PYE (Shirt Review)

Two weeks following our store visit the shirt was ready to be picked up. A relatively long wait time considering the size of their operation and the fact this is not a fully bespoke shirt with an existing pattern.

The same issues that plague a lot of EC’s shirts showed up in this one too – rumples down the front. From this view we could also see the shoulder width was just slightly insufficient but the sleeve length was satisfactory. Apologies for the ‘washed out’ lighting in the photo.

Quite ‘clean’ when looking from the side although there is blousing at the back.

Obvious ‘ballooning’ of the shirt from the posterior view and a complete lack of shape.

Oversized collar (which was expected from the first visit’s trial shirt).

Another view to show the lack of waist suppression in their ‘Regular’ fit.

Poor pattern matching seen at the shoulders.

Another aspect of the shirt showing a lack of pattern matching with the horizontal stripes.

Reinforced side seams to extend the ‘life’ of the shirt, often considered by many as the sign of a well constructed shirt.

Split yoke by ‘default’ in their shirts to give added comfort to the wearer. Another nice touch?

We’ll avoid talking about the fit of this shirt too much. It’s obviously not a bespoke item so criticizing this aspect seems unfair. The overall craftsmanship of the shirt is decent, but when considering the price we would say it simply meets expectations. The split yoke and reinforced side seams at face level are positive and seem to imply that PYE cares about quality, but their lack of pattern matching reveals their true colors. Perhaps these added details are included just for show. At this price ($1580) we’d like to simply remind the reader that there are plenty of good bespoke options for shirts.

+ Comfort

– Unjustifiable price?

 

 

PYE (Store Visit)

Seeing as this new shirting store is already opening up their second branch in Central, we wanted to give them a whirl and see what the fuss was about. PYE burst onto the Hong Kong shirting scene in 2013 and has been steadily growing since. Although not a bespoke shirt maker, we thought we could still assess their process and quality (and EC had a gift card).

Every aspect of their store had obviously been designed and thoroughly thought out which cultivated quite a nice ambiance. The store was well staffed and they were attentive to our needs and very willing to answer any of our questions. Strangely enough, although this was a ‘dedicated’ shirting store they sold umbrellas and miscellaneous glassware too – a curious diversification strategy.

As far as we could understand it PYE offers three lines of shirts: ‘Casual’, ‘Classic’ and ‘Infinity’. The latter is their premium cotton with a 170’s thread count. They also offer three different fits: Slim, Tailored and Regular. We had a choice of buying ready-to-wear or made-to-order, MTO would give us the choice of picking the fabric, collar, cuffs, plackets, pockets and monogramming.

Since we had a gift card, we decided to splurge for the MTO. The staff gave EC different shirts to try to get an idea of which cut would be appropriate. We had originally wanted their Tailored fit but at the correct collar size the body of the shirt was too tight. There was no choice but to take their Regular fit, but in order to get the body of the shirt to fit adequately a larger collar size still had to be chosen.

We were given an approximate time of three weeks for the shirt to be ready and the staff told us to expect a phone call. We predicted that because of their vertical integration (all the way down to their own cotton plants and factories) that their fabric should be of high quality. Just from trying the shirts in the store during our visit, we knew the final fit would be a far reach in comparison to bespoke or even MTM products.

+ Good customer service

– Shirt fits are more for ‘Asian’ builds

More Info:

1. Turnover time 3 weeks
2. MOP buttons default
3. $1580 for a shirt of house fabric from their own cotton farms

Address: Shop 111, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong.