The Surprisingly Well Fitting Do-Anything Button Up

Brands Worth Knowing: Just A Cheap Shirt – $35 – $70

Heads up:  There’s a J.A.C.H.S. Sale on Gilt today.  More on Gilt’s new policies here.

Finding a trim fit casual button up can be a total pain.  You want something that can do multiple jobs.  A shirt that can be worn under a cotton sport coat with jeans, or under a slim sweater with chinos.  Slim-fit neck & sleeve dress shirts just don’t feel right in those situations.  The fitted 1MX is decent, but limited when it comes to patterns… and GAP can be completely hit or miss on fit.

Enter the brand “Just a Cheap Shirt” (J.A.C.H.S.).  Found all over flash sale sites like Gilt and JackThreads, J.A.C.H.S. makes a huge variety of button up shirts that fit like an Express 1MX, but (so far) have none of the self-destruction issues.  Other positives include:

• Many have extra reinforced cuffs, collars, and other details
• They look and feel more durable than the 1MX.
• The sleeves are long enough for all but the most gangly armed fellas.
• Those same sleeves roll up extremely well.
• The collars are pronounced enough to frame your face
• The fit, again, is quite close at the sides.

To compare fits, a Lands’ End Canvas Medium Oxford runs around 19.25″ from seam to seam at its widest point in the body.  The mediums from J.A.C.H.S. run 18.5″.  At 5’9″ish and 170, the sides are right up to my torso, but not straining against it, which looks and more importantly feels incredibly streamlined.

Drawbacks include some seriously over the top / obnoxious patterns and colors, and not every shirt comes with slots for collar stays (a huge knock).  But keep your eye out for dressed up looking patterns like simple checks and stripes, and you might walk away with a new favorite do-anything shirt for around $35.

Have any experience with J.A.C.H.S.?  Leave it all in the comments below.
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