Monday, April 4, 2011

Epaulet Saves the Red Dream

Last year, all the rage round this time of year was the J. Crew chambray utility shirt in Red. Yours truly jumped on the bandwagon, but then quickly jumped off once I read the care tag and saw the 25% linen content.

Damn, damn, linen makes me itch. I love the look and allure of linen, but I can't take that damn itch it brings on. Thus, I held off.

I tried a red chambray from Lucky Brand, but the Large fit like a XL and the M had sleeves much too short. The GAP's version was a good fitter, but the shirt looked too pink.

3 strikes and yer out. I put the idea of a quality, affordable red chambray to sleep.

Surprisingly last week, while obsessively checking Epaulet's website for new shirts, their new point collar red chambray popped up! I've had semi-success with Epaulet's shirts (some being just too slim on me), so this was the perfect excuse to head over to their shop to do a real-life try on.

First thing I noticed was that the shirt was super soft. Beautiful drape. The red is spot on for the shade I had been hoping for. I went for an XL, my usual size in Epaulet shirts. Expecting something too tight across the chest (or should I say, across the gut), I was happy to be wrong. The shirt fit like a glove. Perfectly slim (not tight!) across the shoulders and chest, with a little bit of give so as not to pop buttons after my third size of pizza. It took me about 5 seconds of checking in the mirror to know this was a must-have. Many others must have thought the same thing as I noticed the XL sold out not long thereafter.

The beefy oxfords in Blue and White were right along the same lines in terms of fit, so it was the perfect trifecta. These shirts really are gorgeous. The double-chest pocket Epaulet utility shirts were damn nice too, but for some reason the fit on these didn't serve me as well. A bit too tight across the chest.

I was a bit nervous for any shrinkage after washing, but this weekend I gave the blue oxford a cold water wash and air dry. I'm happy to say I didn't notice any shrinkage.

As an added bonus, I got to shoot the breeze with owners Mike and Adele for a good hour. They were kind enough to show me new Rivet Chino shorts that are due next month, a new slim field pant, and some gorgeous hand-sewn, made-in-Maine leather shoes/boots. It was a thoroughly enjoyable visit, from start to finish. They're currently having a sale on selected products, where proceeds are benefitting the Japanese Red Cross. A win-win for all, indeed.

See Ep's redness HERE

1 comment:

Some Assembly Required said...

The light blue contrast trim killed this one for me. Plus, from the size chart it looks like I would barely fit into an XXL. Glad it worked out for you, though.