Target Merona Ultimate Dress Shirt: $22.99 + $20 in tailoring = $42.99
Target’s Merona Ultimate Dress Shirt gets tons of mentions on this website, and for good reason. It’s widely available, it’s affordable, the collar is nice and substantial, and despite being a cotton poly blend, it’s not too scratchy. But the fit can leave a little bit to be desired.
Despite launching a “slim fit” version not that long ago, then dialing it in even closer in the last few months with an almost all cotton stretch version, these shirts can lean towards roomy. If you’re wearing a tailored blazer or suit jacket? No one will really know but you. You may feel that extra cloth shifting about underneath, but that’s not a huge deal. Or is it?
Took two Ultimate Dress Shirts to my tailor, who for $20 a shirt did two things:
- She brought in the sides so the waist + chest fit closer
- She also slimmed down the sleeves. A lot. The sleeves on these things are awash in cloth. Altered shirts are on the right, with separate, unaltered shirts on the left:
Left: solid white unaltered. Right: striped white after alterations.
I’ve worn the heck out of the solid white for at least 3 years. It keeps coming back for more, and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Out of all of these shirts, this one fit the best off the rack, so I opted to not take that one in to the tailor. It was the fine striped shirt on the right (also seen at the top of the page as well as over here) that got pinned up and taken in. And the $20 was well spent. The difference isn’t wildly noticeable visually, but man does it feel different on. It feels like a shirt that fits, because… well it does.
Left: light blue “slim fit” unaltered. Right: grey after alterations.
Easy to see the before and after here. The light blue on the left has always fit wonky. It’s not awful under a jacket, but there’s a lot of shifting going on throughout the day. Meanwhile, the grey has worked it’s way into my rotation more than I thought a grey shirt ever would. Looks a little “clubby” to some, but I never wear it solo. More often than not, this “railroad” grey in a polished up chambray-like fabric is layered under a navy suit.
The Bottom Line
Dropping twenty bucks to trim up a $22 shirt from Target is going to be seen as a waste by some. But there aren’t a ton of $40, truly slim fitting off-the-rack shirts out there with the collar and durability of the Ultimate Dress Shirt from Merona, so it’ll be a steal for many. Prices for alterations can vary wildly, so your tailor’s prices may be totally different. Also, know that all four of these specific shirts were made in Bangladesh. Didn’t notice they shared that same country of origin until now.
Do you take all of your off the rack shirts to the tailor? Or just the ones you wear solo without a blazer, sweater, or suit jacket over them? Leave it all below. Meanwhile, before the visual nitpickers go hog wild in the comments, yes… the belt is long. Lost a little weight recently. So, there’s that.
the billowy shirt sides is a pet peeve of mind. i would never wear a shirt like the ones in the before pics. but post tailoring…that’s perfect. i have the merona tailored fit oxford in size small. i got lucky on those…on me, it fits just like your after pics, but straight off the rack…no extra play at the sides and nice trim sleeves. it’s trimmer than the jcrew oxfords. it has a larger collar than the jcp ocbds. the cloth is a little stiffer, though it may break down with washes.
i’ve tailored many of my shirts after reading joe’s suggestion. doing so put many shirts back into my rotation.
great post…thanks!
My problem is all of my shirts need to be taken in at the sides. Tailoring gets expensive real quick. I’ve done it for a few and it makes a huge difference. I’ve slowly been taking them all in. Best fitting shirts off the rack for me are the CT Tailored fit, but those come untucked more often than I’d like.
In the same vein, I recently bought two Nordstrom brand shirts at Goodwill for $2 each and then dropped $20 to have them tailored. For $22, I am getting a shirt that costs three as much off the rack. This is why I am a big advocate of thrift store shopping.
I’m more impressed you got the tailor to change the colors of the shirt from blue to gray.
TM Lewin dress shirts are by far my favorite, can usually get them for less than $35 a shirt.
If I buy new ,it has to fit …I only take thrifted shirts to my tailor…
Yeah but the point of this is that it’s forty dollars that fix extremely well.
That’s a pretty mean price.
Meh. For the money, Charles Tyrwhitt has better fabric and collars.
She’s excellent isn’t she?
(For the record, I laughed)
Haha, yep. One time I spent $20 tailoring a $2 thrift store shirt before. Ok, it wasn’t just one time.
