We’re custom shirtmakers and tailors here at Leviner Wood. We can make almost anything the way you want it without batting an eye.

“Hey Larry, can you do non-iron shirts?”

You asked. We listened.

Only ours come with a custom clothier’s twist. Leviner Wood announces its semi-custom, wrinkle-free and stain-free non-iron shirt menu.

• Choose from a regular, slim or full cut.
• Your choice of button-down, spread, point, contrasting or matching fabric collar.
• French and barrel cuffs available. Chest pockets are too, if you like them.
• Monogram them in white, navy, burgundy or black.
• Long-sleeve? Short-sleeve? Sport or Dress shirts? You pick.

Each of our non-iron shirts features an extra long tail to keep it tucked in when you move. Each fabric is made in one of the finest mills in the world and treated with a special finish that keeps the hand supple, the shirts spotless and neat throughout your day. Our shirts are rated 3.8 d.p. out of a possible 4.0 for wrinkle-free garments. And, they look as good as they feel with all the details of a finely made dress shirt. Our full-make non-iron shirts are top-stitched with single-needle tailoring on the arms, bottoms, sleeves and cuffs. Other fine-shirting details are what you’ve come to expect from a custom shirt: split yokes, button plackets on the arms and indestructible pearlized buttons.

Semi-custom means that we can offer our dress shirts at USD $125.00. Choose a swatch or three. You asked. we listened.

The British polo players invented it, with the help of their shirtmakers. Clothing invented for sports and the military always has a place in any stylish man’s closet. John Brooks, one of the brothers, brought it to America and perfected it, and a century later the company changed something about the formula. The Polo collar is its official, trademarked name. You know it as the OCBD, or oxford cloth button down shirt. It has been the favorite shirt for the casually elegant man since its inception.

Astaire wore his with a double-breasted flannel suit for the ultimate in nonchalance.

Cary Grant’s were the only shirts that he would buy off-the-rack. He even wore one at the end of “North By Northwest”,considered by many to be one of the most stylish films of all time.

One of the best-dressed men of all time, Gianni Agnelli, il avvocato of Fiat fame, didn’t bother to button his collar buttons, practically inventing the Italian concept of sprezzatura. Certainly embodying it better than almost anyone before or since.

The cut is full, roomy, designed with only comfort in mind*. The 3 1/2″ collar is soft, completely unlined, falling to the correctly placed buttons to create the perfect collar roll. The front placket has eight buttons, the second of which is positioned to open just enough when left unbuttoned at the weekend. We make our button downs with one button barrel cuffs and no sleeve placket button and, like the original, we prefer ours without a chest pocket. Who needed one while wearing a three piece suit? This is the two- ply oxford shirt** that you remember gets better and better with age.

Available in all the traditional colors of pink, white and light blue. We also recommend our fancy checks for a distinctive look. (Click to enlarge swatch.)

Prices range from $115 for solids, to $165 for the checks.

* For those of you who prefer a slightly less baggy cut, we are a full made-to-measure shirtmaker and can make your shirt to your specifications.

** For those who prefer a lighter fabric, we also offer our button down in a range of fabrics from Irish linen to Sea Island cotton to pinpoint oxford. With exceptionally light fabrics we recommend a floating lining be placed in the collar to help give it enough body to roll nicely.

Maybe it was catching part of “61*” on HBO last night or “Stealing Home” in late spring or leaving for the beach, but somehow we’ve got summer shirts on our minds here at Leviner Wood. And why are we thinking of summer shirts? Because all we see at the pool or on the sidewalk are t-shirts and polo shirts.

Nothing against the polo shirt…

U.S. National Archives, image 04-0125a

… but we’d like to see a return of the short sleeved sport shirt. Something you could toss on over a pair of weathered Nantucket Reds, beat up khaki shorts, your swim suit, or under a blazer and still look decently dressed.

