At the end of last year I completed a project with Sean O’Flynn to cut a traditional dress shirt, with voile back, Marcella front and detachable stiff collar. Some readers may remember they have already seen this shirt in black tie shoots with The Rake. I can only apologise it’s taken this long to write up the details.
While I have written recently of seeking a Neapolitan shirtmaker to eventually replace my whole shirt wardrobe (with Satriano Cinque the front runner), for a formal shirt like this the twin draws of tradition and proximity drew me to Sean.
Sean’s pedigree is unrivalled, having started his career with an apprenticeship at Huntsman at the age of 16 and gone on to be the head cutter at New and Lingwood. He started his own business in 2005 and is now one of only a handful of bespoke shirtmakers in London, cutting everything by hand on the premises.
The stiff collar takes some getting used to, but does show off a good bow tie to its full potential. In the case of the Rake shoot that bow was a specially commissioned one piece from Le Noued Papillon. The stiff collar could be seen as the crowning glory to a good tuxedo.
