# Gitman Bros. Shirts



## bd79cc (Dec 20, 2006)

While Christmas shopping this past weekend, I dropped by Dillard's at North Star Mall here in San Antonio. In their Men's Department, bottom level, I noticed a table full of Gitman Bros. pinpoint button-downs. On futher inspection, I found a whole rack of these shirts nearby. Available colors were solid light blue and solid white. Pricing was $79.50 plus tax.

I bought two pink U-stripe Gitman OCBDs earlier this year from Hugestore.com in Indianapolis. I received highly knowledgeable and very efficient help from these folks - great service. 

The cut of the shirts is ever-so-slightly slimmer than the Brooks OCBD, the collar is slightly longer at the points, and the material much heavier. Tails and sleeves are slightly longer than Brooks. They starch up very nicely. They're get hot to wear around here on those 100-degree, 90% relative humidity days, but are pleasantly substantial otherwise - nice heft! They look only slightly more rumpled than the Brooks OCBDs, but much better than the Lands End OCBDs, if worn unironed. I like them better than the J. Press OCBDs. 

My guess is that the pinpoint versions are an equally nice solution. If nothing else, this would be a great opporunity to try on a Gitman for size if your area has no source for good button downs but does have a Dillards.


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## Tom Buchanan (Nov 7, 2005)

Thanks for the report. 

Could you comment on whether the collars have any lining (in both the oxford and the pinpoint)? I seem to recall that the collar lining was the only knock on Gitman, but I could be confusing it with FA MacCleur.


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## bd79cc (Dec 20, 2006)

Yes, the Gitmans do have a collar liner, or interfacing. Usually I prefer no interfacing, but it seems in keeping with these shirts, at least the OCBDs, considering their substantial construction. 

The collar interfacing of the pinpoints seems less substantial than that of their OCBDs. But that judgment comes from a quick rub of a pinpoint collar between the thumb and forefinger in a crowd. 

If I can get back out there soon, I'll do a thorough check.


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## Markus (Sep 14, 2004)

*Mmmmmmmmmmm..... Gitmans.......*

Yes, the collar on the Gitmans is lined. As are the cuffs.

And yes, the body is cut less full than a BB.

Another detail has to do with the stitching around the collar and cuffs at the edge. Whereas BB has a single row of stitching about 3/8's inch from the edge, Gitmans typically have two rows of stitching. One row about 3/8's inch and another row about 1/16 inch from the edge. It lends the garment overall a much more tailored appearance. And the stitches per inch on the gitman are much higher than BB.

Gitmans used to be the only thing I'd ever wear. Really very very nice shirts.

Markus


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## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

*Gitmans have changed*

I was a devoted fan of the original Gitman Bros. beefy OCBD. When they became scarce and seldom on sale, I switched to BB. I hadn't bought a OCBD Gitman in years until recently when I found them offered on an internet site mensapparel.com and tried their heavy "Cambridge" oxford cloth in a university stripe. I liked the material, but the collar seems to have changed. It did not have the double track stitching on the collar--which I too felt gave the shirt a distinctive look of quality. The collar had little roll and reminded me of the F.A. MacCluer OCBD. I did find an older Gitman blue pinpoint on e-bay recently and it was just as I remembered. The Lands End Hyde Park is a close knock-off to the original Gitman in my opinion and a great deal at 29.95...though I'm sure some would disagree.


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## hbs midwest (Sep 19, 2007)

*Hyde Park Revisited*



Saltydog;661397 The Lands End Hyde Park is a close knock-off to the original Gitman in my opinion and a great deal at 29.95...though I'm sure some would disagree.[/quote said:


> Yes, the original Hyde Parks of 25 or so years ago had many of the Gitman-style details, notably the double-track stitching around the collar. The fabric was (still is) quite sbstantial; the only down side for some would be the interfacing/lining on the collar and cuffs. I have come to appreciate vintage BB OCBD, but $30-$35 for a decent business shirt is hard to dismiss out of hand.
> 
> hbs


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## egadfly (Nov 10, 2006)

Does anyone know who makes O'Connell's "Heavyweight Oxford" shirts?

https://www.oconnellsclothing.com/dress_shirts.php

I thought I recalled someone saying they were Gitmans, but I may be misremembering.

EGF


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## oldschoolprep (Jun 21, 2007)

*For All Its Worth*

I have worn Gitman dress shirts for over twenty five years and have been satisfied with some of their models and indifferent towards others. I prefer the Gitman pinpoints in button down and straight collar designs over equivalent garments from Brooks Brothers, Kenneth Gordon and FA Macluer because of fabric color, quality, color design and their appearance after a good professional laundering. I have found them to be very durable. I still have several Gitman pinpoint button downs I purchased fifteen years ago.

I am indifferent to their OCBDs. While I like their appearance, durable construction and more robust material, I have found they shrink more significantly, especially in sleeve length and sometimes in neck diameter, than the competing models noted above and J. Press. Serveral Friends with whom I have discussed this issue have had similar experiences. we have also had similar problems with J. Press OCBDs.

