Updated July 2020
In a press release , the brand announces " the immediate cessation of the activity of creation and distribution of tailor-made clothing of the brands Les Nouveaux Ateliers and Atelier NA " following a judicial liquidation pronounced on July 29, 2020.
Here is an article today from Laurent R, a reader, who tested, as you will see, very rigorously two tailor-made shirt services in the same vein as Surmon31 shirts . Good reading !
The tailor-made shirt today
Although the men's shirt is a basic that can be found almost everywhere, it is quite difficult to find what you are looking for, especially when you have a size that is “different from the norm”. With my height of 1m77 and 63kg (thin), it is very difficult for me to find good quality shirts with a well fitted cut . To overcome this problem, you can use the tailor-made box.
However, who says tailor-made shirt, says shirt that will cost a lot . Not everyone has the means to go to Courtot and buy a shirt for €200 . Luckily for us, there is also a more affordable price range for custom shirts.
Like Benoît, I myself decided to embark on this adventure with Tailor Stor e and Nouveaux Ateliers , from whom I took a “bread and butter”: the white shirt.
The New Workshops website
The Tailor Store website
Before launching directly into the comparison of shirts, I would like to present the two brands with quite different concepts.
Tailor Store is, as one might say, the typical low-cost tailor-made product: a website on which you enter your measurements. However, as soon as you start creating your little shirt, you realize that the possibility of customizing your shirt is very complete. If you ever dreamed of dressing up as Two-Face, it is possible to make a shirt white on one side and black on the other!
We also notice the vast choice of fabric: 285... some of which still look very Bollywood or grandmother's curtain, it must be admitted. We will also note the possibility of creating chinos, a pique polo shirt and even… boxers! As for the price of the men's shirt, it ranges between €45 and €130, depending on the fabric and the options (I'll talk about that later).
As for Nouveaux Ateliers, you can find them in Paris, on rue Saint Honoré near Les Halles (the site is still under construction). Their specialty is “scanning”. In short, you enter, in your underwear, a room, in which the machine will analyze you to retrieve your measurements for the custom-made shirt.
It must be admitted, it's rather gimmicky! Off the top of my head, it seems to me that we are entitled to around thirty different fabrics which are divided into three categories which correspond to three prices: 35, 65 and 125. We will also note that it is possible to create costumes tailor-made, for a price of around €500.
Now let's compare!
Test Tailor Store VS Nouveaux Ateliers: our opinions
First point to check, the rigidity of the collar:
New Workshops Shirt
Shirt Tailor Store
For this point, it's perfect for both , even if I find that the collar of the NA shirt tends to bulge. As for the ribs, it is necessary to request them from NA so that they can make them removable... while for TS, it is a paid option at €5.95. And just like the collar, the cuffs are nickel chrome too.
I continue by inspecting the buttonhole. For TS, I notice a thread sticking out, but overall, it's very correct . On the other hand, for NA, we have at least one thread sticking out for each button:
(TS 1 – NA 0)
We then move on to the finishes at the wrist... and for both, the stitching is correct, no complaints !
New Workshops Shirt
Shirt Tailor Store
Then the armpits… and there, a yellow card for both shirts, we are far from perfect alignment…
New Workshops Shirt
Shirt Tailor Store
(note from Benoit: on this point, Laurent is very harsh with these two shirts, because it is far from being catastrophic, especially for the Tailor Store, and it in no way influences the solidity, the cut or the comfort 😉)
For this comparison, I took two fabrics from a more or less equivalent price range (€55 for TS and €65 for NA). Both are of fairly decent quality, fine, but not transparent. The TS shirt, on the other hand, takes on more light, while the NA one must contain a mixture of cotton and elastane, since it marks much less.
Finally, the most important point in my eyes, the cut. For NA, everything was done by machine, so for TS, I took my measurements myself. Here's what it looks like:
Nouveaux Ateliers shirt (note from Benoit: here worn with Renhsen jeans if I'm not mistaken)
Shirt Tailor Store
Rather blatant observation, the bending of the NA shirt is rather unsuccessful. I would also like to note that they use pliers (in fact, they are of poor quality). Besides, the TS shirt does not have a pleat and I found it to be pleasantly well fitted and it is rather perfect in the armpits : I don't have to tuck in my shirt when I grab a box shoe rack above my closet.
On the other hand, since I have fairly thin arms, it floats a little at the sleeves. But as for TS, it is possible to specify the size of the biceps (which I had not done).
Reviews of Les Nouveaux Ateliers and Tailor Store
Without a call, I'm not very excited to return to Nouveaux Ateliers, I'm going to have to have the shirt I bought altered (the height of it for a tailor-made shirt). As for Tailor Store, I am rather satisfied, whether with the bending or the customization possibilities.
However, what I deplore are the rather expensive options (€6 for the removable ribs and about the same for the mother-of-pearl buttons).
I therefore advise against the first, which relies a lot on marketing in my eyes (magnetic box, store in the center of Paris with a “scanner”…) and therefore recommend Tailor Store, even if it is not possible to touch the fabrics before making your choice.
Laurent
