Not sure if you should wear that Tommy Bahama shirt out tonight? The magnificent bastard is here to help. Go ahead. Ask away.
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 How do I keep my dress shirts tucked in to like a model? Shirts look great in photos and then they get all puffy and bunched up around the waist in no time flat.
—James
A: Roughly 66 percent of American men are overweight and about 25 percent are obese. Meanwhile, 100 percent of male models either have a six-pack, anemia, or both. (Plus-sized models are a strictly female phenomenon as far as we know.)
But while off-the-rack shirtmakers are happy to perpetuate oppressive ideals of masculinity (yes, we're totally joking) when creating their print ads, catalogs, and websites, they have to tailor their shirts to that tubby 66 percent if they want to make any money. If you're fit, which it sounds like you are, these shirts are going to make you look like you finished third in the latest season of The Biggest Loser (i.e., you lost some weight, but not enough to finish in the money and purchase a new wardrobe).
The solution? Places like Brooks Brothers offer slim fit dress shirts, and most dress shirt brands at a place like YOOX have a more Continental (aka "less fat American") fit.
What we've been getting into since our feature on custom dress shirts is, well, custom dress shirts. Our current fave is Chicago-based Deo Veritas run by Vinnie Sikka. They've got top quality fabrics and construction, and we've tweaked our dimensions to perfection, which for us is slim through the torso but leaving just enough excess to easily achieve artful dishevelment.
Earlier: Untucked Sport Shirts With Shorts  posted:8.11.11 filed under: Since doing our custom shirt feature this spring, we've become big fans of this product. If Santa put a few bucks in your stocking and you're in need of a shirt or two, here's an update:
* Deo Veritas is offering 20% off any order of two or more shirts with code 2FOR20. They made our favorite shirt and it showed up in just 12 days. Be sure to pay the extra $9 for the sewn collar option.
(Deo Veritas is an MB sponsor. --Ed.)
* Alexander West just added 54 new shirts to their collection. AW had the best overall shopping experience and made a shirt worthy of being featured in an MB banner.
* After giving owner Fan Bi some grief for a couple of poly blends, Blank Label has stepped up its game and added 40 new, 100% cotton fabrics and kept the price at $45. This is almost without doubt the cheapest way to try out custom shirting.
(Blank Label was an MB sponsor. --Ed.) posted:12.27.10 filed under: Martinez. Yum.Since posting the Merry Magnificent Bastard cocktail last week, we attended a holiday party where they were served, and the response was table-smashingly enthusiastic. With hard work from Richard our cocktail editor, and Portland-based mixologist/bartender/author Jacob Grier, we've got four more Kid-tested, Mother-approved holiday drinks this year in our MB Holiday Cocktail Guide 2010.
Tomorrow: What to gift the mistress. posted:12.8.10 filed under: via geochron.com. $2130.00.From gourmet scooping ketchup to a personal cask of single malt whisky, the 2010 MB Gift Guide is here. But it's not all food and drink. If you have the dough, we definitely recommend you buy him an Original Kilburg Geochron (in brushed stainless steel), an invention second only to TV's yellow first down line in awesomeness. Tomorrow the holiday cocktailing guide. Thursday the MB mistress guide. posted:12.7.10 filed under: Oscar AlemánOne of our most popular features (besides the Top 10 Ways to Look Like a Total Toolbag, of course) was this spring's review of seven different custom shirtmakers, and there are a couple of updates to help inform your purchase decision.
Chicago-based Deo Veritas, the place that made our favorite and also most versatile shirt, has simplified their shirt designer tool (our biggest beef with DV), and added some higher-end Thomas Mason fabrics ($138) and a few entry-level Japanese fabrics ($69) for those wanting to dip their toe into custom shirts. Even for toe-dippers, we strongly recommend spending $9 for the sewn-collar upgrade.
Manhattan-based Biased Cut, which made the best fitting shirt, has released a measuring "how-to" video set to a Django Reinhardt contemporary Oscar Alemán's Tango. Follow the instructions -- preferably with the help of a cute tailor -- and you will get a well-fitting shirt. posted:8.10.10 filed under: Rule: If your nose is as long and sharp as a point collar, wear a spread collar.Q: Been looking at Biased Cut ever since you posted the Custom Shirt Reviews. What do you recommend as far as collars? I like the look of the spread collar as it seems more modern. Did you order any spread collared shirts?