I also like Gitman because the ones I have are USA made. I would also like to know the location of origin of the shirts you saw. I only have been purchasing apparel made in the USA, Canada or EU and am always on the prowl for new options. Thanks in advance and good luck.


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## hbs midwest (Sep 19, 2007)

oldschoolprep said:


> I have worn Gitman dress shirts for over twenty five years and have been satisfied with some of their models and indifferent towards others. I prefer the Gitman pinpoints in button down and straight collar designs over equivalent garments from Brooks Brothers, Kenneth Gordon and FA Macluer because of fabric color, quality, color design and their appearance after a good professional laundering. I have found them to be very durable. I still have several Gitman pinpoint button downs I purchased fifteen years ago.
> 
> I am indifferent to their OCBDs. *While I like their appearance, durable construction and more robust material, I have found they shrink more significantly, especially in sleeve length and sometimes in neck diameter, than the competing models noted above and J. Press. Several Friends with whom I have discussed this issue have had similar experiences. we have also had similar problems with J. Press OCBDs.*
> 
> I also like Gitman because the ones I have are USA made. I would also like to know the location of origin of the shirts you saw. I only have been purchasing apparel made in the USA, Canada or EU and am always on the prowl for new options. Thanks in advance and good luck.


I have had major shrinkage issues with JPress shirts--to the point that I'm skittish about trying them again. Having said this, I like their pattern selection, but I need to plan ahead for loss of up to an inch in the neck, at at least that in sleeve length.

hbs


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## bd79cc (Dec 20, 2006)

oldschoolprep - the Gitmans I bought from Hugestore and the ones I saw at Dillard's are Made In USA versions. I don't doubt your experience with shrinkage in their OCBDs, but it hasn't happened to me. . .yet. Those pinpoints looked really good. 

EGF - it's my understanding, too, from an earlier thread that those O'Connell's shirts are from Gitman. They sure look like it.


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## Untilted (Mar 30, 2006)

hbs midwest said:


> I have had major shrinkage issues with JPress shirts--to the point that I'm skittish about trying them again. Having said this, I like their pattern selection, but I need to plan ahead for loss of up to an inch in the neck, at at least that in sleeve length.
> 
> hbs


You gotta be kidding me.

The oxford shirts I own from J.Press fit true to size. Both sleeves and necks still fit me really well.

The broadcloth shirts I own from J.Press has terrible sizing issues. The collar of the 14.5-32 shirt can probably fit a 15.5 neck pre-shrinking, and the sleeves are at least 34 inches long. I shrink the heck out of them so the neck fit decently and I always perform sleeve alterations on them.


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## longwing (Mar 28, 2005)

The size labels in Gitman shirts are in the perfect location to irritate the hell out of my neck. Always have to cut the damn things out.


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## FIHTies (Jun 24, 2004)

oldschoolprep said:


> I also like Gitman because the ones I have are USA made. I would also like to know the location of origin of the shirts you saw. I only have been purchasing apparel made in the USA, Canada or EU and am always on the prowl for new options. Thanks in advance and good luck.


I didnt know that Gitman Manufactured or outsourced for that matter anywhere outside of the US. Recently when my kids boutique was looking for alternate shirt fabricators due to the climb in the Euro we turned to Gitman but due to Union Labor the cost of a kids shirt was too high.

I have nothing against Union Labor. I have everything against sitting on unsold stock due to pricing issues.


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## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

*Kenneth Gordon used to make an OCBD similar*

Kenneth Gordon used to make an OCBD similar to Gitman Bros. Their pinpoints were virtually identical. Does anyone know if KG still makes a regular heavy oxford cloth shirt any longer?


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## LD111134 (Dec 21, 2007)

I was raised in upstate New York, and back in the '80s and early '90s I used to visit the Troy Shirt Factory Outlet in the town of Glens Falls (not Troy, ironically). The outlet was in a corner of a factory building, but I don't know whether shirts were actually manufactured at that location (all of the outlet's shirts had a "Made in U.S.A." label).

Many of the shirts had stores' private labels - Gitman Brothers, Kenneth Gordon, Bullocks, Britches of Georgetown, and other fine, old-line shops. The company may have also manufactured J.Press' shirtings.

The factory and outlet were owned by Cluett, which was founded in Troy by the inventor of the detachable collar (thus Troy's nickname of "the Collar City").:icon_smile:


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## TweedyDon (Aug 31, 2007)

Shrinkage isn't a problem if (almost)* all of your shirts are thrifted--and tried on in the store! 

