In the world of tailor-made shirts on the Internet, Saint Sens is one of the very first French players. He has extensive experience on the subject. Their offer is still relatively high-end , since despite a white shirt at €49 (a fairly unbeatable flagship product I must say), most custom-made shirts cost more than €100 (generally around €120 ). This is partly explained by the choice of fabrics which come from major houses (Albini, Thomas Mason). There is even 220 double twisted cotton (very soft cotton, with an extremely silky finish)!
So, for this price, what good things do we get?
The usual testing protocol
My first instinct is obviously to touch the material. And surprise, it is incredibly soft and light. The blue Zéphir (a very light cotton voile fabric) keeps all its promises and it is a real pleasure to have it on my skin.
I then touch the collar. The iron-on seems normal to me, even if I don't find it very thick. The collar obviously has removable stays. Speaking of the collar, I am pleased to see that the stitching is dense and regular , with at least 7 stitches per centimeter! And it's going to be like that all over the shirt. A very good point.
The dense stitching of the collar. Compare with a shirt
low-end, and the difference will be obvious!
Another surprise, there are French seams on the sleeves. This type of finish, unlike a "double needle" finish on most ready-to-wear shirts, only has one visible thread. It is a finer and more refined assembly, which speaks a lot to purists. Even at this stage, I am delighted to see that there are big efforts made on the quality of the finishes.
The famous English seam, where you can clearly see that there is only one visible thread.
Nothing to say about the armpits, which are perfectly aligned .
Fine and precise.
I continue by inspecting the buttons. Good point: they are made of mother-of-pearl , a detail that I really appreciate. Bad point: it is not the best quality of mother-of-pearl, because you can see brown spots on the outside, a sign that the button was taken from the less noble parts of the shell. But honestly, I'm quibbling!
The “foot” of the button, very distinct. It's nice to see !
Especially since the buttons are sewn on the foot , a detail which also says a lot about the manufacturing quality. This is a finish that is unfortunately too rare in classic PAP, but which makes the button fixing more solid than a classic assembly. And there’s even a final horizontal buttonhole!
I then finish by looking at the inside of the wrists. Everything is clean and neat . Overall, the quality is really there for this shirt, I wasn't expecting these finishes for this price . It's really a very good surprise. Apart from the quality of the mother-of-pearl (but which is always better than plastic buttons!) and the slightly fine iron-on collar, everything is perfect. You would really have to be very disingenuous to say otherwise.
Good interior finishes.
And the cut?
I'm a big believer in taking measurements on a shirt that fits you great. This is what I did, and there too, everything was respected to the letter. The shirt fits me perfectly : shoulders fit but without being tight, comfortable bust, nothing to complain about. Obviously, Saint Sens controls its patronage very well.
Please note: if the first shirt does not suit you, Saint Sens undertakes to take it back and alter it (or redo it) free of charge . Pretty nice, right?
Okay, do you recommend?
Seriously, yes . Especially for complicated body shapes, the white shirt at €49, very high-quality finishes, etc. If you are hesitating between Saint Sens and Surmon31 ( a brand with which I was also very satisfied ), know that they are not really two competing brands, because they are two very distinct price ranges . It really depends on your budget and your current needs.
