**uck — edited to add, after I washed this the bust point was riding closer to my armpit. Damn me and my wishful thinking! When will I learn that I can’t wear normal clothes?? Oh well, I’ll leave this here for those of you who aren’t 6′ tall.
CUBEC is a hole-in-the-wall Melbourne company selling pretty much only suits and things to wear with suits.
I have absolutely zero interest in owning a suit of any kind, but I did splurge on this pretty emerald shirt. Why? CUBEC has the best attitude ever. They make alterations in house for almost every customer, so they cut their shirts long. The only alteration I needed for an off-the-rack (!!) shirt was this dandy cuff change, and they did it free of charge.
It was a double-folded French cuff. Now it’s a long single fold and falls to *exactly* the right length. And — cufflinks! I love cufflinks.
It’s not cheap to shop there but the fabrics are out of this world. Anyway — I bought a $40 Target skirt last month that fell apart in the wash after 2 wears. I figure I should get a heck of a lot more cost-per-wear mileage out of a top quality, cotton shirt.
Hi Sarah, Can I be rude and ask how much? Bye the way – I bought a Country Road shirt the other day and it was a good length too… (I’m 5’10″)
Hey Mitch, that’s not rude at all. They are expensive: between $180 and $220 depending on fabric (many are silk). This one was low on the pecking order, but then I had to go and impulse buy the cufflinks, didn’t I?!
Thanks for the tip on Country Road. I’m probably done for shirts until my own come back from the sample room — but I’m sure someone out there will be looking. We need a database for these things.
The colour is wonderful on you!
In my opinion cheap does not equal ‘good’. If something is cheap I think you should stop and consider where and how it was made. Why should we continue to support dreadful working conditions so that we can have a vast choice of clothes to wear? I would rather spend more money on clothes that have been made by people paid proper money for their work.
The difficulty, is that sometimes even expensive clothes are not made under fair conditons – but as consumers we should ask questions.
I completely agree. Odd coincidence that you ask — I have been having all sorts of dramas organising ethical production in Australia. This week I finally found a cut and sew manufacturer in Melbourne who cares about her workers and pays them a decent living. It will delay getting to market (again) but so much the better if the goods are high quality and ethically made. I’m done with Target style stuff for good. There is nothing more important with so many sewers (in particular) struggling at the moment to find work, let alone fair pay.
It’s interesting to me that so many people will balk at paying this much for a shirt. Think about the maths: a manufacturer (that’s me) has to double what she spends in order to survive. A retailer has to double it again. A $25 shirt has cost no more than $6.25 in fabric and wages… gah.