# Costco/Kirkland Non-Iron Dress shirts



## Leighton (Nov 16, 2009)

I'm a big fan of non-iron dress shirts. I've also got an athletic frame and find that only the "slim fit" OTR shirts come close to fitting me well.

Someone mentioned these shirts in another forum and I thought to myself...they're pretty darn cheap at under $20....I wonder if I could just tailor them to fit me and get a smoking deal out of them? :idea:

So, is it a great idea or something I should throw under the rug? I have not had the opportunity to truly inspect these Kirkland shirts since coming up with the idea. I remember my last Kirkland shirt and it was ridiculously baggy, had huge arm holes and was returned pretty quickly because it fit so poorly.


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## Padme (Aug 18, 2009)

*Costco shirts*

I have found I do have to iron these, but I like my husband's shirts to have a crisp look to them. I have also found the fused collar interfacing bubbles up within minutes of drying them. But I was just at Costco in the last few days, and they had some new patterns, and they do look and feel nice. I wish they didn't have the fused interfaced collar. His last shirts came from a mall dept. store and have never done this.

My husband, who has a tummy, finds them not too bad, but snug around the tummy area. He has only worn RTW so he may not be used to a bespoke fit.


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## JLibourel (Jun 13, 2004)

Although I can't give you specifics, I don't think the new Costco-Kirkland non-iron shirts from China are nearly as nice in terms of fabric and general quality as the older non-non-iron Kirklands from Mauritius. I won't buy any more of the new ones. Fortunately, I have a passel of the older, Mauritius-made BDs.


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## PKJR (Nov 7, 2009)

BJ's club non-iron shirts are much better/nicer imo -


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## rlfsoccerdad (Mar 28, 2008)

I have several of these shirts. From the last two major product runs. I like both, but I think the fabric is nicer on the latest shirts. Also, I like that they regularly carry 17x36, and not a more generic size collection. Overall good value for the money and attractive. The major downside is they only come in a button down.


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## deanayer (Mar 30, 2008)

If you want a shirt that will disintegrate in no time made by slave labor in a commie work camp you are probably looking in the right place. Now lets get SERIOUS - go buy a shirt of quality from a company that MAKES SHIRTS instead of "builds warehouses" and then go to your local alterations tailor and have them taken it in.


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## Sufferable Fob (Aug 26, 2009)

I honestly don't understand why anyone would bother having something so cheap tailored.

I'm not saying that to be mean, I honestly don't understand why anyone would bother having a poorly made, likely highly polyester shirt altered by a professional. These are the kinds of shirts you buy if you want to practice home-sewing techniques without worrying about ruining anything good.


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## Leighton (Nov 16, 2009)

Well, with the low cost of custom shirts, $50 in some places, it makes very little sense in my head to tailor an OTR shirt, unless the total cost comes out less than the cost for a custom shirt made from the same material. I'm usually very happy with my Kirkland branded stuff, so I figured the non-iron shirts might be a good buy.


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## hockeyinsider (May 8, 2006)

JLibourel said:


> Although I can't give you specifics, I don't think the new Costco-Kirkland non-iron shirts from China are nearly as nice in terms of fabric and general quality as the older non-non-iron Kirklands from Mauritius. I won't buy any more of the new ones. Fortunately, I have a passel of the older, Mauritius-made BDs.


I wonder if it's possible to buy shirts at the factory without labels? I presume most of these factories mass produce several brands and would be willing to sell excess stock to you for a fraction of the price without the labels.


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## EmbraBhoy (Sep 15, 2008)

rlfsoccerdad said:


> I have several of these shirts. From the last two major product runs. I like both, but I think the fabric is nicer on the latest shirts. Also, I like that they regularly carry 17x36, and not a more generic size collection. Overall good value for the money and attractive. The major downside is they only come in a button down.


I have a late-2005 green plaid affair, and while I wouldn't wear it on a hot date, it's certainly very serviceable for BBQs and casual wear - even flying on airplanes! I wouldn't spend any money altering it though.