Ideally, we’d create a shirt with a button down collar that also has the button through the back of the collar, a locker loop, one patch pocket, and tails long enough to tuck in if you had to. Madras would play a big part of the ideal summer shirt. The coolest wearing cotton, madras used to bleed when washed creating all sorts of interesting and unique patterns and colors. the new stuff is color fast, but still appropriate and still cool to wear.

Just ask these college students, ca. 1965

Need a couple of the ultimate summer shirts? Give us a call and we’ll pick out some madras. You’ll wear them for years to come.

Here at Leviner Wood we are often asked by first time clients about our shirts. Most haven’t thought too much about shirts. You may know your neck size and sleeve length, your preferred collar and that you like blue or white cotton shirts. The fun of having your shirts made is discovering another collar or cuff style, playing with heavier or lighter fabrics or introducing patterns into your wardrobe.

In our increasingly casual world, there are many of you who may not have to wear a tie unless you’re meeting with your clients. And, if you were to ask us our preference for a “do it all” collar for a shirt, we’d advise you to have several hidden buttondowns at your disposal. The collar, an invention of the late 80′s, is one of those “best of both worlds” things. The hidden buttondown keeps the collar neat and your tie in place for business and off-the-clock, it provides enough structure to keep your collar standing tall under your sportcoat or sweater.

And yes, they look equally good in patterns as they do in blue or white.

Let’s talk casual–sound like it should be easier to dress casually? Yes, it does. It’s also far easier to trip up and that makes for another another good reason to talk to Leviner Wood, where we understand your individual style.

Are we talking about business casual, social casual, golf or tennis casual, or yard clothes?  Excluding yard clothes, it is reasonable to assume ‘overlap’ on some items. (We’ll address this subject at a later post.)

But for now, if you have a section in your closet for social casual — impressing your wife, girlfriend, or friends alike — save a spot for Luchiano Visconti.

Leave it to the Italians to put some fun back into the weekend with shirts that stand out in a  good way. Trim cut, outrageously cool fabrics and great details like contrasting lining make a Luchiano Visconti shirt perfect for cocktails at the bar on Saturday night, or the perfect compliment to linen trousers for that “dressy casual” party. Luchiano Visconti’s vision is predicated on what the modern man wants to wear today.  It is about discovering and creating a fresh, new, individual style for yourself.  Luchiano Visconti uses the finest imported fabrics and combines different prints together to produce contrast details on the collars, cuffs, and placket for a unique look at a great price. We carry regular sizing as well as Big and Tall.  In sport shirts we start at small and go up to 6X and in dress shirts we start at 15 1/2 32-33 and go up to a 22 inch neck with a 42 1/2 sleeve length and every sleeve length in the middle.

They may not be for everyone, but for those of you looking to break out of the same old, same old polo-shirt-on-the-weekend routine, Visconti fits the bill. Call Leviner Wood- we’ll help you select the shirt just right for you from our extensive inventory. You won’t believe how good you look in one. Come on in and try. And yes, some are even paisley.

With the warmer weather, we at Leviner Wood Custom Clothiers find ourselves in shirtsleeves more often than not. We’ve even been known to ditch the tie on the odd day. Which is when we remember with a certain fondness the old Brook Brothers Oxford Cloth Buttondown shirt (called the OCBD on the forums….)

That buttondown staple of our youth was great to wear without a jacket, without a tie and without trousers (thrown over your swimsuit coming back from the pool or during a sail.) It got softer with age, wore like iron and had the perfect collar roll. Perfect.

They don’t do that anymore, the perfect collar roll. Three things seem to have changed: the shorter length of the points on the collars, the addition of lining on collars and cuffs and the positioning of the collar buttons. Don’t get us started on how the non-iron stuff feels.

“But wait!” you shout. “You’re a custom clothier and shirtmaker, doesn’t that mean anything?”

OK, you caught us. If you’d like to revisit that iconic cut, the OCBD with the perfect collar roll, give a call. We can make them just as good as you remember. Even with or without the billowing material around the waist. And for those of you who miss the yellow, blue, red or green stripes… custom may be the only way left to go. We might even find that perfect pink that fades beautifully under the summer sun and salt spray.