THE SHIRTS

The shirts are cut by hand, the bodies with shears, the collars with a knife and body patterns and collar styles are of our own design.

Our shirts are manufactured in our factory on flat sewing machines, which are basically the same as in the past and the seaming is single needed.

The stitch length is very small giving clean, strong, neat seams but not so small that it leads in too great in tension and thus "puckering" on the seams.

The two-piece collars, which are the most important part of the shirt, are all turned by hand and have removable stiffeners (which must be taken out for laundering).

The buttons are all real mother-of-pearl and never synthetic and the shirts are pressed by hand. The yoke is split at the back and cut on the bias for better shape, fit and comfort.

Extra fabric is stitched on both sides of the gauntlet to give a good overlap and finish.

A Hilditch & Key shirt is long, up to 1" longer at the back than the front, and the triangular gusset at the bottom of each seam ensures extra strength and comfort over the hip.

If the shirt is manufactured from a striped fabric, the stripes are matched at the following - the front and back of the collar giving a clean leading edge, the split yoke, where the shoulder meet the the sleeve, and where the extra fabric is placed on the sleeve for the gauntlets.

Only the very finest fabrics are used in the production of a Hilditch & Key shirt and it has to be worn to be appreciated.

Bodileys of Northampton

The Garden House, Lyndon Road, North Luffenham, Rutland, LE15 8JZ, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)1780 720565
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