weather Change
For Bengaluru's moderate climate, two-ply cotton poplin or twill works year-round and presses well. Move to Chennai, Coimbatore, or coastal humidity and lighter cotton, cotton-linen blends, and pure linen breathe considerably better, at the cost of visible creasing. We cover that trade-off in detail in our linen versus cotton guide.
Order One, Then Order Several
A first bespoke shirt takes 10-14 days including a fitting. Once your pattern is approved it stays on file, so repeat shirts take about a week. The sensible approach is a single test shirt, then a batch of three to six once the fit is signed off. Visit Chirag Parmar Signatures in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560004 to start.