Charles Tyrwhitt vs Hawes & Curtis
Two Jermyn Street shirtmakers compared
Jermyn Street, London is famous for its resident shirtmakers such as Turnbull & Asser, Hawes & Curtis, Thomas Pink, Harvie & Hudson, Charles Tyrwhitt and T. M. Lewin.
I have a bit of a thing for quality white shirts. Like most people, I can’t afford bespoke shirts.
And it’s not just about the clothes, right? The whole experience of finding, buying, trying. The quality of the communication, the packaging, the customer service. All this matters.
So I have been working my way through the wares of Jermyn Street shirtmakers.
Comparing quality of service
Both websites are pretty similar, with plenty of search filters. Here’s what the ordering and delivery experience was like…
Order placed
Hawes & Curtis: Saturday at 17:10
Charles Tyrwhitt: Saturday at 17:30
Despatch confirmation received
Charles Tyrwhitt: Monday morning (07:30)
Hawes & Curtis: Monday evening (16:40)
Product received
Charles Tyrwhitt: Tuesday morning (11:20) — Hermes
Hawes & Curtis: Wednesday afternoon (12:13) — Royal Mail
Delivery notifications?
Charles Tyrwhitt: Yes
Hawes & Curtis: No
Service winner
Charles Tyrwhitt, no questions. They received and actioned my order a whole day earlier than H&C. Tyrwhitt also sent an email when the parcel was delivered.
How do the shirts compare?
Here’s what I judge a shirt on:
- Material
- Fit
- Feel
- Construction
- Weave and luster
Material
For me a dress shirt can only be 100% cotton.
And non-iron. I know this limits my options, but it’s an absolute must for my lifestyle. I cannot fathom why anyone buys shirts they have to iron every time they wash them.
Both Charles Tyrwhitt and Hawes & Curtis offer non-iron shirts. Hawes & Curtis’ are slightly denser / heavier. Consequently they look a little more crisp (less of my skin / undershirt visible through the white material. They also hold their shape better.
Winner: Hawes & Curtis
Fit
I tried Charles Tyrwhitt’s Extra Slim and Super slim fits. The Extra Slim fit was good on my chest, but had a lot of excess material around the waist.
The Super Slim was better, but not as good as Hawes & Curtis’ Extra Slim.
But Hawes & Curtis was tighter around my arms.
Winner: Tie (remember I am only comparing their most tailored fits, on my personal shape)
Feel
A shirt has to last all day and feel comfortable against my skin.
On first wear, straight out the packaging (not yet washed), Charles Tyrwhitt felt much softer. Hawes & Curtis felt quite rough. Combined with the tightness around my arms and it was a little uncomfortable.
After the the first wash the H&C shirt softened, and after the third it was much better. Perhaps the stiffness is due to the non-iron coating. It may also be the quality of the cotton used by H&C (the fibre length affects the softness).
Winner: Charles Tyrwhitt
Construction
The construction of both shirtmakers is pretty similar, and pretty good. I suspect the heavier weight of the Hawes & Curtis shirt will mean it lasts longer. But without wearing both regularly for a year, I’m not going to know.
Details like the brass collar stiffeners standard in Charles Tyrwhitt shirts are nice, but I don’t think are essential. Hawes & Curtis stiffeners are plastic, but good and thick — just as good at their job as Charles Tyrwhitt’s. They won’t bend like those you’d get at Marks & Spencers.
Winner: Tie
Weave and luster
I am a big fan of twill, and Charles Tyrwhitt don’t do twill in a Super Slim, single cuff, non-iron shirt. They only had an arrow weave. I wanted to like it, but the luster just wasn’t as good as you get with a twill.
Also the CT arrow weave seemed to catch a lot more dust and fluff than normal. This got really annoying after a while — I was constantly picking it off.
I have tried Charles Tyrwhitt’s twill. And the weave was so small that you can’t see the weave unless really close. This made it soft, but it also lacked something.
Hawes & Curtis do offer a twill super slim, non-iron shirt. And it is lovely — the weave is just right.
Winner: Hawes & Curtis
Product winner
This was a really difficult one. The Charles Tyrwhitt shirt felt nicer to wear, but the fit, weave and weight wasn’t as good. The Hawes & Curtis shirt looked much nicer on, and after a few washes the feel improved. So I sent the Charles Tyrwhitt shirts back.
Overall winner, service and product
Overall Charles Tyrwhitt edges Hawes & Curtis on service.
Tyrwhitt was faster to deliver, and better at communicating throughout the process.
Charles Tyrwhitt offers a six-month, no quibbles money-back guarantee. That is pretty amazing. Though Charles Tyrwhitt does not pay the postage for returns. It costs £2.80 at the time of writing (Dec 2018).
Hawes & Curtis’ guarantee is 3 months. Also much better than you’d get from a typical high street retailer. Hawes and Curtis pay for returns! Here’s how to get a returns label.
The Charles Tyrwhitt packaging is a plastic re-sealable bag. It’s ugly, but easier to send back than the Hawes & Curtis box.
If I wasn’t looking for a specific combination of weave, non-iron and fit, I would have stuck with Charles Tyrwhitt.
But I was after something specific, and Tyrwhitt didn’t offer it.
