ProperCloth is addictive. Once you get your first great-fitting shirt and feel like your size profile and style profiles are dialed in, browsing the new releases becomes a game of chicken between them and your wallet.
There are 3 price tiers for Thomas Mason’s normal 100% cotton shirting at Proper Cloth:
Default—$185
Luxury—$225
Goldline—$275
Right now they have a handful of 85% cotton 15% cashmere shirting sitting in the middle at $275.
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So let’s say you want a nice, light blue stripe broadcloth shirt. Do you go for a $185 one, or a $275 Goldline one? Proper Cloth does a nice job of curating fabrics, so with the exception of solid colors, your decision will be more about which design you like better instead of stressing about the price difference between two otherwise nearly identical shirts. However, there is still some overlap between designs, enough that you might wonder if springing for the extra money is worth it.
Here are my observations wearing a shirt at each price point in the Thomas Mason range at Proper Cloth, specifically in broadcloth fabrics. I may do a future post on their Oxford shirting but for now, I am specifically comparing broadcloth (including end-on-end, which is just broadcloth using slightly different color yarns to create a visual texture). Broadcloth is my favorite dress shirt fabric.
I’ll answer the same questions for all three fabrics:
How well does it iron? Some broadcloths (or poplins or end-on-ends) are impossible to iron to be completely smooth, and micro-wrinkles stay in no matter what you do. Other broadcloth can be ironed well without too much difficulty.
How does it feel? Good broadcloth should feel silky smooth against the skin. Cheap broadcloth feels paper-y and stiff. I’ll give a rating 1-5 on smoothness (with 5 being most smooth), and 1-5 on paper-y-ness (5 being most paper-y, so the worst).
How does it shrink? Of course Proper Cloth is building in the shrinkage allowance they deem necessary for each fabric. But in practice I’ve found this to be somewhat hit-or-miss.
How does it hold up? I have had a Goldline shirt for 3 years now, and you can read my review here. For the rest of the shirts I will return to this post in 1 year and report back.
Default $185 Thomas Mason
How well does it iron?
It irons up crisply. There are no micro-wrinkles I’m unable to get out. I’ve been washing and wearing these shirts for 3 months, so any treatment at the factory is long since washed out. These iron up easily, without a ton of hassle.
How does it feel?
It’s smooth. The somewhat paper-y feeling that broadcloth sometimes has is barely present in these shirts. On the smoothness factor I’d rate it 3/5 (5 being most smooth), and on the paper-y feeling, also about a 2/5 (5 being super paper-y, 0 being not at all).
How does it shrink?
No significant shrinkage I can detect.Â
How does it hold up?
Just great, although come back in a year and I’ll have a more thorough review. No fraying at the collar or cuffs, and no yellowing either. I’ve found cheaper cotton will yellow more easily than finer cotton for some reason, and these have stayed clean.
Luxury Line $225
How well does it iron?
It irons up very well. No micro-wrinkles.
How does it feel?
It’s smooth. 3/5 on the smoothness, 3/5 on paper-yness. Weirdly, a little more of that papery/crispness on the luxury line than the default line. It’s not enough to bother me but it is noticeable.
How does it shrink?
No significant shrinkage.
How does it hold up?
Holds up very well. I’ve had a Luxury broadcloth for 2 years and while it hasn’t seen a ton of wear, it’s doing great. It’s white, even, and the yellowing around the collars and cuffs has been minimal and easy to manage.
Goldline $275
How well does it iron?
It irons up crisply. No micro-wrinkles, and no problems.
How does it feel?
Outstanding. It’s a 5/5 on smoothness and 1/5 on paper-y texture. I have felt softer broadcloths that are made of poly blends or which have artificial treatments, but nobody wants that crap.Â
How does it shrink?
No significant shrinkage.
What differentiates the three lines from Thomas Mason qualitatively?
I asked Proper Cloth for the qualitative differences between the three ranges. Here’s what they said:
“The main difference is the quality and staple length of the fabric. The luxury range uses Egyptian Cotton, while the Goldline uses Giza 45 Egyptian Cotton, [which] is a far more superior and rare cotton.”
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So is the extra money worth it?
Not necessarily. The Goldline earns its name by being the best of the three, no doubt. My favorite shirt ever from Proper Cloth is the Thomas Mason Goldline light-blue end-on-end. The color is exactly the sky blue color I wanted from a shirt, and it has the best qualities of smoothness, ironability and quality that I love from broadcloth.Â
However, a $90 difference is enough to buy a whole second shirt in one of Proper Cloth’s less expensive fabrics (for instance, their Oxford cloth). If you’re debating between a striped shirt at $185 and a similar one at $275, the most important difference comes down to which design you like better. As I said above, Proper Cloth doesn’t stock fabrics that look identical in the two fabric ranges.
What about the price differences in the middle—the $40 difference between the default range and the luxury range, or the $50 difference from the luxury range up to the Goldline range?
It comes down primarily to pattern and design in both instances.
The luxury range doesn’t feel noticeably nicer to me than the default range. Only if there were a pattern or color I really wanted, would I splurge to upgrade to the luxury range.
From luxury to Goldline, the same applies, however I’d say it’s more worth it to spring for the upgrade. The Goldline fabrics are noticeably softer than the luxury range. $50 isn’t nothing, but it’s not enough to buy a whole second shirt. If you’re already spending above $200 on a shirt, you’re already upgrading on quality above your typical button-up. Again, my favorite PC shirt ever is the Goldline end on end.
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