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Sure, it's tailor-made !
So, here we are. The festive season is approaching, and we don’t know what to get for our loved ones, so… what can we put beneath the tree to be sure that it’ll hit the spot? If you’ve had it with unimaginative gifts, why not try to dig out something custom made? Two good ideas with different styles. Feel like giving (or treating yourself to) an amazing shirt for the party season or every day? If so, why not visit Swann, a small workshop based in Paris’s Eighth Arrondissement, created by Vincent Colin and Thibault de Drouas. With an intimate, cosy atmosphere, purple carpet and folding screens, it’s lovely and you feel at home right away. (By the way, it was Thibault who invited me in to his showroom).
Perhaps you’ll cry foul because made-to-measure clothing is way too expensive! At that point, stop! No, the unique feature of Swann is that their prices are very affordable indeed, especially when you consider that a made-to-measure, 100% cotton shirt represents a long-term investment. For between 69 and 124 euro, you’ll find whatever you’re looking for (although there is also a luxury range that costs up to 150 euro). A more-than-varied choice of fabrics is on offer (with a frequently updated range of 400 to choose from), most of which come from Italy, with cufflinks that range from the classic to the eccentric, as well as a wide range of collars and cuffs. This is where Thibault steps in and helps us find what we’re looking for. Our measurements are taken, and we opt for a simple, fitted white shirt with a spread collar lined with Liberty print, and cuffs adorned with cufflinks. Our custom-measured pattern is created within a month (for the first order) and we collect our wonderful shirt from the workshop, setting up another appointment for any alterations if required. And what if you need a matching (or contrasting) tie?
No problem – and at 60 euro for a standard tie and 80 euro for a custom one, you’d be silly to do without. And for our friends in Lyon or anyone else who doesn’t live in Paris, there’s no need to worry: they have the Swann website where we can complete all the steps needed to create our custom shirt remotely. So don’t hesitate for a second longer!
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