"Even though ‘casual Fridays’ have loosened up the men’s formal dressing style, the classic shirt, paired with a suit, remains a staple for office going men. The trend is being customised across many apparel categories ranging from jeans and T-shirts to shoes and suits. Suits are taking more casual forms with unstructured tailoring, oversized fits and unconventional designs. However, the classic dress shirt still remains a staple pairing. As per Drury, mass marketers in the US are following suit, recording a 5 per cent increase in dress shirt arrivals in 2018 compared to 2017."

Even though ‘casual Fridays’ have loosened up the men’s formal dressing style, the classic shirt, paired with a suit, remains a staple for office going men. The trend is being customised across many apparel categories ranging from jeans and T-shirts to shoes and suits.

Suits are taking more casual forms with unstructured tailoring, oversized fits and unconventional designs. However, the classic dress shirt still remains a staple pairing. As per Drury, mass marketers in the US are following suit, recording a 5 per cent increase in dress shirt arrivals in 2018 compared to 2017.

In 2018, there was a 12 per cent sellout of styles, more than double the year before. Of those that sold out, majority was split between two brackets: the $40 to $60 range and the $60 to $80 range. J.C. Penney, Express and Kohl’s have had the most sellouts in the last three months.

Demand for more personalised look

The trend of customisation is boosting the sector as consumers are increasingly seeking a more personalised look. Tailored Brands aims to custom suit accessible for anyone who plans to buy a suit. The company has a sustainable competitive advantage in meeting its customers’ needs with custom, given its expansive store footprint, highly trained wardrobe consultants and our at scale supply chain. For the third quarter of 2018, its custom sales averaged over $5 million per week, an increase of a 150 percent compared to $2 million per week for the same period a year ago.

In September, Tailored Brands reduced the delivery of Joe and 1905 custom suits to three to four weeks from the earlier four to six weeks. It also accelerated the rollout of Custom Express to just seven days to all Jos. A. Bank, Men’s Wearhouse and Moores stores. Each of these three brands offers more than 250 custom suit fabrics, over 100 linings and roughly 200 shirt fabrics from which to choose in making a custom garment.

Fabrics with new features a hit

In the third quarter, customised shirts in performance fabrics were introduced in Kenneth Cole at Men’s Wearhouse. Moores also introduced stretch fabrics and construction that allow for greater range of motion and comfort. At Jos. A. Bank, traveler custom in both suiting and shirts was launched, as was travel tech custom, featuring moisture-wicking technology.

Although athleisure is booming and casual clothing dominates, a formal suit still remains the uniform for a high proportion of men in the US. But now, there is an opportunity for brands to focus on the fit and variety of these shirts. They should be made more high-tech just as the sportswear. In fact, brands like Brooks Brother’s, J.Crew, Banana Republic and Express are incorporating new features like moisture wicking technology, water repellent properties and, most importantly, stretch fabrics in these shirts. Way to go