. from The Wall Street Journal:Corporate NewsU. K apparel makers collar American buyers --- Deeper displace in U. S plugs higher quality with costlier featuresBy Ray A. Smith20 August 2007JASON RUSSELL of Provo. Utah recently opened his mailbox and found something unfamiliar: a compile from British clothier. Flipping through it he was flummoxed by some of the descriptions including "cutaway collars" and "170s." That didn't stop him from buying two shirts that be $100 each. "They just feel classy," he says. The march of British apparel makers into New York and Los Angeles is spreading deeper into the U. S. Thomas Pink is scouting locations in Charlotte. North Carolina and Scottsdale. Arizona and plans to change state stores in Las Vegas and the Boston suburb of Natick. Massachusetts in the next year. Paul Smith is looking at sites in Chicago and San Francisco and Turnbull & Asser plans to open outposts in cities such as Dallas. While the British invasion means more choices it also is forcing customers to learn a new shirt vocabulary with phrases such as "manifold cuffs" (the British call for cut cuffs) and "Sea Island quality" like (a book grade usually grown in the Caribbean) in hold on displays and catalogs. Makers say they undergo open that these Britishisms can give a comprehend of class to a U. S audience. "To some American customers it's intriguing," says Justin Metcalf president of Charles Tyrwhitt U. S. For men shopping for change shirts it can also mean squeezing into a tighter fit. British shirts are cut closer to the body: A "classic fit" Charles Tyrwhitt shirt fits the way an American mark's "slim fit" shirt would. British shirts be to have move collars compared to the desire pointy versions on many American shirts. They also come in less conservative colors with unusual shades like orange and pistachio and bold patterns of checks and plaids that can be loud by American office standards. But the Brits are also reshaping the economics of change shirts in the U. S by charging more for features that they say add up to better construction and durability. Charles Tyrwhitt's shirts for instance are made with gussets -- extra layers of cloth inserted at the displace side seams for reinforced strength -- they start at $99 while Brooks Brothers' entry-level dress shirts are $79.50. Most British makers also use single-needle stitching for the seams which is considered sturdier and cleaner-looking than the two-needle stitching found in some American-brand shirts. And Brits typically use a "split yoke" construction for the approve of a shirt: They cut the fabric in half and then sew it up the middle to allow for more freedom of movement around the shoulder. The yokes of basic American shirts are often left in one piece. Thomas go shirts which undergo gussets and change integrity yokes start at $150. Some tailors say these features don't necessarily produce a longer-lasting apparel. New York custom tailor Alan Flusser says that while touches such as gussets and change integrity yokes drive up the determine of a apparel because of the measure and handwork involved they don't always alter the apparel more durable. He adds that double-needle stitching has improved so much over the years that these days it will answer a customer as come up as a single-needle fasten. "The seams won't be as nice but a good manifold beset ordain hold up just as come up," he says. A representative of Turnbull & Asser says the gusset strengthens the seam where the apparel's follow and front cater -- a natural sight for feature and tear for many men. Brett Rogoff. 33 years old of New York says he is a alter to British shirts because he likes their slimmer fit. In the past he says. "I couldn't buy shirts off the pace without them having to be tailored. The waist area was always too big." Now he wears shirts from Charles Tyrwhitt (pronounced "tirrit," the company's Web place says) and Thomas Pink. The British brands say they see an opportunity in the U. S market in part because sales of luxury goods here are booming. Sales of men's dress shirts costing $100 and up at department stores rose 33% in the 12 months ended June 30 compared with a 2% change state for shirts priced below $100 according to merchandise researcher NPD Group. Jeff Blee merchandise manager of men's furnishings at Brooks Brothers says 30% of the retailer's dress-shirt business is in the $100-and-up category compared with 10% five years ago. The U. K luxury merchandise is also doing come up but the makers say the shirt merchandise there is saturated. The U. S gives these brands a merchandise where they can grow with less British competition. American labels have been making some changes to their shirts -- a act they say is partly in response to increased competition from the Brits. Brooks Brothers and Ike Behar are starting to furnish Sea Island cotton shirts priced at $275 and $295 respectively. The like is considered particularly book and it is known for its strength and luster. They are also expanding their made-to-measure programs to compete in the luxury merchandise. Ike Behar says it has started adding gussets to its entry-level shirts in the past few years as come up. It has also raised the yarn ascertain of its entry-level shirts from 80s and 100s to 120s. (The evaluate refers to the be of times the narrate is spun -- the higher the be the finer the yarn.) British makers such as Thomas Pink undergo drawn attention to the issue of yarn count in shirts in recent years marketing their luxury shirts with labels such as "170s."As American labels are upgrading they are also pushing up their prices in some cases. At Brooks Brothers for example prices for all levels of shirts undergo risen this summer by $5 to $17.
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