--Mark
A: No, we didn't order any spread collar shirts for a couple of reasons:
1. They demand a Windsor knot, and while it's definitely a break from our severe case of Anglophilia, we much prefer the four-in-hand.
2. 95 out of 100 guys look better with a point-style collar. It's similar to striped shirts, with point collars equalling vertical stripes and spread collars equalling horizontal stripes. If you're the rare man who needs his face fattened, a spread collar can work. If you're not, point collars are a much better bet. posted:6.18.10 filed under: Biased Cut's center back pleatQ: I am starting my internship this summer. What dress shirt colors do you recommend? And what type of patterns are acceptable and go well with which color?
--Garvin
A: Garvin, it's sounds like you're not only new to the world of work, but maybe also new to the world of getting dressed. So we recommend that you keep things simple. Get a white shirt and a blue shirt. Either will go with any suit, tie, or pants you own.
If you're looking for specific recommendations, check out our custom shirt feature. While Chicago's Deo Veritas made our favorite shirt in Carolina Blue Gingham, don't venture into checks until you land a job. We've gotten great reader feedback on Biased Cut shirts and they make a basic white and basic blue. Theirs was the best-fitting shirt of the ones we reviewed, and they'll even send you a complimentary measuring tape if you don't have one to take your measurements. Just be sure you're OK with the central back pleat (which we like), and request a non-fused collar with 1/4" stitching. posted:6.8.10 filed under:Q: Love the gingham and the reviews on the custom shirt-makers. Anywhere else to get a nice gingham shirt for under custom prices?
--Mark
A: This season J. Crew doubled down on gingham shirts, with loads of casual options to choose from for $59.50. And nice. For $25 more -- still less than typical custom shirt prices -- we definitely recommend looking at the Deo Veritas gingham (pictured). It's custom made to your measurements and collar/cuff/pocket/placket specifications, and by choosing the sewn (vs. fused) collar you're getting a dress shirt that can moonlight as a first-rate casual shirt.
Ed. note: For gingham enthusiasts with thicker wallets than Mark, check out Alexander West (and see our review, too). No fewer than 18 different ginghams to choose from, and if you ask nicely, CEO/founder Alex Yoo will make your shirt with a sewn collar, and you can choose the thickness of the interlining. posted:4.13.10 filed under:The number one downside of online shopping? You don't get to try stuff on before you buy it. Going custom mitigates this factor. If you know how to use a measuring tape, you can, in theory at least, order away without having to wonder if the item in question will fit you better in medium or large. Consequently, the online custom shirt-making business is booming. Which of the many purveyors out there has the greatest selection of options? Which has the easiest ordering process? How fast do they deliver and do their products measure up to their promises? We decided to do some investigative shopping. Here's what we found. posted:4.9.10 filed under:A hundred years from now, will the iPad be known only as the second most revolutionary invention to make its debut during the first week of April 2010? We'd like to think so, but then again, we're still kind of drunk.
After seven weeks of pitting 32 cocktails against each other in head-to-head combat, we've finally got a winner: Bryan Swanson's Magnificent Bastard cocktail. See complete details.
We toast all who submitted entries, all who judged, and our sponsor KegWorks. Stay tuned for our next contest, which will, at the insistence of our synapses, involve coffee as well as alcohol. posted:4.6.10 filed under:Maybe you wore a Bluetooth headset once. Or Crocs with pleated khakis and a Tommy Bahama shirt. Or power-read the National Review through a pair of Oakley blades.
The Toolbag Confessional is the place to confess your style sins. Selected sinners will receive penance appropriate to their transgressions against Magnificent Bastard-dom. Try it today!
(See the full-size confessional image.) posted:2.24.09 filed under:After the success of the Magnificent Bastard Holiday Gift Guide, we've just completed the first-annual Mistress Gift Guide.
In the "for her love and affection" category, we're recommending a Pound Dog (top) and a Havanese (bottom).
Choose her gift(s) wisely. After all, she can wreck your life.
Enjoy. posted:12.5.07 filed under:Coming soon to magnificentbastard.com: a new feature called "How To Determine If Your Chick Is a Dirty Girl."
Does she wear a lace thong? Dirty Girl points awarded! posted:11.4.07 filed under:
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