Ledbury: Beyond a Fine Shirtmaker

Ledbury continues to introduce new products. Besides the shirts they're known for, they offer sport coats, belts, scarves, pocket squares, ties, socks, sweaters as of yesterday, and even swimwear. They all seem to be of high quality. In addition to some shirts, I own The Free Union Belt and a couple pairs of socks. (I had to exchange the belt for a smaller one -- ignore their recommendation and get your exact size, as the strap runs long.) Word is that they're to offer more sleeve lengths for each neck size in the near future, which will be a godsend to those who want to own a Ledbury shirt but can't do anything about their longer arms.

The only minor letdown is their line of sport coats. I'm not a fan of the high button position and short length. If they lowered the stance and lengthened the bottom hem by just an inch it would look far better. These issues are only exacerbated by the lapels and collars bowing out on their models. Retailers need to present their products in the best possible light, which in this case would have been as easy as pulling the collar flush against the model's neck before snapping pictures. Apart from those issues the fit doesn't look bad. The inner construction and shoulder appear very minimal. It's a rather Neopolitan look, which is unsurprising given they're made in Italy. Again, I want to like them for those reasons but believe the proportions should be reworked.

Great looking fabric and construction, but the house cut could use a little tweaking and better presentation on their website.

Just picked up a couple more things from them, a classic White Linen Pocket Square and another Fine Twill shirt, which they just started offering in their 5.5" wide spread collar with French cuffs. The weather isn't terribly suited for twill shirts yet except for evenings (which are cool here in the high desert), but I look forward to giving both a test run on my birthday dinner.

My predilection for white shirts and pocket squares continues. I'm such a fuddy duddy.

If you're inclined to give Ledbury a try for yourself, the referral link at the top right will give you $25 off your first order. The best thing is that they offer returns and exchanges (postage paid) for a whole year if something isn't to your liking, so it's pretty much risk free.