You already own multiples
These are deliberate. Buying the same thing again is how you shop —
“white shorts or white pants every day, nothing to think about.”
This list exists so a repeat is a choice, not an accident.
2Mauvais chinos — TAUPE
2Mauvais chinos — NAVY
3Mauvais chinos — BEIGE
3Mauvais chinos — WHITE
9Kato denim — Pen Slim (all colours)
3Banana Republic — Soft White linen shorts
4Naked & Famous — Super Guy
Colours you already have
Kato denim (10) — Bordeaux · Copper · Rain · Gray · Dark Green ·
Dennis · Chuck · Black Raw · Ace · Charcoal corduroy.
Dennis, Chuck, Ace and Rain are mill names — actual shade unknown. Worth checking before buying an eleventh.
Mauvais chinos (12) — White ×4 · Beige ×2 · Taupe ×2 ·
Navy ×2 · Black · plus Beige shorts ×2.
Ledbury Brompton Mouline (3) — Charcoal · Light Grey · Light Blue — plus the Navy Sandoval.
You bought the COMPLETE colour range of this fabric. The driver was the fabric, not the colour — so a new colourway is a buy, not a duplicate.
Christian Louboutin (5) — Louis Junior in Black · White · Blue Suede · Red/Black Mesh, plus the Cavafield Derby in black.
Only the black Louis Junior has an order record. The mesh pair is your only mesh upper; the Cavafield is your only lug sole and the most expensive shoe you own at $1,390.
Banana Republic shorts (4) — Soft White ×3 · Grey Stripe.
Bonobos shorts (11) — Chino Short 2.0 in Brilliant White ×4 · Oyster Grey ×2 · Celestial Blue · Ice Blue · Pearl Grey; Coastal Linen Short in Coconut Milk ×2.
Brilliant White was bought twice — 2 pairs Jun 2025 at $66.75, then 2 more Mar 2026 at $89.00 list. Same size, same colour, same fit.
White / off-white shorts across all brands: NINE pairs, all waist 29, all 7in inseam.
Traps — the expensive mistakes
The field name is not the measurement
SIX measuring-point errors found on Aug 16 alone. Suitsupply "upper leg width" is taken 6 IN BELOW THE CROTCH, not at it. Proper Cloth "yoke width" IS shoulder width (the workbook said it was not). Proper Cloth publishes TWO conflicting definitions of "midsection". Apposta mixes flat and circumference inside one form. StudioSuits publishes FRONT length while Proper Cloth publishes BACK length — a StudioSuits 30 wears LONGER than a Proper Cloth 31.
Never compare a field across brands on the strength of its name. Read the definition, every time.
Velvet runs small — add allowance
Three velvet jackets, two brands, all too small. The controlled case: StudioSuits ordered a Blue Velvet Tuxedo to numbers IDENTICAL to a Reda wool jacket — same maker, same figures. The wool needed nothing; the velvet was let out at waist and bottom. A later velvet was ordered +0.5 wider and STILL needed letting out.
Add AT LEAST +0.75 in at the waist and hem over the wool number. Velvet is also harder to let out cleanly — the nap shows old seam lines.
Wash and dry changes the number
StudioSuits cotton is washed cold AND TUMBLE DRIED — the harshest care in the wardrobe. Suitsupply is cold-wash, never dried. The Proper Cloth piques SHRANK on first wash; the merino is stable. Every figure on an order confirmation is AS CUT, not as worn.
Ask two questions before every order: will this be TUMBLE DRIED, and are the quoted measurements pre- or post-shrink?
Tucked and untucked are different specs
The StudioSuits shirts are the only ones worn UNTUCKED, and they are the only ones whose hem catches the widest part of the hip. The others do not pass that test — they are never given it. Proper Cloth publishes the offsets: an untucked shirt wants a midsection at least 0.5 in BIGGER and a back length 1.5–2.5 in SHORTER.
The settled spec is a TUCKED spec. Build a separate untucked variant; do not order one for the other.
There are three waists, and one of them moves
Just below the rib cage = the NARROWEST point, STABLE, and never measured. The NAVEL = 33–33.5 in and swings 1.5–2 in — a big dinner with wine makes it measurably larger the next morning. Top of the hip bones = just under 31 in, STABLE, where trousers sit. Garments are built to the two stable points; nobody measures the one that moves.
Say to every maker: "Take my waist at the narrowest point, just below the rib cage — not at the navel."
Black Lapel
18.00in collar — DO NOT ORDER
Their block put him at an 18in collar. He wears 15. The single worst size mismatch on record.
Charles Tyrwhitt
Runs ~10 months behind your body
Sold M linen Apr 2025, didn't reach S until Feb 2026. Size DOWN from whatever they suggest.
Archer Apparel
Waist 30, body 28 — not the same number
Trav: 'his waist is a 30/29.5 but he needs the BODY of the pants to be a 28.' Quote both.
Thomas Bird
42, never 43
The Ellington in 43 was too big. One size up is a whole size too much.
Mauvais
W28, never W30
The first order was W30, was too big, and drove a return plus an eBay rebuy.
Kato
Decline hemming every time
All 10 pairs ordered 'no hemming needed'. Stock inseam is long enough to cuff.
COLLARS — HARD RULE
NEVER button-down. He hates them.
Verified across all 61 shirt records: ZERO button-downs, ever. But within the spread family (spread, semi-spread, quint, alden) he says the difference is marginal, so any of them is fine. The rule is a family boundary, not a ranking.
Ledbury — SET THE COLLAR OR IT SHIPS BUTTON-DOWN
Default collar is BUTTON DOWN. Change it every time.
Verified on the live product page: 'Collar, Unless Customized: Button Down'. Set it to Short Spread Alden in the customizer. Also check Length (defaults Untucked Regular) and Pocket (defaults None).
Ledbury — MULTIBUY NEEDS 3 ITEMS
Two shirts get NO discount. Three do.
Verified live: $135 each, or $109 each on any 3 custom items (shirts, polos or pants). Two shirts = $288 with $18 shipping. Three = $345. The third shirt effectively costs $57. Medium Blue Sandoval is the only plain colour he lacks.
Ledbury — BUY SIGNAL, not a duplicate
Any NEW Brompton Mouline colour is a buy
He owns the complete range: Charcoal, Light Grey, Light Blue. The limit was Ledbury stock, not interest. Order extra-slim 15/34, SHORT SPREAD ALDEN, and never without a code.
Christian Louboutin
42.5 EU / US 9.5 is a half size ABOVE everything else
Thomas Bird 43 was too big; Allen Edmonds 9.0 was returned. Confirm the Louboutins fit before a sixth pair.
Paul James / Idrese
Duty + shipping can add ~2.25x
Small single-item orders to Oklahoma land at up to 2.25x shelf price. Consolidate.
Boxed — do not count, do not reorder against
Armani & Hugo Boss suits, sizes 40 and 42 — boxed in storage.
Sizes 46 and 48 were donated. None of this is wearable now and none of it counts as on-hand.
21 Charles Tyrwhitt pieces (16 collar ×14, LARGE ×2, MEDIUM ×5) — boxed.
2 Suitsupply M cardigans — boxed. Saks 40R tuxedo — boxed.
Jacket ladder: 48 → 46 → 42 → 40 → 36 today.