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Made-to-measure iron-free shirts saved us time and money.

By on February 14, 2022

Over the last few months, we have been trying to cut clothing costs.

Like many business people, my husband cares so much about wrinkles on the shirt and his overall professional appearance. As it is always a choice between time or money, iron-free shirts save us hours of no-ironing or trips to the dry cleaners.

We used to spend about $1200 a year on non-iron shirts ordered from the U.S.  But together with shipping charges, we end up paying more.

My husband is a 6-footer with arms and limbs longer than the standard Asian size so buying off-the-peg wrinkle-free shirts at Uniqlo wasn’t an option.

The controversial debate for us however was whether we could find a shop here that does custom-made shirts and don’t cost much.

A google search took me to what I believe is the only shop that offers custom-made options for iron-free shirts at a good price. It is worth mentioning too that the materials don’t look cheap. A standard shirt goes for 6,000 yen but you pay more depending on the style and fabric.  A casual shirt at LL Bean costs about the same.

The name of the shop is SOLVE. It offers high-grade 100% cottons and the luxury of your own fit, and collar style.

Ordering online is easy. Here’s how.

  1. Go to SOLVE website. Click order shirt. (The site is only in Japanese so use Google Translate).
  2. Check the fabric, pattern/color and collar style. (price changes with selection)
  3. Select size. (For customers who cannot measure by themselves or have time to go to their Aoyama store, you can send them your best fit shirt as sample. For those who can go to the store, they will take your measurement. You can check the sample fabric and design, and make order on the spot).
  4. Enter delivery address and pay.
  5. The shirt arrives in a box. Tell them if you are not happy with the fit and they will make the necessary alterations or make one from scratch again.

Although my husband said the collar style was pretty standard, he was generally satisfied with the fit for all the 3 new shirts he bought.

For the record, he repeats wearing the same shirts 2 days a week which  saves us 1,600 yen on weekly dry cleaning costs. I think people are unlikely to notice these things as the shirts need no ironing.

About Tracy Nakayama