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## hockeyinsider (May 8, 2006)

deanayer said:


> If you want a shirt that will disintegrate in no time made by slave labor in a commie work camp you are probably looking in the right place.


That's not too easy these days unless you have the budget for Jerymn Street in London.


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## JLibourel (Jun 13, 2004)

Sufferable Fob said:


> I honestly don't understand why anyone would bother having something so cheap tailored.
> 
> I'm not saying that to be mean, I honestly don't understand why anyone would bother having a poorly made, likely highly polyester shirt altered by a professional. These are the kinds of shirts you buy if you want to practice home-sewing techniques without worrying about ruining anything good.


The Costco-Kirkland shirts, old and new, are not polyester. They are labelled "100% Extra-Long Staple Cotton."

Agree that spending money tailoring a $15 shirt makes little sense.


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## JLibourel (Jun 13, 2004)

hockeyinsider said:


> I wonder if it's possible to buy shirts at the factory without labels? I presume most of these factories mass produce several brands and would be willing to sell excess stock to you for a fraction of the price without the labels.


If you mean Costco's old vendor in Mauritius, I have no idea of their name or how to get in touch with them. I don't think a trip to Mauritius to buy shirts "at the factory" would be very cost-effective. In any event, I have plenty of cheap shirts from Costco and Lands' End as it is.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.


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## Sufferable Fob (Aug 26, 2009)

JLibourel said:


> The Costco-Kirkland shirts, old and new, are not polyester. They are labelled "100% Extra-Long Staple Cotton."
> 
> Agree that spending money tailoring a $15 shirt makes little sense.


Interesting - I had never seen a shirt for under $29 that was 100% cotton (well, full-price) so far.


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## mxgreen (Jan 18, 2009)

JLibourel said:


> Although I can't give you specifics, I don't think the new Costco-Kirkland non-iron shirts from China are nearly as nice in terms of fabric and general quality as the older non-non-iron Kirklands from Mauritius.


Same here.


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## hockeyinsider (May 8, 2006)

JLibourel said:


> If you mean Costco's old vendor in Mauritius, I have no idea of their name or how to get in touch with them. I don't think a trip to Mauritius to buy shirts "at the factory" would be very cost-effective. In any event, I have plenty of cheap shirts from Costco and Lands' End as it is.
> 
> Thanks for the suggestion, though.


If one was going to one of these countries on business, it probably wouldn't be too difficult to track down the local manufacturer. I believe Lands' End also has shirts made in Mauritius.


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## JLibourel (Jun 13, 2004)

Not too many of us are likely to find our way to Mauritius on business. 

All the Land's End shirts I have were made either in Indonesia or China. The latest ones have all been Chinese-made.

I seem to recall that there was some change in Federal import/trade regulations that made it easy for China to steamroller competition from places like Mauritius or Indonesia.


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## Padme (Aug 18, 2009)

*100% extra long staple cotton*

My husband's are 2 months old and have held up well. I enjoy sewing and I make his weekend shirts with a different interfacing method. I use a Shirtmaking instruction book, so these types of fused collars bother me.

I think these shirts do need some extra ironing if you are going to wear them to work. I see the fused bubbles when I iron, but they disappear under the top collar fabric. I think they would last you a year before you had to think about another shirt shopping trip if you were to wear these every day to work. My husband works in a semi casual office, and wears these with a cardiagan sweater, nice tan cotton pants, and loafers, and he looks very nice. I wash in a Permanant Press cycle with a warm wash and a cool rinse. I don't dry throughly. They go on the back of a chair waiting for me to iron, which is usually several times a week, as I iron when I sew.I use a Professional Rowenta steam iron (basic heavy duty iron) on a wool/silk setting with these shirts.

I want to see more of what I buy before I buy it. We have been extremely short on time this past year and he really needed new shirts, and I went into the clothing area at Costco on purpose to see what they had in shirts. I like the fabric and I plan to remake these into shirts for me when I replace his. You might try one or two if you are in a tight time spot like we were/are in now.


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