Thanks for pointing out the country of origin. I would love to see that on more posts.
I’ve had problems with the collars from the Merona shirts waffling after just a few weeks. Has anyone else experienced that? Joe, you mention their durability specifically. What gives?
Nordstrom Trim Fit shirts can be had for $40 in the annual sale in June. I had to shorten the sleeve on mine, so they cost me a little more, but the fit and quality are great.
I also like the CT shirts but hate that they come out. I think it might be because they don’t make them long enough.
And too many pants have rises that are too low. I’d love if I could get some straight fit pants that came in a reasonable rise.
Right now I’m taking everything to my tailor since my tailor costs are dirt cheap- shirts, pants, blazers, jeans… I even had my dirt cheap Merona Pea Coat taken in and it looks and fits far better than off the rack (if I could only get better buttons, I could have a killer coat for less than what it cost at normal retail). I submit, if fit is #1 to dressing/looking better (without paying big $$$ for OTR retail) then it seems to make sense to get anything that doesn’t fit tailored. Moreover, the general consensus (on the site and forum) seems to be that OTR should not be expected to fit perfectly. If agreed, we should therefore anticipate and accept the tailoring costs into the final cost. This then makes perfect sense, when shopping for new clothes, as to why look for those diamonds-in-the-rough in all the various clothing categories (ergo the Merona and I add the Old Navy blue OCBD) so that, post-tailor, we get quality clothes that fit properly which creates an overall better look that is superior to a high dollar item that is worn pre-tailor.
I think the most dramatic improvement in Joe’s case is how the look of the sleeves improved.
I’m taller and not necessarily of a skinny build, so it doesn’t matter quite as much for me off the bat than other fellows I’m guessing.
But my situation is that if I’m wearing a tucked in, button down shirt, I’m wearing a jacket over it. ALWAYS. Unless I’m in my office at work with the door closed. I’m either wearing a suit and tie to work, or chinos and a blazer, but I never go out or walk around without the jacket.
Disagree on the collars. I have a CT shirt. It’s nice. Target wins on the collar if you’re tieless, for me. Doesn’t fit as well as these do post tailoring either.
Hi Joe, do you know of any good tailors in Chicago?
Who has the best quality shirt for affordable budgets that specifically sells shirts in neck/sleeve measures not SML?
I think the answer depends on the type of shirt- if it’s pinpoint collars in 100% cotton… I’m not too sure though Paul Fredrick just had a deal on Living Social last week for $20 White pinpoint that are somewhat made to your specs. Seems like they run that deal once a quarter. Not sure what type of cotton is used. But for stores, A lot of people like the JCP versions when on sale and they have blended cotton/poly as well as 100% cotton- check the forum for JCP reviews and thoughts on how they last. I have Lands End pinpoints semi-spread in 16×34 that I got under $40 when on sale but I have to get them tailored in the sides and arms (not length) due to the excess fabric- and I’m 5’10” 170 and slightly athletic. But despite the tailor’s cost, it’s a well fitted shirt for what they cost retail.
Depends on your definition of “affordable budgets” but the best bang-for-your-buck shirts are from Charles Tyrwhitt, when you can get them for $30.
Not a fan of CT’s collars, Joe? I *love* their spreads. Target’s are a little too big for my smaller frame.
I do this a lot actually. I am a big ebay shopper, and usually second hand RL dress shirts go for under 20 bucks. So this saves me a ton. I never thought about it for Target shirts. Thanks for the idea.
I have a 42″ chest an a 31″ waist (at the navel). Every shirt goes to the tailor. Especially the cheap ones! $15 (half off sale) American Eagle shirt + $12 tailoring = $27 extremely well-fitting (if slightly thin) shirt.
“Prices for alterations can vary wildly, so your tailor’s prices may be totally different.”
So true. I lived in Indonesia from ’10-12 and initially i got my shirts altered at a local tailor for a dollar. tailoring is ridiculously cheap, but having them made was so cheap as well that i ended up getting all my shirts bespoke. for the price of the Merona Ultimate + tailoring, in the 3rd world, I could get 3 shirts made completely tailor-fit with the fabrics i wanted and how many buttons and cufflinks and collar and all that jazz. hard to beat $15 bespoke shirts. so if you ever find yourself going through Indonesia or the rest of southeast asia for that matter, stop in a textile shop and have some shirts made. you won’t regret it.