In sad retail development news, Kamakura Shirts announced today they’ll be closing their U.S. store and fulfillment operations, including their U.S.-based web shop.
The bright side is they’ll continue selling shirts online from Japan, which is how they used to sell before opening the U.S. warehouse and shop. Back in 2014-2015 when I first discovered the brand, that’s how I bought a shirt; the shipping price wasn’t much more than the $12 they charge right now, and the time it took to arrive was very fast.
And another plus is that they are selling off inventory starting Friday at noon EST: shirts for $50 and ties for $39.
I just might buy an OCBD or two. I recently figured out that their NY Slim sizing works for me. The bizarre sizing convention they use—Tokyo Fit, with weirdly short sleeve lengths, and New York fit, with super long sleeve lengths—makes it a huge pain to find something that fits. However, I determined their “36.5-inch” sleeve length is actually closer to 36 inches even, which is the length I’m taking nowadays anyhow.
I’d previously bought a New York regular fit shirt, but was disappointed to discover the collar point lengths are shorter than on the slim fit models. It still had an amazing roll but it lacked the extra specialness that attracted me to the brand. I later tried a Tokyo slim, but it was just too small and I sold it. Below, the regular fit collar is worn with the red/navy raw silk tie; the slim-fit collar is worn with the brown tweed jacket and ancient madder neat tie.
Anyway, while the brand isn’t going away, it’s still a great time to get a good deal on great shirts. Besides OCBDs, check their Leno shirts, which are open-weave cottons that breathe really well in the summer. I recently got one in the Sciolto one-piece collar design and love it.
When you say “I determined their “36.5-inch” sleeve length is actually closer to 36 inches even” are you talking about the Tokyo Slim or the New York Slim? I’ve experimented with a few Tokyo Slim sizes and the sleeve length has always been less than ideal. Sizing up on the sleeves helped except the body seemed to fit looser.
Actually the NY Slim fit is what I was referencing. I think the longest their Tokyo fit sleeves go is 35 inches. That was the length I’d tried with the one pictured with the tweed jacket and they were way too short after some shrinkage. The collar also became too tight (it was a 16 neck, the biggest they go with that sleeve length).
The NY slim fit shirt sizes that they list as 16-36.5 or 16.5-36.5 are the ones I mean. They’re technically made in centimeters so the sleeve is cut to be 92cm, which is actually only 36.2 inches. For me, I have found their collars to shrink enough I need to go with the 42 (16.5), while in other brands I can do the 41 collar. That will make it looser in the body but I’m guessing it won’t bother me too much. Also, dadbod.
Yeah, the shrinkage on the oxford cloth was unexpected. I actually just gave away a few Kamakura OCBD’s that shrank after washing.
Hello! I’ve got a question about wearing OCBDs with a coat and tie. Namely, most of my OCBD shirts, e.g. BB unlined, give me two issues: they suffer under the weight of the jacket collar and get a number of small pleats the length of the collar (sometimes happens with knitwear too), and the tie I must be putting wrong somehow as I either don’t get the roll or it’s off (lower position, not the full S etc.). Note the fit is great and the roll perfect with the top or top two buttons unfastened. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Stephan, I’m wondering if your shirts are too big for your neck. The “pleating” you’re describing under a jacket or sweater is what makes me think that. With unlined shirt collars like the Brooks OCBD that’ll be much more pronounced, while shirts with stiffer interlinings will kind of bend/fold in a way that’s not noticeable.
That would also impact the collar roll. I’ve found with the Brooks collars, the collar needs to sit low on my neck in the front (that spot right at the top of your chest where your neck meets your collar bones in the middle).
Kamakura’s standard button-down collar has a really thick interlining nowadays which makes the collar roll consistently and without much fuss; Drake’s and Spier & Mackay’s collars have very thin/light linings and are also made in such a way that they roll very dramatically and without any fuss.
Hi, Mitchel. Thanks for the tip. I’m not sure if that’s the case, but could be… I usually take 15.5 shirts but for most Brooks I’ve gone for 15. They all feel very snug on the neck, 15 and 15.5. But then again being unlined might mean they are bigger in comparison.
Could it be the way I’m putting my tie on? I’m normally pushing the knot and the part that goes around the neck as high up as they can go – perhaps it should be lower and the ‘noose’ more angling down towards the back of the neck?