Test: The big comparison of shirts under €90

As you know, objectivity is a subject that is close to our hearts at BonneGueule.

Our priority was therefore to write content that goes into detail, in order to really inform you about all aspects of the product you are buying, while remaining as impartial as possible.

And at the same time, to talk about all the elements that make a “good shirt”, you also have to know how to introduce a dose of subjectivity. It is impossible to do without it, especially on factors such as cut or style.

This is why this comparison will not assign a score to each of these criteria, but rather a comment.

Yes, others do it and we respect their approach as well. But for me, it would not have been rigorous towards you to say that “this shirt deserves 4.2/5” because I prefer mottled materials and gray”, or that “this cut gets a 19/20” because it suits my body type…

Another thing that concerned us: We wanted you to come away from this reading with a lot of brands up your sleeve for your affordable shirt purchases, but we definitely didn't want you to have to see the same plain, white, smooth shirt on thirteen brands in a row. We found that pretty off-putting, to be honest.

So I did my utmost, when making my selection, to make each shirt a little different, to have its own interest ... but by choosing them all in the same price range!

Furthermore, you will see that we have included rather casual models as well as others that are more formal . The line is sometimes blurred, and a large part of the shirts worn by today's men are a bit of both: casual materials with formal collars and details, formal materials on small collars that can be worn casually... Not to mention that many brands are expanding their offer to offer both anyway!

“Okay Nicolò, we understand your approach better! But then, these shirts, what exactly are you going to judge them on?”

I was coming to that, friends! The review will focus on five different aspects...

The basis: the material

In the eyes of some (including me), this is perhaps the most important thing in a garment.

Yet this is really not a point on which it is possible to make comparisons, except on two very similar materials. We cannot judge in the same way the softness and thickness of a flannel, the silkiness of a poplin or the hand and texture of a cotton-linen canvas...

A beautiful cotton-linen chambray.

In fact, it is above all a question of judging the hand and the appearance of the material, but above all of contextualizing the relevance of its use: is it original, sought after? Does it correspond well to the casual or formal use for which the shirt seems intended? Is it suitable for a particular season? Basically, it is a question of knowing if it is beautiful, pleasant and if it has been well chosen.

It is also because we judge each material according to its own context that we have been able to offer you a varied selection, with choices that are also intended to show you the extent of what you can find on the market.

And above all, don't forget that a brand always offers a set of materials, never just one. Even if a shirt can give you an overall idea of ​​the level of what you can find there, each material is a special case!

What about the making and the details?

This is the most objective part of the test.

Of course, there are also biases in the choice of details and their arrangement, but a confection can generally be judged “good”, “average” or “bad” in relation to its price, and this with impartiality. Here are the criteria...

Country of manufacture

It cannot be said that the country of manufacture has a “direct impact” on the level of production: better a good Chinese production than the worst British, Italian or French production. But for ethical reasons or simple personal preferences, many people are keen to have this information, and rightly so!

This information also allows us to better contextualize the final price of the product , because production costs in more developed countries are obviously higher.

Collar and cuffs

The two “key areas” of a shirt. We will judge the collar, its appearance, its hold, and its flexibility.

A formal collar that sits just right

A good formal collar should be firm enough to hold up, without becoming too cardboardy and making a "cracking" noise when folded.

Same thing for cuffs. For soft button-down collars, a curved buttonhole can be a nice detail.

It is also important to check that the collar and cuffs are symmetrical when folded back on themselves : this is the case most of the time, but when this point is not well done, the shirt has an unsightly appearance whose origin is difficult to determine.

A very symmetrical wrist

We will also see how these two key points of a shirt have been “thinned out”.

What is trimming a collar or shirt cuff? It involves cutting as close to the edge and as evenly as possible the excess fabric that forms near the seam, on the inside, between the two layers of fabric of a collar or cuff.

When this operation is not carried out correctly, you can, for example, end up with swelling on the tips of the collar or at its base, or even with unnecessary relief on the wrist.

A properly bald shirt cuff, but with a bit of excess. Not easy to notice without the transparency, is it?

This operation is entirely manual and is above all a kind of "cleaning", where the superfluous is removed. Therefore, the result does not need to be perfectly straight and clean. But the closer the seams are to the outside and regular, the better.

Fineness of the confection

Everything that makes a good shirt will be judged on the whole:

• the amount of threads sticking out (there is always a little but less is better!),

• the number of stitches per centimeter on a seam as well as its regularity,

• the correct alignment of the armhole,

• the finesse and regularity of the hem of the bottom of the shirt,

• and finally the beauty of the buttonholes. A beautiful buttonhole is dense, raised and has a clean interior, as clean as possible of all the small threads and excess.

A beautiful English seam, which you can recognize by its finesse and its single row of stitches, seen from the outside (compared to a double row on a normal seam)

A neatly aligned armhole.

A thin and regular shirt bottom hem

The details

Finally, we will talk about all the little additional details that make a beautiful shirt charming: the material of the buttons and the way they were sewn, the presence of reinforcement swallows and their appearance, the alignment of the patterns between them when there are any, or even the choice of the type of placket and its creation.

A mother-of-pearl button with a reinforcing tail

A well-made, rounded reinforcement swallow.

The importance of cutting

As I said above, it is often difficult to talk about “good” or “bad” haircuts, because we can quickly confuse the fact that a haircut suits us , as an individual, with the fact that a haircut is well thought out, and this for a maximum of people.

A cut that suits me well! (Suitsupply)

However, there are a few criteria that apply across the board: Is the sizing consistent or is it unusual, counterintuitive? Do the various measurements of a shirt have “normal” ratios to each other? . Is there some ease of movement, even when the cut is tight?

For the purposes of this comparison, I therefore made sure to have other members of the team who have different body shapes than me but who are generally also a size S or 38 try the shirt on, in order to see if it suited them better than me in certain cases.

How to wear it?

It is also a very subjective part, where we will try to explain what the brand's bias was , what type of look it is aimed at through its choice of material, its cut, its collar shape, cuff and its details, and where we will judge the relevance of these choices .

A shirt that is well suited to a more formal outfit! (Meermin double-buckles, BonneGueule chinos , BonneGueule x LouisPurple blazer , Atelier Particulier belt, Boggi shirt)

Brand and customer experience side...

At first glance, one might put this aspect aside and say that after all, these things do not concern the shirt “in itself”. That after receiving it and trying it on, it is an aspect that no longer concerns you.

However, after talking to many members of the community, I have to say that this is a decisive factor for you, which can be a barrier to purchasing as well as a good reason to return to a brand.

In this section, we can therefore talk about a bit of everything: whether it's the packaging, the clarity of the site and the information, the efficiency of the customer service, the return conditions, the variety of the offer... In short, everything that doesn't directly concern the shirt, but which is still important to highlight despite everything!