*Those that aren't are eBaye'd--or Thrift Exchange'd! :icon_smile:


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## DukeGrad (Dec 28, 2003)

*Troy shirts*

Gentlemen

Long time back we discussed this. The collars were made in Glens Fall, the shirts made by Troy shirtmakers, was in the Cleutt and Peabody building in Troy.
Troy made shirts fo just about everyone, including for Burberry, most haberdashers back then, Arrow and so on. The shirtmaker made for these in the last years of its workings, about 1975-82.
Troy made an excellent oxford cotton button down. Again, these were made for all haberdashers in the New England area at that time.
Glens Falls had a textile mill there as well.
I actually heard troy did shirts for most high end stores in NYC, and possibly did them for a time for Sulka.
Although I believe sulka had their shirts done either by geneva or Paris.
Troy is long out of businessmy friends
Beautiful OCBD shirts though

Nice day


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## LD111134 (Dec 21, 2007)

Thanks, Jimmy.

I used to love going to that outlet in Glens Falls. When I lived in NYC, I'd to there to stock up on shirts when visiting my parents upstate.


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## jw0595 (Jan 6, 2008)

*Gitman Shirts*

Tom James owns Gitman and Kenneth Gordon. They are essentially the same shirt, it's just a matter of whether you prefer it made by Pennsylvania Dutch or New Orleans Vietnamese immigrants. They use the same patterns and trade cloth back and forth. Tom James also bought the Troy shirt company, but could never get it to make a profit. Gitman also makes (the last that I heard) all of the Burberry shirts sold in the US as well as numerous store brands. The only shirt that is outsourced is the wrinkle free shirt (for both KG and GB). IIRC, this was due to the process used to make the shirt wrinkle free. Evidently there was some chemical process that the EPA might not have endorsed.


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## PersianMonarchs (Dec 7, 2005)

hbs midwest said:


> I have had major shrinkage issues with JPress shirts--to the point that I'm skittish about trying them again. Having said this, I like their pattern selection, but I need to plan ahead for loss of up to an inch in the neck, at at least that in sleeve length.
> 
> hbs


Me, too. I love J Press but I, too, am staying away from their shirts.

I took a couple in once, pointing out that they had shrunk. They denied the shrinkage but reset the buttons for me. They were wrong about the shrinkage but, as usual, were swell to deal with and did, in fact, fix the problem.


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## Speas (Mar 11, 2004)

Press isnt consistent with their shirt makers. Some of their more expensive shirts have the Troy label indicating its from an Individualized company (this is the same group as Tom James - jw0595 above says this is the same ownership as Gitman). I bought a couple of Press' Spring 07 shirts and the RN comes back Fall River Shirt company. A while back they used a Canadian manufacturer - those shirts were pretty bad.


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## marlinspike (Jun 4, 2007)

Canadian manufacturer was Hathaway of Canada, a stop gap measure after HathawayUSA closed from what I was told.


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## bd79cc (Dec 20, 2006)

jw0595 said:


> Evidently there was some chemical process that the EPA might not have endorsed.


No wonder I dislike non-irons shirts so much! 

BTW, welcome to the Forum.


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## augustin (Jan 19, 2007)

I had some problems with the Gitman Bros. website about a year or so back, and complained to the "webmaster". I got a personal response from Tom James, and he was just charming. I have since become a big fan of the shirts as well. Nice not to feel that I'm in an upper-body girdle, and the pinpoints feel good as well as look good.


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## longwing (Mar 28, 2005)

I have had several of the J Press Fall River broadcloth shirts. I had shrinkage on only one - the light blue gingham they carried up until this summer. All of the others have been fine. The weave on that particular shirt was a bit different than standard broadcloth. Maybe someone was trying to cut corners. It's a tough business.


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## 3 Button Bob (Nov 28, 2004)

The J.Press Hathaway shirts were awful.............ordered several a few years ago from the DC store and gave them away...............


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## sartorial sherlock (Mar 13, 2005)

*Heavyweight Gitmans*

Love them. I've bought several from Hugestore (as they will alter them). They're available in white, blue, yellow, pink and a couple of university stripes.

The old Hyde Parks were great as well. Heavier than their current version (I'm going back at least 25 years) with a much nicer collar roll.

MacCluer are OK but nothing to write home about.

Gitman are still the best for the value. Hugestore $81, O'Connells $69. If they are indeed Gitmans, thats the better deal.
ss


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## dandypauper (Jun 10, 2007)

Bought a BD at Gary's Rack in Tustin, CA about a week ago and they told me (and I confirmed by looking up the RN) that they were made by Gitman. The salesman told me that the shirt, which was list $85 and on clearance for $20 in my size only and yellow, is no longer offered at Gary's and that he wasn't sure Gitman was around any more. I told him it is. Anyway, after one washing and wearing, my impression is good overall, not too much shrinkage, but looks really wrinkled really quickly. (I might have a pinpoint fabric. Not exactly sure of the difference--is pinpoint finer than Oxford?) The longer collar points are a noticeable difference, but I don't see any double stitching.


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## LonelyAreTheBrave (Dec 2, 2006)

*Gitman Shirts*

Does anybody know if Gitman makes a slim fit model?


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